Arlene is a member of a farming cluster in the secluded mountain village of Sudlon II. Our local partner in the Philippines, Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative, runs a fantastic project that organises poor farmers into clusters and enables them to work together to link their products to the market. The farming cluster that Arlene is a part of sells its produce to hotel chains and restaurants in the Philippines with the help of the Cooperative. Arlene is now able to generate a regular income and has the certainty that she can sell her products at a fair price every week. When I met Arlene she told me that without the help of the Cooperative she would be in a very desperate situation. Arlene’s land was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. At this time Arlene and many farmers in her village had no means of generating an income and were on the cusp of slipping into desperate poverty. She explained that the government did come and do an initial assessment but since the scale of the destruction was so huge they were not able to help everyone. Lamac helped Arlene and her fellow farmers get back on their feet with a calamity loan (a loan at incredibly low interest – 0.8%) and ensured they had a reliable market to sell their products. This calamity loan enabled Arlene to kick start her livelihood and she told me that business was thriving again. In addition to being able to invest in her farming, Arlene told me she now has a safe place to collect savings and this was one of the biggest advantages for her since she now has something to protect her and her family during times of emergency. Lamac really encourage their clients to collect savings and they offer a really innovative product for farmers who can convert extra produce (say an extra kilo of cabbage) into savings. The equivalent of what the Cooperative can sell this produce at on the market will be converted into savings for their clients.