Philippines, 2009

Luz, a mother of 9 children, spent half her income on rice to feed her family, but that wasn’t enough. Usually, they needed more.   

Luz was great at budgeting. If she needed two cups (gantas) of rice for a meal, she cooked only one-and-a-half cups, saving for another. Or sometimes her family ate cassava and bananas, which were not as nourishing, especially for farm workers.
 
Things could not continue this way. When her husband worked a farm on a percentage basis, he earned one sack of palay, unmilled rice, for every 10 bags of harvested rice. But that wasn’t enough, especially when repaying debts to the farm owner.

Borrowing rice from farm owners was one option, but for every bag borrowed, 3 bags were expected in return. Extreme interest for a struggling family.

Luz’ community of Kabulihan, General Natividad, Nueva Ecija was involved with Outreach International’s community development efforts. But Luz was hesitant. “Many others have offered to help,” she told Nancy, Outreach International’s human development facilitator, “but they just fooled us.” When Nancy showed her sincerity, Luz said, “I’ll give it another try.” She attended meetings and learned to speak out on issues. Like projects that addressed sanitation, electricity for the plaza, and water pumps.

Because dozens of other families were also struggling with lack of rice and high interest rates, a solution began to surface: a Rice Loan Project to allow borrowing rice at a low interest rate.

Luz saved $7.43 on the first loan cycle; more on the second cycle and third. The savings allowed her to buy necessities and feed her hogs. Like other families, Luz is now ensured of eating rice that they themselves harvested.

Fifty-two families have made use of the rice loan project. The community is constructing a warehouse for collecting, drying, and milling rice, and to reduce loss. The group has credibility to partner with other agencies on future projects. And Luz says, “I can feed my family and meet my obligations. This time, we weren’t fooled.”