Thoughts on water and loan categories

[Guest]

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[Bastet]

I've noticed lately a few loans to people who make a living distributing drinking water. I occurs to me that Kiva might benefit from having a specific water category for loans, the same way that food is a category. People do tend to find and fund these loans anyway, but when they're marked down as just retail or services if it's not immediately clear that water distribution is a primary goal then they might well get lost in the shuffle. Just a thought.

[waywardcats]

I've noticed lately a few loans to people who make a living distributing drinking water. I occurs to me that Kiva might benefit from having a specific water category for loans, the same way that food is a category. People do tend to find and fund these loans anyway, but when they're marked down as just retail or services if it's not immediately clear that water distribution is a primary goal then they might well get lost in the shuffle. Just a thought.

I like this idea!  Especially considering that Kiva has identified water projects as a special type of loan in some areas.  I was lucky enough to join this one, which I believe was one of the first:


Junta De Saneamiento Saguazú Group

Which includes this note after the loan description:

About Water Installation Loans

Fundación Paraguaya recently launched this exciting new loan product with the help of Kiva. Ikatu Agua loans are designed to provide communities without access to drinking water the money they need to dig wells, set pipeline networks and install water meters. The loan is given to a group of community leaders, who form a Sanitation Board in representation of their entire community. Members of the Sanitation Board are responsible for contracting builders, overseeing construction and collecting small, regular contributions from all community members. These contributions are pooled and returned to Kiva lenders in the form of loan repayments.

Great idea Bastet!

-Kerry-

[Amy-in-PHX]

I've noticed lately a few loans to people who make a living distributing drinking water. I occurs to me that Kiva might benefit from having a specific water category for loans, the same way that food is a category. People do tend to find and fund these loans anyway, but when they're marked down as just retail or services if it's not immediately clear that water distribution is a primary goal then they might well get lost in the shuffle. Just a thought.

I recently made a loan to a group of 9 women in Ecuador, in which the loan write-up describes the plans of two of the women for use of their loan proceeds.  In each case, the woman planned to "buy the rights to potable water for her home," which lacked potable water before the loan.  This loan was from Fundacion Espoir, and was indexed as Sector: Housing; Activity: Personal Housing Expenses.  Espoir had more than one such loan which posted on Kiva in late February.

I thought at the time that I might easily have missed seeing the loan, because I don't normally participate in Personal Housing loans.  A water loan is different from most personal housing loans, IMHO.  This is the water loan I mentioned:  http://www.kiva.org/lend/277730