Posts filed under ‘Peru’
A lack of movement
By Bryan Goldfinger, KF9, Peru
Throughout my “roaming” fellowship, I’ve had a lot of time to think; hours-long bus rides, walks, taxi trips, plane rides, time alone, time surrounded by others but when I felt alone, time spent just waiting, you get the idea. One theme that seems to consistently find its way into my thoughts is movement. (more…)
Kiva Update from PBS Frontline World
Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru & KF9 Bolivia
One of the most exciting things about being a Kiva Fellow is the opportunity to tell the untold stories of those so remote, so rural, and so ignored by the media. When there are six billion humans sprinkled across the world, the media has the unenviable task of (more…)
A Quick Break in the Oasis of America
By Josh Wilcox, KF9 Peru
Taking a brief recess from borrower profiles and repayment schedules at Kiva’s MFI pilot partner Caja Rural one weekend in Ica, Peru, I escaped to visit the small town of Huacachina, the “oasis of America”, located just a few miles outside the sandy metropolitan hub of Ica. Having become famous for its natural lake enclosed by sand dunes, the tiny city of about 115 people has become an immensely popular tourist destination not only for its aesthetic appearance but also the sandboarding and dune buggies.
For those unfamiliar, sandboarding is very similar to snowboarding except, yep you guessed it, it is performed on sand. First popularized in California in the 1980s, there are now annual Sandboarding World Championships held in Hirschau, Germany. Who knew???
Halloween in Cusco
By Sheethal Shobowale, KF9, Peru
In Cusco, Peru, Halloween is celebrated in full force. It kinda feels like home (side note: home for me is Brooklyn, New York). Back in New York, I usually put some pumpkins on my stoop and make some curried pumpkin soup. This year, Cynthia McMurry (Kiva’s Field Support Specialist in South America) and I are going to carve a zapallo and make some soup. So it will feel like home!
Here are some photos from Halloween in Cusco -
I’ll add more over the weekend when I see people dressed up and out trick ‘o treatin’… Hopefully I’ll get to see some cute little kids dressed up like pumpkins.
Happy Halloween from Cusco, Peru!
Celebrate Halloween by lending to Kiva borrowers.
Sheethal Shobowale is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow in Cusco, Peru with Asociación Arariwa
Why We Should Debate Loan Expiration
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF 8/9
As you may have seen, over the past couple of months Kiva has seen its first loans expire on the site. Currently, I am in my eighth week of working with a brand-new Kiva partner, CIDRE, an MFI specializing in agriculture and livestock loans in Bolivia. I mention this because I’ve noticed a significant portion of the loans that have expired or are close to expiration are from MFIs in Bolivia. I realize my opinion is skewed by having spent only a handful of days at Kiva headquarters followed by 5 months at two Kiva partners in South America. As a result, I don’t have really have a great vision from the top – I don’t understand all the organizational elements in place to keep Kiva sustainably rolling. I am just going to call it like I see it now, sun-drained from a long day spent on grueling rural roads, visiting incredibly inspiring Kiva borrowers and successful social projects CIDRE has had a hand in.
My understanding of the premise behind loan expiration is that it allows for Kiva to be more of a marketplace – where instead of making decisions on the end of Kiva, they are made on the end of the MFI and the funding choice is up to the lenders. Thus, the website itself is designed to be like an Ebay for microloans, an intermediary between funders and the funded.
Here is my reasoning for why I personally believe the expiration of loans on Kiva could be detrimental:
1(a). To make an analogy with the child-sponsorship model (please bear with me as it’s stretch): imagine a marketplace for sponsoring children’s school loans, with the exact same design as Kiva. At this hypothetical site, lenders like us could lend to cover school fees for children that would pay for middle or high school (in many countries, attending said schools requires paying school fees). Children’s photos and biographies are thus posted to this hypothetical site, and we treat it like a marketplace. Then, as the site expands and more loans are posted, certain kids aren’t being funded – their loans expire on this site. Then, you pull up the pages of all the children whose loans expired, and they are all kids who aren’t cute or aren’t fitting our notion of how a needy child should look. As you can see, this is unfairly discriminant.
getting there
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
Cultural issues surrounding privacy can be one of Kiva’s biggest challenges regarding implementation in the field. Not everyone wants their photo publicized and many hold suspicions when it comes time to sign a waiver. But I think the biggest challenge for Kiva is far more prosaic. The act of getting to a borrower can be an ordeal in and of itself, and things just got more ‘adventurous’ at my MFI.
EDPYME Alternativa has created a new loan product – called Capital Semilla or Seed Capital – destined specifically for clients who will become Kiva borrowers. Loans of $300 or less at a low interest rate are now offered to rural entrepreneurs. Finding them for the interview generally involves a unique combination of collective vans, collective taxis, mototaxis and walking aimlessly through fields – for hours.
And the journeys take us through landscapes that are beautiful whether through unforgivingly desolate desert or knee high cornfields with palm and locust trees spotting the hazy windless horizons.
For your viewing pleasure I have chronicled one day’s worth of transportation that Manuel (the Kiva Assistant) and I embarked on in order to find just 4 borrowers.
