Building Shelter and Sustainability in Urban Communities- Kasagana-ka Credit and Savings Cooperative

A Legacy of Grassroots Empowerment

Founded in 1986 and formalized as a cooperative in 2002, Kabuhayan sa Ganap na Kasarinlan Credit and Savings Cooperative (Kasagana-ka) has long stood as a beacon of hope for the urban poor in the Philippines. With a membership base of over 46,000 women, predominantly mothers, the organization is rooted in the belief that economic empowerment is key to uplifting vulnerable communities. Kasagana-ka’s livelihood-centered microfinance model is designed not only to provide financial support but also to pave a path toward sustainability and self-sufficiency.

Challenges on the Ground

The urban poor, Kasagana-ka’s primary constituency, grapple with multifaceted challenges: healthcare access, educational barriers, vulnerability to disasters, and income instability. Financial literacy continues to be a critical hurdle. According to Mr. Dexter Flores, General Manager of Kasagana-ka, this gap hinders the capacity of families to make informed decisions about loans, savings, and investments.

A Strategic Collaboration

The RestartME partnership emerged as a natural extension of Kasagana-ka’s mission. Deeply rooted in social development, RestartME provided Php 15 million in financial support to communities devastated by natural disasters. The support also extended beyond finances. 50% of the interest income from the financial aid was channeled into socio-economic programs, ensuring a more holistic and human-centered recovery process.

This collaboration reinforced Kasagana-ka’s use of its unique Grasya methodology, a hybrid of the Grameen and Asha microfinancing models. The partnership was especially critical in times when flexibility and responsiveness were needed, such as restructuring repayments and offering scaled loan options—from Php 5,000 to Php 300,000, including digital loans like mobile phone financing. A mandatory 20% savings scheme further strengthened the financial discipline of its members.

A Story of Transformation

Among the thousands of women touched by this initiative, the journey of Ms. Mancia stands out. Starting as an Avon direct seller, she gradually expanded her horizons into air conditioning installation, eventually evolving her business into a supplier of aluminum and glass. Today, Ms. Mancia is not just an entrepreneur but also a leader within Kasagana-ka, serving as a chairperson and role model to fellow members.

A Focus on Housing Recovery

In recent years, one of the most profound insights emerged from the field. For many urban poor families, housing was the bottleneck to recovery. No matter how well-designed a livelihood loan was, if a client’s home had been destroyed by disaster, that loan would inevitably be diverted toward housing repairs.

Recognizing this, Kasagana-ka, in partnership with RestartME, began exploring and piloting housing loan solutions to address the full spectrum of post-disaster recovery. Kasagana-ka launched the K Bahay Program.

K-Bahay is a shelter program that provides client-beneficiaries with access to loans for house improvement through the construction of more sturdy and natural disaster-resilient structures, or of additional floors or rooms that can be rented out for extra income.

Kasagana-ka’s vision has also matured to meet the demands of a changing climate. The cooperative actively integrates climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, renewable energy, and energy-efficient housing into its long-term development agenda.