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Jean Fort and Linda Corey are leaders in Women's Empowerment (WE), a  group of San Diego women who are friends of Grameen de la Frontera.  Linda and Jean traveled with Marshall Saunders, Founder and President, Grameen de La Frontera (GDLF); and George Carter Jessop, friend and supporter of GDLF, to visit Grameen de La Frontera in the Huatabampo/Etchojoa region of southern Sonora.

This report begins with three stories: The Spirit of the Centers, Health Care: La Enfermera – The Nurse, and Marta, A Client-Borrower. The stories are followed by a kind of anatomy and physiology of GDLF which struck both of us as an organic, living, breathing, learning organization. This section includes descriptions of the region's geography; GDLF's group, center, and staff activities; the banking process; the women's businesses; children's education; homes, transportation, and land ownership; challenges and problems; and the names of the centers. Conclusions, thoughts, and suggestions constitute the final section of the report.

by Linda Corey

I was privileged to visit four Grameen de la Frontera Centers during the two days of our visit. Each was distinct in character and in its development as a functioning group, not only in its banking function, but also in its group process function, something that interests me. I believe some of the world's best work is done in small democratic groups and my reading about Grameen groups has done nothing to shake this confidence. My observations of Grameen de la Frontera further confirm my conviction.

Monday, January 3, 2005 8AM

In the branch office the first morning waiting to go out to the centers, Jean and I spot a list of center names and numbers on the bulletin board. We look up the ones we will visit. My first is "Mujeres en Accion," Women in Action, located about a half-hour's bumpy ride from the office in Huatabampo to the little village of Bocobampo.

When we arrive in the village, Jose the driver and bank promoter honks the horn to let the women know the bank has arrived and is ready for business. We pull up to a corner house where the hostess and center president greets us. The meeting is to take place on her very pleasant patio which has a good roof, something we appreciate in the gray drizzle. Jose sits down in a white plastic patio chair provided for him by the hostess and plops his record book and cash bag down on the little plastic patio table. He gets ready for business. Meanwhile from all around the village, I see women walking toward this corner in the rain, all carrying white plastic chairs, some held over their heads as a rainhat. In groups of two and three they gather, set their chairs down on the patio such that they sit with their small group members. As they arrive, they greet each member with the traditional "abrazo," a Mexican ritual hug, that is quite varied in its formality and intimacy depending on the situation. The abrazos initially given to me are light and formal. Each hug is accompanied by "Buenas diaz. Feliz ano." Very polite. Very affirming of each woman's presence at the meeting.

Jose calls the meeting to order and all together the women read the ten value decisions to which they have made a commitment. They are hesitant about this and some giggling goes on. Yet the decisions are useful affirmations and the women's voices become stronger by the end of the reading. Next, in their small groups of five, each leader collects the individual balance sheets and payments. This part of the meeting is serious and business-like as the women count their money, check their documents, and hand over the fruits of ther labor to their small group leader who then takes it to Jose for deposit. The Center president watches and confirms the count. I watch this, and suddenly right then I see it: this meeting this rainy morning on this pink patio on this corner of the village of Bocobampo in Sonora, Mexico, this is in fact a functioning bank for women. Que bueno!

From Ramona, a woman sitting next to me, I learn that Mujeres en Accion has been meeting for nearly four years and many of the women are eligible for their fourth loans. She herself runs a little clothing store and she will be asking for a $4000 peso loan to expand her business which has prospered and has allowed her to help her daughter's children pay school fees as well as keep food on the table and fix up her home.

As the meeting progresses, the women who aren't involved in the deposits chat and laugh and joke. They are in high spirits. All of them are able to make their payments today. Jose tells them why I am visiting. Because they are so successful and can now borrow larger amounts of money, the bank is seeking investors to help fund new loans. The San Diego group WE wants to raise money to invest in ther bank. When Jose translates WE: Women's Empowerment into Spanish, the women applaud. I add that we not only plan to invest in their bank, but we also wish to become friends. They applaud again. At this point I ask to take pictures and each group poses for the camera, hamming it up, and joking among themselves.

