Most are illiterate. City dwellers and families with substantial property are not accepted as bank member-customers. The bank does not donate money to the poor families. It lends them money and charges interest at commercial rates. So far, these loans have financed such diverse occupations as making Popsicle sticks from bamboo strips, manufacturing musical instruments from conch shells, processing animal entrails and brewing perfume.
More typical loans are for dairy cows, honey bees, chickens, barber shop equipment and rickshaws.
Azam is a bicycle rickshaw driver. The cow gave nearly nine pounds of milk a day, and he sold the milk to pay off his loan. The cow has calved twice. He plans to sell the bull calves for sacrifice during the annual Kurbani religious festival in July when they will bring the best price. Meanwhile, he took a third loan from the Grameen Bank to buy a small parcel of land on which he plans to build a house with a corrugated iron roof like Tota Bibi's in nearby Jagir Megh Shimul.