Loreta

Loan description:

Loreta Maravilles is 54 years old with four children. Two of her children and four grandchildren lives with her in Poblacion, Dumanjug in the Cebu province. She does have a house in Sibonga but since her business is in the Dumanjug public market Loreta has to rent a house there too so she can easily manage her business. Loreta runs a market stall that sells vegetables, spices and food seasonings. At 4 in the morning Loreta wakes up and opens her stall as she has regular restaurant owners who purchase their ingredients at dawn. She buys most of her spices in Carbon market, and her vegetables from Mantalongon, at the Barili market. Twice a week she goes to the Carbon market and purchase spices like onions, garlic and tomatoes. She pays about 8,000 pesos (about £114) per purchase. For her vegetables, she has regular supplier who delivers directly to her stall once a week. She has been running her business for 30 years now. On average she earns 6,000 pesos (about £85). The income she earns from her business has helped her a lot in dealing with their household needs. She is helped by two of her children and her grandchildren whenever they don’t have classes. Her husband Agustine manages their 3 hectares of farm land where he grows maize, eggplants, squash, tomatoes and okra. He hires two full-time workers who help him take care of his crops. Some of his harvested crops are sold directly to his wife’s stall and the rest are sold at Carbon market. To support her husband’s farming expenses, Loreta requested a new loan from Lendwithcare's microfinance partner Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative. She will use most of the loan money to buy 6 months' worth of fertiliser, crop protection products and weed killer. She will also buy farm materials like soft ties (10 rolls) and bamboo (500 pieces). She will also use some of the money as the salary of the workers they hire on the farm. She will keep the rest of the loan money as additional working capital in her stall business. If she can purchase her products in cash she gets a discount from her suppliers. The couple work hard in order for their business to grow even more and provide for their family's needs. She promises to repay her loan in 12 months.