very unstable. Yvonne makes between L$500 and L$700 profit a day. She puts L$350 of her earnings into a daily susu, giving her a monthly susu of around US$150, which she uses to pay school fees (US$250 a year). She is planning to buy a plot of land for a house. She has been selling in the market for six years and says that even though her business has not developed very much during that time, her knowledge of how to run it has improved. Type 3: A small stable market operation supporting a mature household where demands are unmet In contrast to Type 2 market women, Type 3 women, of whom there were nine in the study, tend to be more mature (i.e., tend to have older children and many more demands made on their income). Most were single, and of those who were married, all but one had an unemployed husband living at home. Some of these women do not own their home and are paying rent. “Profits” in these households vary from US$50 to US$110 a month and are largely invested back into the household – in the form of tuition fees and, for some households, construction costs – rather than into their businesses. Emergency health care and funeral expenses also have prevented business growth. Many of these women had taken out interest-bearing loans and paid them back. But although they have the capacity to get loans, they need specific loan products to meet particular circumstances. KEBEH (Type 3) is 31 and has been working in the Zorzor market for 16 years. She finished first grade, lives with her mother, but is building a house with four rooms. She has three children whom her mother helps raise, aged 17, 13 and 6. All are in school. The 17-year-old helps her mother in the market in the afternoon while the 13-year-old goes to school in the afternoon and helps in the market in the morning. School fees for all three children are US$85 per semester. Kebeh says that even though her daily income is low, it is enough to buy food and small items for the market stall. On market day, her earnings can be as high as L$3,500. She spends L$1,000 a month on rice and L$100 a day on fish and other food items. She has one weekly susu of L$1,000, which she can collect every six months. When she last collected, she received L$25,000 (roughly US$350) from the susu. She used it to pay school fees and put money into her house.
Type 4: A small or declining market operation that can barely support the household Three women interviewed were in this category. They sell low-value vegetables or dry goods and their incomes barely support them and their children. They use various coping mechanisms to survive, including participating in susus of very small amounts. They are unable to manage interestbearing loans and struggle to keep their children in school. All single, these women have no support from family members. One was elderly and disabled and one was a teenager with a tiny baby. Two of the women were taking care of disabled dependents. Two were young and apparently no longer in contact with their families. One had been raped during the war and that encounter had resulted in her first child.
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