Photos after the jump… (more…)
“Nuestra Capital Semilla” (Our Seed Money)
By Sheethal Shobowale, KF9, Peru
My first loan disbursement outside of the Asociación Arariwa office took place in San Sebastian, an area of Cusco about 15 minutes away from the office.
This group meeting was my ideal picture of group microfinance. Banco Comunal de Maria Auxiliadora is a group of 11 low-income women from Cusco, engaged all all different types of businesses, from cosmetic and grocery sales to artesanía. They had failed to make their repayments on time in their last loan cycle but this time, Valentina, their loan officer was determined for them to succeed.
(more…)
Re-Introducing the Guinea Pig
By Bryan Goldfinger, KF9 Peru
After my first blog post and the various emails and comments I received in response, I felt an obligation to at least provide somewhat of an update on the “Guinea Pig Situation” here in Peru. Ironically, after dubbing myself “the Guinea Pig” there seems to be some sort of astrological connection, an alignment of planets, which has been steering me in the direction of various guinea pig interactions (my own curiosity may also have had something to do with this).
Jesús and his "Cuy Campeón"
A Stockpile of Dollars: How to Deploy Kiva Funding
by Josh Wilcox, KF9 Peru
With a significant new source of funding comes considerable responsibility and opportunity for those who represent the funds at the local MFIs (aka the Kiva Fellows). One of the most exciting privileges about working at a brand new pilot partner is the opportunity to influence how Kiva is best utilized and implemented. When discussing just this topic with the credit manager of Caja Rural Señor de Luren, we brainstormed how the new “Kiva product” could benefit the community within Ica where other capital did not penetrate:
- The major benefit decided upon will be that new “Kiva clients” will be charged a 1% lower monthly interest rate than their other clients, which is quite significant on an annualized basis! This will not only ease pressure off clients who struggle to pay the high interest payments that microfinance institutions typically charge but it will also attract additional microentrepreneurs whose access to funding has been limited due to their inability to make the monthly repayments from solely their standard business operations.
- Another aim for these loans will be to support new microenterprises in need of funding to get on their feet. These entrepreneurs may struggle either because they do not have sufficient credit experience/collateral or because they need an injection of capital to start all over again after their previous business or home was destroyed in the severe Peru earthquake of 2007. By promoting the “Kiva product” to these entrepreneurs who may typically be viewed as higher risk and not eligible for a normal loan, we will provide the funding necessary for many hard-working men and women to realize their business ideas.
Only time will tell how these factors may or may not impact the lives, families, and businesses of those within the Ica community. However, I was quite grateful to be bestowed the opportunity to provide input on how microcredit will be disbursed to entrepreneurs in Peru!
The following is Chapter 2 of my video diary. Enjoy!
Josh Wilcox is a Kiva Fellow at Caja Rural Señor de Luren in Ica, Peru as part of the KF9 class.
Don’t forget to LEND to other South American entrepreneurs and JOIN the Amigos de Caja Rural Señor de Luren lending team!
this is not aisle 3
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
One of my first posts was titled ‘recession proof’’ in which I described the resilience of micro-businesses and the integrity of micro-lending. This time around, I want to detail a theme I had only painted with large brushstrokes.
Although EDPYME Alternativa’s borrowers are scattered throughout the region, I live in Chiclayo and it has become the backdrop and the context of my life. To me, one of the most fascinating parts of this small city is the dearth of big box stores. In their absence exists a constant buzz of small-scale commerce.
Let me describe this vibrant economic landscape. In the center of the city, around the main plaza, there is a mixture of restaurants and shops devoted to clothing and electronics (especially cell phones). As one ventures further from the center, the streets become organized by economic themes.
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- A shop selling paint or glass on Avenida Cuglievan
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- Another shop selling glass on Avenida Cuglievan
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- A string of shops selling paint on Avenida Cuglievan
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- An endless stretch of candy shops on Bolognesi selling King Kong*
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- A row of salons on Avenida Arica
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- Four corners and four pharmacies at the intersection of Balta and Pedro Ruiz
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- In the Mercado Modelo – one of the largest semiformal markets in Perú – there is a seemingly endless amount of organized commerce. For example, the footwear section
(more…)
We are all Kiva partners (Somos Todos Socios de Kiva)
By Sheethal Shobowale, KF9, Peru
Wordreference translates the Spanish word socio as member or partner.
Yesterday, on my first day as a Kiva Fellow at Asociación Arariwa, I got to see my first group loan disbursement. Raquel (the Kiva coordinator at Arariwa) described the borrowers as Nuestros Socios (our members). In a group loan at Arariwa, the borrowers are Socios del banco. A lender who joins the Kiva community can also be called a Socio de Kiva. I translate Kiva’s partner MFIs as Socios de Kiva (Kiva partners) and I describe myself as Socio de Kiva (Kiva Fellow). And one more: here’s a past blog post by another Kiva Fellow, Michelle, about Socios Dinámicos.
