Cajas Comunitarias como Estrategia Alternativa de Desarrollo Local. Comunidad De Balda Lupaxí, Cantón Colta, Ecuador

This article examines the role of community savings banks as an alternative local development strategy in the Kichwa community of Balda Lupaxí, Colta Canton, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador. The research adopts a qualitative approach with a descriptive scope, based on semi-structured interviews with managers, loan applicants, and specialists in community savings bank support. The results show that 618 community savings banks are registered with the Superintendency of Popular and Solidarity Economy (SEPS) for the period 2021-2025, with a significant disparity between urban (71%) and rural (28%) areas. The credit unions studied are not part of these statistics, which means that there are credit unions operating outside the formal institutional framework. Community credit unions demonstrate that they operate under principles of solidarity, trust, community ties, redistribution of surpluses, and participatory and democratic organizational structures. In contrast to traditional financial institutions, the requirements and terms are more flexible and correspond to the reality of the locality, where everyone has access. Although they present challenges in terms of accounting management, the results suggest that credit unions are the primary source of access to financing for different economic activities, contributing to local development.