When monthly purchases exceeded their budget, women from the Kaonge Quilombo community, in the city of Cachoeira (BA), had their Bolsa Família cards withheld by the owners of local businesses as a way of ensuring payments.
The practice stopped when the community decided to create its own currency and bank —named Sururu and Banco Solidário Quilombola do Iguape, respectively. "The salesman told me 'I'll sell to you, but you must give me your card as a guarantee'. There was no other option, we needed to eat and feed our children", says teacher Rosângela Viana, 49.
Rosângela's situation remained that way for almost eight years. Mother of two children, she says that the practice was repeated with women from all over the Quilombo community. With the creation of the currency and the social bank, it was possible to regain control of their own money.
As loans in Sururu are made without interest and businesses began to accept the social currency, women no longer depended on the Brazilian Real. The amount in Sururu received at local businesses is later exchanged for the country's official currency (Real) by traders at the Community Bank.
Translated by Cassy Dias