Lending Circles Help Latinas Pay Bills And Invest

*I love this! Read this, so the next time someone says Latinas are not entrepreneurs you can tell them about “Tandas.” They break most notions of “boot strap” thinking; rely on women and trust; and provide a counter to predatory pay-day lending. VL

By Shereen Marisol Meraji, Code Switch/NPR

Here’s an example of how a tanda works: Ten friends, family or co-workers get together, and each agrees to give $100 every two weeks to the group’s organizer. One person ends up with the whole pot at the end of the month: $2,000. This goes on for 10 months until everyone gets the pot.

Everyone pays $2,000. Everyone gets $2,000.

… newly arrived Mexican immigrants have to trust each other for survival. Their neighbors and co-workers are also their mechanics, seamstresses, baby sitters, interpreters. …  these social connections are critical, especially for those who are undocumented or can’t speak English.

These connections are maintained, primarily, by women, who are most frequently running tandas, too …

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