Jean

Loan description:

Jean Tuling has a small to medium sized business and employs a total of 16 people from her local community. She is one of the principal producers of dried sea cucumber in the island of Molocaboc which in the town of Sagay in Negros Occidental province. Jean is 31 and married with three children aged 10, 6 and 2 respectively. The elder two children attend primary school. Her husband, Orlando, is 33 and a businessman as well. For the past ten years, Jean has been producing dried ‘sea cucumbers’ which are considered a delicacy in many East and South-east Asian cuisines. Both the fresh and dried varieties of these marine animals are plentiful in the seas around the island of Molocaboc. Sea cucumbers are believed to have strong health benefits being rich in vitamins and nutrients. They are often exported overseas to countries including China, Taiwan and Japan. Jean's staff collect fully-grown sea cucumbers and leave those that are not yet mature in order to ensure their future catch and make their operations sustainable. Post harvest treatment includes several stages of preservation that includes soaking in salt and steaming. Jean sells the dried sea cucumbers to specific wholesalers in the town centre and her income depends on the quality of the products she has produced. Her staff are mostly local fisherman who are engaged in gathering mature sea cucumbers while some are employed as production assistants. Jean has been a member of the microfinance organisation, First Consolidated Cooperative, for more than three years and has already received and repaid seven loans. She has proved to be an exceptionally reliable borrower. She has now requested a loan of 100,000 Philippine pesos repayable over 12 months. She will use this loan in order to buy processing and packaging equipment to make her operations more efficient. Higher quality will mean she can also demand a higher price. (the main photograph shows some of Jean's staff, while the other photographs are of Jean).