Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RE: Cohousing --->funding other projects with donations

[Cbwhy (Cbwhy]

When I lived in Manhattan much was made of how recent immigrants (at the
time- Korean, Vietnamese) were able to buy or open small  businesses. What
they did was pool their resources in their community- everyone took their
small savings and loaned it to someone in the community to start a business.
When that business paid off the loan, they loaned it out again. Great idea?
I'm sure fringe groups have been doing this for centuries- but this  behavoir
requires a certain mindset- first- the knowledge or certainty that mainstream
banking is not an option (or is not the first option- who wants strangers
making the profit as opposed to friends & family) - second- the value of
saving and investing  as opposed to consuming - (truly a lost value in this
country)- and lastly- belief in each other and  the integrity of our
agreements (which may be why lots of people would rather do business with
strangers).  Personally- I like the idea of self investing so if it ever
comes to pass- count me in for my meager investment.