interview taken by: Saiful Islam and S K Sinha date: 10 December 2000

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1 Category: non-poor Initial wealth ranking: non-poor Code: DSM01 IDPM FINANCIAL DIARIES: SUMMARIES Bangladesh: Urban interview taken by: Saiful Islam and S K Sinha date: 10 December 2000 Site: Sonaro Mohalla (City Corporation slum) Principal respondent(s): Mr S and Mrs K Note: S was a substitute for an earlier respondent who refused to cooperate. S s story therefore begins in the 4 th round, late November 1999 S is from Barisal and has been in Dhaka for a long time and in his own house in this slum for five years. He is a car driver with a salary of 4,000 taka a month and we rarely meet him because he is always out at work. He reached class ten in school. His wife K reached class five, and she runs a sari and lungi business as well as being a housewife. She is our main informant and the main user of financial services as far as we can gather. Her income is quite substantial, almost as much as her husband s some months. Their home has a fan, a TV, a steel cupboard (used to store her business stock) and a timber showcase and well as a fancy bedstead. Farid Uddin, S s son by his first wife, also lives with them, and earns a salary, of 3,000 a month, in a private company. He has a high school pass (SSC): he sends part of his income to his own brother and sister back in the Barisal village. S and K s children are a son, Salauddin, 11, in class 5, a daughter, Sonya, 9, in class 3, and a second son Shakil, a new-born baby. They use MFIs intensively, mainly to take lump sums for her clothes business, but they also use a variety of other devices as well. The household often complains it is short of cash but that is because every last penny is put into managing the clothes business. This is a household successfully exploiting urban opportunities, not least in gaining member of as many as seven NGO/MFIs so many that K gets their names confused and regularly confuses our researchers! 1. Initial household profile: Name Relationship to household head Sex Age Highest school grade Main livelihood activity/ies (or schooling) S self m private car driver K Farid Uddin second wife (first deceased) son (by S s first wife) f 35 5 sells saris and lungis, home housework m salaried job Salauddin son m 11 in class 5 in a madrassa Sonya daughters f 9 in class 3 in World Vision school Shakil son m 0-2. Significant changes to household profile during research year: none Other economic activities 3. Residence: from Barisal but in Dhaka for many years. In Sonaro Mohalla since c Tenure: own house on government owned slum land; tin walls tin roof, one room, good condition 5. Other identities: Muslim 6. Public entitlements: none 7. Food habits: three rice meals a day, fish every other day, one day meat 8. Significant assets:

2 Asset type Description Value (if known or estimated) Homestead Land 0.05 acres valueless, about to be river eroded Farm land (state if irrigated) Home (equipment, furnishings etc) Machinery Livestock none fan; TV; steel cupboard for storing clothes for sale, cupboard, bedstead none none 15,500 taka Jewellery etc nose stud, silver chain 450 taka Other (state) - 9. Significant changes to assets during research year: none 10. Income pattern: Household member S K Farid Uddin Income source Frequency Scale Comments waged car driver sells saris and lungis waged job in a private company 11. Expenditure pattern: Expenditure item food housing clothing education Scale monthly on sales monthly 4,000 taka pm e.g. 2,500 taka in December (a dull month); then 3,000 taka in 9 days before Eid; then only 400 taka in 15 days in May. 3,000 taka pm 80 to 100 taka a day including fuel (electricity and firewood) 1,500 taka repairs total in the year 2,000 taka total in the year 1,000 taka total in the year Comments health 2,000 taka total in the year mainly the two adults much is sold on credit other / occasional 1,200 taka total in the year sweets when visiting relatives, etc 12. Financial services/devices used during research year: Type Number of instances Value(s) Comments Saving at bank taka balance left (maybe) in an old account now inactive