Of course we all have other names -
- Institución de Microfinanzas – Microfinance Institution: Asociación Arariwa
Institución de Microfinanzas - Microfinance Institution: Asociación Arariwa
- Prestamista – Lender: Kiva Lending Team Amigos de Asociación Arariwa
Prestamista - Lender: Kiva Lending Team Amigos de Asociación Arariwa
- Prestatario – borrower: Ayda from Asociación Arariwa, Cusco, Peru
Prestatario - borrower: Ayda from Asociación Arariwa, Cusco, Peru
- Voluntario – Volunteer: “Lethal” Sheethal Shobowale, Kiva Fellow, KF9, Peru
Voluntario - Volunteer: "Lethal" Sheethal Shobowale, Kiva Fellow, KF9, Peru
but I really like the idea that we are all socios (partners or members) of Kiva, of microfinance and in alleviating poverty. And going back to Kiva’s mission, Connecting People through Lending to Alleviate Poverty, being connected as socios seems to make sense to me.
Please consider becoming a Socio of Asociación Arariwa by lending to Arariwa borrowers and joining our Kiva lending team – Amigos/Amigas de Arariwa!
Sheethal Shobowale is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow with Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru.
Unsung Heroes
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
‘Connecting people through lending,’ precedes ‘alleviating poverty,’ in Kiva’s mission statement. I have come to believe that the goal might actually be of a higher as opposed to a simple aesthetic preference. I mean, maybe we could eradicate poverty individually, but with the concerted effort of a community it can be done more effectively. In a community one can share ideas, efforts, problems, solutions and risks.
And last week that is exactly what Kiva’s partner institutions in Latin America did. For the second year in a row, nearly all the MFIs who work with us in South America sent a representative to our Cumbre (summit, or in this context conference). For a full day we talked about new site features, challenges to the microfinance industry, new organizational efforts and new collective ideas.
Kiva connects people - on many levels
No Time For Romance
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF9
“Gender-based violence … is ubiquitous in much of the developing world, inflicting far more casualties than any war. Surveys suggest that about one third of all women world-wide face beatings in the home. Women aged fifteen through forty-four are more likely to be maimed or die from male violence than from cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war combined. A major study by the World Health Organization has found that in most countries, between 30 and 60 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence by a husband or boyfriend.” – Nicholas Kristof
When my husband and I were making our way overland to Bolivia, we took a ferry across a small part of Lake Titicaca. On the other side, we stood around some market stalls waiting for our bus to come off the ferry, and all of a sudden we heard yelling behind us escalate to screaming. We spun around to see two female market vendors arguing about one encroaching on the other’s selling space. The words quickly turned to blows, and in a matter of seconds the women were in the dirt, punching each other and ripping each other’s hair out. People just stood around, even smiling as if being entertained. Before long, I screamed for someone to break them up. A foreign traveler next to me whispered in English one of those sentences that rings in your ears for a long time because, at the time, you are so stunned you can’t think of a genius rebuttal fast enough. He said, “let them fight, that’s just how it is down here.” (more…)
A Shaky but Warm Welcome to Ica, Peru!
By Josh Wilcox, KF9 Peru
Three flights, one bus, and two taxi rides behind me, I arrived safely in the southern Peruvian city of Ica. Surrounded by a desert and thousands of miles from Monday Night Football with too much luggage and guitar in hand, I was a bit shocked when I found out the hotel I was hoping to temporarily stay at had collapsed in the formidable Peru earthquake in 2007. Thanks a lot Lonely Planet!
Fortunately I just asked a taxi driver to take me to an affordable hotel he would recommend. After chatting it up a bit with him in the car and telling him I was going to be working with the microfinance institution Caja Rural here in Ica, he snatched a piece of mail out of his glove box that read “Caja Rural” on the letterhead. He proceeded to tell me he is a current borrower from Caja Rural and is hoping to purchase a second taxi with his third loan. He then pulled out a picture of a 1936 Opel that he hopes to use as his second taxi. I have been a volunteer Kiva translator since February and have seen numerous stories such as his, but I was pleasantly caught off guard to finally hear an amazing story of a Kiva borrower first hand in such an unexpected setting!
Before I forget to introduce myself, my name is Josh Wilcox and I am part of the most recent Kiva Fellows class (KF9) to hit the field across the globe. I will be helping set up a recently approved new partner in Ica, Peru, officially named Caja Rural Señor de Luren. They have yet to start Day 1 of their pilot stage so I am in the fortunate position to experience the beginning stages of the Kiva process.
Below is the first chapter of a video diary I hope to maintain throughout the duration of my fellowship. Enjoy!
Loans to Caja Rural will be available soon, but in the meantime check out our other loans from South America here.
Be the Change…Mahatma Gandhi
Sheethal Shobowale, KF9, Peru“Be the change you wish to see in the world” -Mahatma Gandhi
That’s why I wanted to be a Kiva Fellow. In honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday today (Oct 2nd), I am glad to say that my Kiva Fellow colleagues and I are living the change we wish to see by helping people much less fortunate than us.
Kiva Fellows Training
My name is Sheethal Shobowale. I am a New Yorker and the daughter of Indian immigrants. Through my recently founded company, Leap Work, I help non-profits with online communications – development, social media, audience research and analytics online. In my free time, I facilitate discussions about financial literacy for youth and conduct credit counseling for adults as well as coordinate my local block association. I also love rock climbing and cooking.
I am excited to work as a Kiva Fellow with Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru starting next week. I look forward to sharing stories of positive change with you! You can also follow @LethalSheethal on Twitter to get (more) real-time updates from Cusco.
