Sunday, December 04, 2011

Organic Agriculture Loans at Kiva

I just wrote the good folks at Kiva an email about the dearth of organic and green projects available to loan money to.
I've been a member for a few months but have only made two loans because I've only found two where the borrower promised to use organic methods on the small farm. In each case, it was organic fertilizer, which is great, but only part of the picture.
I realize that these small farmers cannot afford organic certification. But they also cannot afford the petrochemicals used in industrial agriculture, and are therefore, probably, de facto organic.
I would like to see you work with your field partners to increase the organic projects, and green projects in general, available on your site. There are currently no green projects at all, and that is a shame.
Anyone who can afford to make a few microloans (current repayment rate is 98.93%) should check it out and maybe we can get Kiva to put more emphasis on green projects. You won't make any money on these loans, but you'll most likely get all your money back, and then you can make more loans to people who really need them!

Here's the guy I'm hoping will get funded next.

2 comments:

Phil Nauta said...

Hi Scott, thought you might be interested in this: http://www.philanthropyaction.com/nc/a_mostly_comprehensive_guide_to_the_kiva_and_donor_illusion_debate/

I'm not affiliated with that site, but I spent a week awhile back researching how to make the best out of charitable giving and I learned a lot about Kiva and microfinance in general. Doesn't mean you shouldn't give to Kiva, but it's interesting to learn about anyway (it's okay if you don't want to post this - at least you'll have it for yourself).

Happy new year, Phil

Unknown said...

Kiva have been a very reliable loan service online, a lot of people trust and borrows through them. No wonder why I get hooked on loaning through them immediately.