Ayacucho, Peru. It is my second week as a Kiva Fellow at FINCA Peru and though there are many exciting events to come here in Ayacucho (Carnival, Semana Santa) for now it is still the rainy season and the town has a sleepy, lethargic feel. Since I am still getting acclimated and easing into my role at FINCA, I figured that a first blog post about a loyal and lively FINCA client that I was fortunate to visit would be a good start.

We run into Antonia at her weekly communal bank meeting and she greets us with a high pitched “GRINGITAS!”- which many of the older FINCA members...

After my first week as a Kiva Fellow my short answer is no, and I guess the slightly longer answer, definitely not! That is what the clients of Microfinanzas PRISMA have shown me, especially Rosa of San Juan de Miraflores in Lima, Peru. Rosa is preparing the lunch she will serve to customers in the back kitchen when Ángela, the Kiva Assistant in the Lima Sur office of PRISMA, and I arrive. She comes outside immediately to talk to us, bringing a savory smell of potatoes with her.

Rosa is 56 years old and preparing to open her own restaurant in her house in the next year or so. How...

By Sarah Benjamin, KF13, Peru

As I meet with borrowers here in the low-income areas of Lima, I’m constantly surprised by how many “Avon ladies” there are.  Direct sales (for companies like Avon and Tupperware) are booming in developing countries like South Africa, Indonesia, and of course, Peru.  Avon began sales in Peru in 1982, but only in the last ten years have things really taken off.  Women are looking for ways to earn an income while still maintaining a flexible schedule and completing their traditional tasks relating to family and home.

Last weekend, I had the chance to attend Asociación Arariwa´s year end planning retreat out in the Sacred Valley in Urubamba, Peru.  More than just spending the weekend having fun with my co-workers at the institution, I was excited to finally see what a microfinance institution (MFI) really is about.  On one hand as a Kiva Fellow, I get a very in depth look at how my MFI works, but on the other hand, Kiva is still perceived as a funding source for the MFI so they are constantly “putting their best foot forward”.  Arariwa´s 2011 strategic planning retreat was a way for me to see,...