Please consider lending to Asociación Arariwa borrowers on Kiva or join Kiva Lending Team Amigos/as de Asociación Arariwa in your future loans.
Thanks for supporting Kiva!
Sheethal
Sheethal Shobowale is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow with Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru.
Introducing the Guinea Pig…
By Bryan Goldfinger, KF9 (Peru)
At the KF9 graduation ceremony, each newly appointed Fellow received a Thank You card signed by most of the Kiva staff. Many staff members included a simple message and their signature (keep in mind, each one had to write on 49 separate cards), several included a witty remark and one or two left longer messages possibly containing some parting advice for the field. Although I appreciated each message and signature equally, there was one that stuck out from the rest, not necessarily because of who wrote it, or because it was written in green ink and in all capital letters, or because it was near the top of the card directly in the center, but because it read simply, “GOOD LUCK, GUINEA PIG!!” (more…)
Women in Hats
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF9 Bolivia
We can’t get enough of them. We love them so much that they even have their own lending team of fans and a discussion on KivaFriends. Whether they are made of straw or soft fabric, bowler, flat-brimmed, or a tiny saucer looking thing on our borrower’s heads – we just love them.
There is an old English adage that says, “If you want to get ahead in life, you should get yourself a hat.”
I like hats, and I’ll wear one every now and again – maybe for Opening Day in Del Mar or during a long hike to beat the heat (and, of course, during San Diego Padres baseball games). But down here, it’s an essential part of your everyday cholita’s wardrobe – it’s her piece of flair, her fashion statement, and it’s also almost always a statement about where she comes from. Her hat may very well give away her hometown – and whether others see her as a Cochabambina or an Ayacuchana, for example.
When I saw our “Women in Hats” lending team, I was in love! I promise not to get all deep on you, but I thought it was such a cute, simple way that cultures across the world can come together through Kiva – by celebrating even the simplest of accessories. It also conveys why loaning on Kiva is so fun (and addictive) for us!
So, I decided to do a little light research into this hat phenomenon. Since I arrived in Bolivia from Peru, the hat styles have definitely changed. These ones are usually small bowler hats and I cannot for the life of me figure out how they seem to defy physics by not flying off their owner’s heads. Sometimes they are tilted off to the side, sometimes they add a solid 10 inches to a woman’s height – which I guess lends itself to the aforementioned English adage.
I began by Googling “bowler hats Bolivia” and soon found out that they’re called a “bombin” down here. When I Googled that however, all I got were a bunch of articles on bombings (since Google was certain I made a typo) and some Wu Tang Clan lyrics about “bombin’ buildings.” I take it that bombin hats aren’t a typical Google search. Regardless, I dug a little deeper and here’s a synopsis of what I found:
The bowler hat – or bombin – has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia since the 1920s, when it was introduced to Bolivia by British railway workers. Rumor has it that the hats were found to be too small for their intended recipients, so they were then distributed to the locals. For many years a factory in Italy manufactured the hats for the Bolivian market. Now, however, they are produced internationally. This seems to be the most popular theory of bombin origination. (Main source: Wikipedia.org)
Another rumored and uncorroborated bombin hat theory involves an over-order of bowler hats by an enterprising salesman, who supposedly convinced the Bolivian locals that the wearing of hats would increase their fertility. Whether that was once the belief or not, you may be relieved to know that this rumor certainly isn’t prevalent today.
To Have Illusions
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
What do you want to be when you grow up? What are your hopes? What are your dreams?
Throughout my childhood, these questions constantly attached themselves to the most prosaic daily interactions. In a sense I, and most of my peers, were conditioned to be ambitious dreamers, convinced of the limitless possibilities our futures held (and still hold).
When speaking with borrowers one of our unstated goals as Kiva Fellows is to uncover their latent sense of possibility and excitement at the prospect of success. During interviews I attempt to understand what aspiring entrepreneurs want for themselves and for their children. But one of the harshest realities that I confront concerns the occasional and precise absence of aspiration.
In no way am I implying laziness or even a lack of imagination; rather, survival tends to distract many Kiva clients from the potential realities that accompany success. And then I had an a-ha moment. While interviewing Yesenia Esmeralda Bances Morales (click to contribute to her loan), who seemed bemused when she heard the question ‘what are your hopes or dreams in life’ it dawned on me that it might have been the first time anyone had ever asked her that question.
Yesenia Selling at the Market
Just want to be starting something
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8
I remember when I was a teenager, I’d awaken in the middle of the night and meander to the kitchen for a glass of water and my dad would be perched there in his chair with a yellow notepad, writing madly about some scientific revelation. He was always so quiet, and his presence would catch me by surprise. The way his hair was completely messed up and his eyes scarily determined, I could swear in these moments he was a mad scientist. He was coming up with a new theory, some new protein to test for in his lab. I always felt that surely, by the aura of madness accompanying him, he was writing down information that would lead to finding a cure for something that I was incapable of understanding due to his annoying inability to use layman’s terms in explanations.
Writing this post was the first time I felt a little of my Dad’s madness, because I wrote this post quickly with just a pen and notebook in hand and a bad case of writer’s cramp. As I wrote it, one of the loan officers asked to borrow my pen four times before I noticed she was speaking to me. I am sure I looked insane to her. I just feel very occupied by this issue, as I am sure a lot of the other Fellows, Kiva staff, lenders, and borrowers themselves feel.
