The door to my Kiva office in Cusco, Peru

Should I become a Kiva Fellow? I imagine a lot of the Stories From The Field blog followers have considered applying to the Fellowship, or have wondered what the comparison is between the Kiva Fellows Program to similar volunteer or development programs abroad. This may include the Peace Corps, overseas research grants, overseas workshops on topics in development, Fulbright Fellowships, Rotary Scholarships, and possibly service-learning trips if you are currently students.  The list goes on and on.  And it can seem like a big and slightly mystifying list for anyone who just wants to make a decision and DO SOMETHING!

There are a lot of similar experiences out there, and it can be tough narrowing down the right choice for you.  Here is my perspective as a Kiva Fellow in Peru who is extremely grateful to be currently doing or have done those projects listed above. This post will compare and contrast “what it’s like” to be a Kiva Fellow to the myriad other programs out there.  If you are thinking about “doing something different,” “getting out of a work rut,” or “finally being one of those people who GOES and DOES something,” I hope this post helps you make a decision about what exactly to do.

To that end I will categorize each of the above experience based on five criterion.

1.  What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me
2. Level of Freedom or Structure
3. Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?
4. Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all
5. Was it Worth it?

‘Nuff talk.  Enjoy!  If you have specific questions after reading, shoot me a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I get done with my next local kid pic.

Kiva Fellows are a pretty sharp crowd.  We write all kinds of interesting blog posts about poverty, financial services, and development theories. We quote authors like Yunus, Sachs, and Easterly so you know we are open to everyone’s ideas.  We insert pictures of ourselves in all kinds of crazy situations like riding camels, standing in front of slums, and hugging local children.  Man, do we love hugging local children.

A lot of us are hoping this fellowship will be a foot in the door to a career in international finance, international development, or, let’s be honest, maybe the thing that gets us a graduate scholarship.  We are all great people.  I know that first hand from getting to know all of my current fellows during our training at Kiva Headquarters, and through the months of emails in the field since then.  We all want to use our lifetimes to help.  BUT, we probably all have personal reasons for doing this too.  And there is nothing wrong with that! Just like Kiva, us Fellows are trying hard to balance helping others and helping ourselves; which is much harder than just doing one or the other.  This post is about those personal reasons, a.k.a. the incentives for us helping.

OVERSEAS SERVICE-LEARNING

College students working on clean water project in Ecuador, '11.

1) What it’s Like and What It was Like for Me

I designed community water projects in Nicaragua as a student and have directed service learning projects for students to do the same in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador(and will do the same in Peru this coming spring).

Service-learning is really close to my heart because it is how I got pulled out of the sometimes dry world of engineering and into the colorful, inspired, much more complicated world of international development..  As a fourth-year undergraduate engineering student I designed a water pumping and delivery system for a village in Nicaragua. In order to implement this project, I applied for and my proposal was granted $10,000 bucks from the Davis “Projects for Peace” Foundation.  This service learning experience showed me for the first time how useful my skills could be in the world.  I have never been as challenged on a daily basis as I was during that project, nor have I have I been as ecstatic to get up every day and work.  My work included engineering design, studying Nicaraguan history and politics, trying to communicate with NGOs overseas and in the states, and learning as much Spanish as possible.  Occasionally I would talk with people in the village itself through skype, and my heartbeat literally doubled from excitement.  That personal connection was something extremely knew and exciting.

Service learning may exist at your university, and may not.  If it does, be proactive and get involved, then make it your own.  If it doesn’t exist, make it happen!  I found like-minded students and professors, and was allowed to work on the first service-learning engineering project at my university.  My last year at college I learned more than I did in the previous three, thanks to this service-learning project.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Usually these are fairly structured, for good reason.  It is part of a class and you have to finish SOMETHING.  Small, bite-sized projects are typical for service-learning experiences.  So, don’t get involved in this if you want to have the freedom to do exactly what you want or possibly scrap your original idea half-way through.  That said, these projects typically are more open to creativity than standard theoretical projects and/or reports.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

My experience was great, and I think I did help.  My service-learning team (engineers and environmental science students) was lucky enough to successfully pair up with NGOs that had follow-through capabilities.  This was very important, as we were new to the work.  Looking back, we were a group of young students trying to change the lives of 350 Nicaraguans.  That is powerful stuff, and if we were alone on the project, I think we would have had little impact or worse, would have set them back.  Make sure you have a good mentor capable of picking up the pieces if you decide to start up a new service-learning project.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

This stuff usually costs some dough.  I would expect it to be around $1000-$3000 extra to do one of these for a semester rather than typical coursework. It is possibly included in your course fees or can tack on an additional couple grand.  Every experience is different.  BUT the good news is that you can dip in the educational funds money-bucket.  Educational grant funds are huuuuuge.  You can probably apply for scholarships, grants, etc. and get away doing this kind of thing almost for free.  If your “project” costs money to implement, that’s another thing.  It will probably be much harder to find funds within your university to go and implement, but look!  Mission programs, international study offices, and outside foundations like the one mentioned above are a good start.

5) Was it Worth it?

As a foot in the door, DEFINITELY.

That said, service-learning is a mixed bag, because it is usually attached to an educational institution (universities) where there is a focus on the educational component for students.  That is great, but sometimes leaves the person/group you were serving a little disappointed.  As service-learning is a partnership between a student-group and clients (overseas or not), there is much time and effort invested on both sides.  The student group will be expected to do more than simply write a final report, in many cases.  Be wary of the impact you are having on the project beneficiaries, and make sure that when you leave they also think it was worth it.  But at the end of the day, if I had not done this I would probably be a much wealthier but much more depressed engineer, sitting in a cubicle somewhere, making calculations.  Therefore I am a huge fan of service learning as a tool to show young people how to engage their community and world, and try to help.  To read an article I published on service-learning click here.

OVERSEAS WORKSHOPS

The author soldering together individual solar cells in Nicaragua, '07.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I participated in a workshop on Appropriate Technologies in Nicaragua with the National Engineering University of Managua, which entailed some basic classes on the physics behind appropriate technologies like solar panels, solar water pumps, biodigestors, solar ovens, rope pumps, composting latrines etc.  We also built our own solar panels, solar cookers, helped construct an adobe building, and practiced our intercultural skills with a “homestay” with a humble Nicaraguan family. I have also participated in a  course on Globalization, Leadership, and Technology that culminated in an overseas conference in Vietnam and Taiwan.  The conference encompassed some very high level, involved visits with CEOs of large corporations and, in my opinion, was very much an outsiders view of a local culture.  The former was a bottom-up approach.

These experiences are similar to service-learning projects being that you are really only expected to learn.  They are also a great foot in the door or a refresher course on field work in a specific part of the world.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

These are very structured. There will probably be a schedule for everything you do, from the time you land on the runway to the time you are swooped back up. They are usually pretty jam-packed and don’t leave much freedom to “do what you want” if it isn’t the specific goal of the workshop.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

The goal of these courses isn’t to ‘make a difference’ at all, or at least directly.  You pay to participate in these courses, and some of those funds may go towards the efforts of an NGO or social movement, but don’t expect to directly have a huge impact on anyone.  I didn’t leave Nicaragua thinking I had helped much, but I was more equipped to do so in the future.  I knew leaving Asia that I hadn’t done anything, but the experience might contribute to my future path in life.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Pricey.  I have seen these offered anywhere from $500-$1500 for a week!  That adds up.  Outside funding is probably harder because of what I said in #3. These courses are similar in price to overseas vacation tours.  The only difference is that on vacation tours you typically sit on a beach, get a tan, and enjoy relaxing.  For those short on time, this is probably a good option.

5) Was it Worth it?

In terms of professional development, for sure.  It is a very unique experience and might inspire you to do more, learn more, etc.  These are typically more serious about transferring knowledge to you than service-learning trips, so in terms of personal bang for your buck they might about the same, even though service learning experiences might be much longer.  Nevertheless, the personal connection to the experience developed over a longer period of time like a service-learning project is unlikely in these shorter trips. 

