<![CDATA[One of the strategies to address the issue of poverty in rural areas is by empowering women. East Java provincial government, Indonesia, has allocated grants for women’s co-operatives in rural areas since 2015, in the same year of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) launch. This study describes the pattern of credit use in the women’s co-operative and its impact on low-income family livelihoods. The research was conducted at two women’s co-operatives in Plumpang District, Tuban Regency, Indonesia, from October 2017 to May 2018 using the qualitative approach. The data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and survey about the co-operative members’ credit use. This study found that the co-operative members used the loans for daily needs, tuition fees, agricultural activities, and non-farming economic activities. The co-operative has increased children’s participation in low-income family informal education and strengthens social capital among poor people in rural areas; however, the co-operative still cannot cut the chain between low-income families and moneylenders the village. Consequently, further development of co-operatives in terms of quality and quantity is necessary for achieving the SDGs.]]>
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