Carmelita

Loan description:

Carmelita Manuel is 52 and married with two children aged 30 and 18 respectively. Together with her husband Florencio, Carmelita is a farmer. Primarily they cultivate ‘calamansi’ or ‘calamondin’ trees. The Calamondin tree bears a small citrus fruit that is used to flavor foods and drinks - Calamansi is available year round in the Philippines and is usually seen in its unripened state as a dark green fruit, but if left to ripen it turns a tangerine orange colour. Carmelita and her family live in the village of Sapsap which is in the town of Santa Rosa in Nueva Ecija province. Calamansi fruit is believed to originate from China and has spread throughout Southeast Asia and is particularly widespread in the Philippines. Despite its outer appearance and its aroma, the taste of the fruit itself is quite sour, although the peel is sweet. This is regularly used by households in cooking to enhance the flavour of the dishes. Calamansi juice is also believed to have health benefits, particularly for coughs or colds. Carmelita, her husband and her children work together in order harvest calamansi fruit. They have been growing this fruit for 32 long years and the business continues to be successful. They sell their harvest to friut vendors in the local town’s market who then resell to customers on a per kilo basis. Her husband regularly visits the farm while Carmelita herself focuses on managing the financial aspects of the business. She sought a loan of100,000 Philippine pesos loan from the microfinance organisation, Alalay sa Kaunlaran in order to buy seeds and fertilisers as well as farming equipment. She plans to plant more trees in order to increase their overall yield. The loan she acquired will be repayable over the duration of twelve months.