When your heart is invested in someone, it feels instinctive to look for dangers in their path to warn them. I do the same thing for microfinance; I am always pining around our borrower’s stories to unearth obstacles to its success. I’ve come to believe microfinance’s first and most formidable threat is living without ever having had instruction in economics.
By removing certain variables we can make sense of at least a part of this problem.
When small loans don’t work, let’s assume that means one of two things:
A) It didn’t help the borrower financially and they are about the same.
B) It financially hurt the borrower.
Let’s go ahead and remove all extraneous factors – e.g. political strife, health, personal problems, weather, etc. I am aware that presently, it’s virtually impossible to bar these factors in the developing world as we know it. However, for all intents and purposes, let’s work with variables we might be able to control.
As I write this blog post in my notebook, I am seated in the back of a sea of white plastic chairs that hold the many socias (borrowers) at FINCA. We are all watching a Power Point presentation on the subject: “How to know if you are winning or losing in small business.”
FINCA organized this talk because of the following statistic:
The average life span of small businesses in Ayacucho is 18 months.
FINCA Peru lecture on fostering successful business
Necessity Entrepreneurship
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
On August 22nd the New York Times published the article On to Plan B: Starting a Business describing the unexpected spike of new entrepreneurs emerging from the wreckage of the crisis. They quote the Kauffman foundation and bring the term ‘necessity entrepreneurship’ into the mainstream. And in so doing they articulate one of the misperceptions that surrounds the incentives behind starting a business.
Sometimes I really get the feeling that the talking heads, professors, text-books and pols just don’t get it. And by ‘it’ I mean anything remotely human. To think that greed gets elevated as some sort of miraculously innovative force in the ‘opportunity entrepreneurship’ model, where interest rates adjustments can fix anything, still boggles my mind. As far as I am concerned, nearly all entrepreneurship is ‘necessity entrepreneurship,’ whether in the US, Egypt, Armenia or in Chiclayo, Peru.
Walking to Angelita's Shack
The will to live and make a better life for one’s children are the driving economic forces in most places. People’s businesses are too small to fail — their families depend on them. The phrase ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ contains a truth lost on contemporary economic thought. Luckily it is not lost on Kiva Lenders, whose generosity grows when ‘opportunities’ dry up.
In the end, I cannot help but laugh out of frustration when I read statements like this: “But research on what is known as post-traumatic growth has found that some people become more resilient when faced with adversity, says Shawn Achor, a Harvard researcher. Creativity surges, he says, as they adapt to a new situation.” I read this during the evening, while during the same day I had been out to visit Angelita Loconi De Teque who is 47 and perseveres through ‘adversity’ to make a better life for the 4 children still in her care.
Recession-proof
By Shereef Zaki, KF9, Perú
As my first week working with EDPYME Alternativa, one of Kiva’s newest partners, draws to a close I can think of only one phrase to describe the world of micro-finance: recession-proof. Having just come out of the economic and political turmoil caused by the so-called, “Great Recession,” in the US, the vitality and celerity of micro-businesses is cast into even greater relief.
I want to begin by introducing you, the Kiva community, to EDPYME Alternativa. Born of an effort in the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce, EDPYME Alternativa is a highly effective and organized MFI whose mission is to improve the living condition of its clients by supporting their entrepreneurial activities, generating employment in the small and micro enterprise sectors, and strengthening the financing for sustainable and profitable businesses in the region.
In addition to issuing financial products like loans EDPYME Alternativa also provides the following services for its clients: bi-yearly medical checkups, agricultural capacitation workshops, technology training workshops, and sales workshops.
And to maintain their presence in the community EA also holds an annual “Chocolatá” where they give out chocolate and presents to the children of their least fortunate clients and clothing to the adults. Additionally, they collect clothing and supplies for clients who are the victims of natural disasters such as the cold snaps, heat waves and earthquakes common to this region.
In the Mercado Modelo, where many Kiva borrowers have setup stands, competition can be fierce but it stokes the fires of their ambition
In spite of having been here only a brief amount of time, EDPYME Alternativa has already demonstrated to me the the recession-resistant nature of microfinance. They lend regardless of crisis and focus on the well being of their clients. This is a world that lacks Best Buy, Wal Mart, Staples and Barnes and Noble. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and the other institutions that line that gilded casino known as Wall Street have peripheral influence here. (more…)
How I Became a Godmother
By Courtney Kemps, KF8 Peru
I thought I’d share this little story because I think it nicely illustrates both the typical and the wildly atypical in my work as a Kiva Fellow. And it also illustrates how these two opposites sometimes intertwine in unusual ways . . . .
In the course of my work with Kiva field partner Manuela Ramos I have spent a lot of my time interviewing Kiva borrowers to provide lenders with updates on their businesses. Each week I attend several communal bank meetings in order to meet the borrowers and set up interviews with them. All of Manuela’s communal banks meet monthly with their loan officers. These meetings, called “Reuniones de Pago,” have several purposes: 1) Review of the bank’s financial situation. The month’s loan payments are verified, borrowers’ passbooks are filled out, and any delinquencies in payments are discussed. 2) Participation in an educational session given by the bank’s loan officer. During the course of my work, these sessions have dealt with how to manage, promote and grow one’s business. 3) Discussion of any other issues and announcements from the loan officer regarding upcoming plans or programming from Manuela.