At the end of the hour long meeting, Jose congratulates them on their payment record and the success of their many businesses such as making and selling clothes, bread, tamales, tortillas, and raising animals such as chickens and chivas. The women all stand and close the meeting Grameen style by chanting in unison: Unidad! Disciplina! Trabajo duro! Es nuestra manera de vivir. They repeat this three times their voices gaining volume and strength. They can be heard all over the village. The energy is palpable.

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 11AM

In contrast to this first group visit is the last one. On Tuesday in even more rain and mud that clings to my shoes so that I appear to be walking around in moon boots, we arrive via the now very brown white Bronco at the tiny village of Jitunhueca (Hole in the Tree). We are to visit the Mujeres Mayas Center who just formed in October 2004. A new Center begins with 2 small groups of five. When those are functioning successfully, new groups will be added until the Center fills at six groups.

In spite of the mud, we are welcomed into the hostess' home which has a tile floor. None of us wants to set a muddy foot in there but she insists. She has patio chairs for each of us. Fernando, the promotor, sets up the bank at the table. Marshall introduces us to the hostess and as we chat, the women gather as I've come to expect they will. Eight of the ten show up. They are much quieter than the first group. They seem more anxious and shy with one another let alone with strangers whom they had no way of knowing would visit. They too are apologetic about the mud on their shoes. But the hostess urges them into the house. They greet each of us with a very formal abrazo, barely touching. They explain to Fernando that the Center president is ill and unable to attend. The women gather toward the back of the room, standing. They seem not to have brought chairs or maybe they did earlier and we visitors are sitting in them. Outside the open doorway, two or three potential new members, people on the "waiting list," gather to see what's going on.

The women go over their balance sheets, count the money, report to their leaders, and make their payments. After that, Fernando calls three women up to receive new loans. They count the money and then roll it up and stuff it in their pants pocket or in little bags worn around the neck. Fernando congratulates the women on their attendance, payment, and qualifying for loans.

Fernando then introduces Marshall whom these women are meeting for the first time. They regard him with respect and I'm thinking maybe a little fear or uncertainty about how they are viewed by us. Marshall begins to speak to them in Spanish. He welcomes them to Grameen. He explains to them that their small group is one of thousands and thousands of groups gathered all over the world. Groups of poor women just like them are meeting in rain and snow and sun on this day for the purpose of getting loans that will help them make a better life for them and their families. He tells them that they are now a part of this group and congratulates them on their decision to join together and their success to date. The energy in the little muddy room begins to rise. Eyes light up. There is quiet murmuring. Outside the door, the women on the "waiting list" gather closer to hear what Marshall is saying.

Next Marshall introduces Jean and me. He once again explains that he is seeking investors to create more loans for more people and our group is interested. When he adds that we also want to be friends, they nod and affirm that aspect. They look at Jean and me in a new way. There is a feeling of opening. I tell them in Spanish that I can see that their group is important to them and will become strong like the other groups I've visited. They stand straighter and nod. Jean asks them what business each is in. One by one they tell us of chivas and chickens, tamales and tortillas, sewing and mending. And, of course, hot dog stands on the weekends.

Talking business restores the women to themselves. They are proud and competent. They let loose and joke and chat with each other. They joke with Fernando about paying their loans. I drag out the camera and say "Me permiten sacar una foto?" One woman is hesitant because she feels she's not looking her best. Then we all point out how we all look from the rain, the mud, the chill. We are a mess. And it's not important. Marshall and Fernando join the women for a picture. Everyone has to squeeze in. There's much laughter as usual at Marshall because he is a very tall man in a land of short people.

