Helping Others Through Micro-lending

Fatma has raised ten children and works to make a better future for them. She never finished elementary school but Fatma uses her skills, learned from her mother, to create an income. Fatma creates knitted clothing such as scarves, hats, ponchos and winter clothing. She has been able to create additional monthly income and help her family. 

Fatma needed this loan to purchase wool, string, patterns, supplies and materials.

Fatma wants to send her daughter to college and dreams of further expanding her business to include additional items and clothing.

We have made our 4th kiva.org loan to Angelita Maranga in the Phillipines.  Angelita is 42 years old and married with 4 children. She is a very hardworking entrepreneur. She has a shell crafts business in the Philippines. She has been in this business for 3 years.

Our loan was partially funded through your purchase of our Raku Mosaic Christmas Ornaments.  Thank you very much!

Helping Others Through Micro-lending

We are proud to be a part of kiva.org and are happy to announce our second loan!  This loan was partially funded through your purchase of our Raku Mosaic Christmas Tree Ornaments.  Thank you!

Koemlun is single. She lives wither her two brothers and one sister on an Island of the Mekong River, about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh. 

Koemlun is a silk weaver. She is asking for a loan of $500 to provide capital for her sister who, two months ago, started a new business selling coffee.

Raquel is a member of the "Nueva Victoria - Chincero" community bank which is located in Chincero district, in Urubamba province, in Cusco department.

Raquel is 42 years old, lives with her partner, and has 4 children aged 24, 22, 18 and 5. Her business is handicrafts. Raquel is a craftswoman and her grandmother and her mother also work in this field.

Raquel started out weaving by hand, making representations of landscapes. Andean iconography is very well known in this area, as it is throughout the Peruvian Andes. Raquel is familiar with these landscapes and she captures the experiences of her community within them.

Raquel used to weave small bracelets with thin strands of sheep's wool. She would take this wool from her animals and spin it on specially made sticks, to form skeins, then dye different sections with natural oxides, using a boiling process. She started making these bracelets in different colors, with different motifs, and would take them to sell in tourist areas. She has been doing this since she was a very young girl.

Gradually, Raquel's village was brought to life and became known as one of the craft villages. Raquel got together with other weavers, craftswomen, painters and artists at the Sunday craft fair. Years ago, she would visit these fairs only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Now, owing to the influx of tourists, they open the fair every day of the week and the craftspeopple can be found there with their traditional outfits and braids which are characteristic of the area. They can be found on their stalls, offering their work at very reasonable prices.

Raquel is requesting this loan to invest in buying materials for making her woven products. She is happy to be receiving this loan and pledges to make her repayments on time.