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We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance
Win a free print copy of this book!
1 day and 01:18:50
72 copies available
U.S. only
For readers of Matthew Desmond, Katherine Boo, and Anand Giridharadas comes a deeply reported work of journalism that explores the promise and peril of global microfinance, told through the eyes of those who work in microfinance and women borrowers in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
In 2005, pop star Bono proclaimed, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Give a woman microcredit, she, her husband, her children and her extended family will eat for a lifetime.” By the mid-2000s, it had become international development dogma that microfinance―very small, high-interest loans―was the way to end poverty. The UN had dubbed 2005 the year of microcredit. A year later, when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on microfinance, he proclaimed that tiny loans would “put poverty in museums.”
It was a beautiful vision. But there was just one microfinance doesn’t work – at least not as promised.
Mara Kardas-Nelson's We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky is a story about unintended consequences, blind optimism, and the decades-long ramifications of seemingly small policy choices that reverberate around the world. It is a story of poor women doing their best to make ends meet under the toughest circumstances, and of international development workers, funders and advocates ―from Bono to Bill Gates to Bill Clinton―who promise a brighter future with a quick-fix solution that may ultimately trap poor people in poverty. The book is deeply rooted in the deeply immersive narratives of women who take out microfinance loans in Sierra Leone; their stories are set against a detailed history of the meteoric rise of Muhammad Yunus’ lofty vision and the gradual shift from a small non-profit program to a booming for-profit industry. We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky puts in harsh relief the questions we all should have been asking for who makes money off microfinance―and more importantly, who, and what, gets left behind?
In 2005, pop star Bono proclaimed, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Give a woman microcredit, she, her husband, her children and her extended family will eat for a lifetime.” By the mid-2000s, it had become international development dogma that microfinance―very small, high-interest loans―was the way to end poverty. The UN had dubbed 2005 the year of microcredit. A year later, when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on microfinance, he proclaimed that tiny loans would “put poverty in museums.”
It was a beautiful vision. But there was just one microfinance doesn’t work – at least not as promised.
Mara Kardas-Nelson's We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky is a story about unintended consequences, blind optimism, and the decades-long ramifications of seemingly small policy choices that reverberate around the world. It is a story of poor women doing their best to make ends meet under the toughest circumstances, and of international development workers, funders and advocates ―from Bono to Bill Gates to Bill Clinton―who promise a brighter future with a quick-fix solution that may ultimately trap poor people in poverty. The book is deeply rooted in the deeply immersive narratives of women who take out microfinance loans in Sierra Leone; their stories are set against a detailed history of the meteoric rise of Muhammad Yunus’ lofty vision and the gradual shift from a small non-profit program to a booming for-profit industry. We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky puts in harsh relief the questions we all should have been asking for who makes money off microfinance―and more importantly, who, and what, gets left behind?
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 11, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 30, 2024
The author exposes the inner workings of microcredit in poor countries, especially Sierra Leone.
I knew only a small amount about the topic before this book - I was definitely not aware that people were paying such high interest rates (in fact, I assumed these loans were low- or no-interest); they're frequently quoted as being over 100%, with at least one effective rate, after all is said and done, over 400%.
And then a study shows that many of these borrowers are poorer after taking out the loans than they were before. Is anyone really surprised?
The book itself felt somewhat disjointed and repetitive. The author includes narrative portions, profiling the lives of 3 different women in Sierra Leone whose lives have been affected by microloans, and I couldn't keep their stories straight, because the book kept bouncing between all of them.
I'm glad I read it, but I think this could have been a long article instead - at the very least, a much shorter book.
There was some brief, mild profanity, and God's name was misused at least once.
I received access to this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley.
I knew only a small amount about the topic before this book - I was definitely not aware that people were paying such high interest rates (in fact, I assumed these loans were low- or no-interest); they're frequently quoted as being over 100%, with at least one effective rate, after all is said and done, over 400%.
And then a study shows that many of these borrowers are poorer after taking out the loans than they were before. Is anyone really surprised?
The book itself felt somewhat disjointed and repetitive. The author includes narrative portions, profiling the lives of 3 different women in Sierra Leone whose lives have been affected by microloans, and I couldn't keep their stories straight, because the book kept bouncing between all of them.
I'm glad I read it, but I think this could have been a long article instead - at the very least, a much shorter book.
There was some brief, mild profanity, and God's name was misused at least once.
I received access to this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley.
Read
July 13, 2024DNF. Jumbled journalistic anecdotal style that I find irritating for trying to get at coherent conclusion.
May 12, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.
This is a tough one. I want to like this. A lot of research went into this book, and we need to know what happened here--how microcredit became microfinancing became loansharking . . .
But this was a rough read. My husband mentioned it sounded more like dissertation, and in a way that's true. It read like a jam-packed, abundantly endnoted dissertation with a few short personal stories crammed in for human interest, or to make it more "mainstream" attractive. But the chapters, although containing so much information, and so many notes, were dense reading. I feel the story could have been streamlined and focused and the personal stories more integrated and specifically linked to the narrative of the story of microcredit. Instead it felt disjointed and only tangentially related.
I do applaud the detailed research and the dedication to telling this important story. I just fear it will be difficult for mainstream readers.
This is a tough one. I want to like this. A lot of research went into this book, and we need to know what happened here--how microcredit became microfinancing became loansharking . . .
But this was a rough read. My husband mentioned it sounded more like dissertation, and in a way that's true. It read like a jam-packed, abundantly endnoted dissertation with a few short personal stories crammed in for human interest, or to make it more "mainstream" attractive. But the chapters, although containing so much information, and so many notes, were dense reading. I feel the story could have been streamlined and focused and the personal stories more integrated and specifically linked to the narrative of the story of microcredit. Instead it felt disjointed and only tangentially related.
I do applaud the detailed research and the dedication to telling this important story. I just fear it will be difficult for mainstream readers.
April 30, 2024
Extensively reported, this is everything you ever needed to know about Micro financing and the dangers it has brought to developing countries under the guise of help. Kardas-Nelson presents the history of the concept from the 70's when peace prize winning Muhammad Yunus American-trained Bangladeshi economist, created the programming based on the concept of small loans. Small loans can create large debt however and Mara Kardas Nelson illustrates these facts with a series of stories of women based in Sierra Leone, West Africa. This is a non fiction story that reads like a thriller and has completely changed my thinking. Please give it a read!
#henryholt #wearenotabletoliveinthesky #microfinance #marakardasnelson
#henryholt #wearenotabletoliveinthesky #microfinance #marakardasnelson
January 9, 2024
Fascinating look into the origins and inner workings of microfinance. The author mixes facts and statistics with real-life examples that the reader follows throughout the book. The details behind the scenes of microfinance lenders is eye-opening and thought-provoking, raising a lot of questions about whether these loans are truly improving the lives of the people they are meant to help.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews