When SALT meets SILC!!!!

[Autry Haynes]

When SALT is a lifestye practice you seek out opportunity to apply this. Recently during a Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) event, I sought for opportunites to apply SALT, ha! It eventually came. What are the qualities of a good Facilitator? I say SALTy: Stimulate - one's capacity to stimulate local response to ensure ownership and responsibility; Appreciate strengths that already exists and encourage building on these strengths; Learn from the communities strengths, how they think and how they operate, so that appropriate support is ensured; Transfer the process to the benefit of the community. To effectively transfer the process we need to help the community to understand where its at with respect to where they would like to be or want to be. So helping the participants understand the concept of competence an illustration of Self Assessment was appropriate.

SILC could make a difference in communities, community life competence process supports the sustainabilty effort. It contributes to stimulating the community by the Facilitator being SALTy and once stimulated the members of the community is motivated, can identify their strengths, their common vision and have dialogue about these from being aware and taking actions to make SILC and other elements lifestyle actions then they are on their way to GROWING. 

 

 

[Sanjeev Persai]

Stimulate, Appreciate, Learn & Transfer (SALT) is really great idea to get more attention from the community during social moblisation. I shared this idea in a knowledge management workshop in an ongoing women empowerment programme in India.  This programme is also focuses on S&C activities through women SHG’s

Although It is very effective tool, but I found it needs more attention on the implementation process. There should be clear understanding about it.  When peoples are moving towards social mobilization, many unforeseen problems came before them. In that situation they focused to solve that current problem and move forward.  In this situation some times we lost the process, which never comes again.

For example - a team is trying to make a wSHG in the rural area of India. When they are talking about the saving, inter loaning with the prospective SHG members suddenly a question came – what & when we will get from the government? Yes or No are equally harmful at this stage.

I suggested them – Initiate your discussion with the development process. Like community needs, situation of women in the society, social issues of the society etc. When they are convinced, introduce S&C activities only as a tool to make them in bond. Always motivate them to meet and save regularly. After six months introduce the internal lending between them, its process and importance......So SALT can be implemented successfully with process and sensitivity.

SALT is a great technique for the facilitators. SALT creates the real test, Process cooked it in a way and Sensitivity made it digestive in community development process.

Thanks for sharing......

Sanjeev Persai

[Jean-Louis Lamboray]

Thank you Autry:

Please tell us  a little more how SALT eventually came  to connect with SILC? I am eager to know more...

JL