Effect of Gendered Participation in Village Savings and Loan Association Training Activities on Household Livelihood Outcomes in Kasipul Constituency, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/jpid.3847Keywords:
Village Savings, Loan Associations, Gendered Participation, Training Activities, Household Livelihood Outcomes, Financial Literacy, Rural Development, Kasipul Constituency, KenyaAbstract
Purpose: The challenges faced by households in terms of livelihood are still one of the major concerns in rural households in Kenya especially for those households with poor access to formal financial services. Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) are the financial service institutions at the community level aimed at facilitating financial inclusion, capacity development, and improvement of livelihood. There is lack of sufficient information regarding the effect of gendered participation in VSLA training programs on household livelihood. This study sought to examine the effect of gendered participation in Village Savings and Loan Association training programs on household livelihood in Kasipul Constituency, Kenya.
Methodology: The study was based on Community Participation Theory, Systems Theory, and Socio-Economic Status Theory and used a mixed methods research approach. The study targeted all the active members of VSLAs in Kasipul Constituency comprising of 2,180 people. The sample size used was 338 respondents selected using stratified random sampling while the key informants were selected through purposive sampling.Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the quantitative data analysis, whereas thematic analysis was employed in analyzing the qualitative data.
Findings: The results demonstrated that the household livelihood outcomes are significantly impacted by participation in the VSLA training programs. It was found that most of the respondents felt that the training improved their confidence in making financial decisions regarding their homes (M = 3.94, SD = 0.78), enhanced their financial knowledge (M = 4.20, SD = 0.73) and enabled them to engage in income generating activities (M = 4.04, SD = 0.80). The regression analysis has shown that the household livelihood results have been significantly affected due to participation in VSLA training activities (β = 0.093, p = 0.018). This study found that the training made households more financially literate, helped them develop entrepreneurial skills, increased the stability of the income, food security and household resilience. However, gender-based household roles and unequal participation in training activities still remain factors influencing participation in VSLA training activities of some of the members.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This study concludes that gendered participation in VSLA training activities makes a significant contribution in improving household livelihood outcomes because of the increased knowledge and skills acquisition and economic decision-making capacity. The study recommends developing the gender-sensitive training activities in VSLAs, promoting the access to the financial literacy and entrepreneurship training activities.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Edith Achieng’ Odhiambo, Dr. Fred K. Wamalwa PhD
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