At that, Marshall thanks them for their time and for welcoming us. He says he is impressed by what they are doing. I add, "Y estamos con ustedes." We are with you. The women come pouring toward us. They know we mean it because Jean and I are already there. We are standing in mud-covered shoes, interested, smiling, open. The farewell abrazos are warm and energetic. There is a lingering of the hands. The woman who didn't want her picture taken looks deep into my eyes as she holds my hand in both of hers. "Revuelte," she says. Come back.

To read this story in English, please click HERE

En Español, please click HERE

by Jean Fort

Marta, who appears to be in her 20's, is a bright, vivacious, short, slender woman with sparkling eyes and a broad smile. She was the most outgoing and talkative woman in the GDLF meeting of Ayuda Familiar (Family Assistance) Center meeting in Borabampo and was very interested in and supportive of the other women. Her center--one of the poorest--has four groups totalling 20 women.

Marta has a husband who appears nice and supportive. They have four children (ages from about two to eight), and she firmly states she will have no more children. She lives in a compound with her husband's parents. Her parents live a long way away, and she rarely sees them. Marta lives in a compound in a rural village of about 20 homes that is a 20-minute drive by car over muddy, pot-holed dirt roads from the nearest small town of Borabampo. Her compound has three attached houses: the first for Marta and her family, the second for her husband's parents, and the third for her husband's brother and his family. The homes are adobe with dirt floors, doorholes without doors, windows without panes, and roofs of branches, tarpaper, and other unidentified materials. We did not go inside the homes, but each appeared to have two small rooms. Washing of clothes and dishes is done outside on a brick-and-stone table about three feet square; the water comes from a thin rubber hose inserted in an undergroundpipe, which is connected to the village well about a block away. At least one of the three homes has electricity. The compound has many mature trees but no vegetable garden.

Marta has had five loans of 1,000 pesos (US$90) each for her two businesses: raising goats and selling groceries in a small store in her home. Recently she received a 4,000 peso (US$360) loan to expand her goat herd and her general store. With the loan, she purchased several young goats, and her herd now numbers 12, three of which looked to be 2-3 months old and one of which had just been born one hour before we arrived. The goats are kept in a circular pen; the pen's fencing is made with used items, such as mattress springs. The goats are let out 2-3 times a day for exercise. Marta does not sell milk or cheese from the goats but sells the goats when they reach maturity and uses the proceeds from the sale to support her family and purchase more goats and feed for the goats. Using 1,300 pesos from the larger loan, Marta also purchased a horse which she will use with a small wooden cart to travel to town to buy feed for the goats and the horse and supplies for her expanding store. Marta is a fine example of what one woman can do with access to a small loan.

by Jean Fort and Linda Corey

The GDLF project is in the far south of Sonora (which means "in the corn"), about 700 miles southeast of San Diego. The GDLF office is based in Huatabampo, a city of about 30,000 about 15 kilometers from the Sea of Cortes and 36 kilometers southwest of Navojoa, population 200,000. From 2000 to 20003, the GDLF project was based in Etchojoa, population 7,500, located between Huatabampo and Navojoa. The GDLF women's centers are in rural villages in the broader Etchojoa and Huatabampo region and to the west of Navojoa.

The area served by GDLF is in a large rich agricultural plain emanating from the Mayo River. There are great and beautiful mountain regions to the east. The agricultural plain is devoted mostly to large-scale mechanized commercial agriculture. Principal crops are wheat, tomatoes, beans, and potatoes. Most of the poor people of the region work in the fields.

The Mayo River is a broad river around which there were rich soils and the indigenous Mayo Indians lived. In the rainy season from July to October there had been frequent floods and lack of water for irrigation during the dry season. In the early 1950's, the Mexican federal government constructed a large dam at Mocuzari, 40 kilometers northeast of Navojoa. This dam made possible the irrigation and cultivation of 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of land, and water flows through canals throughout the region. The Mayo River in the Navojoa, Huatabampo, and Etchojoa region no longer has any water, which presents major problems for the poor people.

