We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky by Mara Kardas-Nelson

“I met dozens of people who were jailed, or were brought to the police station, when they couldn't afford to pay off a loan.”-Mara Kardas-Nelson.

This well researched and deeply reported book gives a comprehensive account of the impact of microcredit in developing nations.

In 1983, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, opened Grameen Bank, a Microfinance bank which offered small but often high-interest loans. This was considered a game changer in the international development space as a tool for poverty alleviation and Yunus went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, for his efforts to help people “break out of poverty.” But in We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance, Kardas-Nelson(who also happens to be my friend!) examines the after-effects of this and how many recipients have ended up in a cycle of debt because these loans can be really expensive. She follows loan recipients in Sierra Leone, women who are trying to navigate securing and paying off these loans as they try to escape the exhausting trappings of poverty.

As a former development professional, this book resonated with me. I am familiar with the negative consequences of well-intentioned programs and ideas in global development, and the idea women were paying such high interest rates and getting caught in cycle of unfinished debt is disappointing but unsurprising. It's truly a "seductive promise" for people living in emerging economies earning usually less than a dollar a day and have huge responsibilities. It is particularly dangerous in countries like Sierra Leone where (mostly poor) people can end up with long prison sentences for not paying back loans.

I hope this book will encourage development professionals and economists to think more deeply about the impact of development "solutions" and be more willing to properly scrutinize and assess well-intentioned ideas.

Check out We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance from the local library or buy from an independent bookstore.