Because I believe that a better world is possible

 

Replace charity by funding women entrepreneurs to empower them

Against economic and social exclusion ....

Is a good substitute charity for funding microcredit to women, so it helps them yeconomico personal development, and to have higher self-esteem.

This has to take into account the microcredits:

-No need to ask or endorsement nor guarantees.

-Microcredit must reach people who really need it, and most vulnerable people.

-It must have social responsibility.

-Should promote sustainable development.

An innovative social project with Maasai women!!

Hello everyone!
Seeking social innovations found a project that made the Spanish brand Pikolinos, which consisted in supporting the Maasai of Kenya, women artisans in Africa, and thus address their empowerment without neglecting their culture.
It is also important that the sale of hand-embroidered sandals is made ​​by adult women, because they are not children allowed to work.

The company Pikolinos said of the social project: "It is possible to help communities who are at risk, such as the Maasai tribe, or who are in a situation of poverty, not writing checks or signing aid money but providing tools for themselves they can look for better future and improve their living conditions "

A beautiful testimony of a person who visited the Maasai people....

"The silence in the savannah, the grandeur of space, the Mara river, wild animals, warriors or the smiles of the Maasai are some things you never forget when you visit the Maasai Mara."

A good reflection...

For a Maasai are the most important values ​​have good heart, respect nature and take care of your community; values ​​in the Western world often go unnoticed.



Most Maasai women are working with the project Pikolinos have needs like clean water, medicine, or financial means to finance the education of their children. Now, with this initiative and thanks to the stable wages received from Pikolinos, these needs are becoming a reality, we can all contribute to this project and more than a thousand families Maasai continue to have reason to smile, keep building among all other world.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4szWfifDSc

microcredit: hope for the future (by antonella sinopoli)

Hello again!
I would like to share with you a very interesting video that I found.
This is the microcredit and hopes for the future that can be achieved with them.

I hope you enjoy it!

A controversial social innovation ...

I found a social innovation that at first seemed wonderful, but when I started to compare information from different perspectives and it let me down.

"The concept for Muzungu Sisters was born in 2009, when founders and friends, Dana Alikhani and Tatiana Santo Domingo, were living in New York.  Dana, finishing a master’s degree in human rights at Columbia University, wanted to create an online retail portal that would promote fair labour practices by showcasing artisan-crafted goods from around the world.

Tatiana, with a refined eye for style and a keen interest in travel, had been thinking of curating a website that would feature carefully sourced items discovered during her adventures abroad. By merging their ideas and passions, Dana and Tatiana created the revolutionary concept of providing the global online retail market with exclusive products handcrafted by local artisans from diverse cultures. In promoting the products featured on Muzungu Sisters, Dana and Tatiana hope to shine a light on the rare artistry found in various communities, and to stimulate those local economies, all while providing customers with timeless, hand-selected items of impeccable quality and style" (Web Muzungu Sisters)

Here you have a digital newspaper article "The Reason" I think for yourselves ..

Muzungu Sisters , signature of " ethical fashion " in the Salamanca district of Madrid to sell the latest news from the multicultural collection. Moroccan Tunics, Peruvian ponchos, chilabas , Argentine gaucho pants , Sicilian straw baskets , moccasins made ​​of poor hands ... around the world ending in other wealthier , mainly from the European jet -set products . And is that exclusive brand prices are not available to everyone , are high enough to be considered high-end . Muzungu 's excuse : "This is unique handmade items obtained through fair trade ." A term together with the " ethical fashion " dress well ahead of the public but requires an added social responsibility : ensuring that farmers receive a living wage and the production methods are well. Values ​​Santo Domingo and her partner seem to dominate perfectly. So , during your stay in the Spanish capital, boasted of their business as if it were an ONG and tenderize customers with magical stories about communities in poor countries artisan made ​​their "unique" pieces. However, his passion for fair trade contrasts with the little role that grant actually communities that performed: no trace of the name of the cooperative or its website , as it typically perform the importers and distributors of fair trade . Apparently , not listed in the database of FairTrade , although this does not mean they do not care from which they are being cooperative , " It is rare that they do not want to be labeled if they work with producers of the organization. Normally this information is to make known , "says a REASON Marta Guijarro , Communications of the State Coordinator of Fair Trade . Furthermore, " FairTrade " Spain explains that "initiatives like this do not have external verification , not subject to audits, while what is fair trade aims to ensure transparency and traceability ."

