bconrad    Sep 13, 2013

Dear lenders, my name is Bayle and I am a Country Liaison Intern with Zidisha.

I know several of you are wondering about the status of this loan. I have been in contact with Ms. Kiruthi's Volunteer Mentor, Jane Gaiko, who is currently working to reach Ms. Kiruthi and help her reschedule her loan. We expect an update about her situation soon.

I apologize for the delay in updating you on this loan and appreciate your patience as we work with Jane to establish a new payment plan for Ms. Kiruthi.

Markus    Aug 11, 2013

Dear Mrs. Kiruthi,

Hope you are fine.

I realized that you are seriously behind in making repayments. Already 5 repayment steps have been missed

Can you tell me what the trouble is?

Wishing you all the Best,

Markus Meier

dcembrola    Dec 14, 2012

December 13, 2012

Hello, my name is Dan Cembrola, one of Zidisha’s Kenya Client Relationship Managers. I am currently visiting Zidisha borrowers in Nakuru and its outskirts.

Today I met with Mercy at her home and farm in Kahuho. Kahuho is a small village of less than 100 people. It is located 20km north of Nakuru, on the edge of the Bahati forest. Though the village is very small currently, it is growing quickly as several foreign owned timber companies have moved into the area to start cutting down trees in the forest that envelopes Kahuho. This is of great concern to Mercy and her husband, as well as the rest of the community. All of the people in this area depend on the land for their livelihood and are skeptical of any activity that could alter the local environment.

Mercy's farm encompasses two and a half acres of land. She grows maize and beans as well as flowers and plants. She is currently harvesting and selling the maize and beans. Mercy expects to make a profit of about $1,200 USD. The entire growing cycle, from planting and fertilizing to harvesting and selling, takes about 6 months. Mercy also grows indigenous plants and flowers to sell to a local environmental NGO. She would like to start working with them more closely and hopes that they will focus more of their efforts on Kahuho.

In addition to her two and a half acres of land, Mercy also has a small plot about 200 meters from her property that she uses strictly to grow grass for her four cows. She has used about half of her loan to purchase stones from a nearby quarry to build a structure for her cows. Mercy plans to employ the zero-grazing technique of raising livestock. This involves providing a shelter for the cows so they are not exposed to the elements 24 hours a day. Grass and other feeds are brought to the shelter. This will allow Mercy to expand the amount of space she has for farming since the cows will not be occupying any space to graze.

She has also entered into a cooperative, as they termed it, with farmers from the surrounding villages. Their goal is to purchase a large refrigerated cooler. They contend that the cooler will allow them to preserve the milk their cows produce. Currently, since no refrigeration is available, milk is only sold locally. The cooler will allow them to sell their milk in the larger markets in Nakuru and Nairobi.

Lastly, Mercy plans to use a portion of her loan to install a bio-gas system on her property. The system creates electricity from cow dung. It is not uncommon in this area. Using the dung from her four cows, Mercy will be able to power her house at no additional cost. She also believes that this will help preserve the forest since she will be able to cook and heat her house without the use of firewood.

captainhappy    Nov 24, 2012

Hello Mercy. You do indeed have what appears to be a profitable business. What breed of cattle do you have? What kind of fruit trees do you grow? God bless you.