When you need to buy or pay something and it's not enough with the money each has, there's more than one option. That's right, most of them are unpleasant. Borrowing from a bank can be an option, but not a few are frightened by it. Another, ask your friend or relative. But there's a third path: that of organization. So, self-funded communities are born, and they've found mutual loan formulas. A group of women from Penedès (Catalan Countries) has been working and learning this path for six years. Several members explained their project at the Feminist Economy Forum organized by Bilgune Feminista.

Women's protection network

They were launched in 2011, when there were still four people on the street. “We came from feminism, and we saw that the economy was the topic we least dominated, that we had neither knowledge nor custom to dedicate ourselves to it. That’s why it’s been a special challenge to get closer to a topic that was very far away from us.” Along these lines, they have been supported by the Association of Self-Financed Communities (ACAF), the Association of Self-Financed Communities.

They have heard of these kinds of groups and have departed from the usual methodology of these self-financed communities (IMPLIES). They have taken what they have learned from there and adapted it to their dimensions and needs. In any case, it is the only self-financing community in the Spanish State that consists exclusively of women. “We are a network of women that we support each other and from the very beginning we were clear that it had to be like this.”

The group’s first loan was EUR 30, but they have already accumulated a capital of around EUR 3,000. There has also been an increase in the number of members, of whom four have begun to be part, now thirteen, of varying origin and status. They have gradually shaped the project with what they have learned in these six years, learning and changing their needs, adapting their rules and functioning.

A dirty but different bank

As for what they are, they say that they are, after all, “a dirty bank”, with their interests, loans and rules. That, at least, puts at the service of all its members the benefits they derive from the interests. How? Meet once a month and collectively make all decisions. Furthermore, they have decided to withdraw the votes. They always try to reach a consensus.

The way it works is easier than it seems: in the monthly meeting each member decides what contribution they want to make: some 10, others 30, others 30, none… Little by little they inflate the bag among all to then be able to leave it when someone needs a loan. In this case, each member may request up to four times the amount allocated. Within twelve months, it returns with 1% interest.

Trust is the guarantee

The role of trust is also something that differentiates them from other banking models. The loan applicant does not need guarantees and, in addition, does not have mechanisms to penalise delays. However, this has not created any problems for them. They also don't have to explain what they want the money for, and so nobody feels judged, whatever their motivation. “Sometimes we have asked to be able to reach the end of the month, buy an appliance, but also travel…”. What if there is not enough money for what many have asked for at the same time? He says that it has not yet happened to them, “but if it happened, we would distribute it as evenly as possible.”

Many times we imagine that money can only be kept in the current accounts, but no, these women in Penedés have found a different formula. They keep everything in a single key box and alternately move from one member to another without naming responsible. That's right, to avoid temptations, they do the same thing with the key, and never one person has the two things at once.

All this is possible, as there is a special relationship of trust between all members. “We are not friends, we do not go to the cinema or to the mountain together, but understanding and accompaniment create special links and that is fundamental to forming such a group.”

The path of empowerment

Although the main function of the CAFÉ they have created is to give us financial support, it is not the only contribution they make. “On the one hand, you’re saving and you know that if you need more money you can receive it from it, but at the same time you’re supporting a community that is made up of other women with similar interests and desires.” They consider that what they do is an instrument to influence social transformation, and therefore organize talks, workshops and other similar activities.

They also value the knowledge they have acquired through participation in the group and have been able to understand and reinterpret themes that until now were very alien to them. Now they feel more empowered, both by the support of a team and by the security that knowledge provides. All this without forgetting the possibility of being more economically autonomous: “Asking friends or family for money is risky, sometimes it worsens relationships or creates addictions. That’s why he’s liberating.”