David Gutman in his book, Sonora: An Intimate Geography, 1996, says that today the Mayo Indians constitute only a tiny percentage of the population of the Mayo River region; however, the facial features of the majority of the women we saw appeared to be Indian. Gutman also says that Sonora's indigenous population, which includes Mayos, is under intense cultural and economic pressure. The Mayo language is rarely spoken.

A good map can be found at http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/sonora-state-mexico/sonora-state-mexico-map-d3.shtml

Each group has five women; they choose one to be a group leader.

Each center has two to eight groups.

Mature centers are expected to have six to eight groups.

A new center may have as few as two groups during its first stage of development.

Some of the established centers have only four to five groups, but the goal is to have at least six groups.

For a new group to be added to a center requires the approval of all current center members.

Each center has a president who is chosen from among the group leaders of the center.

The staff is composed of

Manager, Xochitl Rodriguez

Accountant, Victor

Nurse, Julia Morales

Promoters (Promotores and Promotoras) Fernando, Jose, Lilia, and Valentina, one vacant position – Promotores/as are responsible for coordinating and advising centers, groups, and individual borrower-clients, for developing new groups, for training borrower-clients, for holding up to 2 center meetings per day, and for liaison with the manager.

Intern, Elisonette, received a high school scholarship, which requires her to provide 4 months of part-time service to the office (all day Monday and afternoons Tuesday through Friday), to form two new groups, and to participate with a promotor/a in two center meetings on Mondays.

Loan data entry clerk, Reina

7:45 arrive at office, review centers to be visited, get any special instructions.

8:00 drive to first center meeting; the drive can take up to 45 minutes.

9:00-10:00 (or later) conduct a center meeting.

10:30 drive to second center meeting.

11:00-12:00 (or later) conduct a meeting of a second center.

1:00 arrive back at office, complete loan collection reports, & submit money collected and reports to accountant Victor; talk with manager and/or colleagues about issues and/or special problems.

2:00 (about) leave office for main meal of the day (la comida).

3:15 (about) discuss late afternoon's activities with manager & colleagues.

3:30 depart to visit the homes of individual borrowers who may be experiencing some problems to give them encouragement and advice. Alternatively, they may conduct a special training session for clusters of borrowers.

5:30 or 6:00 conclude work and depart for home.

GDLF has developed a list of criteria to determine who is eligible for loans, but we have not seen this list. Basically the rule is, the poorer the better. We are told the criteria include the condition of their house, annual family income, family size, the amount of land they own, and the educational levels of adult family members. For example, a woman living in a house with a dirt floor and grass roof would likely be poor enough to qualify for a loan.

Location – Usually out-of-doors in a shaded area which may or may not have a roof. The property may belong to one of the center members, be part of a public space, or be donated for the meeting by a non-borrower.

Seating – Borrowers typically arrive with their plastic or rough-wood chairs. A table and chair for the promotor/a are provided by the owner of the property. The borrowers sit in a semi-circle facing the promotor/a; each group of five borrowers sits together. A small percentage of borrowers will bring children under the age of five.

Preliminaries – Each person personally greets other individual participants with a warm smile, a brief embrace (touching of both shoulders), a handshake, and saying "Buenas Diaz. Feliz ano", or "Mucho gusto". Then they chat among themselves and wait for everyone to show up.

Roll Call – The Promotor/a calls, by group, the name of each borrower. The borrower responds "Presente". Occasionally, someone will respond that a borrower is sick. If the president or a group leader is not present or if too many people are not in attendance without an explanation, the Promotor/a will ask someone to try to find them.

Grameen de la Frontera Pledge – All stand and recite the Grameen de la Frontera pledge saying they are committed to Unity, Discipline, and Hard Work.  This is our way of life.