 Be fair or not your way of sale, the price cut you hippie -chic hiccups, even several distributors of Fair Trade label in our country show their surprise at knowing the numbers . For example : a necklace costs 127 euros , 637, a sweater ; 284 , bag ... "a final price is not advised , but the artisan craftsmanship is no justification for it to be high ," says Pebble, but do not doubt the good intentions of the brand. Yes, according to Dana : " We donate 10% of profits to ONG's we work with and made ​​sure that money deque can live with dignity ." This percentage is also far from that usually offered , 17% , according to the State Coordinator of Fair Trade . It seems that far from being two little sisters of charity, solidarity despite their good actions, young people are eager to take when accounts. The price of the products in a distribution of this business model is between 10 and 70 euros. Is clear : it business is business. "It is a business, not charity ," declared a member of Santo Domingo in Madrid store their ephemeral .

Read more: The business of being ' posh hippie ' - Digital Diari http://www.larazon.es/detalle_hemeroteca/noticias/LA_RAZON_500796/9240

Empowering Women Through Microfinance in India

The government’s efforts to create micro credit institutions geared towards women are too important to dismiss.

By James Parker

March 13, 2013

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The Indian subcontinent was the first place where modern microfinance, at the time called “micro credit,” really became a phenomenon.  Whilst small scale lending has been going on for centuries, it was in the 1970s that Muhammad Yunus began to put together ideas which eventually led to the Grameen Bank being established in Bangladesh.  The Bank, which provided small loans to extremely poor group borrowers, has been marked out by its success (leading eventually to it being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, and by the fact that the vast majority of its borrowers (who are also its shareholders) are women.

Hence when India’s finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, announced his budget on the last day of February, one particular item stood out for those familiar with microcredit; that was the nearly $185 million appropriated to establish a small public bank for the poor run by and for women.

Some commentators have suggested that the move is entirely political, aimed at wooing women voters following the recent news coverage of the appalling crimes committed against women in the country.  These suspicions were driven in part by the fact that Minister Chidambaram also announced new funding for women’s safety that was named after one of the recent rape victims.

Furthermore, India already has several institutions which perform a similar task to the one described by Chidambaram.  The Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank is a rural cooperative bank specializing in microfinance loans to women.  Others, such as the MahilaSewa (Self-employed Women’s Association) Cooperative bank, perform similar functions.  Some have argued that such co-op banks are more effective than public banks in performing such a role (lending to women, alleviating extreme poverty.)

Yet microcredit and microfinance are much more significant than mere vote-pandering.  It is a mistake to dismiss as political posturing, any serious attempt by a government to tackle the extreme urban-rural, and indeed gender based inequality. Across the globe, but especially in Asia, and particularly in areas where rural population density is relatively high, microfinance can be an extremely effective poverty reduction tool. Microfinance enterprises can also potentially be very profitable undertakings as excess urban capital is redirected to credit starved rural areas. Although traditional bankers who have become accustomed to talking millions or billions might doubt the impact a few hundred dollars can have, but the “bottom billion” effect makes this area one with huge potential.

For really small scale microcredit to work, some of the traditional tools of finance, such as credit history checks and requirements for collateral, have to be discarded. This naturally makes many bankers weary, and yet there are cases such as those highlighted above where genuine benefits can be achieved without the system collapsing into “charity disguised as something else.” Problems with credit history for example, (in the case of Grameen Bank), were dealt with by the institution adopting a “group lending” approach, capitalizing on the close sense of community in small rural villages.

Hence whilst it may not be guaranteed that Finance Minister Chidambaram’s suggested institution will become a success and other microcredit ventures have hit difficulties, it is wrong to dismiss the attempt as a political maneuver.  In a country like India, where vast portions of the population remain trapped in rural poverty, the government should at least be trying innovative ideas to alleviate the situation.

Modern microcredit is a relatively new phenomenon and as such some growing pains should be expected. Still,this budding industry’s potential is too great for it be criticized or discarded so easily.

Empowerment of women through the microcredit...

After more than three decades of work in the field of microcredit seems clear that facilitate women's access to financial resources is a valuable opportunity to contribute to their empowerment. Although it is considered that the empowerment of women is a key factor of development, yet it seems clear to what extent microfinance promote it. On the one hand, women are considered as the main target of such actions, as part of the poorest and most vulnerable group of humanity; and secondly, the emphasis is on investment in capacities of women as a means of empowerment, which in turn contributes to higher economic growth and development.

Image Credit: Flickr - Creative Commons License (mckaysavage)