The Uneven Practices and Experiences of Holistic Development

This chapter demonstrates that the Fraternity’s local identity informs women’s view of the Fraternity as not “just another MFI” but rather an extension of religious or ethnic networks. Women join for a greater variety of reasons than those who join Namaste and carry with them diverse expectations for participation. The Fraternity struggles to balance its multiple, overlapping goals in ways that allow for creativity and numerous, diverse interactions, but also create a good deal of inefficiency and frustration. The NGO attempts to cultivate good Christian, Mayan women subjects, although women respond in multiple, sometimes unexpected ways. The chapter concludes by connecting women’s diverse experiences in the Fraternity to their uneven and mixed outcomes. The Fraternity has questionable effects on women’s incomes but is able to significantly transform some women’s self-esteems and identities.