Rural credit for reducing extreme poverty: the experience of Project Ikhtiar: lesson from fieldwork

Abstract

Means Test (MT). Unlike Grameen where the number of non poor is small, the situation in Malaysia is just the opposite where the number of hardcore poor is usually less than 25% of the total household. In areas with an absence of a systematic poverty monitoring system (PMS) a lot of time is required to check whether the is suitable to carry out motivation work. area In the means test, the criteria for eligibility into AIM rural credit program is less than R$50 per capita monthly income or monthly household income of less than R$250/-. Following GB principles, for land operated a 0.25 acres per capita farm size, and a total value of household asset of not more than the value of an average price of 3 acre plot in the area. Because of the high disqualification rate among potential members who to the office to register for the loan scheme, we have abandoned that procedure. Since then we concentrate in a systematic visit in the village going from road to road, path by path whole area is exhausted before moving on into until the a new village. normally While visiting every path, a crude house index measure size of house, condition of structure, quality of walls and roof are being used to determined whether the household should be visited for a thorough means test. If the points are less than 10 we would normally conduct a thorough means best. Other features within the house structure is also taken into consideration.