Located in the city of Birgunj, this project targeted members of the Eakta Mahila Women’s Cooperative. It was fully financed by revolved funds from previous Lumanti projects, which is a great example of how housing finance can be used cyclically to have greater impact. The cooperative was lent funds by Lumanti, who in turn lent to individual member households to finance housing construction. Additional technical assistance and community support work was also provided.

As Lumanti’s first project in Birgunj City, which is located on the Indian border, this pilot scheme was able to demonstrate how a people-driven approach can lead to the sustainable delivery of affordable housing. The clients previously lived in housing which caused multiple threats to their health and security and often lacked access to basic services such as water. Each household was able to use their loan to construct a safe, permanent house fully serviced with electricity, household water and sanitation. Upon repaying their loan to the cooperative, the funds were then revolved again by Lumanti to support new housing projects throughout Nepal.