One afternoon this past week I attended a “Reunión de Pago” for the communal bank “De La Amistad” (Friendship). Arriving early, I had a chance to interview the bank’s president, Teresa, who is a Kiva borrower with a growing juice sales business. Before the meeting began I quietly went around the room, introducing myself to the 3 or 4 other Kiva borrowers in the group and setting up times to interview them.
Many of the original founders of “De La Amistad” are still members and are quite proud of the fact that “De La Amistad” is one of Manuela’s oldest communal banks. The members spent a large part of last week’s meeting planning a celebration for their 11th anniversary, an unusual activity for a communal bank. As they began their discussion, I assumed that such an event would mean going out for lunch or dinner as a group. Not so at all: “De La Amistad’s” 11th anniversary celebration will be an elaborate affair! After an hour’s planning, on the wall hung a piece of poster paper with a numbered schedule of events for the gala, to be held at a nearby event hall. Tickets will be sold. Everyone will dress up and bring her spouse or partner. There will be dinner and dancing. There will be a brief talk about the bank’s history, followed by a speech from a Manuela Ramos representative, followed by a toast. Finally, from among its members, “De La Amistad” will choose a queen for the year.
Near the end of this planning, Teresa called me up to the front of the room. I assumed that she was going to introduce me and explain my purpose to the group as a whole. Usually a loan officer introduces me when I attend meetings, but I figured that Teresa had taken on this task because we had already had a chance to chat. Instead of introducing me, however, Teresa asked me if I would be the godmother of the 11th anniversary celebration! I was rather startled. All I could think was to ask if this was the same as being the queen. “No, no!” the women told me. The godmother provides the cake and becomes the “guest of honor.” I protested that I was heading home next week and, therefore, could not attend the event, which was scheduled for the end of September. No problem, they told me, I could send someone to represent me. Another bank member recounted “De La Amistad’s” long, proud history with Manuela Ramos and their annual tradition of having an anniversary celebration. How could I refuse a roomful of 20 expectant women?
This is how I became a godmother. Not of a person, but of an event that I cannot even attend! On my way out the door, several women smiled, saying “Goodbye, Godmother.”
Courtney Kemps has been serving as a Kiva Fellow with Manuela Ramos in Pucallpa, Peru since the beginning of June. She’s had a great experience meeting many of Manuela’s Kiva borrowers and will be finishing up her Fellowship next week. Learn more about Manuela Ramos’s microfinance program or check out a list of currently fundraising loans for the organization’s borrowers.
A Tale of Two Cities in One
By Rob Mittelman, KF8, Peru
Most days I struggle with what I see.
The academic in me would explain the concept of economic dualism as the coexistence of modern and traditional sectors within a single economy, especially as found in less-developed countries. Modern and traditional are perhaps polite terms for rich and poor (that’s not the academic in me, that’s the cynic). The division between rich and poor, or modern and traditional, is as great here as I’ve seen in Latin America. Statistics may say otherwise but I see a great discrepancy.
During my Kiva Fellows Program I am living in a middle class neighbourhood in Lima called Jesus Maria. There are much nicer and safer neighbourhoods nearby where most of the other foreigners live but I chose this one as it’s close to EDAPROSPO’s main office. This wasn’t the Peru I was expecting.
the Artist and the Artisan
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru
What is an artist? What is an artisan? Are they different?
The debate caught my interest when I was walking away from Ayacucho’s Ex-Carcel, a former prison now converted to an artisan market where many of our Kiva borrowers at FINCA Peru work. As I chatted with Jen, a friend of mine and herself an avid student of language, I couldn’t shake something she said. She noted that the term ‘artisan’ often seems more related to poverty or developing nations, whereas the term ‘artist’ seems more attached to an upper-crust society, or simply put, wealth. Her insight got me thinking and researching.
I do not believe the terms have anything the least bit inherent in them that pulls one to poverty or wealth; but it may be a consequence of how we define the terms more generally. Artisans often produce functional goods, and produce a large quantity of the crafts they are good at. Artists, on the other hand, are considered to be those who produce one-of-a-kind-pieces; their livelihood also does not necessarily depend on the production of their works.
10 Fellowship Gems
By Cynthia McMurry, KF8 Ecuador
Over the past year, I have learned valuable lessons about life, gotten to know myself better, greatly enriched my understanding of microfinance, observed the workings of the informal economy in Latin America, been touched by many clients’ stories and experiences, and been proud to represent Kiva at four different MFIs in three South American countries.
Some of my favorite moments, though, have absolutely nothing to do with microfinance. They’re little cultural quirks, lifestyle adaptations, or just silly everyday things that make me smile, remember that I am not from here, and cherish the experience that much more.
Some of my favorites:
Best heckle: Anyone who’s as white as me and who has tried to run in public in Latin America knows what it’s like to be heckled. You usually get whistles, catcalls, and hear things like, “Faster!” “Run!” and “ONE two three ONE two three.” After a while you learn not to pay too much attention and to instead focus your energy on watching out for dogs and traffic.