Loan Collection – The Promotor/a calls the leader of the first group to the table. The group leader presents to the Promotor/a for each group member in turn (1) a standard one-page financial sheet that records the woman's loan, repayments, and savings/loan guarantee funds and (2) the biweekly payment. The Promotor/a records the payment in the GDLF records and in the woman's financial sheet. If a woman is unable to make full payment, a discussion ensues and a solution is found: the repayment may be deducted from the savings/loan guarantee funds, or other members of the group may contribute to the loan repayment. When the loan payment is the final payment, the woman receives a sheet of paper saying the loan is paid in full and cash representing the balance in her savings or loan guarantee funds. When all loans are collected, the Promotor/a thanks and congratulates the women.

New Loan Disbursement – Paperwork for new loans is done at the Center meeting after the loan collection. The woman signs a promissory note, and the cash is disbursed.

Counting of the Money – The Center President and a group leader count the cash that has been collected that morning. The Promotor reconciles this with her/his records of the loan repayments that day.

Lessons – The Center President or Promotor/a may discuss a topic designed to encourage and support the women. Jean heard two talks: one on integrity and hard work and the need to do what you have agreed to do by an inspiring center president and one on the importance of cleanliness in everything by the intern Elisonette. Linda heard a talk on nutrition by Nurse Julia and the importance of not drinking soda and other high calorie, empty nutritional value substances.

Visitors – Jean and President Marshall Saunders attended four center meetings; Linda attended the last two meetings. Marshall introduced Linda and Jean. Marshall and Linda described WE, its support of GDLF, and its desire to work together, women with women, to overcome poverty. Linda and Jean asked questions about the women's businesses. When one group was asked if their lives had changed and, if so, how, they all agreed their lives had changed, they said they worked very hard and had more money. Only one meeting had time for Jean to ask the women if they had questions for us. The only question raised was: "Would more women from the United States be coming?" In all the groups Linda and Jean visited, the women responded very positively to the idea that women in San Diego were interested in investing in the bank and in becoming friends of the members.

Many of the women are taking out larger loans to expand their businesses. A woman going from a 1,000 peso loan to a 2,000 peso loan needs an additional US$90. A woman going from a 1,000 peso loan to a 4,000 peso loan needs an additional US$270.

In October 2004, about US$270,000 dollars was out in loans to 1,825 women; this is an average of about US$150 or 1,650 pesos per woman. The number of active women members is now close to 2,000. To enable all the women currently in the program to get a 1,000 peso increase in their loans requires an additional US$180,000. For their loans to increase by 2,000 pesos requires an additional US$360,000.

The following are examples of rough approximations of the size of loans that gifts of certain denominations can fund:

US$100 can increase one woman's loan from 1,000 to 2,000 pesos.

US$200 can fund two 1,000 peso loans.

US$600 can fund a 1,000 peso loan for six women

US$1,000 can increase ten women's loans from 1,000 to 2,000 pesos.

US$2,000 can increase ten women's loans from 2,000 to 4,000 pesos

90% of the operational costs in the last five months of 2004 were paid by the interest income.

100% of operational costs of 2005 are expected to be paid by interest income.

Most are carried out in the home.

All products and services are sold within the nearby rural community.

Selling of

*general-store grocery items (abarrotes); e.g., sugar, salt

*ready-made clothing (often second-hand); underwear, fabrics, bed linens, pajamas

*shoes

*soft drinks and chips (refrescos)

*hot dogs at weekend events

*school supplies

*Sewing and selling of clothing

*Embroidering

*Making and selling jewelry.

*Raising, breeding, and selling livestock. The most popular were goats (chivas) and sheep (borregos). Also, some pigs and cattle.

*Using a horse and cart to make deliveries to or pick up items from another village.

*Making tortillas, tamales, and sausages, and selling them both from their homes and by going around the village knocking on doors.

*Making cheese from cow's milk and next day taking the cheese to shops who will sell the cheese and then pay the woman on Saturdays.

*Growing and selling fruit.

*Making and selling fruit marmalades (e.g., mango, guava).

*Making and selling pinatas, flower arrangements, Christmas decorations.

*Repairing bicycles.

*Making and selling doors and windows.

