A debate is ensuing at my home and it's all about sustainability, but not for us. No, the issue is sustainability of ideas to help people help themselves. While the discussion is larger than a simple blog comment could ever hope to touch upon, the issue is not simple.

You see, we're arguing whether it's best to provide a family with a cow or a loan. Is it the issue of "feed or teach" or is it the same side of the parable? Does giving a cow, a pregnant one at that, to a family equate giving one of the people in that family a loan to start their own business?

I'm referring of course to the difference between groups like Heifer International, who provide livestock in the form of cattle, goats, Llamas, pigs, sheep, etc. to participants. This group has a very nice magazine (I'm sure someone has written about it here already) called WorldArk. Nicely done and sufficiently detailed to understand that this support provides rich experiences to participants.

Or there are groups like MicroPlace, an eBay company. Microplace and others provide the ability to invest in a portfolio that provides loans to participants who start or expand their businesses. These can lead to larger businesses that of course support their families but also have employees.

I understand the place for both. But perhaps it's my farm-boy upbringing that leads me to be skeptical of Heifer. I do know what an animal can mean to its owners. Providing milk and to some level the feeling of security, animals are a mainstay of sustenance and that, in itself, should be enough. I was, after all, in 4H where I raised all kinds of animals, not the least of which was a Grand Champion lamb at the Montana Winter Fair in -40F weather... (but that's another story) No, the issue that I have with Heifer is, even though these animals are pregnant, why on earth do they cost so much? I've read all the issues but still can't determine why they are so expensive. It's no wonder that it's a good idea to give a Cow. Cows are more expensive than money itself, judging by Heifer's documentation.

Then there is the entrepreneur in me that really likes the idea of providing an outlet to a higher level of Maslow's hierarchy, the idea of self-enabling ideals. Such is the idea of creating and running a business. There is something about the manure of business that gets in your blood and, like milking a Holstein, stays with you for the rest of your life. But the point is this: starting a business, no matter what you think about crass commercialism, is an enriching experience unlike any other. The idea of working with other people to create something of value, something they need and will only buy if they want it, is electrifying. It is in this way that I think Microloans enable the richest experience of the two, that of creativity.

There is a place for both and more. Enabling individuals to move beyond simple sustenance can happen in many ways.

But then again, ask my wife and she, who's never raised a cow, will say different. (did I say that?)