[Dialogue] microentrepreneurship

[Karl Hess]

Good to hear of the others who are using this method.   In 1987 I ran  
across the Hunger Project.  They had a TV broadcast in which the then  
current head of the UNDP said they had been working on ending hunger  
for 10 years with no idea how to do it.  He said (remember this is  
1987)  now we know - it is called development and what works is the  
following.  He then read off the 10 characteristics of successful  
rural development we had come up with in Delhi in the IERD (but did  
not give credit to where he got it).

Through some ups and downs in the next 10 years, they really got their  
act together and today are doing a brilliant job in about 8 countries  
in Africa, India, Bangladesh, and several Andean countries in South  
America.  I'm most familiar with the program in the African  
countries.  Cutting to the chase (I can give more detail if anyone  
wants it) in 5 years after they start working with a cluster of  
villages, there is basically no hunger, a cluster food storage  
providing security for the cluster, a health center with a resident  
nurse, and starting with the microenterprise program, always run by  
women, funded by the Hunger Project, there has developed a cadre which  
can (generally) qualify for bank status in their country.  These women  
who run the bank, pass all the tests, etc, were illiterate at the  
start of the program.  They have started microenterprise programs for  
men but I haven't heard any reports about how that works.

The ICA always said that you need comprehensive village development  
and the Hunger Project is doing it in thousands of villages in  
Africa.  Microenterprise by itself has a lot of problems.

Karl

On Jul 9, 2009, at 10:58 AM, Don Elliott wrote:

> Tatwa Timsina, ICA Nepal, has had great success with organizing self- 
> funded microenterprise grouips.
>
> Don Elliott
> 9400 E Iliff Ave #361
> Denver, CO 80231
> 303 695 4688 (H), 303 378 9175 (C)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marge Philbrook <msphilbrook at gmail.com>
> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue at wedgeblade.net>
> Sent: Thu, Jul 9, 2009 8:24 am
> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] microentrepreneurship
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 7:13 AM, James Wiegel <jfwiegel at yahoo.com>  
> wrote:
> Picking our brains about ICA's / ToP microenterprise experiences  
> over the past 40 years?
>
> Cheryl Zaleski is looking for concrete examples to use for a  
> microcredit program.
>
> Nothing much is coming to my mind.
>
> There is a fellow in Denver (Bob Samples) who has been connected and  
> works with small loans, a couple in  Fort Collins (retired I think)  
> who reworked ICA's old wisdom on community development for an  
> organization called Village Earth (villageearth.org) that included  
> microenterprise.  Jim Troxel did a series of economic development  
> forums in Chicago neighborhoods,   The Oyler's through the Jacobs  
> Foundation did strategic planning for a microcredit organization  
> based in New Mexico.
>
> I am sending this around to see who else may know of experiences.
>
> Jim
>
> SLEEP was a marvelous invention,
> but whoever first thought of filling it
> with DREAMS was truly inspired. -- Ashleigh Brilliant
>
> Jim Wiegel
> 401 North Beverly Way
> Tolleson, Arizona 85353-2401
> +1 623-936-8671
> +1 623-363-3277
> jfwiegel at yahoo.com
> www.partnersinparticipation.com
>
> --- On Tue, 7/7/09, Cheryl Zaleski <czaleski at ica-usa.org> wrote:
>
> From: Cheryl Zaleski <czaleski at ica-usa.org>
> Subject: microentrepreneurship
> To: "jfwiegel at yahoo.com" <jfwiegel at yahoo.com>
> Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 11:03 AM
>
> Hi, Jim-
>
> Would you be available some time this week so that I can pick your  
> brain about ICA's microenterprise experiences over the past 40  
> years? I'm looking for concrete examples to use for the microcredit  
> program.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Cheryl
>
>
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