Husbands who are supportive may help out with selling products and caring for (e.g., feeding and exercising) the animals in the evening.

School at all levels (except higher education) appear to be held for five hours per day.

Primary school through about age 11 is free and generally is within walking distance. Most, but not all, children attend.

Secondary school (about ages 11-13; our middle school) requires bus transportation with bus fees of 6 pesos per day, and book and supply fees. Large numbers attend, but it appears many youngsters do not go on to middle school primarily because the family lacks the funds.

High school (about ages 14-18) requires bus transportation with higher bus fees and higher book and supply fees. Most girls and many boys do not begin or complete this stage.

Many adults do not see or understand the importance of education.

GDLF's program of scholarships to 10 children of borrowers is an attempt to address this.

Sidenote: Many village girls marry at the age of 13 or 14. Their husbands are typically about 18.

Most of the women's homes are in rural villages with 20-50 homes. The homes typically have dirt floors, door openings which may or may not have a makeshift door, and windows with no panes. The roofs are typically made of a few thin logs used as beams covered with tar paper and any other scrap material they can find (e.g., plastic, tree branches). All homes have water, which comes through pipes in the ground (outside the home) from a village well. Most homes appear to have electricity from thin wires only 8-10 feet above the ground.

The women's homes are very far from towns where groceries and other supplies can be bought in shops. The families do not have motorized transportation. The standard mode of transportation is walking. A few families have a horse and small cart, and some have a beat-up bicycle.

The women and their families own five hectares (12.4 acres) or less. Most rent out the land they do not use for their homes and animals to large commercial growers. The rent is about 4,000 pesos (US$360) per year, which is a small fraction of its value.

Information was provided by Xochitl, Valentina, and Fernando.

1 Villa Tres Cruces (Village Name: Three Crosses)

2 San Juanita (Village Name)

3 Milenio 2000 (Millenium 2000)

4 La Laguna (The Lagoon)

5 Nueava Creacion (New Creation)

6 Nuevo Milenio (New Millenium)

7 Tres Cerritos (Three Little Hills) – Jean visited

8 Mujeres Activas (Active Women)

9 Mujeres En Pie De Lucha (Women on the Path of Struggle)

10 Chichinto

13 El Progresso (Progress)

14 La Esperanza (Hope)

15 Mujeres Por Un Mundo Mejor (Women for a Better World)

16 Reuvicacion

18 La Chuparrosa

98 Mujeres Soldarias (Women of Solidarity)

20 Mujeres Unidas en Trabajo (Women United in Work)

21 El Mezquital

22 Las Azucenas

23 Ayuda Familiar (Family Help) – Jean visited

24 La Bugambiha

26 La Ilusion (The Dream)

27 El Chalate

28 Sol Naciente (Sun Rise)

29 La Esperanza de un Nuevo Amancer (Hope of a New Dawn)

30 La Academia (The Academy)

31 Un Futuro Para Nuestros Ninos (A Future for Our Children)

32 Mujeres En Accion (Women in Action) – Linda visited

33 Solidaridad (Solidarity)

34 El Rodeo (The Roundup or The Long Way Round) – Linda visited

35 Mujeres Unidos (Women United)

36 Mujeres Campesinas al Trabajo (Country Women at Work)

37 Indigenas Progresando (Indigenous Peoples Progressing)

44 Manos Unidos (Hands United)

59 Los Abijitos

60 Mujeres con Vision (Women with Vision)

by Linda Corey and Jean Fort

The banking operation exists as Marshall described it to us.

The accounting for the bank is sound and "transparent."

Xochitl is a strong leader and seems capable of developing leadership capacity in others.

The staff is bright and hard-working and functions well as a team in challenging circumstances.

Operating costs are reasonable and necessary. The operating budget is money well-spent.

The office is a small house in town where the staff except for the accountant spends very little time. The Bronco is in need of repairs. The staff could use more than one vehicle to get around the countryside. In short, the staff makes the most of very little in the way of material goods.

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