PEACE CORPS

The author's village in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I served as a “Healthy Environments” volunteer in theDominican Republic from 2007 to 2009. Peace Corps is something I can’t stop thinking about.  It is a mix of training, really independent work, and unique field research.  I lived in the mountains with 200 villagers, without ready access to clean water, adequate sanitation, electricity, you name it.  I bathed in the river every day, collected drinking water from a spring with the locals, and really SLOOOOOOOWED DOWN for a bit.

I was sent there to help my village gain access to clean, piped water.  I ended up doing that, learning a lot about what it means to be poor and not receive any attention, and working on a bunch of other projects.  The first 3-5 months I was pretty uncomfortable, lonely, even scared at times.  But in the next year and a half I built closer relationships than many of mine in the states and felt much more comfortable, happy, and alive than I have ever felt in the USA.  My time was filled with sun, pipes, wrenches, concrete, donkeys, mud, plantains, mangoes, rice, beans, grants, paperwork, and more community meetings that I can count.

Peace Corps is really an in-depth, immersive service-learning experience.  Nothing is sugar-coated for you, and that might scare you at first.  But as an insider view of a different culture and a different way of life, there is absolutely nothing like it.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

First three months are language, culture, and technical training.  After that Peace Corps staff tell you to call X number 24-hours a day for health problems, Y number 24-hours a day for other problems, drop you off in a village where you probably only speak a little bit of the local language, and say GOOD LUCK!  They tell you that you will be receiving around $300/month with which you are supposed to live, work, pay rent, buy food, all that.

In short, the Peace Corps provides the most basic structure for survival but beyond that you are on your own.  They also try to pair you up with a community that has need for your specific skill-set.  For me it worked out great.  For others, it was a mess and they had to “make it work” on their own, demonstrating their value and getting involved where they felt they could help.  Peace Corps REQUIRES you to be extremely independent, proactive, and outgoing.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Yes and yes – I brought engineering skills to a village that needed them.  I also am kinda stubborn, which helped with motivation in an area that was used to being pobre, having nada, and expecting nada.  Sometimes the match of your skills meshes perfectly with the needs of the community.  If it doesn’t, you better suck it up, find where you are needed, and make it happen.  Peace Corps is an opportunity to guide the development of a poorer area, from the inside out, and will test you in every way.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Peace Corps doesn’t cost you one cent.  They will fly you from you house to the host country, teach you some language skills, some technical skills, and plant you in a community with a family that will take care of you for two years. When it’s all over, they will fly you back home and give you around $6,000 to “re-adjust” to the United States. It is an amazing deal, and I really hope to do it again some day.  On the other hand there is some significant investment of time (2 years of service and three months of per-service training).  On the whole, when I was at home two years later with $6,000 in my pocket, I was financially about the same place as many of my friends who had taken more traditional paths.

5) Was it Worth it?

Yes.  I am a huge fan.  The application and interview process is very rigorous and trying, and the average time between applying and being given an overseas position is usually 6-9 months, but it is well worth it.  Even if you leave your country of service without thinking you “helped” as much as you should have (this is almost universal, by the way), you leave with a very personal relationship with your host-family and community.  That relationship will affect the way you live your life, the perspectives you can understand, and overall, your level of solidarity with people who drew the short straw in life, for whatever reason.  It is not easy or straightforward, but as is a common phrase among RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers), that this is “the toughest job you will every love”. 

FULBRIGHT GRANT

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Fulbright Scholar here in Peru, working with PACC-Peru on water resources issues associated with climate change in the Andes Mountains. My opinion of Fulbright is very good, though it seems to be relatively front-loaded.  The application process is very rigorous, and at the end of the day requires two very polished essays- one about who you are, and one about what you want to do as a Fulbrighter- and collaboration with a host-institution overseas, which eventually needs to write a letter of support for your work. Once in-country you are given a short (in my case, one-day) orientation by the local Fulbright staff, then are sent off to your location of study.  (Every country is different, and many include a 3-day orientation in Washington DC before departure from the United States, but mine country was not included in this event.)  Upon arrival you discuss that finely tuned research proposal with your host-institution, making modifications that range from slight variations to complete redirection, and you go on your way, exploring whatever you set out to explore.  You are not babysat, you are encouraged to get to know the country, and you are reminded that the research is only part of your experience.  Most Fulbrighters need to be reminded to chill out, not the other way around.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Once in country, the Fulbright experience is very open.  You receive a monthly living stipend to cover all of your expenses, and are asked to “check in” once a month just to let the Fulbright Commission know how everything is going.  In this way you really can do anything you want, as long as it is communicated with your host-institution.  I think this would be a daunting challenge if I hadn’t had significant overseas experience previously.  From another perspective, it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do and study whatever gets you going!  You are in the driver’s seat.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Fulbrighters are listened to.  It is regarded as a very prestigious grant in both the United States and overseas (though I imagine this can depend on the host country).  Though  I am only a couple months into my grant, I am aware that my results will not simply be filed away.  They will be read and analyzed.  The potential for helping is very real.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Fulbright is a grant.  All expenses are paid for (after you are awarded the grant).  So, it is a great option if you have a good idea, connections overseas, and the time and patience necessary to get through the application process and overseas experience (about 2.5 years from the start of the application to the end of the grant period).  The application should be started probably 3-6 months before the submission date, which is typically about a year before the date of departure for Fulbrighters.  And, like all competitive things, there is much luck involved.  I would consider Peace Corps a “weed-in” program, where most applicants who sincerely want to help can make their way in.  Fulbright is a fine toothed comb, and even very brilliant people are not accepted for one reason or another.

5) Was it Worth it?

So far, so good.  I can’t help but compare this experience to that which I had in the Peace Corps.  As a Peace Corps Volunteer I was not respected very much by local government, and generally treated as another “missionary” of sorts.  I understood what poverty was, but felt incapable of fixing lots of the problems I saw.  As a Fulbrighter I know that I have access to much more influential people, and I will be listened to.  It seems to me that it is definitely worth it.  As a side note, had I not experienced the Peace Corps, I might have seen the Fulbright experience as semi “normal”.  I live in an apartment, pay bills, and work on my research.  In that way a Fulbright Grant is less of a life-changing experience for me than living in a mountain village; it is complete freedom to explore issues that are important to me, given the support and resources to do so.

ROTARY SCHOLARSHIP

The author concentrating wayyy too hard to try to take a steady photo, looking down on Cusco, Peru.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Rotary Cultural Scholar inPeru. Becoming a Rotary Scholar involves an application similar to Fulbright but, in my opinion, it does not have to be nearly as polished of an idea as the Fulbright application process requires.  I am studying Quechua and water resources management with my Rotary funds.  This Rotary Scholarship provides support monetarily.  There is no orientation, no help with overseas planning, and no in-country contact for my work.  I am on my own.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

Extremely free.  I have not communicated directly with my grantor more than once in the past two and a half months.  As a Rotary Scholar you define your own structure in the application, and you are expected to follow that plan.  But again, there is no babysitting.  Your experience is what you make of it.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

I am studying here, so I don’t see a direct impact to what I am doing.  Still, I know that Quechua skills will pay dividends in my Fulbright and Kiva work and will be an invaluable skill in the future.  Whereas Peace Corps was immediate gratification (seeing water come out of a pipe), Rotary is about building capacity, namely in people who they think will be able to help further down the line.  It is similar to Fulbright in this way.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

Rotary Grants vary in the amount they provide, but they generally are very flexible as to what they can cover.  Flights, insurance, food, lodging, costs of courses and/or tutors, and cultural trips are all fair game.  The grants vary greatly in their duration, but one year seems to be common.  In my case, the funds were dispersed up-front and I am required to provide documentation of all expenses.  Whatever isn’t spent, I will have to give back.

5) Was it Worth it?

Very much so.  More than the funding, Rotary is a global network.  I hope that this experience will help me connect with like-minded people in the future as I may try to continue to “help” those in the world that need it.  As an experience by itself, I think Rotary is amazingly un-regulated.  As a first long-term overseas experience, I would not recommend it.  The structure provided by Peace Corps, Fulbright, and Kiva(discussed below)  are necessary to guide your overseas experience.  That said, if you are an experienced traveler and are looking for some funding to do something creative and open-ended, a Rotary Scholarship might be just what you are looking for.  