3 Life insurance from a pro-poor insurer taka in one month MFI savings 7 16 to 5,500 taka balances MFI loan 4 2,500 to 10,000 taka disbursed Saving at home 1 continuous up to 5,000 taka Gono Bima, but now inactive World Vision; UBDP; Action Aid; AHEA; ASA; BAWPA; Paddhakhep World Vision, Action Aid; ASA; BAWPA Saving on the person 1 50 to 100 taka S: ready cash only Mud bank 2 one has 80 taka when opened Interest free loans taken and 3,000 taka Interest free loan given 6 20 to 700 taka Accepting savings as a money guard Private loan taken on interest Private loan given on interest Lending against pawned goods the children to 2,000 taka relatives 1 5,000 taka 1 80 taka son lends to cousin (interest not paid) and 1,000 taka gold earring, gold ring Goods bought on credit to 500 taka local shop Wage advance taken 3 1,000 to 2,000 taka S from car driving employer Trade goods given on credit 1 up to 5,000 taka or more Musti chal 1 1 kg rise a week K, for emergency food In-kind loans taken interest-free In-kind loans given interest free 13. Cheating: no 1 3 kg rice 1 6 kg rice 14. Comments on financial services and devices: K doesn t want to keep her substantial business capital in the bank because of its inconvenient opening hours and difficulties of deposit and withdrawal. She says she likes the MFI ASA very much: they give you your new loan just as soon as you repay your old one. Other MFIs make delay. 15. Recording financial service transactions: Sometimes, they read the MFI pass books though they don t always have them in their possession. And K doesn t know the names of the MFIs she belongs to. She refers to them as the 10 taka a week one or the 15 taka a month one etc. Very confusing. 16. This year compared to previous years: Good to very good. Mainly because her clothes business went well, says K.

4 17. Notable events, opinions, behaviour: Events: K joins two new MFIs, ASA and BAWPA, then in February K leaves Action Aid because the other four women in her sub-group want to leave. The son s mud bank is stolen in early October. Behaviour: Usually, S stores cash with his wife: for example in late April he brings a 4,000 taka wage home and gives 3,000 of it to her, keeping the rest for his pocket money. When K goes to her village home in late May, everything stops (no NGO dues are paid, even the small son stops putting money in his mud bank) she is clearly in charge of all financial transactions. 18. Transaction summary for S OF SONARO MOHALLA (CORPORATION BOSTEE) (01B) S is our replacement after Paresh Chandra refused to co-operate. His story starts in late November Formal bank services: Bank savings account: A: S believes he has a 400 taka balance in a government bank (Sonali) in an account he opened in 1974 but hasn t used since many years. (In fact it is likely that that balance has been eroded by bank charges). Formal insurance services: Life insurance from a pro-poor insurer: A: Gono Bima. Both S and K are policy holders of Gono Bima. But in late Nov they make no deposits because, they say, they are short of cash after the birth of the new baby. Zero again early Dec but 500 in late Dec; zero early Jan; zero early Feb ( not enough money on hand ); zero again late Feb and she says the reasons they re not paying is because GB promised loans and never gave one. In early Mar the worker doesn t call and K has lost respect anyway. Zero Apr; probably nothing May (K is in charge of GB payments and she was away in May). Zero from early Jun on they now confirm they re not interested in paying as there seems to be no hope of a loan. No more reports after that the deal is dead. MFI services: MFI savings: A: World Vision. Wife K has been a WV member since We don t know her savings balance because her pass book isn t available, nor do we get to see it during the research year. But she isn t much concerned because she thinks her outstanding loan is equal to or greater than her savings. However, she deposits 100 in late Nov. 30 in late Dec; 100 late Jan; 100 late Feb; zero in late Mar when the worker didn t come. Then a new worker came, and WV called a meeting to discuss the state of each members loan, but K didn t go to that meeting despite the fact that she has a loan. After that she never attended again. See also under MFI loans below. B: UBDP (Urban Basic Delivery Project). K joined in Aug Her balance was 200 taka Dec K is the President of her 40-person group, which holds fortnightly meetings. A promise of loans of 9,000 taka was made but not honoured. K still hopes to get a loan eventually so holds on. In late Nov she deposits 30 taka savings. 20 early Dec; zero late Dec no cash available she says; zero early Jan; 20 late Jan; 20 early Feb; 20 late Feb; 20 early Mar; 20 late Mar; 20 early Apr; 20 late Apr; 20 early May; 20 early Jun; 20 late Jun; 20 early Jul; 20 late Jul; 40 early Aug; 20 late Aug; 20 early Sep; 20 early Oct. C: Action Aid. K has been an Action Aid member since March 1999 and has savings there of 5,500, she says. In late Nov she deposits 20 taka; 20 early Dec; 20 late Dec; 20 early Jan; 10 late Jan; by early Feb she has settled her accounts and left Action Aid (she had a loan outstanding so she got no savings back). D: AHEA. K is a member of the Association for Human and Economic Advance. She joined in