Out running in Trujillo at 7am one morning, a driver stuck his head out the window and yelled “Yuquitas peladas!” (“Little peeled yuccas!”), a metaphorical reference to the whiteness of my legs. By far the most creative heckle ever, plus I’m impressed that he was able to think of it so quickly (especially that early in the morning) and stick his head out of the car window while driving and avoiding traffic mishaps. Kudos. (more…)
A Recipe for Adding Value to Microcredit
By Courtney Kemps, KF8 Peru
1 kg of peeled cocona fruits
2 liters of water
450 grams of sugar
10 grams of stabilizer
2 cups of milk
These are the ingredients for making popsicles from cocona, a bright orange-yellow fruit grown in Peru’s jungle region. This recipe was one of four distributed to all who attended a recent workshop on how to make ice cream and other frozen treats sponsored by Manuela Ramos’s Pucallpa office.
In my two months working as a Kiva Fellow with Manuela Ramos in Pucallpa I have had the good fortune to attend two educational workshops designed for the organization’s borrowers. Manuela Ramos takes the educational component of their microfinance program very seriously. Sonia Mamani Gamarra is the full-time education coordinator for the Pucallpa office and is responsible for organizing these monthly workshops as well as the educational sessions given by loan officers at each communal bank’s monthly meeting.
Workshops are planned far in advance of their execution and are taught by specialists in the particular topic being presented. This year’s workshops were designed following a survey of about 60-70% of Manuela’s borrowers, who were asked what they were most interested in learning, the best time and location for workshops, and how long the sessions should last. Some workshops are designed to add value to business ventures that are already common among Manuela Ramos’s borrowers (i.e. home-based restaurants or the sale of beauty products). Others introduce new ideas based on what is likely to sell well in Pucallpa (i.e. ornamental plants or ice cream). Prior workshops have instructed borrowers in cooking (particularly regional dishes), making decorations with recycled materials, doing manicures and pedicures, preparing desserts, and giving makeovers.
In June I joined about 30 borrowers at a plant nursery outside the city where an agronomist taught us how to raise tropical ornamental plants for the house or yard. Participants received detailed instructions about how to grow the plants, make cuttings, treat plant diseases, and produce compost. The classroom portion was followed by an instructive tour of the facility.
Workshop on Growing Ornamental Plants
The story of a dog, a ghost, and a Kiva Borrower
by Rob Mittelman, KF8, Peru
When I visit Kiva Borrowers, I bring along a colour printout of their Kiva Profile for them to keep. For many of them it’s a real thrill. They knew their information was on the internet but had never seen their page, their picture, or read their own story before (our stories appear in the original Spanish underneath the English translation). It usually gets passed around and shown to all present. There are always lots of giggles and some embarrassment as I tell them people in the US know about their little restaurant, people in Spain know about their market stall, or how someone from Norway is familiar with their handicrafts. Most take very good care of the printout while I’m around. I don’t know where it ends up but I’ve yet to see it folded up, stuffed in a pocket, or left behind.
One of the most exciting parts for them is seeing their Kiva Lenders and where they come from. For most the people reading this blog, that’s you! (more…)
I know I can. Be what I want to be.
By Suzy Marinkovich, KF8 Peru
When did I begin to learn about savings? I can’t say I’m any good at it, but at one point far and long ago, I know I learned about it.
I suppose it was simply modeled to me by my parents, dedicated savers and cautious spenders. For many of us, saving seems so natural a concept that it’s hard to climb outside of our nutshells to see the rest of the world’s reality. Banks are readily available to many of us, and they often shell out incentives for us to save with them – collecting interest, investing, and the like. It seems like everyone is telling us to save.
Yet, from interviews I’ve conducted here in Ayacucho, I’ve noticed the importance of saving is something many of our borrowers really come to value only after joining FINCA.
FINCA requires its borrowers to deposit into a savings, which they get at the end of their loan cycle. Loan Officers also lecture the borrowers on the importance and value of saving at their weekly meetings, and encourage them to voluntarily contribute additional savings through FINCA as well.
The last question on my journal interview questionnaire for Kiva borrowers is also my personal favorite, and I made it the last one because I look forward to the response so much I make myself wait until the end. (It’s like in college when I would allow myself to eat candy only after I finished my homework.) The question is: what do you like the most about borrowing from FINCA?
I love it because it’s the one question I almost always get a unique response from. And yet one of the most resounding responses is, “because they taught me how to save!” One Kiva borrower said, “They force me to save. At first I hated it. But now I understand it and I love it! I’m going to start construction on my home soon. The savings are my favorite part.” I definitely saw myself in her.
For these women, the loan itself is not their ‘favorite part’ about borrowing from FINCA. It’s learning about savings! As if I wasn’t addicted to Kiva enough, now I have another reason to be: it’s not just about borrowing for the present, it’s about teaching the women to save for their future. Our microfinance partners that stress saving—and most of them do—are passing a great test of sustainability.
But these days, it’s not only the women that learn how to save at FINCA Peru.