KIVA FELLOWSHIP

A group of Kiva borrowers just outside the city of Cusco.

1) What it’s Like and What it was Like for Me

I am currently a Kiva Fellow with Asociación  Arariwa in Cusco, Peru. If you are reading the Stories From The Field blog you probably have a good idea of what we do.  But if you don’t, I am proud to say that Kiva is one of the most organized experiences of this sort that I have participated in.  I was trained for a week in San Francisco(LONG 11-hour-days, where you learn a LOT!), paired with a microfinance organization somewhere in the world, given a desk, given specific tasks (but still the freedom to innovate and take on news tasks as they may appear), and given a lot of support from Kiva Fellows Program staff.  If I need to talk to someone in San Francisco, I can do it probably tomorrow.  If not, I can just keep showing up to my office and working with my in-country partners.

2) Level of Freedom or Structure

As I mentioned above, I was given a work-plan that I am expected to accomplish for Kiva.  They maintain long relationships with their in-country microfinance partners and can look strategically at what most needs improvement at a specific point in time.  Kiva Fellows are eyes, ears, and boots-on-the-ground implementers for all it is that Kiva does.  There is no long period of ‘figuring out what to do’ because you arrive with a very good idea of what needs to be done.  But Kiva is a very innovative startup, with an environment that breads creativity.  I have never felt stifled by any Kiva staff, and that has allowed me to enjoy each day of this Fellowship.

3) Was I Useful? Did I make a ‘Difference’?

Kiva Fellows do important work, work that keeps Kiva not only up and running, but allows them to explore new avenues of growth and innovation.  It is exciting seeing directly the improvements you make with Kiva and your partner microfinance institution.  It is also exciting to be given the chance to go meet Kiva borrowers, meet the loan officers that facilitate those loans, and hear, feel, see how these small loans are such a source of hope and improvement for people all over the world.  I studied engineering, and have not had a problem keeping up with the financial work involved with the position.  I would say if you are comfortable with mathematics and basic accounting you can expect to be utilized very well by a Kiva Fellowship.

4) Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all

The one major downfall of a Kiva Fellowship is that there is no financial support beyond basic health insurance coverage.  Fellows fundraise or directly pay for their time overseas, including the flight to San Franciscofor training, the flight overseas, rent, food, etc.  This can be a substantial burden, but I think that the experience is worth the expense.  It is an investment in your personal growth, and allows you to help in a significant capacity with a major player in the world of global investment/philanthropy.

5) Was it Worth it?

Yes.  It is not as easy to say yes because, let’s be honest, a number of other programs don’t require a financial investment up front.  But the Kiva Fellows Program gives you a look into what I consider to be one of the most promising approaches to creatively finance progress and development overseas.  Like most things, and exactly like Kiva borrowers all over the world, you have to invest something financially to reap the benefits later on.

It is a bottom-up approach, and relies on the sensibilities of millions of entrepreneurs.  Kiva provides a loan.  Borrowers decide how to use it to improve their own lives.  In this way, you can be sure that the funds are used for something truly productive.  It is a simple concept, but to keep that bridge open Kiva needs your help.  Kiva NEEDS Kiva Fellows.  Entrepreneurs NEED Kiva Fellows.  And that is why the experience is so worth it.  You can be that person, fill that need, and learn a ton in the process.

There you have it.  Those are my impressions.  I hope this was helpful but now it is up to you to decide.  To each his own!

Robert Gradoville is a Kiva Fellow (Class of KF16) working with Asociacion Arariwa in Cusco.  If you would like to learn more about Asociacion Arariwa, please visit their partner page.  You can also support them by joining the lending team for Asociacion Arariwa.  To hear more about Rob’s Peace Corps experience, take a look at his blog from that time.

My two Kiva fellowships have allowed me to work with four separate institutions: FAPE and ASDIR in Guatemala and Arariwa and Manuela Ramos in Peru.  I have been able to meet and talk with hundreds of borrowers posting new loans and doing loan updates.  Meeting borrowers like Luz del Solar in Urubamba who owns a restaurant and has twice made my day a little brighter with typical dishes from Urubamba like pear soup or potatoes, lima beans, and goat cheese in a cream sauce.

I have worked to improve transparency on the Kiva site by performing three borrower verifications (checking data in the field: loan terms, occupations, photos etc. to make sure that the information on Kiva is the same) and completing two CERISE surveys (social performance questionnaires designed to help microfinance institutions benchmark how well they are meeting up to their own social goals).

On the flip side, I have had a chance to surf in four new countries, to climb four volcanoes (including Concepción in Nicaragua with some other Kiva Fellows!), and hike the Inca Trail.  On the down side, I have been robbed once and assaulted another time, but I wouldn´t trade my two Kiva fellowships in Guatemala City and Cusco for the world.

And as I see my second (and final) Kiva fellowship come to a close, I have been asking myself what I have learned from the last eight months in the field. For one, I learned what having Kiva as a funding source means to microfinance institutions.  The interest free capital they receive from Kiva means that they are able to more quickly achieve operational sustainability, and are able to concentrate more of their time and resources on additional programs to benefit their borrowers (or alternatively are able to lower interest rates).  My second reflection on microfinance is that the most effective microcredit programs that I have witnessed combine education and training programs with the loans that they offer.  I personally perceive education programs highlighting business management, budgeting, family, nutrition, or health allow the borrowers to develop not only economically, but in all aspects of their life.  Which is the positive impact that all of us wish to see.

Eric Burdullis is a Kiva Fellow who has served in both Guatemala and Peru.  Although his Kiva fellowship draws to a close, he looks forward to continuing to support Kiva borrowers by lending on Kiva. Lend to Asociación Arariwa here!

As a Kiva Fellow, no two days are the same.  One morning I will wake up at 5am to try to visit a borrower before they head out to work, and the next I’ll be in the office uploading loans or training the Kiva team on how to take a great picture or write a journal worth reading.  In fact, as a Kiva Fellow, our job is so diverse that the Kiva staff creates long lists of things for us to do called deliverables.  My favorite on these “To Dos” is Borrower Verifications.  Essentially, we go into the field and do a spot check to make sure that information uploaded on the Kiva website is real.

At times, this can be frustrating (and others very rewarding).  It means tracking down borrowers in remote villages, verifying the information on the website: loan amount, loan terms, the use of the loan, their photo, the start and end date of the loan, and checking to make sure they are aware they are on Kiva, all the way down to checking their ID to make sure the names match.  Like the video shows, a lot of times you don’t find the borrower on your first try.  You can go to their business in the market and met their son only to find out that on that day, they took a trip into Cuzco.

Or more interestingly, many borrowers are doing whatever it takes to make ends meet.  This means having one, two, or even three businesses (as well as farming on the side).  When you eventually do catch up with them (which at 4200m is tough), they might only speak Quechua causing you to have to find someone who speaks both Quechua and Spanish to translate.  That day, I eventually did catch up with Roxana Qquesuallpa Yucra after a two hour hike through the fields behind this small town.  Her loan was for the sheep and alpaca wool to make clothes, but when I found her, she was planting potatoes with her family showing that many borrowers engage in several productive activities.

Wait, so what exactly do Kiva Fellows do? We help connect the borrowers to you, the lenders. We ensure that each and every field partner knows and correctly performs Kiva processes: from uploading loans to doing journals, and we, through deliverables like borrower verification, keep Kiva running by making sure that the people you see on Kiva are REAL people who really need your help.

Join Arariwa´s lending team here! Or lend help Arariwa fight to alleviate poverty here!

Eric Burdullis a Kiva Fellow with Asociacion Arariwa in Cuzco, Peru.  He is currently listening to the new GirlTalk and avoiding the afternoon thunderstorms. He is LOVING his role as a Kiva Fellow here in Peru, but missing friends and family back home during the holiday season!

As I search for meaning over the Holidays, I reflect on what I would change about all of it if I could.  And (I know I am not original saying this) I think that we mistake all the great feelings that culminate in Christmas for what we give and what we receive instead of the traditions and the people that really matter.  More than that, I–and I´m sure I´m not alone in this–find myself buying gifts that people don´t want just for the sake of giving them something.

