Professor teaches finance to Ethiopian women
“If women ruled the world, it would be a much better place,” said Layne Coppock, associate professor in USU’s department of environment and society.
One of Coppock’s studies was recently published Dec. 9 in the journal Science.
Coppock, who was principal investigator for the Pastoral Risk Management Project (PARIMA) lived and worked on the project in Ethiopia from 1985 to 1991. When came to USU, he continued his work in the third-world country. Coppock and his colleagues started PARIMA to help primarily female Ethiopian pastoralists and their herds endure drought.
Though he does not have a business or financial background, the unique loan project has affected at least 15,000 people and will continue to grow.
“The research we did was not the traditional academic work,” Coppock said. “This was an example of knowing that a society has a problem and letting yourself go in the direction you need to go to solve that problem.”
In research, he said, one should not adhere to one specific discipline or approach but head in a direction that will lead them forward.
“It’s a very flexible, different approach,” he said.
In countries like Ethiopia, where herding is a primary vocation, when droughts occur, poverty increases rapidly, he said.
Those who herd make an income from milk and wool, using their herd as a savings account to sell later for profit. When the droughts come, many people want to move somewhere with more grass, but with a large population, there is less space, Coppock said.
“If you have most of your assets as animals, and you lose half of your animals, and then it happens again and again,” he said. “If people are anticipating those droughts, they could sell the (animals) early and save.”
Coppock said these liquidated assets would provide a nest egg for the pastoralists, who could then create small businesses.
“It’s a life-changing experience,” he said, adding that visiting countries where poverty is rampant can be rewarding and humbling.
The fact that women so readily stepped forward in such a male-dominated society, he said, was one of the most surprising and humbling parts of the project.
“If you can improve the financial situation with money for women, the money is used in more productive ways than if used by their husbands,” he said. “Women save more, they put their kids in school and make wise investments.”
Health, sense of community and marital relationships improved following the growth of these small businesses, he said.
Coppock said the way the Ethiopian women saw themselves changed. Many men and women in such countries face the spiritually devastating reality that they have no future, he said.
“You start saving and realize the world doesn’t have to be that way,” he said.
Coppock said students interested in similar opportunities should seek out study abroad and service opportunities in underdeveloped countries.
“There are also humanitarian organizations who offer internships,” he said. “They hire more and more people who have skill sets and research outreach.”
– natasha.bodily@aggiemail.usu.edu