Poverty isn't a hole.
It's a trap.
Why escaping poverty in Colombia isn't for lack of effort — and how an unconditional cash income breaks the cycle. Scroll.
What does being poor look like in numbers?
In Colombia, DANE draws a line. If a household's income per person falls below COP $460,198 a month, that family lives in monetary poverty. It's not an opinion: it's being unable to cover the basics.
of Colombians live in monetary poverty — 1 in 3.
in extreme poverty: not even enough to eat well.
the monthly threshold per person (DANE). Below it, the trap begins.
Source · DANE, monetary poverty
It isn't a lack of effort. It's a lack of liquidity.
A mother selling snacks on the metrocable works all day. The problem isn't her will: every peso that comes in is already spoken for before it arrives. With no cushion, it's impossible to invest in what would move her forward — more stock, a tool, a course, a child's tuition.
The trap, as a circle
Each stage feeds the next, and it all starts over. Press the button to inject a basic income and watch what happens to the cycle.
Poverty has a woman's face.
Female heads of household sustain the home with less. In Colombia, women earn 12.1% less income than men for the same work, and the trap closes tighter around them.
More than half of households in extreme poverty depend on a woman alone.
What if we simply give cash?
It sounds naïve. But when money is handed unconditionally to families in poverty, the global evidence is clear: it isn't wasted. It's transformed.
They invest it
Stock, a stall, a machine. Their own income rises and holds.
They don't stop working
The “laziness” myth doesn't hold: they work as much or more, with a plan.
Their children gain
Better nutrition and more time in school — the trap doesn't pass to the next generation.
Dignity and choice
Every family knows best what it needs first. Cash respects that.
What changes is certainty.
A monthly, predictable basic income isn't a gift: it's the cushion that lets you stop putting out fires and start planning. That's when the circle stops spinning and becomes an upward spiral.
Stability
I know something arrives each month.
I can plan
And risk investing.
Own income
A business that grows.
A real way out
One that stays and is passed on.
One family can't do it alone.
Many friends can.
El Club del 1+ pools the recurring contributions of hundreds of committed friends into a fund, and turns it into basic income for female heads of household. It's that simple.
The best way to end poverty is by creating wealth.
El Club del 1+ · @clubdel1_
Monetary-poverty and income-gap figures: DANE, 2024 (per-capita threshold cited by El Club del 1+). The behavior of unconditional cash transfers summarizes general findings from the literature on the subject; it does not represent a single study. Illustrative explainer piece.
What you're probably wondering.
The fair doubts, head-on. Every answer rests on the evidence and on our own results.
Won't they just waste it?
Global evidence and our own pilot say otherwise: they invest it. Across 53 mothers, it went to groceries, their businesses, savings and their children's education.
Doesn't it kill the will to work?
The laziness myth doesn't hold: they work as much or more, now with a plan. Among our beneficiaries, unemployment fell from 59.5% to 18.9%.
Isn't it better to «teach them to fish»?
Cash is the fishing rod — and they know which rod they need. Beyond the income we add mentoring, training and support circles.
Isn't this just a handout?
It's the opposite of paternalism: we trust their judgment instead of deciding for them. It's not a gift; it's the cushion that lets them stop firefighting and start building.
Where exactly does my money go?
Every peso with a clear destination: 65% reaches them, 35% runs the operation — and that 35% drops as more of us join. As a member you see your mother and her progress.
Why female heads of household?
Poverty has a woman's face: 36.1% of poor households depend on a woman alone. Supporting a mother multiplies the impact across her whole family.