Throughout Asia, cooperative societies have attempted to empower the poor through collective savings and enterprise. Thousands of such societies exist in Bangladesh alone. Yet under the existing conditions of extreme poverty, mistrust and mismanagement often undermine the novice cooperatives. Many fail. Others simply fail to prosper.
As a young tea shop proprietor in the adjoining rural villages of Kashinathpur and Balarampur, MOHAMMAD YEASIN lived amidst pervasive scarcity. From Akhter Hameed Khan, director of the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development, he learned how disciplined, cooperative saving by villagers can break the cycle of poverty. In October 1960, therefore, he convinced eight rickshaw men to contribute the cost of one cup of tea each day to form a fund.
With this tiny sum YEASIN launched what later became known as the Deedar Comprehensive Village Development Cooperative Society. By 1986, when he stepped down as manager, Deedar was Bangladesh's most successful cooperative. Relying solely on its own resources, by 1988 it had amassed assets in capital and property worth U.S.$300,000.
YEASIN learned early that all households in a village must be "partners in the process of development." He expanded Deedar to include not only laborers but artisans, tradesmen, small farmers, and, eventually, moderately well-off landowners. Today virtually all adult villagers are members of the society. Women joined in 1962 and now play a role in village affairs undreamt of in the past. Also hundreds of children, through their membership, are taught the lesson of thrift.
Deedar's members meet every week to propose, implement, and evaluate programs. These touch all aspects of village life.
The cooperative operates its own stores for farm inputs and consumer goods. Its mills process mustard seed and rice. It manufactures bricks, hires out tractors and rickshaws, and operates an irrigation project and a fish pond. The society pays 70 percent of teachers' salaries and administrative costs at Deedar Model High School, which it built in 1968. Through the society, village women learn to sew, weave, and embroider and to raise fish and fatten cows and goats. Young men without jobs are trained as mechanics, drivers, tailors, traders, and animal husbandmen.
Deedar gives to the mosque and maintains special funds for the elderly and the destitute. In 1986-87 some fifty-five babies were delivered by Deedar-trained midwives.
Incomes in Kashinathpur-Balarampur are rising for farmers and nonfarmers alike. Deedar itself employs 37 villagers; 160 others receive seasonal employment from the cooperative?s enterprises. Moreover, 250 members are now self-employed thanks to interest-free loans from the society.
YEASIN attributes Deedar's success to the active participation of its members and to excellent relations with government agencies and banking institutions. Most others attribute Deedar?s success to YEASIN.
As manager for twenty-six years, YEASIN astutely practiced the art of the possible. Spurning flashy proposals, he moved the society from small projects to larger ones in accordance with its means and in keeping with local needs and circumstances. He stayed attuned to his members and won their confidence through his good judgment and tireless efforts. Most of all he inspired trust. Of himself, fifty-three-year-old YEASIN says, "I am a small man, and I work for the small man."
In electing MOHAMMAD YEASIN to receive the 1988 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, the Board of Trustees recognizes his moving rural Bangladeshis to self- reliance and economic security through an efficiently and honestly managed village cooperative.
