Kiva Stories from the Field

The Lights Went out (for a walk?)

5 November 2008 at 18:47 kaliegold 5 comments

Santiago, DR

Romance languages are famous for invoking visual imagery, symbolism, and subtlety in phrasings and word choice. In the Spanish-speaking world, the language maps out like a watershed: tributaries flowing from Spain to the Caribbean, from California to South America, and everywhere in between. The bedrock of European Spanish has long since been covered and mixed with “New World” sediments; verbal gems from New York City, Santo Domingo,  Boston, San Juan, Miami, Havana, and Los Angeles streets have nestled themselves into daily Latin American lives. A casual “hello” today in Mexico may be meaningless (or perhaps offensive!) in Honduras. The art of cussing would make a fabulous encyclopedia series.

A Santiago Monument-I wonder if these lights are always on!

Learning Dominican Spanish means developing an ear for its accelerated tempo, truncated invocations, vague generalities, and regular references to God’s will. Need directions? Forget landmarks and right-left-north-south. It is hard to get beyond “back there,” “up there,” “nearby” “sort of nearby” and “ up there, far.” Similarly, many things happen “soon” but when, exactly, remains unknown.

When the lights go out here at the Esperanza-Santiago office (almost every single day)—we all chime in with “se fue la luz” the light left (went out). While in English we also employ “the power is out,” “se fue la luz” uses the same phrasing as to say that a person has departed. This always leaves me with the sense that the light left on its own accord—you know, it decided to take a break. It wasn’t “shut off,” or lost. It just, left.

The reality is that power problems are chronic in the DR. The power plants and other infrastructure is insufficient. To keep the Santiago office running (or a similar enterprise), it is necessary to buy a set of  back-up rechargeable batteries (inverters) to make up for power deficiency. Of course, the back-ups will fail too. The Esperanza office manager and I are often up to our ears in delayed data-entry and email tasks.

The streetlight lets us know if we have power...if not...protestors might burn a tire or two

Almost everyone here in Santiago is vulnerable to power outages, whether you pay your bills or not.  In a few neighborhoods, local tigres “street guys” will occasionally light afire a tire or two in frustrated protest. They and the police will also sometimes exchange gunfire, on particularly caliente days.

For Esperanza clients, electricity—lack of it—is part of the status quo. Microfinance businesses are adapted to the circumstances—I have yet to meet a client who needs regular electricity to do business. Entrepreneurs sidestep the risk of relying on the unreliable—and its monthly cost. Women who sew clothes do it by hand or with non-electric machines, women with colmados (small food stores) do not invest in fridge-needy inventory. Beauty product peddlers, shoe sellers, and the women with home hair washing salons—they don’t require electricity either.*

While the micro-businesses mostly keep electric problems at arm’s

A home based nail salon--no electricity required!

length—it also becomes clear that electricity is like a “limiting nutrient.” How far can a personal colmado grow before it needs to sell cold beverages? Or a food vendor needs to buy refrigerated goods? Ice? Of course, Esperanza and other microfinance organizations prove very effective at these critical points—poised to provide the extra $500-$1000 for the backup batteries, freezers, and refrigerators via the microloan process.

office inverters, aka backup batteries. Pricey.

Having a business that does require a significant power supply—is quite a statement. Having more than backup inverters, and consistent funds to pay the electric company. The only places that seem to operate with 100% reliable electricity are places such as commercial banks, large supermarkets, and Santiago’s fully-loaded mall. For everyone else, improved infrastructure and power plants are also somewhere in the government agenda— perhaps something will improve “soon.” Until things get sorted out, the light leaves when it pleases.

That’s all for now!

Questions? Comments? Post ‘em!

Up Next: Stories from San Pedro de Macoris!

Cuidanse, take care,

Kalie Gold

Kiva Fellow, KF6 Dominican Republic

To fund Esperanza International Loans on Kiva.org please go to:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=44&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New+to+Old

* Postscript: Much more than electricity costs are out of reach for other Esperanza clients. In La Chichigua (the Kite) I met a brand new Esperanza village bank—who have named themselves Fey y Amor (Faith and Love). The community is planted in a verdant Santiago hillside—and is neighbored by a few luxurious suburban mansions. But La Chichigua remains outside of government oversight, the electric grid, and the city water pipes. According to a loan officer, this is one way to live cheap. La Chichigua residents risk mudslides and flash floods in order to live on squatted land, with a free hillside stream, and the “security” that they will be left alone.

Entry filed under: Dominican Republic, Esperanza International, KF6 (Kiva Fellows 6th Class). Tags: electricity, Kalie Gold, Santiago.