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The Merlinda Torejos women in the Philippines

I received this update from one of our projects in the Philippines:

I’ve spent several months acting as a Kiva Fellow on the island of Bohol in the Philippines, visiting entrepreneurs and working alongside a local Field Partner here. As you may know, all entrepreneur profiles on Kiva’s web site are posted by local Field Partners (microfinance institutions), which are organizations that lend to the working poor to help lift themselves out of poverty. The role of the Field Partner is to screen each entrepreneur, upload his/her loan request on the Kiva web site, disburse the loan, and collect repayments.

Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), in partnership with WorldVision, delivers microfinance services and education to thousands of borrowers throughout the Philippines. With over 20 branches, CEVI reaches even the most remote clients as custodians of your Kiva loans.

One such branch is in Trento, Agusan del Sur province in Mindanao. This small, agricultural community is several hours by bus from the main city of Davao and is known for its advances in organic rice farming. On a recent visit we met with the San Jose cluster of clients and attended their weekly meeting.

CEVI clients form community clusters, which are groups of 6 to 30 people who meet regularly to provide training and education to borrowers as well as to collect and disburse repayments and loans. With regularly elected officers, these groups are entirely managed by the community for the benefit of its members. On this afternoon, the San Jose cluster began the meeting with a prayer before settling in to discuss the arrival of Kiva and how it works.

Many of those in the San Jose cluster raise pigs or rice and are provided with agricultural loans. These loans often have a 4 month term, which coincides with the length of time it takes to raise a piglet or the period to bring rice to harvest. Often the proceeds go toward animal feed or fertilizers, but may also be used to purchase piglets or seed. The most profitable pig farmers are those with sows who can breed their own piglets, but sows are costly to maintain given their piggish appetites.

Nelia Tura runs yet another type of business by raising ducks. She recently purchased 200 ducklings which she keeps behind her small wooden home outside Trento. After reaching maturity, the ducks will lay one egg a day which she sells to local balut manufacturers. Balut is a duck egg which has been fertilized to 16 or 17 days before being steamed and eaten with vinegar and salt. It’s a favorite late-night snack which is high in protein and economical at a price of about $0.30. Nelia has a near monopoly on duck eggs in her town and was able to increase her output thanks to her Kiva loan.

Virgin de Fatima group in Bolivia

Progress received from one of our projects in Bolivia:

As a Kiva Fellow working with Kiva’s local partner MFI in Bolivia, Emprender, I recently had the opportunity to visit with the women in the Virgen de Fatima group.

The women were waiting for me to rush back from another client visit and meet them at the home of Graciela, where they meet once every two weeks to make their loan payments. At first everyone was a little quiet and timid, but soon they relaxed and I felt very welcome in this large group of friends. We went around the circle, and I learned a little about each person’s business.

Raquel has a small business selling used clothing as a vender. She has a small cart where she displays her clothes, and every day looks for a good place to set up shop. She has been doing this for the past year, and finds that she makes more money in this business than she did selling juices. She used her loan to make the change and is very happy she did so.

Graciela has a small restaurant where she sells breakfast and lunch for 10 Bolivianos, or about $1.50. Each lunch is a fixed menu and includes both a large, hearty soup, and a main course. Sometimes she offers api which is a traditional drink for cooler weather. It is made of ground corn, water, lemon juice, sugar, cloves and cinnamon and is served with some type of fried pastry with cheese.

Asunta has a small variety store for the past 3 years where she caries a large variety of pastries and packaged sweets. She has recently decided to supplement this store with make-up sales. She used her Kiva funded loan to move in this direction.

Aida makes different jams and spreads. She makes a very popular strawberry and peach jam with all natural ingredients. She also makes Manjar Blanco which is similar to dulce de leche, but it doesn’t have any additives. This is made by boiling milk and sugar until it thickens into a sauce poured onto bread and other breakfast items. She makes lots of jars of this from her house, based on different orders from her clients, which are most often friends, neighbors and family members. She is hoping to set up a contract with different elementary schools in the area and provide a fixed amount of jam weekly.

Ruth also sells perfumes and cosmetics, but needed the capital to purchase the items. Her friends are quick to add that Ruth’s creams are the nicest to be found in El Torno, a town outside of Santa Cruz, Bolivia where these women live.

I was sorry not to have time to visit with the whole group but really enjoyed getting to know these businesses better. Thank you for supporting them!

Martina from the Fuerza Divina group

Today I received this progress report from the Fuerza Divina Group in Dominican Republic:

Martina used her Kiva loan to travel to Santo Domingo to buy curtains, blankets, shoes, and other items requested by her customers. This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week), which is a week long vacation celebrated by going to the beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic.

Martina took advantage of this popular vacation and bought towels, swimsuits, and sandals in bulk to sell the week before, and when I visited her she had sold out of all her vacation merchandise. With her profits Martina buys more merchandise, but saves the majority for any “medical, or personal emergency” she might have.

This was Martina’s 5th loan with Esperanza! She is such an exceptional entrepreneur and group leader that Esperanza awarded her with a “Best Group Coordinator” award this past December. Her future business plans are to expand her business and sell sliver jewelry.

Fatuma Jumbe's Mabiba Freedom Group

Received this update from Kiva:

Greetings from Tanzania! Thank you for supporting Fatuma Jumbe and the Mabibo Freedom group. I am happy to report she is doing extremely well. With the loan she received, she purchased an interlocking machine.

As a result, her monthly profit rose to $93! Fatuma uses the additional profits to cover household expenses, to buy fabrics and to pay school fees. Fatuma and the Mabibo Freedom group are very grateful for the loan and are thankful to every one who has supported them.