Patience, Values and Democracy

As here in the US we begin the long slog that is the primary season of our national democratic process, we thought we’d share a video demonstrating the wonderful monotony of our Village Savings and Loan (VSL) groups. This short video is of the 5th grade VSL group at the Children’s Academy.

We think of VSL groups as a kind of economic democracy. In this video you’ll see that every transaction is done with complete transparency in front of the whole group with multiple counters and record keepers to assure accountability. Though participants choose how much they want to save or borrow on a given day, the process is always done with the same participatory transparency and accountability baked in.

And though these values are key in this particular activity, they are also values that we aim to promote in all the work we do because, we feel – just like here in the US – these values make up the bedrock of a healthy democracy … and that’s something worthy of our patience.