My advice: if you run across that person that has everything this holiday season, instead of buying them another thing that they don´t want or need, get creative.  Buy> my shameless plug goes here: buy Kiva gift cards (you are giving something and helping entrepreneurs around the world!) Or buy gifts from social responsible and cause related not-for-profits like Ten Thousand Villages or Nightlight International *great handmade jewelry! Or give the gift of time: I remember one of my favorite gifts as a kid was a book from my Dad full of outings to the beach, ice dream, hiking, Disneyland, etc. It becomes more than a gift, but an excuse to spend time with your loved ones.

My final thought relates to my own holiday plans: with some of the people in the Arariwa office, we are pooling our money to buy food, toys, and small gifts for the poor that come to sell handicrafts at the Cusco Christmas market on the 24th.  So, I encourage you this Christmas as you are reminded of the blessed life that we all live to try to be a blessing to those that need it the most…

Merry Christmas from Down South!

Eric Burdullis is a Kiva Fellow with Asociacion Arariwa *LEND TO THEM HERE! in Cuzco, Peru.  As the rainy season rolls in, he is discovering more and more coffee shops in Cuzco (check out The Meeting Place in San Blas if you ever come to Cuzco!) and drinking far too many mate de cocas.

The retreat started out with pictures of Machu Picchu, Maras Moray, Sacsayhuaman, and the mountains and sweeping valleys that put Peru on the map for every tourist coming to South America.  The executive director began, “This is our rich history, memories from a time were we were the most advanced race on the face of the planet”.  The discourse went on to show poverty in Peru: families standing outside of adobe shacks, and homes destroyed by the floods last February and the executive director explained that their “rich” history can´t guarantee a “rich” future for the poor in Peru.  How only microfinance coupled with education (at every village bank Arariwa provides training sessions for their clients) and a focus on improving health and nutrition can do that.

Another point he made was on the subject of interest rates saying that “Some would be critical of how we are trying to reach the poor, but what we gain is not only reinvested in our clients, but allows us to reach those that are more poverty stricken and more isolated”.  He also mentioned that having the same interest rate in Cuzco (where it is less expensive for Arariwa to serve their clients) as the countryside allows the cross subsidization of their loan products and encourages them to reach more people.  Normally, you hear stuff like this from the public faces of microfinance, but hearing the executive director of a large MFI in Peru say the same things in his strategic planning meeting encouraged me that the focus of microfinance, at least for Arariwa is still the alleviation of poverty.

My own participation on the retreat commenced in the form of a skit where Arariwa´s Kiva team played out how to properly treat a client.

And it wouldn´t have been a proper retreat without singing Peruvian folk music around a bonfire at 2am.

Join Arariwa´s lending team here! Or lend to help Arariwa’s fight to alleviate poverty here!

Eric Burdullis is a Kiva Fellow serving with Arariwa in Cuzco, Peru.  When he isn´t fending off machete attacks outside the city or chasing rats out of his kitchen, he is visiting borrowers or hanging out with the Arariwa team in the city.

Which is why when people ask what I do, I can say seriously that I am living the dream.  As a Kiva fellow with FAPE in Guatemala, I was able to meet a couple of the borrowers I had lent to before I had even applied to be a Kiva fellow.  And now, as I recently made my 40^th Kiva loan (huge cheers to every lender that dwarfs that number!), I am able to loan out to organizations that I have worked with: like ASDIR and FAPE in Guatemala, and Asociación Arariwa in Peru. And, as a Kiva fellow, I am able to say with confidence that I know who those loans are going to, and the difference they make in the borrower´s lives.  And maybe that is our dream, to see change in the world from something small.  Something like a loan.

Allow me, if you will, to expand our dream.  One of the questions posed to borrowers in journal updates is about their hopes for the future.  Although this is a pervasive topic for the first world, it is a luxury for much of the third.  We dream of that new house, of retiring happy, and they dream of feeding their families, of keeping a roof over their heads.  Through financial tools like a Kiva loan, we allow them to dream bigger, to begin to think past the day to day needs and to look toward the future.  Perhaps, in a small way, as we give Kiva loans, we enable them to realize their own dreams.

Group Loan in the Sacred Valley

Eric Burdullis is a Kiva fellow serving with Asociación Arariwa in Cuzco, Peru.  He is literally living the dream by helping others realize their own dreams.  He is currently adjusting to the altitude and the laid-back lifestyle of the Cusqueños

Beyond their obvious functions of wall posts or retweets, social networks provide the human spirit with something much deeper: a sense of interconnectedness or community.  This community at Kiva is founded in something much deeper than a desire to make new friends (though Kiva´s lending teams like Asociación Arariwas make that pretty easy too!)

Much like a Facebook profile, Kiva allows lenders (you) to “friend” whatever borrowers draw your attention with the intention of alleviating global poverty through a simple loan.  Or like eHarmony, Kiva makes it easy for you to make a special connection with any particular borrower: if you work in agriculture like my dad, then these connections are sought with farmers around the globe.  Much like Freecycle, you are able to loan (or share) small amounts of the money that just sit in your bank account for a limited time with these new friends as they expand their businesses and repay you over the course of the loan.  Kiva then will “tweet” updates of the loans you made to your new friends around the world through journals.  And if you really “Digg” Kiva, you can use all of the above networks to get your friends to do the same just like you would for that great Taco stand on Yelp!

Kiva is much more than just a non-profit.  It is a powerful community connecting you and me to people, to friends around the world. To friends where a single loan can be the gateway to a better life.

Eric Burdullis is a Kiva Fellow serving in Cuzco, Peru with Asociación Arariwa.  He enjoys strolls through downtown Cuzco and coffee on the plaza.  Although he enjoys taking in the sun at 12,000ft on La Avenida de Sol, he dreams of digging his toes in the sand when nights get cold.

Transportation has been an integral part of my travels in South America. I have been in cars, vans, buses, scooters, motorcycles, trains, boats, planes, even a bus transported by a boat and of course I have walked.

In many cities, walking (or running for exercise) is usually not the best option because you breathe in a ton of pollution from passing vehicles.  In cities, I’ve noticed and heard that Peruvians and Bolivians don’t walk much.

Public transport is popular because not many people can afford to have their own cars. Small vans called combis in Peru and minibuses in Bolivia shuttle people back and forth.  Combis have a cobrador (fare collector) while minibuses will sometimes have a cobrador, sometimes won’t.  You pay your fare to the driver when you get off or when the cobrador asks for it.  Bolivia also has micros, which are larger, cheaper buses.  You pay the bus driver upon boarding.  Collectivos (Peru) and trufis (Bolivia) are collective taxis that run a fixed route.  They are a bit more expensive but faster as they only carry six people (two in the front and four in the back) and don’t stop as often.  You pay the driver when you get off.

I have been consistently surprised by the age of the minibuses and cars in Peru and Bolivia.  I’ve seen discarded American buses from the 60’s in La Paz still in constant use.  I’ve seen a ton of old punchbuggies (my favorite!)  Even though one could argue that driving old cars pollutes more than newer, more efficient models, I also think using something until it just doesn’t work anymore is an efficient use of materials and resources.  Plus, it’s much cheaper for Bolivians with limited resources to buy new items.

I met Moises, a Cochabambino (someone from Cochabamba, Bolivia) who buys used trucks in Europe and imports them to Bolivia.  A truck that would have little or no value in Europe still holds a great deal of value in South America.   And Moises’s personal vehicle uses natural gas instead of petroleum.

I met a Kiva client in La Paz who took out a loan to convert his taxi from petroleum to natural gas.  Natural gas in general is more efficient (the driver will spend less money on fuel) and environmental.  Also efficient are the small manual shift cars people drive in Peru and Bolivia (except in Santa Cruz, where SUVs are in mode).   This saves gas, which is not only cheaper but also more environmental.  Many people, including many of the loan officers I’ve met in my work, also drive motos (scooters), which use less gas than cars.  I admit that with the amount I have traveled for my work with Kiva and to see the beautiful countries of Peru and Bolivia, my carbon footprint is pretty significant.  But traveling mainly on public transport helped a lot.

Below is a video of various forms transport I have seen in my travels through Peru and Bolivia.

Support transportation loans on Kiva!

