Asambleas

March 15, 2008

La Ceiba, Atlántida

Terminology, vocabulary and lingo - all professions and fields have it: those terms and words that define a particular profession, and that all participants in that field speak. So in order to keep all blog readers and people interested in Fundación Adelante up to speed with the terminology of the organization and microfinance, I thought some definitions could be in order. Defining these terms also outlines a little about how Adelante functions.

I’ll start with one of the most commonly used words at Fundación Adelante: the Asamblea.

So, what is an Asamblea?

When the Fundación offers a loan to a woman with an idea for a business, she has to be part of a group with two to four other women who are also receiving Adelante loans (there are a few individual loans - I’ll describe those in another blog).

An Asamblea, which translates as “Assembly”, is a group of three to five of these smaller groups of women. Most Asambleas have between 15 to 30 women, all of whom live within the same general area.

These Asambleas meet every 14 days with their Adelante credit officer; so the term Asamblea also describes these bi-weekly meetings. The purpose of these meetings is for loan payments and other administrative matters, and the community educator and credit officer give an educational talk. It is also a chance for the women to meet with the other women in involved in Adelante and women who live in nearby communities; it is an opportunity for them to share experiences and ideas.

More Adelante and microfinance terms to come in later blog entries!