Kiva Stories from the Field

A Lesson in Pottery

14 December 2009 at 23:06 Coambs 2 comments

By Edward O. Coambs Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Philippines

Please give the video a few minutes to load, it is well worth the watch.

Lorna Sagario has just shared her business with you. She makes clay pots for a living. When I came to center 35 to observe their weekly repayment meeting I was met with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm. Of all the centers that I have visited center 35 was particularly welcoming and it was a real pleasure to learn about their craft of clay oven making. The clay pots not only represent hot food but a source of income. Lorna is able to make clay stoves in 5 minutes.

Center 35 Says Hi

Center 35 Welcomes Me

While Lorna was the first person that wanted to show me how to make clay stoves, Joselyn Neiales in the green shirt and Melalyan Mayordo in the brown shirt also wanted to show me how they make their clay stoves. The clay stoves that you see being made are a common cooking appliance that families use in preparing their food. Many of the people in the Philippines live without the resources to afford a gas or electric stove and so these clay stoves serve as their only option for cooking foods.

I asked Lorna about the challenges of her business, to which she replied transportation is one of her limitations. She currently has a motorcycle with a small side car, but she dreams of a day when she could use a small truck or van to transport her finished clay ovens. If there is anyone that came make this dream come true it is Lorna. She has the energy and optimism to make it happen. If you would like to help women like Lorna achieve their dreams make a loan to the women of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation on Kiva.org.

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Help the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation lending team reach 50 members by Dec. 31.

Entry filed under: blogsherpa, KF9 (Kiva Fellows 9th Class), NWTF (Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation), Philippines. Tags: blogsherpa, Kiva Fellows, microfinance, Philippines microfinance.