A lot of people ask what is next, so I can share that I’m executive producing a filmed called Pay 2 Play, which looks at the influence of money in politics. http://pay2play.tv

If anyone is interested in my other work, please stop by http://www.filmmakerforchange.com

Thank you Lisa, Bev and Firedoglake readers!

Yes, hosting a screening is both fun and easy. It is a great way to bring people in your community together to talk about your vision for the future and what ways you, or a group you belong to, are doing their part. And don’t hesitate to contact me with any further questions about the film, microcredit or social business – or filmmaking ;)

Thank you Lisa. I hope so, too. That is why I’m very eager to see that Social Business Competition come to all 50 states. I think they will realize that they can create a different future and that their work doesn’t have to be out of line with their personal morals or vision. Their work can be what they offer the world, that they are giving back. That we aren’t stuck in just a for profit or non-profit mentality.

That’s fantastic Lisa. Being a part of the Social Enterprise Alliance, I’ve heard of so many amazing initiatives which are happening here at home. I wish the news would talk more about all the good things we have going on and which people are creating, instead of always focusing on what’s going wrong. I think people would be surprised at how many things are happening in their own backyards. But I guess the shocking and dark news gets more attention.

That looks very interesting.

I haven’t been in touch with the women since May of 2011. Bangladesh is a country ridden by natural disasters. During my 2 years there I witnessed two extremely bad floods and the cyclone. Because they are both a river delta like New Orleans and below sea-level like the Netherlands, this is a reality for them always. Also they are one of the countries most affected by global climate change.

Lisa, I don’t know how the village councils are set up exactly, but I did see elections and campaigning going on, so I think it is similar to here. Women can run, but they are still a small minority. Aroti was one of two women on her council.

After natural disasters, the bank goes into relief mode and starts handing out alum to create clean drinking water, and giving out clothing. I was there during one of the worst cyclones in years and it was impressive to see them go into relief efforts. They then give out new loans so that the families can get back on their feet, because they have often lost everything. They still have to repay the loans, as they are not a charity, but they go into a more flexible payment structure. As Yunus says, the borrowers are the owners, so if they are not on their feet, the bank will not be on its feet. I really wish our banks thought that way, during our current crisis.

When I started filming, he had 30+ companies, but now that has expanded to over 60. For example with the alternative energy company, they started in 1996 and were profitable within a few years. They are providing energy to people that had no electricity in their lives. They were cooking with wood or dung, using kerosene lamps, etc. This changed their lives. Now Yunus Grameen Shakti is the fast growing solar company in the world and they will have 1 million solar homes within 2 months. In 3 years, they plan to have 2 million homes. Bangladesh has about 160 million people, so they are bringing electricity in a very scalable, sustainable way.

I will have to read that more thoroughly later. These are strange times we are living in. Yet I am hopeful that we can push for laws that are really what are best for the citizens of this country.

Yes Lisa, I definitely think that microcredit has helped in the changing views of women. Pakistan actually was one country with Bangladesh until 1971 (strange when they are 1,000 kilometers apart, but that is how they were divided up when the British left), and from what I hear, there is a big difference in women’s rights between the two countries now.

Crazy, isn’t it. Being in Bangladesh made me realize how far we’ve come, but it also made me want to work harder for women’s rights here at home. It’s shocking that only 17% of Congress is women.

Hi Dave! Good to see you here. Yes, microcredit is scaling up. There are more than 100 million people getting microcredit loans. However, I think it is important that scaling up happens with the real interests of the poor in mind. Some of the scaling up has happened via the companies that go public and are charging way too much interest, in my opinion. So I’d rather have it grow at a healthy rate and in the right way. One of my favorite quotes from Yunus is “There is no shame in starting small.” Yes, we want to scale up, to reach everyone in poverty, but no, we don’t want to do it, if it harms the people it is supposedly helping.

I think it is time to differentiate between “social microcredit” and microcredit, just as with social business – under Yunus’ definition, the investors should get their money back, but not get dividends. This way it can be done in a sustainable way.

