Épargne et grande pauvreté : l’expérience des familles du cimetière Nord de Manille, Philippines

New IRASEC Discussion Paper

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Jérémy IANNI
IRASEC, Bangkok
July 2026, 18 p.
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This paper analyzes savings practices and attitudes within a community living in extreme poverty that has taken up residence in the North Cemetery in Manila, Philippines. Rooted in the field of education and training sciences, it is based on qualitative field research involving interviews and the analysis of practices observed within the framework of a popular education program implemented by the ATD Fourth World movement. Despite widespread exclusion from the banking system, families develop complex informal savings strategies (investing in relationships, hoarding objects). The study highlights how participation in a flexible, non-judgmental savings program fosters context-specific learning, bringing about lasting changes in participants’ relationship with money and their ability to plan for the future—beyond the effects typically associated with budget training alone.

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Jérémy IANNI holds a Ph.D. in Education and Training Sciences, is a research associate at IRASEC, and is an honorary assistant professor at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia. His research focuses on experiential learning and shifts in relationships to knowledge, particularly in contexts of extreme poverty. In addition to his research work, he serves as director of courses at the Alliance Française in Kuala Lumpur, having previously lived in the Philippines for eleven years.