After six months of hard work and determination, the credit & savings cooperative of Torti Abajo, Panama finally began operations in November 2011; opening their doors to the community of approximately 350 people. Where once people had little access to lending or deposit services, now a new beacon of hope shines bright offering a method to improve the economic situation of all those excluded from the formal financial system. What was initiated back in May 2011 has become fully realized with the help of Business Brigades. In addition to providing an access point to basic lending and deposit services to an informal sector that was once excluded, Business Brigades have helped to provide business administrative knowledge and financial literacy education to the community of Torti Abajo. To date, five loans have been distributed through the cooperative with the financial support of CIF (Community Investment Fund) grants from every volunteer.
Photos: Left (GB Technician Carlos Moreno delivers the first CIF investment grant to the board of directors of the Torti Abajo cooperative), Right (First loan recipient, Demetrio Rodriguez, standing in front of him chicken business), Right (Treasurer of the cooperative, Irina Mariscal, accepts the GB grant funds)
Below is a picture of the first Business Brigades loan distributed. Demetrio Rodriguez took out a loan of 600 dollars to open a chicken coop where he raises 200 chickens. Through the sale of his chickens he will substantially increase his family’s income up to three times what he was previously earning from basic agricultural labor.
The community credit and savings cooperative, called Campesinos Unidos al Progreso (United Farmers for Progress), is not just about providing loans or opening savings accounts. For the people of Torti Abajo it represents development. It represents a step in the right direction towards a better future for themselves and their children. Though Global Brigades helped to turn the idea of a cooperative into a reality for Torti Abajo every member of the cooperative will tell you that it is an institution of the people for the people.
Global Brigades likes to use words like “empowered” quite a lot to describe the type of impact that is created, which is a hard concept to visualize or even quantify, but if you visit the community of Torti Abajo and any of the members involved in the cooperative it will become clear what empowerment truly represents.