If you read my article I share my idea of how Yunus’ model around flexible loans could have been used for our housing crisis. Maybe that is not too late. http://bonsaimovie.com/article/

If you listen to Nurjahan telling of how difficult it was to work with the women and the lies the money lenders and religious leaders would originally spread against Grameen Bank, it is clear that they found this a threat to their status quo. Now, it has become acceptable, but it was a real struggle to get to the 50-50 level of lending to women. When Yunus started Bangladeshi banks serviced 99% men. Even in the US, my mother told me that women had to have their husbands co-sign for things until the 60s. This is one piece of many that is a way that empowers women and helps bring equality in the home.

No worries, Lisa. It’s so hard with a film to be clear with all the points a director is trying to make and still be entertaining and engaging. Many people in my test screenings questioned why I wanted to keep that point in the film. It was for my own bias against wars and since Yunus had gotten the peace prize, I felt it was relevant, and it was equally important to stress at that moment that he points out the problem of inequality of income distribution.

I have been worried about the inequality of income distribution for decades because I used to live in Brazil and there I have seen the disparity getting smaller, whereas in the US, I have seen it widening. And you see now with our 99% movement, that we’ve come to a real juncture where we need to decide what future we want. Do we want a government that pushes for human rights and a more equal community, as I’ve seen Brazil doing, or do we push for individual rights above all else? Also, I am deeply concerned of the power of the corporations and the power they have over our government to sway our legislation.

Actually, I saw that the religious building was good for the community, as it served as a school and as a community space. I was trying to show that the Saudis were giving money to provide things that the people of the community wanted, whereas I was concerned about what message we are sending with our wars with Iraq and Afghanistan. The Saudis only gave money and all the work was done by Bangladeshis.

Yes, I do think that is an important thing for everyone to consider. It is also discussed in Half The Sky. Grameen borrowers are twice as likely to use family planning methods, so you can see how this is really helpful. I am deeply concerned with our population explosion and I was happy to hear that the birth rate of Bangladesh is that each woman is now having 2.2 children.
I also saw how the women used the money to really put food on the table and get the kids to school. Yunus and others explained that the men were more likely to spend the income on other things.

Yes, microcredit has been successful in the US. People would be surprised to know how many programs already exist here. I know of several such as Opportunity Fund, Foundation For Women, and there is now Grameen America, which I believe has 5 branches in NY, 1 in Omaha, 1 in Indianapolis, and 1 in San Fransisco. They are having a similar rate of return.

As for social businesses, yes there are many social businesses and even more social enterprises in the US. Goodwill is a good example of a social enterprise. I am part of the group Social Enterprise Alliance, which has about 1,000 members and I believe now has 14 chapters in the US. They are trying to be a hub for social enterprise in the US.

Also, I am excited that I am just coming from two social business competitions here in the US. These are business plan competitions, which Yunus is a part of with states to bring vibrant social businesses into our communities. The North Carolina Social Business Conference
http://www.northcarolina.edu/social_business_microcredit/index.htm and
The Oregon Social Business Competition
https://secure.ous.edu/socialbusiness/
and on April 6th, there will be one in DC. Yunus also just spoke there at The Mid-Atlantic Social Business and Microcredit Forum at UDC http://www.udc.edu/socialbusiness/overview.html
It was very exciting to see all the ideas the students came up with to tackle a wide variety of issues from fuel through bio-char to healthy food in our vast food deserts.

It’s interesting Accion actually started their work in Brazil just before Yunus started his, and I believe that some groups in India were also beginning this around the same time. I think there was a need for this and they all saw a way to fill it. Unfortunately in India and Bangladesh, a lot of people were stuck under the debts of local money lenders, so this was a new way out.

As far as other microcredit lenders, I have read of a lot of abuses of the idea of microcredit, which deeply concerns me. In fact in the film, I have Yunus’ quote “Microcredit is not about making money off the backs of the poor.” However with any idea that people see there can be a profit, there is bound to be abuses. Of particular concern for me are the ones that go public and then are beholden to their investors. Yunus’ model is different in that the borrowers ARE the owners of the bank. They buy a 100 Taka (70 Taka was $1 when I was there) share of the company, so today the women own 97% of the bank. So in that way they are more of a co-op.

Yes, there are many other microcredit programs in Bangladesh. In fact the largest is actually BRAC. I don’t know how many they all serve together. The one thing that these organizations do need to be careful of is that borrowers are not taking loans from more than one and getting in over their heads in debt. Some of the people that are struggling to repay their loan are doing this against the advice of the bank, unfortunately. They do tell people not to do this and to come to them if they are having any problems, but of course you can not control what individuals may do.