A Bank is not always a financia lconcern. There are new kinds of banks such as the so-called “rice bank”. Today, “Rice banks” are recognized institutions in several of the world’s poorest countries.

Through the ‘rice-bank’, The Maria Schregel organization wants farmers, whose rice harvests are ruined by flooding or other natural disasters, to avoid having to resort to moneylenders whose exorbitant rates of interest make them little more than modern day slaves. In the areas where we fund projects, the farmers’ livelihoods depend on the cultivation of rice. These farmers are allocated a piece of land that had previously lain fallow so they can farm themselves. Rice is a common mode of payment.                                                                                 

A one-off start-up capital: between 500 kg and 750 kg of rice seed is provided by the Maria Schregel charitable organization.