5 October She has a balance there of 120 taka in Dec She deposits 20 taka in late Nov; 20 early Dec; zero late Dec no cash available she says; zero early Jan; 75 late Jan; 30 early Feb; 30 late Feb; 30 early Mar; 30 early Apr; 30 late Apr; 30 early May; 30 early Jun; 30 late Jun; 30 early Jul; 30 late Jul; 30 early Aug; 30 late Aug; 30 early Sep; 30 late Sep; 30 early Oct. She hopes to get a loan, and has requested one. Some members have had a first loan of 2,500 taka. E: ASA. K joins ASA on 15 th Jan 2000 and deposits 20 taka a week savings; but only two payments of 20 in Feb; a total of 40 in early Mar; 40 late Mar; (in March we hear that her balance has reached 300 taka, she says, so she s misreporting or there s an error somewhere in this record). Early Apr she deposits 40 taka; 40 late Apr; 40 early May (nothing late May when she at the village home); 40 early Jun; 40 late Jun; 40 early Jul; 40 late Jul; 40 early Aug; 40 late Aug; 40 early Sep; 40 late Sep; 40 early Oct. Of all the NGO-MFIs K thinks ASA is the most reliable. F: BAWPA. She joined BAWPA (Bangladesh Agricultural Working People s Association) on 15 th August She had a balance of 340 taka in March 2000, she says. We didn t know about her BAWPA membership until Feb She saves two weekly deposits of 20 and 20 in late Feb 2000; 40 early Mar; 40 late Mar; 40 early Apr; 40 late Apr; 40 early May; 40 early Jun; 40 late Jun; 40 early Jul; 40 late Jul; 40 early Aug; 40 late Aug; 40 early Sep; 40 late Sep; 40 early Oct. G: Daughter Sonia joins an NGO called Padddhokhep in August We don t know much about them but it seems they form groups of children and promote savings. Sonia puts in cash from her mud bank. MFI loans: A: World Vision. K has a loan from WV of 5,000 taka, taken Aug 1999, which she pays off monthly rather than weekly. She makes a repayment of 530 taka in late Nov 99; 600 late Dec; 525 late Jan; 525 late Feb. Nothing after that until the end of the research year see under MFI savings above. K has a child in a WV supported school where she pays no fees or costs. B: Action Aid. K has a loan from Action Aid of 10,000 taken in October In late Nov she repays two weekly instalments of 250 taka each. 240 early Dec from husband s salary and her business; 520 in late Dec; 520 early Jan; 260 late Jan (missing one payment because of problems within the 5-member group the other four of whom are leaving, so she thinks she ll leave too). By early Feb she has paid up (900 taka cash now plus her savings balance) and left. C: BAWPA; K took a loan from BAWPA on 25 th Jan (2000), of 2,500 taka and invested it in her sari business. In late Feb she pays two instalments of 60 taka each; same total of 120 early Mar; 120 late Mar; 120 early Apr; 120 late Apr; 120 early May (from sari sales); 240 early Jun (120 extra to make up for late May when she was away at her village home); 120 late Jun; 120 early Jul; 120 late Jul; 120 early Aug; 120 late Aug; 120 early Sep; 120 late Sep; 120 early Oct. D: ASA. K takes her first ASA loan, of 6,000 taka, in early Apr, and uses 4,000 of it for her sari hawking business and the rest for household expenses. In late Apr she repays two weekly instalments totalling 300 taka; 300 early May (from S s wage); 600 early Jun (i.e. extra 300 to make up for late May when she was away at her village home); 300 in late Jun; 300 early Jul; 300 late Jul; 300 early Aug; 300 late Aug; 300 early Sep; 300 late Sep; 300 early Oct. Of all the NGO-MFIs K thinks ASA is the most reliable they give loans without messing you about. Private savings: Saving in the home: A: when we meet them in late Nov 1999 they have 5,000 taka in a steel cupboard in their home: this is mostly her business capital. In early Feb there is 3,000. 3,000 in early Mar, taken to their village home to celebrate Eid ul Azha. In early Jun we hear there s still 5,000 taka in the cupboard, and 4,000 of this is spent later in the month on cloth for her business.

