Message-ID: <199601051033.IAA05444@rjo04.embratel.net.br> Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 08:33:15 -0200 From: Joaquim Moura <mailto:poa-bsb@CR-DF.RNP.BR> Subject: Micro Credit in Brasilia - Update 01/96 To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Please, your comments and suggestions about our=20 experience in Santa Maria (a poor satellite city near Brasilia) are very welcome. More information=20 about the project's last year development - and=20 international micro credit issues - can be found=20 at our home page:=20 http://www.persocom.com.br/partnersCHANGING THE LENDING SYSTEM At the beginning, to get a loan the people should create a group (with 5-10 people), where if some one don't pay, the others shall cover his debt, if they want to lend again in the future. This is basically the international model created by=20 Grameen Bank. But we tried a change in this model: we asked the people in each group to work together - to use each one's credit in a same project. We thought that so the lenders would=20 have more capital to invest, some scale economy, training and monitoring facilities, and foster the=20 inter-personal relationships, leadership and=20 community organization. =20 =20 But - after four months with just one borrower group, we perceived that that demanding was too restrictive. We perceived that the people are afraid to become=20 partners in the same business they hardly know.=20 Remember that Santa Maria is very new (five years) and the population migrate from different Brazilian states (mainly from the Northeast).
So, since January 96, the people who create a group don't need to work together. Each one can use her/his loan in a personal/family business. Let's observe the consequence of this change over the loan demanding from the population.
INCREASING THE LOAN LIMIT At the start, the maximal amount was R$ 100 (a hundred "reais" =3D US$ 100). Since January this limit was increased to R$ 200. We Cooperative holds now R$ 20,000 to lend to the groups we hope will be formed soon. And every month this amount increases with more R$ 5,000 (please, read the complete project in our home page).
CHANGING THE CREDIT MEETING DAY Since the beginning, the weekly meetings were happening every Wednesday night (7 PM). We perceived that many women were afraid to go back her homes at 9 PM, through the dark streets of the settlement. So the meetings, from January on, will happen every Sunday, 3 PM. We also intend to include some training and motivational materials (mainly videos and discussions) about income generation activities, experiences, possibilities etc.
COOPERATIVE WILL MOVE TO A NEW HEADQUARTERS The Regional Administration of Santa Maria will soon destinate an area to the Cooperative. There the coop participants will build a big cabin where they will develop the administrative work and a lot of training activities. Some groups will work, learn and teach=20 there, and we hope that this headquarters-school will be very important to the project's development and community involvement. 1=BE