Say Cheese For Kiva Student Loans
12 March 2011 at 09:06 karenhansengray 3 comments
Outside the town of Esteli in Nicaragua, you can find the Catholic University of Dry Tropic Farming and Livestock (UCATSE). In October 2010, MíCrédito and Kiva disbursed their first student loans there.
These loans allowed the students to put into practice, what they had learned in the classroom. One group of students used their loans ($75 per student at 1.5% interest per month) to make cheese which was sold on campus.
As a Kiva Fellow, I decided to visit the university, meet the students, see the process firsthand, and offer my services as an official taster.
Students in the AgroIndustry Lab, ready to make cheese.
Cheese or queso fresco made at the university.
Cindy, the MiCredito Kiva Coordinator, lent a hand in the cheese-making process by stirring the milk to cool it, before adding the enzyme that would thicken the milk.
Next step, the curdled milk was strained to remove the liquid.
Salt was added, and the cheese mixed until crumbled, then formed into balls.
The finished product is called cuajada.
A slice of cheese is served with rice, beans, and tortillas.
Future student loans are being considered for projects to raise pigs, and to cultivate a high-quality tomato.
To support MiCredito, please join their Lending Team: Amigos de MiCredito
Check out all MiCredito Borrowers on Kiva!
More about MiCredito, a new Kiva Field Partner in Nicaragua, serving urban and rural clients from six branch offices.
-Karen Gray, Kiva Fellow 14, in Nicaragua
Entry filed under: KF14 (Kiva Fellows 14th Class), Nicaragua. Tags: .
1. real site value | 8 November 2011 at 09:02
I fully agree completely..
2. Special Update from the Field: Beaches, Safaris + Cambodian Glamour Shots « Kiva Stories from the Field | 1 April 2011 at 00:14
[...] / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14) Karen is taking her Kiva Vacation, er, Fellowship very seriously. From eating cheese to smoking cigars to just being a vaquera on horseback, she’s loving the opportunity to kick [...]
3. Update from the Field: Carnival, Collaboration + Cheese-Making « Kiva Stories from the Field | 14 March 2011 at 00:46
[...] Say Cheese For Kiva Student Loans Country: Nicaragua / Fellow: Karen Gray (KF14) Karen conducts important taste-testing at a local university where students have invested small loans from Kiva’s partner microfinance institution (MFI) into making cheese and selling it on campus. [...]