Surviving the Transportation Strike in Pucallpa, Peru
By Courtney Kemps, KF8 Peru
Recently I made the mistake of trying to visit a Kiva borrower during Peru’s countrywide transportation strike on July 8th and 9th, a mistake which had rather scary consequences (fortunately of short duration)! Transportation associations around the country had called for the strike in response to a new law passed by the government, a law which greatly increased the fines for driving offenses such as speeding or running a red light. Many people felt that the law was unfair because the fines were out of proportion to people’s salaries: those who had little income could never afford to pay them. While the law was well-intentioned, those involved in transportation industries were also upset that the government had not consulted with them in advance of the law’s passage.
Though Lima barely felt this two-day strike, the experiences of some provincial towns such as Pucallpa were very different. In Pucallpa, all schools and most businesses closed up. The usual constant drone of motorcycle taxi traffic was replaced by a peaceful near-quiet, punctuated occasionally by the sound of a private vehicle or single taxi whose driver had decided to risk doing business that day. Most people stayed home. During these two days anyone who decided to open their business or operate their taxi ran the risk of encountering violence. Strikers (and others who were just taking advantage of the situation) punctured the tires of vehicles that were out on the roads and looted open shops and market stalls.
"No to the strike, no violence." Similar graffiti was all over Pucallpa.
A little after 8:00 am on the morning of the 8th I set out in search of a taxi to take me to Kiva borrower Loida’s house near the Bellavista market. I had thought that my early departure and destination far outside the city center would avoid any encounter with strike activity. After a few minutes wait I managed to find a motorcycle taxi still serving customers on the main road. Though the driver already had another passenger, he offered to take me to my destination. After the other passenger stepped out a few hundred meters down the road, the driver continued on until we reached a point where the road was blocked by groups of young men circling in motorcycle taxis. These young men were standing on the seats of the vehicles, shouting and waving pieces of wood. My driver detoured off the road onto a dirt area in front of some stores to bypass the congestion. Our vehicle, still somewhat blocked from forward movement by groups of people, eventually came to a halt. At this point my driver pulled a machete out from under my seat. I immediately hopped out of the taxi and offered to pay for the distance we had traveled up to that point. A man wielding a stick of wood came over to our stopped vehicle and bent down to puncture the tire. My driver leaped out of his taxi and chased after the man, waving his machete in the air. Intensely angry and unable to reach the guy, my driver struck out at the nearest thing, another stopped motorcycle taxi (with two passengers in the seat), and pushed it over. At this point, I was rapidly walking away. I safely made it out of the crowd and walked the mile or so back to my house, joining other pedestrians also at a loss for transportation.
Motorcycle taxi in downtown Pucallpa.
Later that evening, after making a number of phone calls and talking to my neighbors to find out whether the strike activity had ended for the day, I made it into Kiva partner Manuela Ramos’s office for a dinner we were to have that evening for some Ecuadorian visitors. The streets in the center of Pucallpa were eerily quiet for 5:00 pm on a weekday. Shops were closed, and instead of the usual raucous hordes of motorcycle taxis clogging the streets, only one or two dotted each block. Groups of young men and boys had set up soccer games in the streets– at one point a ball flew high over the vinyl roof of my taxi.
Upon arriving at the office, which had remained open for the day, I found most of the staff present. Some had come into work on private vehicles; others had walked. Marleny, our janitor and receptionist, had walked all the way from her suburban home, leaving at 5:00 am and arriving at the office at 6:30. I admired her dedication to the job! The Ecuadorian visitors, who had come to Manuela Ramos’s Pucallpa office for a few days from Kiva partner Fundación ESPOIR to observe operations and learn about the organization’s educational programming, had spent the day furtively zig-zagging around town in a motorcycle taxi to avoid roadblocks. They had found few Manuela Ramos borrowers at the meetings they attended.
We all headed out to a nearby restaurant (which had opened for the evening) to treat the visitors and to celebrate staff birthdays for the month of July. The event was lively, but no one was comfortable heading home by herself that night. After dinner, I headed out with four office staff who all live in the same area to find a motorcycle taxi. Usually it takes at most five seconds to flag down a taxi from anywhere in Pucallpa; that night we had to walk half a mile to find one. All five of us piled into a space meant for no more than three. The driver took a very circuitous route to avoid any lingering strike activity on the main road. Along this detour route we passed a few mostly removed, still smoldering “roadblocks” which appeared to consist of small piles of dirt, sticks and burnt tires (the last according to a loan officer who frowned at the smell).
Speaking to my neighbor today, I learned that summer is “strike season” here in Peru. There may be more this month and next. Having learned the hard way, I will know better what to expect next time!
Courtney Kemps is serving as a Kiva Fellow with Manuela Ramos in Pucallpa, Peru from June through August. Learn more about Manuela Ramos’s microcredit program or check out a list of currently fundraising loans for the organization’s borrowers.
¡Feliz Inti Raymi!
Posted by Lee Bruner KF8
In Cusco, Perú, there are numerous holidays during the winter months of June and July. Most recently the town celebrated Inti Raymi (the Sun Festival), an Incan tradition marking the beginning of a new year with the winter soltice. Many companies make up their own traditional outfits and march through the main square in a parade that lasts for around 12 hours.
I am currently working with Asociación Arariwa, Kiva’s field partner in the Sacred Valley of Perú. When I arrived last month, preparations for Inti Raymi were already underway: signs were posted around the office detailing the dress code (dark pants and red pocho) and practice times for the dancers who would lead our group through the plaza.