Sheethal Shobowale just finished her second Kiva Fellow placement with microfinance institution Emprender in Bolivia.  She is back on the New York city subway and misses her Cusco combis!

I met some Dutch Kiva lenders during a trip to Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca in Bolivia who don’t like to loan to groups on Kiva because

1. They miss out on the personal connection with one particular entrepreneur
2. They feel like the loans amounts are too big so they feel they aren’t making as much of a dent in the group loan amount as they would have if they had lent to one entrepreneur
3. They don’t get to see the entrepreneur at work if the photo is of a group of people at a meeting

Kiva has actually responded to points 1 and 2 by

1. Improving the personal connection by enforcing a rule on its partner MFIs that group profiles must include a personal story about one of the members, preferably the president
2. Creating limits on the maximum value of a group loan.  Kiva imposes a $5000 limit on group loans for both Emprender and Arariwa, regardless of how many people are in the group.

Regarding the third point about photos, yes I would agree that the photo of a bunch of group members in one of Arariwa’s or Emprender’s white-walled classrooms isn’t as sexy as a photo of a farmer in his fields, or a pot-maker in his workshop, but group loans are a way for the microfinance institution to be more sustainable, especially considering the high costs an MFI faces.

Bare with me as I explain…

Both the MFIs I have worked with as a Kiva Fellow, Asociación Arariwa and Emprender offer both group and individual credit products, however, the majority of Arariwa’s clients and 40% of Emprender’s clients work within a banco communal (village bank).  A banco communal basically acts like a mini financial institution.  The MFI gives each member credit based on the amount they have requested and their ability to pay.  Each member saves part of their loan and in some cases, can relend this money within the group and collect interest on this internal loan.

Señor De Mayo Group on Kiva

Here are some reasons why group loans work well in microfinance -

• Allows MFIs to go deeper into poverty – Group borrowers are often poorer than individual borrowers.  Since the only collateral required of them is a mutual guarantee, group loans allow clients without assets – like appliances, vehicles, or property titles – to access credit. Group loans give MFIs the ability to offer credit to what would otherwise be considered much riskier, collateral-less borrowers.  Very poor clients need support in ways that group mechanisms provide, and live in areas where the cost of mitigating risks without group mechanisms would be nonviable. Group mechanisms include a lot of costs that in rural areas are not really considered (people don’t value their time because the opportunity cost is low), but where monetary costs such as significantly higher interest rates or physical collateral (rather than social collateral) would prevent people form accessing credit.
• MFI Efficiency – With group loans, one loan officer can serve multiple people at the same time, which helps keep MFI costs down.  Since loan values are small, the fixed costs of doing business are high compared to the interest earned from the loans.  Group loans help MFIs like Asociación Arariwa or Emprender who work with the village banking methodology to be sustainability, especially when they have to travel far distances to visit clients.
• Kiva Efficiency – Publishing group loan profile on the Kiva website, the Kiva coordinator can meet and photograph 10-20 people at one time and upload one loan on the site instead of 20 individual loans.  This brings down what we call the “cost of Kiva” for the MFI
• Mitigated Credit Risk – Asociación Arariwa, for example, insists that the borrowers guarantee each other’s loans in triangles.  For example, Carmen Ruth will guarantee Dominga.  Dominga will guarantee Sonia Patricia.  Sonia Patricia will guarantee Carmen Ruth .  And in many cases, the group is responsible for the loan payment from the group savings if the guarantor fails to pay.

Example of a Guarantee Triangle for Microfinance Group Loan

• Group Education – One loan officer can effectively teach a whole group on various topics such as Financial Literacy, Business Training, Family Well-Being, Health. Here’s a link to a blog entry I wrote about Financial Literacy Training and Microfinance.
• Support and Solidarity – Group members are mostly neighbors who know each other or become close as they work together in a communal bank.  Besides guaranteeing each other’s loans, group members can support each other with business advice and help with personal issues. How about a group of women supporting each other?  More than 70% of Arariwa’s clients are women and 60% of the members of communal banks at Emprender must be female.
• Adverse selection before disbursement - In other words, how to select the right clients. Since people know their neighbors (though see criticisms below), reliable clients are able to select other reliable clients much more cheaply than MFIs are. If they might end up paying for somebody’s irresponsibility, then they make sure they pick responsible people to borrow with. Groups are formed according to risk levels and the groups assume the risk rather than the MFI.
• Ex-ante moral hazard – in other words, the risk of people using the money for activities other than those reported to the MFI. Groups ideally monitor the businesses that are chosen so that they don’t end up paying for somebody else’s business failure.
• Ex-post moral hazard – in other words, the risk of people making profits and then claiming that they can’t pay because they did not make the profits. Group members know if their neighbors are making money and make sure they cough up the money if the alternative is paying themselves.

Of course there all also some criticisms of Group Loans -

• Adverse selection before disbursement - Do people know each other too well so that they are not willing to enforce social sanctions?  MFIs need to have rules to make sure that the right people are chosen.
• Adverse selection before disbursement - Often the MFI rather than the borrowers themselves who form the group and people don’t know each other well. It may be rash to assume they know the ins and outs of each others´ businesses.  Here MFIs need to have rules to make sure that the right people are chosen.
• More work for poor clients - The benefits mentioned above mean that the poor clients are expected to put in a lot more work. This is an implicit cost that is not associated with individual loans. In rural areas, the opportunity cost of putting time into getting a loan is low. In order to mitigate risks using individual loan mechanisms, interest rates and collateral requirements would have to be much higher. Poor people are not willing to front these monetary costs.
• Group Meetings - Group mechanisms have a lot of meetings, which is also a cost.  The low opportunity cost for attending group meetings for rural borrowers seems reasonable, but Emprender, Pro Mujer and some Arariwa clients are urban, and there definitely is a cost associated with leaving your market stall for half the day.
• Assuming Other’s Risk - Often it’s not effective for risk adverse people who are reluctant to assume other people’s risk. Educational programs help to reduce this problem. If people understand the system, they become less risk averse.
• Collusion - Groups can collude to cheat MFIs. MFI’s have to be strict in their monitoring so that this does not happen.

Weighing the pros and cons, I believe the village banking methodology works best for rural, poor clients who don’t qualify for individual loans, need group support and training and for MFIs to help alleviate costs of doing business with poorer clients where they have to travel far.

If you have thoughts about group loans, please feel free to leave a comment below and please consider supporting group loans on Kiva by loaning to Communal Banks!

Thanks to Cynthia McMurray, Kiva Field Support Specialist; Adam Kemmis Betty, Kiva Fellow, Bolivia; and David Bullon Patton and Martin Rotemberg from IPA for helping with me this entry.  To learn more, please check out the book Economics of Microfinance as well as Kiva Fellow Julia Kastner’s Kiva Fellows blog entry about the Village Banking methodology.

Sheethal Shobowale is currently in her Kiva Fellow placement with microfinance institution (MFI) Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia after working for the last several months with Kiva partner Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru.

Tourism is the main industry in Cusco, and the damage produced by the rain does substantial damage on the Cusco economy. From the February 3rd warden message from the U.S. Embassy in Peru, I read that Machu Picchu is closed and the rail line between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes is closed due to landslides until possibly March. I also read that tourists were stranded in Aguas Calientes (the town closest to Incan archeological site Machu Picchu) and that the conditions were excruciating. Luckily, helicopters eventually evacuated all the tourists from the town.

Unfortunately, my Kiva clients in Cusco don’t have that luxury.

I met a Kiva communal bank called Virgen Estrella de Oropesa in Oropesa, a small town south of Cusco in November while working as a Kiva Fellow for Asociación Arariwa, a microfinance institution that has worked in the Cusco region of Peru for the past 25 years. This town is known as the capital of bread because of its delicious “pan chuta.” In fact, the town has so many bakeries that the smell of baking bread permeates the town’s air. In their Kiva profile video, Virgen Estrella de Oropesa are laughing and smiling as they get together for their Kiva profile photo. If you had the pleasure of meeting them in person like I had, they were even more animated, making fun of Jacob (their loan officer) for not having a girlfriend. Unfortunately, most jokes told outside of the city are told in Quechua, so I just got the translated version (definitely not the same!)

