Last October we began sending monthly universal basic income (UBI) payments to 95 people living in a rural village in Western Kenya.

While people in 200 villages will eventually receive cash transfers as part of our test of a UBI, we wanted to begin with a one-village pilot. Doing so allows us to test and resolve a number of operational questions we had, as well as to have more in depth conversations with UBI recipients than would be feasible during the full study.



Below we summarize participants’ responses to surveys collected as part of our call center-based follow-up process, as well as small focus group conversations we conducted. We’ve picked out quotes to highlight some of the key themes, but you can read the raw responses to all questions here. You can also read the reflections of an independent journalist, Annie Lowrey of the New York Times Magazine, who visited the village.

What it’s like to receive a basic income

Basic income tackles poverty directly: before we began the payments, many people in the village were living on less than $0.75 a day; afterwards, no one was. For 45% of the village’s residents, the first month’s basic income payment was the largest amount of money they’d ever had. 60% of recipients had never had more than two month’s worth of payments at one time.

We asked basic income recipients to describe the biggest difference the money has made in their daily lives. Below is some of what they had to say:

“I can have 3 meals in a day.” Dorcus, 87.

“I have been able to add capital to my business and increase the stock. This has increased my sales and improved my profits.” Irene, 23.

“I will be getting transfers that will enable me to pay medical bills for my condition and also buy other things. Since I went for check up after receiving the transfer, my health situation has improved and I am able to go about my business without much stress.” Grace, 68.

Asked how the basic income affects how people interact with their spouses and family they said:

“The burden of catering for all household expenses has been taken off from just one person and we are happy that everyone contributes in the family” Alice, 73 .

“My son now is less stressed about me going hungry because I will get money to buy food in case he fails to send me money.” Dorcus, 87.

“Receiving money from GiveDirectly has changed my interaction especially with my spouse because we can sit down discuss how we will use the money unlike before where at times I could come home with no money from the casual jobs hence nothing to discuss.” Denis, 36.

How did the basic income get spent?

Cash transfers enable recipients to use the money to meet a diverse set of needs and desires. That point is clear when we see how the residents of our basic income program spent their first transfers:

“I spent the entire transfer received from GiveDirectly to purchase a fishing net and a floater.” Erick, 40.

“I spent the money received from GiveDirectly to buy clean water, food, soap, and used most of the amount to pay school fees.” Fredrick, 70.

“I spent most of the money I received from GiveDirectly on buying a goat since I want to buy livestock. I also bought food for my household.” Patrick, 38.

“I spent the money received from GiveDirectly to purchase food and kept most of the transfer as savings.” Milka, 44.

About 81% of respondents planned to save some of the funds to use later. Of those saving, most plan to use something called “table banking,” creating a group with other recipients where members will contribute a portion of their regular transfer and one member will receive the full sum each month. Focus group respondents estimated that residents have started three of these groups so far. About 40% plan to save through their mobile money M-Pesa accounts or through M-Shwari, an interest-earning mobile bank account connected to M-Pesa.

The people who chose not to save right now had pretty understandable reasons for doing so. They wanted to buy things to meet needs or plans that were important immediately. Here’s what one woman said in the women’s focus group:

“I have not started because that is the only money that I receive. So I get when I lack a lot of things. So when I receive I go straight away to the market to buy the things that I do not have. I then buy the things that I lack. So, I will be truthful. That is the reason why I have not started saving. I desire to save like the rest, but the money is little and sometimes I have debts and I need many things.”

For the people who are focused on saving, their savings and plans are as varied as the spending they’ve already carried out:

“I am planning to make a new and proper greenhouse. I have some that I have constructed using polythene but the wind is too much and destroys them. So I want one made of metals and covered with nets. We have so much wind from the lake that destroys the ones that I currently have. So I want to construct a better one.” Respondent in women’s focus group explaining her investment plan.

“I want to pay school fees for my child who is to join secondary school in 2018.” David, 40.

“I want to repair the house that my children spend their nights in, since it is leaking and has dilapidated walls.” Jane, 52.

“What we would wish to see is to have everyone owning something that they look up to. In this case we are targeting that everyone in the group will be owning a cow.” Respondent in women’s focus group explaining what they intend to do in the future with the savings in their group.

We wondered whether community members would put portions of their transfers towards shared projects like building a well or improving the roads. When we first explained the program, one of the community leaders suggested this at the village meeting, and it’s obviously on people’s minds, but we haven’t yet seen any large projects launched as a result.