here are the ladies who raise the guinea pigs:
here's a little description of their business needs:
Flor Maria, Dina, and Lucia have been members of the community bank “Musuq Wasi” for between one and two years. From their participation in bank activities, they have learned how to be responsible, punctual, and treat their children. They feel like their bank is a part of their family.
Flor Maria is 36 years old and has an 8 year old son. She has been selling guinea pigs, which are considered a delicacy, for five years. She used to sell vegetables but their price has fallen recently.
Dina is 27 and has one child. She owns land where she raises vegetables and guinea pigs. She has owned her land for one year.
Lucia is 57 years old and has five children. Likewise, she sells vegetables and guinea pigs. She has been in this business all of her life.
Flor Maria, Dina, and Lucia need loans of 900, 600, and 300 soles ( 3 soles = $1) respectively to invest in food for their guinea pigs and seeds. The community bank emphasizes saving and each associate has an interest earning account. These three women plan to use their savings for their children’s education, medical bills, and any other emergencies that can arise. Their dream is to have successful businesses and that their children can continue moving up in the world.
and here is a picture of the delicacy that is the peruvian guinea pig, just before we ate it:
8 comments:
How does one participate in this?
Go to kiva.org
click on lend near the top of the page
select a business owner you would like to make a loan to
select an amount you would like to lend them ($25+)
That guinea pig looks so..so......appetizing? How was it?
I had a guinea pig named Callie when I was little. Gladly, the "delicacy" on that plate no longer looks anything like Callie or her relatives.
Did it taste like chicken?
as far as the taste of the guinea pig (cuy en español) goes, it is considered a delicacy in peru. the cuy we had was roasted and i found the meat to be very tasty. not terribly similar to anything i've had before. that said, a guinea pig is not a huge animal, and so the breast and leg meat is not all that is served. the organs of the guinea pig were also served up on the platter. while these may be very delicious, i did not find them to be in line with my personal palette. i would definitely recommend trying guinea pig if you have the option, but be aware that there may be more parts than you might be used to seeing on a north american plate.
Yeah I wasn't brave enough to go there - but I ate Alpaca, which was delicious. I think for me it's the teeth that freak me out on the little guinea pig...
um....everything about this posting is awesome, except for that guinea pig, um, it looks really yucky. I really like the lady on the far right in the photo....her hat is very cute.
Kiva's great... You get to help out people on the other side of the planet and help make Americans look good.... Plus you'll most likely get your money back and then you can make more loans... I've got $75 riding right now on three small businesses... Two are in some country that I can't spell near where Borat it from and the other is down in Central America somewhere. All are on target with their repayments so far. Woot!
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