059: Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance, Tribal Teaching and Creating a Culture of Commitment in the Classroom

Shawn Humphrey is currently an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Mary Washington.

Shawn is the founder of La Ceiba Microfinance,the Two Dollar Challenge, the Month of Microfinance, and the Poverty Action Conference. 

He is also on the Board of Directors of Students Helping Honduras, a former Clinton Global Initiative University mentor, an Opportunity Collaboration alum and a 2014 Feast on Good Speaker.

Shawn is from North Bend, OH, earned his BA in Economics from Earlham College (Richmond, IN), his MA in Economics at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), and after having read Douglass C. North’s Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance headed to Washington University in St. Louis where he earned his PhD in Economics.

Shawn describes himself as a Tribal Teacher, a Diligent Do-Gooder and a Global Grassroots Mobilizer.

I grew up poor in Ohio. I was bullied from the time I was young, all the way through 8th grade. Both these things are part of my core and they motivate me in everything that I do – Shawn Humphrey

Economics:

In this interview, Shawn mentions: economic development, microfinance, consumption smoothing, poverty and globalisation.

Economists:

In this interview, Shawn mentions: Christine Exley, Helena Nordberg-Hodge, Eugene Power, Robert Solow, Douglass North, Armen Alchian, Harold Demsetz and Gary Miller.

In this episode you will learn:

• about the social entrepreneurial journey that Shawn found himself pursuing.

• about Shawn’s Tribal Teaching pedagogy and if this is the future of education.

• why Shawn wanted to help the poor in Honduras and to encourage people to experience poverty.

• about Shawn’s family experiencing poverty in the 1970s and how their standing in the community led him to believe that there was a better way to treat and help people out of poverty.

• about how La Ceiba are helping the poor in Honduras.

• about the importance of building relationships with individuals that seek assistance from La Ceiba.

• the problems with microfinance due to group lending and peer-pressure.

• about the Two Dollar Challenge and you can get involved.

• why supporting local leaders is the key to ending poverty.

• about Shawn’s 7 year journey to finding a common ground in humanity.

• why Shawn’s initial desire to feel significant while helping the poor is now a constant battle.

• about Tribal Teaching and the pedagogy Shawn has  designed and embraced to make a better learning environment and process.

• about the culture of commitment that Shawn has introduced into his classroom.

Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance:

“My students and I, we run our own microfinance institution in Honduras called La Ceiba where we take a very distinct approach to microfinance which is different to anything else that is out there.” – Shawn Humphrey

You can make a global impact on not a lot of money if you’re creative enough to embrace your constraints and say ‘hey, let’s find a way around this one!’ and do it creatively. – Shawn Humphrey

“Group lending is simply peer-pressure. It’s a public process by which a small set of individuals can apply pressure to one individual in the group who is unable and/or unwilling at that moment to pay off her loan.”

“90% of our clients did not use their loans for entrepreneurial activities. Most of them use it for consumption smoothing.” – Shawn Humphrey

When I started this work, I was flailing human being. I felt hollow inside and for some reason I felt that I could fill that hole by trying to end someone else’s poverty. – Shawn Humphrey

Where to Find Shawn Humphrey:

• shawnhumphrey.com

Organisations founded by Shawn Humphrey:

• La Ceiba Microfinance
• Tribal Teaching
• Month of Microfinance
• Two Dollar Challenge

Recommended Readings:

• 5 Species of Students by Shawn Humphrey
• Life Chart by Shawn Humphrey
• If You Breathe You Must Battle by Shawn Humphrey
• To Hell With Good Intentions by Ivan Illich 

Documentaries:

• Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn
• The Stanford Prison Experiment

Books:

• The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
• Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance by Douglass C. North
• Managerial Dilemma’s by Gary Miller
• The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield

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