It's not the Grameen Bank, but I asked Monica Myers to tell us about how a Partna is done in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.
You want to know about "Partna" as we say in Ja, translated partner. It is like getting a small loan without paying interest. A set amount of money is paid weekly, semi-weekly or monthly. This is prearranged. The set amount of money which is predetermined is called a "hand." More than one person can share a "hand." For each payment period a "draw" is paid out, i.e. one or more persons collect all that is in the kitty. The amount of the "draw" is determined by the number of persons participating. To the best of my knowledge, which is limited, there is no administrative charges from the person who manages the Partna, however, each person collecting gives her or him a donation. It is totally casual and is open for abuse. For example, Moonchie (name changed to protect!) was the last to collect her "draw" and the woman managing the Partna wanted to short change her by about $9,000J until I intervened. Apparently someone who had collected earlier did not continue payment, thus creating a short. However, I felt that Moonchie, having made all her payments, should not be the one to pick up the short. She eventually collected all but some of it was late. As to its background, I can only guess that in the past banks would not lend the average person money so this system came about among friends. Partna has been very helpful to folks here, I have seen houses built, furniture purchased, school fees paid and any other large expenses taken care of. All one needs is a steady income to ensure the payments.
I am really amazed by systems that are created locally to solve an issue. Many times when we do development work, or large organizations come in to implement projects, they don't look for or learn about what sorts of systems are already in place. We have to really learn all aspects of a culture and work with people, so we don't attempt to put into place something they may already have!
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