Now the town of Oropesa is under water, and many of the talented entrepreneurs I met in Oropesa have lost their homes and their businesses.

An affected house in Oropesa after the Cusco floods

My friend and colleague, the Kiva coordinator at Arariwa, Raquel Villafuerte, recently wrote me an email in which she said (translated into English):

“Hi there,

…Arariwa is collecting money from employees to help. We are also collecting food at the offices here. If you want you can send money to buy supplies. In reality all you have known – has been for the most part lost – the main avenue of Aguas Calientes and many houses in Anta and south from Saylla to Urcos are under water.”

Kiva have responded with updates about how the tragedy has affected Kiva/Arariwa entrepreneurs, including links on how to help victims.

Citizens have been collecting supplies in the Plaza de Armas, while virtual support, fundraisers, supply collections and updates have come through online and offline news sources and social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Now in my second Kiva fellowship with Emprender in La Paz, I see homes located on the edge of cliffs where there has been and continues to be severe erosion. As I go by, I always think that one day when the rain is strong enough, these homes could fall. I recently heard of landslides in Chasquipampa, a neighborhood of La Paz (And there are Kiva clients in Chasquipampa). A friend of mine here works as a volunteer gathering and distributing supplies, which she did last Friday after the landslides. Another friend told me that a victim who lost his home in the landslide is staying in his church.

Although tragedies like this one are tough to experience and hear about, it’s great to know that ordinary citizens become dedicated volunteers and come through when people need it.

Here’s how to help the victims of the floods in Cusco.  Or consider joining the Asociación Arariwa lending team, make a loan to an Arariwa entrepreneur and help Kiva entrepreneurs in Cusco get back on their feet.

Sheethal Shobowale is working as a Kiva Fellow at microfinance institution Emprender in La Paz Bolivia.  This entry is also posted on La Vida Idealist, a blog about living and volunteering in Latin America.

Doris, one of the loan officers at Asociación Arariwa, has been working with clients in Urubamba and Cusco for 17 years.

I sat in on one of the monthly loan payment meetings of one of her communal banks, Aguas Buenas.  All members paid their monthly payments on time, but two of the members asked permission beforehand not to attend.  Because of their absence, Doris commented on the importance of attending the monthly meetings, saying “No vamos a lograr nada” (We won’t achieve anything this way).  She even called one of the absent members on her cellphone to remind them of the importance of attending monthly meetings.

Attendance is importance especially since during each meeting, loan officers teach a short workshop on different topics such as financial literacy, business training, family well-being or health.  In this meeting Doris taught a lesson on setting financial goals.  Having done some financial literacy workshops for teenagers and some credit counseling for adults in my work with the Lower East Side Credit Union in New York, I was excited and honored to see Arariwa’s financial literacy training in action, especially by a loan officer as experienced as Doris.

First, she played a short video spotlighting two Arariwa entrepreneurs discussing their metas financieras (financial goals) for their businesses and families, the timeframe to reach these goals, and plans to accomplish these goals.  Here’s the video:

She then facilitated a discussion about the video with the group.  As an exercise, Doris asked the group to define the goals of the women in the video.  Then she asked the group members to share their goals.  One member said her goal was to keep working and keep her business growing.  Doris reminded her to add a timeframe and concrete steps to reach this goal.  Another member and his wife want to open a printing shop within the next 3 years.  They are saving and planning for how they will buy the necessary machinery and materials.  Doris complimented him on his hard work.

After the video and discussion, she asked if the group members have listened to Arariwa’s 7AM Friday morning radio show.  As part of the financial literacy program instituted at Arariwa, two of its staff members – Dilmer, one of Arariwa’s loan officers, and Clotilde, the Director of Education, produced a radio show in both Spanish and Quechua that airs around the Cusco region that families can listen to together.  This radio show complements the videos and in-person workshops conducted by loan officers and involves other family members such as the member’s spouse in the family financial planning, who may or may not be clients of Arariwa.  This usually means the husband since Arariwa works mostly with women.  The radio show also empowers the man to learn on his own.  It also involves the children in the family goals if they are old enough to understand.

Unfortunately, most of the group sells goods in various markets and start selling very early in the market, well before 7 AM.  All the members told Doris that they are already working by the time the radio show airs so they cannot listen to the program.  This is one of the issues that hinders financial literacy workshops – time spent doing something else is income lost while loan interest continues to accumulate.

Studying the Effects

Arariwa is in the process of studying the effects of financial literacy training on business growth,  delinquencies and defaults in partnership with Innovations in Poverty Action (IPA).  I had a chance to sit down with David Bullon-Patton, a research associate at IPA, to talk about the financial literacy curriculum and the study.

David and Clotilde, Arariwa’s Director of Education, worked together with a film production company to create videos featuring Arariwa entrepreneurs talking about their businesses and their financial goals.  Featuring Arariwa clients and their businesses in the videos makes the content more personal to the communal banks and thus more effective.  The curriculum focuses on determining the differences between spending, saving and  investing, with the end goal of increasing the saving and investing rate of Peruvian families.  Each client is also given a financial literacy workbook to note their goals and plans for their businesses.

The IPA study consists of separating Arariwa banks into two groups – test groups that receive financial literacy training and control groups that do not.  IPA interviews both groups at the beginning of the study, asking questions about quality of life, family savings and business growth.  A year later, IPA will visit both groups the entrepreneurs again with similar questions to gauge the affect of financial literacy training on Arariwa’s work.   I am looking forward to reading the results of the study when they are published next year.

With experienced loan officers like Doris conducting training for clients, I hope that Arariwa’s financial literacy curriculum is effective and that more Peruvian families are learning to set and accomplish their goals as well as save for their future.

A proud financial literacy proponent, Sheethal Shobowale just finished her KF9 placement with Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and recently started her KF10 placement with Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia.

Counterfeit money is a very serious topic in Peru.  There is so much false money floating around that it is extremely possible that at some point or another, you will try to buy some fruit from the woman selling fruit on the corner and she will return your bill or coin exclaiming, “falso!” (false!)

This has happened to several of my friends during my time in Cusco.   One friend tried to pay for our salsa class with a 5 soles coin.  Then someone else paid with a larger bill and got his coin as change.  “Falso!” exclaimed the person who received the change and looked for my friend who gave the false coin to return the useless metal to the proper owner.  In another incident, another friend of mine found out he had a false 50 soles bill (ouch!) and was just happy that the checkout person at the store he tried to pay for his meal with it didn’t punish him more than just return the bill.

In fact, I wonder if Peruvians knowingly give foreigners fake money because they are less likely to know how to check carefully.  Perhaps simply not wanting to lose the money, as plata (money) is a precious commodity here in the commerce-centered world of Cusco.

Having false money is like holding a hot potato or the Old Maid while playing the card game.  Whoever has the false bill is pretty much stuck with it, because there’s simply no way to get rid of it.

I found out I had a false 5 soles coin (equal to about $2.50), when I tried to pay for my one and only cuy (guinea pig) meal in Tipón, the capital of cuy in the Cusco area.  The waiter would not accept my coin and returned it to me and asked me to pay with another coin.  I looked at him and said “¿Cómo podría ser?” (How could it be?)  But then he showed me why he knew it was false.  I just had a shrug and put the useless coin back in my coin purse.

After this incident, (simply as an experiment mind you I tried to buy some fruit with my newly found falso.  Even in the dark, the fruit woman knew it was false and gave it back to me.  I then tried to pay my combi (bus) fare and the collector also returned it to me.  After these two failed attempts to part with the Old Maid, I was resigned to keep the coin as a souvenir of my travels to Peru.

Like most businesses in Cusco, the MFI I am working with, Asociación Arariwa, also will not tolerate false bills in loan payments.  When members make their loan payments, the loan officers write the member’s initials in pencil on the bill so that the Caja (treasury) can check each bill for falsos. If a fake bill is found, the bill is returned to the owner during the next monthly meeting, much to the chagrin of the person who paid with the bill.

I recently went to a loan disbursement meeting in which Daphne, the loan officer, returned a 50 soles bill to one of the members.  It was an upsetting incidnet, as the woman who used the bill herself did not know it was fake.  And what is more upsetting is that she has lost a precious 50 soles because it is likely she will not be able to use the false money to pay for anything.

