ABSTRACT
The financing of DROs poses a dilemma between on the one hand the large financial investments and operations involved, and on the other hand a scarcity of rural credit for DROs from financial institutions. Establishing a savings and credit system is a sustainable strategy for financing the federation process, which generates a high level of ownership by members. However, the pace of change using this strategy is low. NGOs seek to fast-track the long savings and credit pathway for DROs to access finance by offering to co-finance investments associated with federation. However, mixing hot and cold money is challenging, and requiring DRO members to contribute financially is no panacea for problems of ownership.
