On a humid afternoon in Pohnpei, a group of community members and high-level officials including senators and mayors convene to celebrate the launch of the first savings clubs shareout in Pohnpei. Members greet each other with laughter, notebooks in hand, ready to demonstrate how to tally the week’s savings. This is the Lien Deidei Savings Club — one of 14 community savings groups now thriving across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), a remote island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. Rising sea levels, intensifying cyclones and typhoons, and decreasing fish stocks threaten the livelihoods of coastal communities and the ecosystems they rely on across FSM’s 600+ islands. As the climate crisis intensifies, fishers and their households urgently need to build financial resilience to withstand climate shocks.
Through Rare’s sustainable fisheries and innovative finance programs, local leaders are gaining the financial stability, social capital, and environmental awareness needed to manage climate risks and invest in long-term, nature-based solutions. Since forming its first savings club in the FSM in 2023, Rare has helped communities in Pohnpei implement 14 active savings clubs, uniting over 250 members who have collectively saved nearly $76,000 USD. These clubs aren’t only building individual financial security — they’re reinforcing community bonds, strengthening environmental stewardship, and supporting local leadership.
From individual saving to environmental stewardship
Every deposit made in these clubs tells a story — of a fisher setting aside money for a child’s education, a mother preparing for the next typhoon, or a family rebuilding their home after a storm. Members learn how to budget, save, and manage small loans — skills that ripple far beyond their ledgers.
Coastal climate resilience starts with healthy ecosystems and strong local livelihoods. Through savings clubs, Rare helps individuals strengthen their financial knowledge to invest in the natural resources they depend on. Saving clubs in the FSM teach members how to better manage household finances and build emergency funds for unpredictable challenges like repairing homes after storms, replacing broken fishing gear, and purchasing medicine when illness strikes.
Collectively, the clubs are sparking environmental action and sustainable behavior change to benefit marine ecosystems. In 2025, three savings clubs launched environmental grassroots campaigns, including sea cucumber farming, tree planting, and reducing single-use plastics. Three additional clubs used their social fund to support ongoing community-based environmental initiatives, such as patrolling marine protected areas and maintaining sponge farms. These shared efforts deepened trust, strengthened social cohesion, and created a ripple effect of leadership across island communities.
“Through Rare, we learned how to lead a behavior change campaign that truly makes a difference,” said Juleen Pablo, a Lien Onohnloang Savings Club member supporting the plastic management campaign in Pohnpei state. “Rare empowered us with the tools and the confidence to protect our environment and inspire others to do the same.”
Laying the groundwork for financially resilient coastal communities
With momentum growing in the upcoming year, Rare and its partners in the FSM are continuing to support the formation of new clubs, strengthen existing ones, and connect them to broader financial opportunities.
To date, Rare has supported 960+ savings clubs with 22,000+ members saving $8,240,357 across 8 countries. By providing access to savings, loans, and entrepreneurial training, savings clubs are helping coastal communities diversify income streams, manage shocks like extreme weather, and invest in sustainable practices for a more climate-resilient future.