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The CARE-WWF Alliance piloted a Collective and Sustainable Investment (CSI) model in Tanzania's Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor, integrating collective and sustainable investment mechanisms into Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). The pilot involved 114 VSLA groups, resulting in 91 collective enterprises, 92% of which were nature-based. Key outcomes included a 102% increase in average household income—with female-headed households seeing a 157% increase—and significant improvements in water flow, with wet season flows increasing by 178% and dry season flows by 105%. While the model successfully shifted mindsets toward environmental responsibility and empowered women through land tenure and decision-making, it also triggered unintended intrahousehold conflicts and intergenerational tensions over riverbed cultivation. The report recommends streamlining the curriculum, expanding sustainability components for diverse ecosystems, and implementing loan monitoring systems to support preferential loan conditions, which were not adopted during the pilot.

The CARE-WWF Alliance SAGCOT program in Tanzania's Mufundi and Iringa districts achieved significant gains in household income and water resource management between 2021 and 2023. By integrating Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS), and Integrated Land and Water Management (ILWM), the project increased average household income by 102% and improved dry and wet season water flows in the Mkikifu river. The program specifically targeted women and youth, resulting in a 157% income increase for female-headed households and a 3% reduction in the income gender gap.