What you would do with 30 EUR per month?

In order to achieve the goals of my work, I do a survey in small villages of northern Nicaragua. We ask people what are their incomes per month, for their families. Actually, it’s one of the question and we need it to know if income has an impact on other answers. Anyway!

I have been surprised to see that most of families have less than 30 EUR per month : women used to work at home as housewives while men work in the fields. The money they earn is from the crop, when it is enough to sell it.

My first question (and I’m still asking it) was: How can we live with 30 EUR/month? Even if you don’t pay anything for your house, you eat the product of your work, you still have needs like clothes for example.

 I know we cannot compare life of people in small villages of Nicaragua (or by the way, other “Southern” countries) with European life. Standards of living are different, prices are definitely not the same as well as needs and habits. Nevertheless, I think it could be interesting to see what European citizens would do with 30 EUR. I guess some would go to the restaurant with their boy/girlfriend, have drinks with friends. You can also pay your monthly mobile subscription, take a train, eat at home for a few days, buy a jacket, etc.

This is not to make you feel guilty but to be aware there are many worlds in Our World and that these worlds can cross them. That’s also a way to find out other ways of life, other ways to consume and maybe to realize we are able to live in a different way, enjoying Earth resources, developing our own capacities to respond to our own needs.

That’s also, from my point of you, another side of volunteering…

By Emmanuelle Legay