Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India

by Arnopoulos Sheila McLeod, Mary Ellen Iskenderian (Foreword)

4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 · rating details · 5 ratings · 3 reviews

Renowned author and journalist Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos uses her talent for investigative reporting to take us deep into the poorest villages in India. Yet, far from being passive victims of their circumstances, the women who live there have joined forces and are making astute use of microcredit to break the cycle of poverty.

Microcredit was made famous by Bangladeshi econo...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published April 12th 2010 by Dundurn

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-10 of 10)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 20, 2010 Ann Diamond rated it 5 of 5 stars

n the months just after September 11, 2001, Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos travelled to India where she began collecting stories on the microcredit phenomenon. On several visits, she spent months trekking from village to village, sleeping on reed mats, and learning about the Dalit (formerly known as 'untouchable') women who are the driving force behind the microcredit movement which is spearheading social and economic change throughout the country.

In Saris on Scooters, we find a vivid and fascinating...more n the months just after September 11, 2001, Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos travelled to India where she began collecting stories on the microcredit phenomenon. On several visits, she spent months trekking from village to village, sleeping on reed mats, and learning about the Dalit (formerly known as 'untouchable') women who are the driving force behind the microcredit movement which is spearheading social and economic change throughout the country.

In Saris on Scooters, we find a vivid and fascinating account of the struggles and achievements of remarkable women who, though often illiterate, have overcome great obstacles in building businesses and cooperatives using small loans. The book is also entertaining, thanks to Arnopoulos' quest to understand a vast and baffling country she obviously loves. As she moves around doing interviews and gathering data, a whole, crowded world opens up which would be inaccessible to most travellers in India: the world of village women whose daily lives revolve around subsistence gardening, livestock, cottage industry, and of course family. The more she explores this world, the more fascinating and inspiring her story becomes.

Westerners are used to reports of collapsing banks, failing investment funds, and endemic corporate fraud -- but these stories are driven by the heroism of the poorest of the poor, living in a country which is only marginally affected by the high-tech revolution happening in its cities. The world of the village women is still agrarian and communal, and the women behind the self-help movement seem like human incarnations of Mother Earth. As they emerge from the shadows of a pre-industrial society, they offer inspiring solutions to some post-industrial nightmares: pollution, GMOs, social and environmental degradation.

Arnopoulos points out the inherent wisdom of these women who live at the bottom of the human totem pole. Their solidarity, spiritual strength, and apparently selfless commitment to creating a better future for their children, stand in stark contrast to the spectacle of western societies now literally drowning in oil, where war for resources is becoming a way of life.

Each chapter of Saris on Scooters stands as a lesson in how, as one Dalit 'seedkeeper' tells Arnopoulos, the most essential kinds of knowledge come directly from Mother Nature, not from books and universities. It comes down to a revolution based on rediscovering an ancient source of renewable resources and human energy which are there for all, to be shared with the whole world. (less)

like · see review

Aug 10, 2011 Kathleen McRae rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent book that should be on school curriculums. It tells of the cooperatives formed to enable women to provide for themselves and their children. This book is set in India but I knowthey are doing this in South America as well.These women live in cultures with caste systems that utilize women as barter and the men although not holding much power in the system fall into habits of drunkenness and further the poverty and indebtness.Women have been proven to be better risks through these loan c...more

like · see review

Jan 12, 2011 Eleanor Shepherd rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed learning about Shiela's experiences in India and found it helpful in furthering my understanding of the important role that women play in the economic welfare in so many places.

like · see review

Oct 14, 2012 Briana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthropology

Apr 03, 2012 Dundurn Press rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: business, women-s-studies

Apr 03, 2012 Mrsomeonesomethingjr added it

Dec 27, 2011 T. marked it as to-read

Aug 22, 2011 Michael marked it as to-read

Mar 02, 2011 Carol Busato marked it as to-read

Apr 13, 2010 Camille Leduc marked it as to-read

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

Popular Shelves

to-read

4 shelves

anthropology

1 shelf

women-s-studies

1 shelf

business

1 shelf

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Saris on Scooters...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India
avg rating	preview: Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India Goodreads rating: 4.20 (5 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8036778-saris-on-scooters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368070241l/8036778.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8036778-saris-on-scooters?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India by Arnopoulos Sheila McLeod[/url]

Saris on Scooters: How Microcredit Is Changing Village India

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Popular Shelves

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Saris on Scooters...

new topic
Discuss This Book