Just so you don’t get stuck with the hot potato, here’s some ways to tell if your money is counterfeit:

For bills -

• The color of the number (whether 10, 20, 50, 100 or 200 soles) should change when you wave the bill back and forth.  It will go from a light purple to a dark purple or blue
• The paper should be thick and of quality stock.  You can pull opposite sides of the bill to tell the thickness.  After having Peruvian money for a while, you will be able to tell the proper quality
• The portrait etching should be intricate, with no detail left out.  The quality of the carving is key
• There should be a shadow of the portrait when you hold it up to the light

For coins –

• The weight should be heavy.  After handling Peruvian coins for a while you will be able to tell if a coin is lighter than it should be
• The coin should be round and well-formed
• The color should be a light and shiny silver and for 2 and 5 soles, light and shiny gold
• The coin should be smooth without pock marks or rough parts
• The engraving should be smooth and detailed

I’ve gotten pretty good at this recently.  Whenever I get a 50 soles bill as change for a purchase in which I’ve paid 100 soles, I make sure to check if the bill is fake using all the methods I described above.

So far no Hot Potatoes or Old Maids for me!

Sheethal Shobowale has just finished her placement at Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and will be moving to La Paz, Bolivia to work with Emprender in January 2010.

Please consider supporting South American Kiva entrepreneurs by clicking here.

I had the pleasure of attending Asociación Arariwa’s 25th anniversary celebrations. In true Peruvian form, the celebrating lasted two weeks with lots of fanfare – a parade, music, dancing, eating and of course, Cusqueña (Peruvian beer) and sweet Peruvian wine.

Just for some background on the organization, there are three divisions of Asociación Arariwa -

• ARARIWA PROMOCIÓN – Whose mission is to support rural development, strengthen production systems, fortify institutions and improve quality of life.
• CENFOPAR (Centro de Formación y Producción Arariwa) – Whose mission is to develop a better alternative technical education for young people, creating new community leaders as well as promote adult education and their economic activities.
• UNIDAD DE MICROFINANZAS – Whose mission is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of low-income women and their families by offering financial and educational services.

UNIDAD DE MICROFINANZAS is the division I know and love.   This division is Kiva’s socio and partner.  And this is where I have spent most of my time in Cusco.

Asociación Arariwa - Unidad de Microfinanzas

The first event was a Sunday parade in the Plaza de Armas (main square in Cusco).  I wore the Arariwa uniform and marched with the rest of the staff and directors.  After the parade, there was a lunch for the whole staff at a traditional Peruvian restaurant.

Here’s a rather hard to watch video of the parade.  I was marching and filming (and holding the Arariwa banner!) at the same time, hence the shaking.

The next weekend, there was a sporting event in the morning and a party at the Arariwa offices that lasted into the wee hours of the morning with a ton of dancing (just as Bryan Goldfinger, my Kiva Fellow colleague mentioned in a past post).  Members of the Board of Directors and staff made several powerful speeches about the growth and importance of the organization to the lives of so many Cusqueños.  Currently, Arariwa has more than 14,000 microfinance clients in the Cusco area and has made an impact on so many more people, when you consider the families of Arariwa’s clients.

There was entertainment, a live band and of course a lot of dancing.  We ate the popular Cusqueño dish called chiriuchu that is normally eaten in June during the Festival of Corpus Christi.  I met staff from the Arariwa offices outside of Cusco – Urubamba, Siquani and Quillabamba and danced a traditional Andean Peruvian dance called Huayno with many of them (or at least I tried .

Unfortunately, my Flip camera got lost during the festivities so I can’t post the videos I took of the speeches and the dancing (I asked someone to take of me dancing).  Here are some photos I took of the parade (I’m wearing the Arariwa uniform for the parade) and some photos that other staff members took of the party  -

I was honored to be part of the celebration and am happy to be working with such a meaningful organization.

Please help me continue to make Asociación Arariwa successful for the next 25 years – Please LEND to Asociación Arariwa entrepreneurs on Kiva!

Sheethal Shobowale is serving as a Kiva Fellow (KF9) at Asociación Arariwa, in Cusco, 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

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.

The Meeting

As we entered the small shop where the meeting was held, we saluted each woman with a buenas tardes (good afternoon) and a customary kiss on the cheek. Rocio (another loan officer) and I posted the meeting agenda on the wall.  Valentina introduced me to the group and I said a few words about Kiva and myself.  The women applauded for me (it felt so good   We started with a short prayer by the group president followed by the Peruvian national anthem (Here’s a link to the Peruvian National anthem).  Then the group president spoke a few words of encouragement.

Next Valentina took the stage. She explained the importance of being responsible and careful with their funds.  Poetically she compared “nuestra capital semilla” (our seed money) that Arariwa will give them to help grow their businesses with the seeds we plant to grow food. With a ton of enthusiasm, Valentina bestowed positivity, confidence and encouragement on the women and welcomed them to the Arariwa family.  Each woman signed their loan documents and created guarantor groups (Arariwa’s loan model stipulates that the borrowers guarantee each other’s loans in groups of three).   The president and treasurer of the group verified and counted the money and disbursed the funds. Valentina dictated the monthly payment dates and the amounts they would have to pay.

Opening a new communal bank is a special event and the formal group meeting instills confidence in the group loan model for each member.

A Celebration of Women and Nuestra Capital Semilla

With the money business over, we celebrated with a toast of sweet Peruvian wine. (Imagine drinking with your loan officer?) It was also Yegenia’s (one of the members) birthday so we sang happy birthday to her in both Spanish and English and each woman gave her a hug. We then ate an enormous plate of food consisting of beef, potatoes and stuffed peppers prepared by the several of the group members.  It was an experience I will never forget.

On only my second day at Arariwa, I saw my ideal of group microfinance. Who could ask for anything more than a group of women led by women and supporting each other financially and emotionally?  I truly hope they succeed.

Watch Banco Comunal Maria Auxiliadora’s progress on the Kiva website and consider loaning to other Kiva women.

Sheethal Shobowale is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow with Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru.  Follow Sheethal on Twitter to get more real-time updates from Cusco!

“Mi Mundo” courtesy of Sylvia Replay through the Creative Commons license.

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.

“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.

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.

Best street foods: Grilled plantain with cheese (Ecuador), giant corn on the cob with cheese (Cusco), hand-churned muyuchi ice cream (Ayacucho), cow-heart kabobs (Bolivia/Peru).

Pati, a Kiva client in Cochabamba, grills up some cow-heart kabobs

Luzmila, a Kiva client in Ayacucho, dishes out some hand-churned ice cream

Best market find: “Peanut paste” in Ecuador, which is supposed to be used to cook cow’s stomach. When I told the woman I buy it from that I add salt and eat it on bread with jelly, she looked at me like I was nuts. Crazy gringos.

Best healthy eating tip: A loan officer in Santa Cruz, Bolivia once invited me to a glass of caldo de caña (sugar-cane juice), a thick, murky brown liquid that is sickeningly sweet, like drinking a glass of maple syrup. He says, “It’s all natural, don’t worry. They don’t add any sugar to it.”

I’m waiting for this to take off as the next fad diet in the States.

Best religious insight: A conversation I had with a loan officer:
Her: What religion are you?
Me: Oh, I’m not religious.
Her: Why not?
Me: Well, I just have a hard time believing that just one of the world’s religions has all the right answers and all of the others are wrong.
Her: Yes, but if you think about it, the one thing they have in common is that they all lead you to Jesus Christ.

Best financial advice: Hoard change (thanks, Dan Kahn). You’re only as rich as the amount of change in your pockets.

Most humbling idiomatic realization: I will never be done learning Spanish. Every time I think I’ve got it down, I change locations and chalas become sandalias become become zapatillas, or lapicero becomes bolígrafo becomes pluma becomes esfero, or caña becomes chaque becomes resaca becomes chuchaque. And aguacate and palta keep switching back and forth.Where on my resume should I indicate that I know four different words for pen?

Second most humbling idiomatic realization: After two months in Ecuador, I still don’t know how to ask for the kind of bananas I want without pointing. I don’t understand the difference between a platano, a banano, a guineo, a maduro and an orito. If anyone has pictures with labels it’d be greatly appreciated.