6 Saving on the person: (pocket money only) A: S always keeps at least 50 taka on him in case of a puncture or other problem in the car he drives Mud bank: A: son Salauddin (11 years) starts a mud bank in late Dec and deposits about 50 taka (big brother Farid Uddin gives him 2 or 3 taka a day tiffin money). He breaks it open on 10 th Jan and finds 80 taka which he lends to his cousin (see private loan out A). He starts saving again 10 in early Feb; 8 late Feb; 7 early Mar and is complaining his cousin hasn t paid yet; saves 8 late Mar; 4 early Apr; 15 late Apr; 10 early May; 5 early Jun; early Jul he breaks the bank and gets 60 taka of which he gives 50 to his mother and spent 10 on snacks. He starts again early Aug with a deposit of about 8 taka. Then 7 taka late Aug; unknown early Sep. Then in early Oct his mud bank mysteriously disappears, presumed stolen. B: Daughter Sonia starts a clay bank in early Aug 2000, with an initial deposit of about 5 taka. Then 4 taka late Aug; 10 early Sep; early Oct she breaks her bank (after her brother s had been stolen) and gets 16 taka and spends it on snacks except for 2 taka which goes to a subscription to a new NGO for children s savings that she has now joined. Reciprocal transactions: Interest free loans (howlats) taken: A: in early Jan K took 500 taka from a neighbour; repaid late Jan. B: son Salauddin took a howlat of 300 taka at some point but hadn t repaid it by the end of the research year (it is actually repaid a month after the year ends). Interest free loans (howlats) given: A: in late Dec K gives a neighbour 20 taka. Repaid early Feb. B: in early Jan K lends 700 to her sister who lives in the village. No repaid, and turns into a gift. C: in late Jan she lends 200 to a cousin, repaid early Feb. D - F: early Feb finds her lending 100 to one woman neighbour and 200 to another (both repaid late Mar), 2 kg of rice to a third (repaid early Mar). G: K lends 300 to a woman neighbour in late Jul, sourced from cloth sales. This is still outstanding at the end of the research year. H: In early Aug she lends 100 to another woman neighbour repaid early Oct. I: and another 50 to yet another woman in early Aug, repaid early Sep and spent on housekeeping. Private savings and loan services: Accepting money as a money guard: A: K reports that two of her relatives who also live in the same slum store money with her: the two instances she reports are of 500 taka and 2,000 taka for periods of one week and one month (roughly). They ve been doing this for many years: they do it because since she runs a business and has cash they think they can always get the money back when they need it. Private loan taken on interest: A: In early Jan K borrows 5,000 for two months from a colleague, and will have to give a sari as interest (she had to approach 3 people before she got this loan). She repays when she gets paid for clothes sold on credit in early Feb. Private loan given on interest:

7 A: Son Salauddin broke open his mud bank in early Jan and lent 80 taka to a cousin on condition that the cousin will repay 100 taka after one month. Still not repaid by end of the research year, and forgotten. Unlicensed Pawnbroking: Lending against pawned goods: A: in late Jan K lends a neighbour 500 taka against a gold earring, to be repaid plus 50 taka interest a month later. She gets 50 taka profit in early Feb. She got the 500 taka back immediately after our research year ended. B: later (date unrecorded) she lends 1,000 taka against a gold ring to another neighbour on similar terms (we assume). Repaid in full. Goods and services on credit: Goods bought on credit: A to E: K says on five occasions that she has baki from the local grocery store: sums are from 300 to 500 taka and are normally repaid when S s wage comes in. Employer-related: Wage advance taken: A to C: Three times in the year S takes an advance from his employer. He never takes more than 2,000 taka, in the mid-month, cut from that month s wage. This is always for short-term consumption smoothing. Business-related: Trade goods given on credit: A: K often sells her saris and lungis on credit. For example, in late Jan we hear she gets paid 1,450 taka owed to her from sales made before Eid. In early Feb she receives 5,000 taka. In-kind transactions: Musti chal: A: K practices musti chal: she saves a kilo a week on average. They eat when times are hard. In-kind loans taken interest free: A: in early Mar she took 3 kg or rice from a neighbour but by early Apr she still hasn t repaid it; she repays early Jun. In-kind loans given interest free: A: K lends 6 kg of rice to a neighbour in early Mar, repaid late Mar, whereupon K borrows 3 kg from the same woman.

interview taken by: Saiful Islam and S K Sinha date: 2 December 2000

Category: poor Initial wealth ranking: : selected at random Code: DKM02 IDPM FINANCIAL DIARIES: SUMMARIES Bangladesh: Urban interview taken by: Saiful Islam and S K Sinha date: 2 December 2000 Site: Manushpur