ARABLE Direct Loan Fund: The Direct Loan Fund is a loan ref~rral service linking fodividual lenders with member borrowers whose enterp~i:ses merit and require greater amounts of ca_pital than the Credit Fund can supply. ARj\BLE will publish regularly a list of creditworthy enterprises to potential investors fn the ~community. Interest and terms of payment~~~ arranged on a case-by.-c~se basis. . . ARABLE Trust Fund: The_ T~ust ~und is designed to accommodate the different role that accumulated or inheri~ed wealth plays i'n the eco~omic life of a community. The Trust Fund provides a vehicle for tax-deductible gift mon~y to pass to projects supported by ARABLE that complement the placement of credit and investment money. Business recipients of ARABLE loans are encouraged to place a small percentage of their profits in the ARABLE Trust Fund. Until the program is self-s~pporting, funds for ARABLE's administrative costs will be sought from founda- { ' _·J by Ellen .Ghilarduccir EarthBank Association moves into 1985 with new clarity thanks to two capable men, Bruce Dearborn, its new administrator, and Dayid Kos~tsky, planning ~onsultant. After anintensive plar,ming period in 1984, we find ourselv~s ~awn to the coop~rative model of the 1 Mondragon community in the Basque region of Spain, (see RAIN X:4, pages 14-15). . · . · It's not just thefact that 1 the Mon.dragon experiment' has successfully grown to 2?,000 worker-members,in-87 industrial cooperatives, and has also developed other aspects of daily ~omm~rce as cooperatives-banks, schools, and stores. Additionally, after nearly 40 years, Janua~y/February 1985 RAIN Page 15 tions, individuals, and businesses in the form of grants orlow-interest loans. . . . , _ ARABLE is seeking to raise $?00,000 ip. accounts wi!h $100,000 as initial loanable funds and an ad~inistrative budget of $25,000 for the firstsear of operati<?n,-· Within three years, it hopes to have $600,000. General membership is open to anyone. However, no more than 25 % of ARABLE's total assets may be from outside its geographic area of Lane, tinn, and Benton . counties. Member~ must reside ~n this are(l to be eligible for ARABLE loan s¥pport. People who are interested in helping ARABLE accomplish its goals can make a tax-deductible grant to ARABLE to assist in start-up costs-or become a member/ depositor of ARABLE by sending $45 ($20 for a lif~time membership fee and $25 for a minim~~ deposit)._Contact ARABLE, PO Box 5230, Eugene, OR 97405. D D Mary Vogel is a teacher /writer on "investing for .a sustainable future,," a dealer for earth-sheltered dome housing, and a frequent contributor to RAIN. She lives in Eugene, Oregon . . EarthBan-k the Mondragon system is highly efficient and stable. It works in a way that breeds success, dignity and empowerment to people. In the words of Terry Mollner, founder of the Trusteeship Institute and an expert on the ·Mondragon experiment, "Capitalism and socialism don't work becau~e both of them are based upqn a q 1 materialistic set of assumptions. The new prder, of which.Mondragon is the first substa~tial representation, is not based on materialism. H's based on relationships ... the difference between patterns of behavior that are called friendly and the patterns that an~. called adversarial."
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