Those look like oritos hanging back there, but I wouldn't put money on it

Best way to ask for directions: Most anywhere I want to walk to is immediately deemed too far away and/or too dangerous for a lolita like me to go on foot. In order to avoid answers like “Walk to the corner, hail a cab and tell the cab driver that’s where you want to go,” I’ve learned to strategically rephrase my requests for directions. Instead of asking, “How can I walk to this place?” I ask “How might Antonio Banderas ride a scooter to this place?”

Best way to tell Ecuadorians apart geographically: One day at the beach with the local branch manager, he pointed out that it’s easy to distinguish locals from people from Quito who are in town on vacation. I looked around and wasn’t so sure I could tell, so we started guessing with passers-by. He nodded to one middle-aged man, lounging in the back of his pickup truck with a tank top pulled up to his chest, exposing his sizeable beer belly, which he rubbed fondly.

“What about that guy?” said Fernando.
The gentleman in question looked pretty tan. “Mmmm… local?” I guessed.
He laughed. “A local would NEVER do that, Cynthia.”
“What? I’ve seen tons of guys from the coast strutting around showing off their guts,” I responded, confused.
“Yes,” he said, “but never in Lycra.”

Land of Lycra: Quito at dawn. Why was I awake at dawn? My neighbors have roosters.

Cynthia McMurry is a fourth-time Kiva fellow working with brand new Kiva field partner Fundación Espoir in Cuenca, Ecuador. Previously she worked with Fundación AgroCapital in Bolivia and FINCA Peru and Asociación Arariwa in Peru.

To search for currently fundraising loans from Fundación Espoir on Kiva, click here. No currently fundraising clients? Please check back soon! In the meantime, you can join Espoir’s Kiva Lending Team here.

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.

We met up at the office for the parade at 5 pm. I had some difficulty finding a pocho big enough for a 6’5 (195 cm) guy. With the help of three colleagues, we undid the hemming of one, and then stitched up the sides for just the right fit. We were group #149 out of 300 lined up on Avenida del Sol, slowly heading to the Plaza de Armas while music was blaring and fireworks were exploding overhead.

Lee Bruner KF8 with Asociación Arariwa Colleagues

I wish I had actual footage of the dancing, but I was too busy trying to follow along with some improvised dance steps that a loan officer was teaching us moments before our debut. I was literally dancing (or attempting to, I should say) in front of thousands of people and camera crews through the main square – no joke! Despite the slight humiliation, it was a blast, and quite an introduction to Cusco!

Arariwa has been an excellent host since I arrived last month. Right now they are transitioning from a Pilot to Active Partner with Kiva so that their monthly fundraising limit can be increased. As a Kiva Fellows, thisentails doing borrower verifications, as well as looking for ways to integrate Kiva with their internal computer software and loan disbursement process.

This week I’ll be traveling to Pilcopata, a town in one of the most remote regions that Arariwa serves. Loan officers regularly travel up to 4-5 hours away from the Cusco headquarters to meet with communal banks, reaching entrepreneurs who might not otherwise have access to capital. Loan officers have also recently received training to begin a financial literacy program to teach clients about planning for repayments as well different savings methods.

I’m looking forward to seeing Arariwa’s work in more rural areas. And word has it that we’ll be passing through Paucartambo to catch a glimpse of the famous Virgen del Carmen Festival!

If you’re interested in funding loans for Asociación Arariwa, click here. Please also consider joining our Lending Team!

But what if you used your phone to make a living? What if it had nothing to do with apps, downloading music or texting your friends?

Last week I interviewed groups that were getting loan disbursements and also followed up with existing Kiva borrowers. While the majority of clients were planning buy more merchandise for their general stores or small businesses, two women stuck out in particular: Rosa and Grimanesa. Rosa and Grimanesa invested in their cell phone businesses. As part-time jobs, they stand on busy street corners and charge people to use their cell phones to make local and long distance calls. Why would somebody pay to use their phones? It costs more to call a cell phone from a public pay phone, and you don’t get change back for coins that are deposited. In Peru a basic cell phone costs around $30 USD, and current rates are about  15 cents a minute to call other cell phones and and 10 cents  per text msg.  This is still too expensive for a majority to have mobile access, especially small business owners that are receving microloans.

These women’s businesses caught my attention because they were using a mobile phone as a means to make income – exactly the opposite of how frequently I find myself spending money on unnecessary apps and songs. And it also made think about mobile banking in microfinance. If these women are making a living with the cell phones, couldn’t mobile services also be a way to provide better financial services to them? After all, I followed up with Grimanesa via a cell phone call to discuss her Kiva loan.

There is so much potential for m-banking, especially to help lower administrative costs to borrowers in rural areas. What if Rosa and Grimanesa could make their loan payments on their phones, or charge others a nominal fee to do so?  What if they could text updates to their loan officers? What if they were rural farmers and could get access to weather forecasts to determine when to plant crops or  coordinate delivery times to markets?

My first reaction is to say that this makes perfect sense. It seems like an ideal way to incorporate technology into microfinance.  However, there are cons that I didn’t see until spending time out in the field.

An Arariwa loan officer offering financial training at a group loan meeting.

Monthly group repayment meetings are an important part of lending: they promote a sense of community, strengthen accountability, and also provide an ongoing forum for financial education. For example, last week I accompanied a loan officer who taught her group about the dangers of taking out loans to pay off other loans and then did a case study to demonstrate long-term growth strategies.  Group members shared their stories and observations about local markets conditions, and also collectively decided how to help members who were struggling to make a profit. How much is this worth, especially to those who had to give up a few hours of work to come to a repayment meeting?

It seems contradictory: a cell phone has the capacity to keep us connected 24/7 and help us to make more informed decisions, but it can also isolate us. For many people,  ordering take out or paying a credit card bill can be done on a mobile phone without any interaction.  But we lose the intrinsic value of personal connections, and in microfinance, face-to-face time with other entrepreneurs and financial educators is invaluable. There are emotions that emoticons can’t capture – like an entrepreneur who just made her first profit – and 160 characters couldn’t cut it to describe the impact that it’s having on her family.

Does it make sense for MFIs to start transitioning to m-banking as cell phone service becomes more accessible?  From what I’ve seen in the field, I believe so, but it will have to be done very carefully as to not undermine the strong sense of community that group loans promote. I’m sure that there are already some pilot programs underway that are facing these challenges, and I’ll be interested to hear follow-ups about m-banking with  Kiva Field Partners such as K-MET in Kenya. CGAP’s technology blog has also had some interesting articles concerning m-banking.

And in the meantime, I just keep asking myself:  what could Rosa and Grimanesa do with an iPhone?

Lee Bruner is a member of KF8 currently based in Cusco, Perú with Asociación Arariwa.  He’s looking forward to hearing any ideas, comments or updates about mobile banking being used in the field!

Arariwa is an amazing organization with an extremely dedicated group of loan officers. I was consistently impressed with loan officers’ dedication to their clients—not just putting in long hours for little pay and running risks by carrying cash, but in some cases even relocating to remote villages in order to serve clients without previous access to financial services. For example, Tula Barazorda and Armando Cabrera live and work in Pilcopata, a remote jungle town that’s 8+ hours from Cusco on rough, narrow dirt roads. Pilcopata is a sleepy little town where there’s little to do but shoot the breeze and swat the mosquitoes. One morning – over breakfast, no less – Tula and Armando had a long, nonchalant conversation about all the different kinds of bugs that can burrow under your skin, how to tell the difference, and the pros and cons of each one (never before have I been so grateful to my parents for raising me in Minnesota, where all we have is ticks).

All in all, my time at Arariwa was an incredible experience, and I’m already itching to go back and visit. I’m also looking forward to reading much more frequent blogs from my Arariwa successor, Lee Bruner!

To see all currently fundraising loans from Asociación Arariwa, click here.

Cynthia McMurry is a fourth-time Kiva fellow working with brand new Kiva field partner Fundación Espoir in Quito, Ecuador. Previously she worked with Fundación AgroCapital in Bolivia and FINCA Peru and Asociación Arariwa in Peru.