Credible Future - Can Micro Loans Make a Macro Difference?

DR CONGO: Small-scale Farmers Say They Just Need Land

The more than 800 small-scale farmers belonging to co-operatives around the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) capital, Kinshasa, could produce enough rice and vegetables for the capital's estimated eight million inhabitants, according to the country's agriculture ministry.

Street vendors hawking their wares in Lima. Credit: Courtesy of the Community Development Association

PERU: Women Workers Forced into Informal Economy

In Peru, 51 percent of all jobs are generated by the informal economy, a sector that has a female face, as more than 60 percent of the women workers in the country are forced into informality, with only 15 percent having health coverage and a mere four percent enjoying retirement benefits.

INDIA: Towards an AIDS-Free Society, But at What Price?

As the global community observes World AIDS Day today, India is caught in a rancorous debate about a government scheme which mandates that all pregnant women in the country be tested for HIV so that its 1.2 billion people can have "an AIDS-free generation".

AFRICA: ‘Pick Up Your Money With Your Groceries’

Of the many proposals on how to combat poverty in Africa, the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is championing what must be one of the simplest - make it cheaper and easier for migrants to send money home.

RIGHTS: Women Still Sidelined in Economic Decision-Making

Gender equality contributes to economic growth, but economic growth does not always contribute to gender equality, says the United Nations World Survey on the Role of Women in Development launched Tuesday, a message well timed in the context of the current financial crisis.

Sawmill in indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán, Mexico.  Credit: Courtesy of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro

MEXICO: Indigenous Enterprises Unite

Mexico is about to become the first Latin American country with an indigenous chamber of business, dedicated to promoting and representing more than one million micro and small enterprises that are on the frontline in the fight against poverty.

Teófila Anchahua caring for her guinea pigs. Credit: Julio Angulo/IPS

PERU: Guinea Pigs Spell Independence for Women

In a rural village in the Peruvian Andes, very near yet so far from the popular tourist destination of Cuzco, the guinea pig, a rodent native to the region, has become "woman’s best friend" – an important means for women to earn money to support their families, as well as to learn how to defend their rights.

Eduarda Román at her house, next to a mural of Tacarigua lagoon.   Credit: Humberto Márquez/IPS

VENEZUELA: Women Recycle for Income and Environment

The women of this town in northern Venezuela no longer say "garbage" but rather "secondary raw material," and instead of referring to recycling, they talk about "separation at point of origin."

MAURITANIA: First Steps for Women's Cooperatives

In December 2008, a group of young women staged a protest against the common practice of fattening women before marriage, intended to make them more attractive in the eyes of men. The protest did not immediately result in the end of the practice, but it was a landmark event showing a new assertiveness among Mauritanian women in a society where men use tradition and sharia law to maintain their dominance.

Harvesting cacao in Remolino. Credit: Courtesy of Rodrigo Velaidez/Chocaguán

COLOMBIA: The Farmers Who Abandoned Coca for Cocoa

Chocaguán Amazónico, a small peasant-run alternative crop company that emerged in the midst of Colombia's cocaine boom and civil war, will celebrate its 15th birthday in September.

Artisans at work. Credit: Maritza Asencios/IPS

PERU: Microbusiness Helps Women Weather Crisis

Microenterprise is an escape valve for social tension at times of crisis, and microbusinesses do a better job of weathering the storm than bigger companies because they are used to overcoming difficulties – a positive effect that is further multiplied when it involves women.

"Prosumers" at the barter club in the Chacarita neighbourhood of Buenos Aires Credit: Gabriela Cerioli/IPS

ARGENTINA: Bartering – Here to Stay?

In May, the bartering system will celebrate 14 years of new life in Argentina. After a peak in this form of trade following the country's late 2001 economic collapse, today it has a lower profile, though it involves tens of thousands of people around the country. But despite its survival, economists question its long-term viability.

Grameen Bank

Q&A: ‘Meltdown Not the Only Crisis in the World’

Muhammad Yunus, who claimed the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize founding Grameen Bank, which has lent out more than six billion dollars to mostly poor women, says the global recession presents a historical opportunity for change.

ECONOMY: Microlenders and Swazi Government: Untidy Divorce

When the Swazi government announced that it would no longer deduct loan repayments from the salaries of civil servants on behalf of microlenders, the sector was thrown into chaos.

CUBA: Women Farmers Bring Innovation to the Mountains

When Odaly Aroche set out from the mountains of Topes de Collantes in central Cuba to see what other women farmers were doing in San Andrés, 380 km west of her home, her neighbours told her she was crazy. But that didn’t stop her.

SWAZILAND: Fighting Gender Violence With Financial Freedom

When a Swazi women's rights organisation noticed that many women continue to stay in violent relationships because they are financially dependent on their abusive partners, they knew something had to change. They started self-help groups that assist women in breaking away from gender-based violence (GBV) by gaining financial muscle.

 Credit: Courtesy of Fundación Proteger

ARGENTINA: Guardians of the River

"There is no water...there are no fish," says Olga Ledesma, her skin weathered from 40 years of small-scale fishing, as the boat slowly winds its way along a branch of the Paraná river, South America’s second-longest river.

Backyards are handy for weekly accounting sessions by neighbourhood groups.  Credit: K.S. Harikrishnan/IPS

INDIA: Empowering Women is About Basic Funding

Kudumbasree (Family Prosperity) is India’s one success story in getting down to the job of helping poor women take care of their own basic needs - from health care and housing to self-employment.

Juçara palm farmers. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

BRAZIL: Market Access – Key to Autonomy for Rural Black Community

From the 16th century onward, the densely forested, mountainous terrain of the Ribeira River Valley made it an ideal area for runaway slaves to establish settlements of their own, known in Brazil as "quilombos". But the geographical isolation that once offered refuge has now become an obstacle to the development of these Afro-Brazilian communities.

Producing designer clothing. Credit: La Juanita

LATIN AMERICA: Ingenuity at the Service of Sustainable Business

A company will extract silver from the same contaminants it proposes to clean up; a cooperative of the formerly unemployed will export designer clothing; some small farmers are planting new varieties of manioc that double the yield with fewer agro-toxins; others are linking agriculture in the Amazon with protection of the forest.

LABOUR-BOLIVIA: Infusing Business with Youth, Innovation

Cotillones El Sol organises parties in Tarija, in southern Bolivia. Nancy Martínez, the 23-year-old manager and owner of the six-month-old company, already employs several other young women.

« Previous PageNext Page »


project369