• about us

Periwinkle Porte

~ Design, inspiration and the environment insights from Associates III Interior Design.

Periwinkle Porte

Tag Archives: Kiva

International Women’s Day

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by periwinkleporte in environment, inspiration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

International Women's Day, Kiva, Microcredit

I am excited about the concept of micro-loans or micro-credit. It’s moved to the center of my radar recently and so I’ve been reading up about the concept and how it works.

The KeyMuhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, won the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 for pioneering this new type of banking known as micro-credit, which grants small loans to poor people who have no collateral and who don’t usually qualify for conventional bank loans. His program enables millions of Bangladeshis, almost all women, to buy everything from cows to cell phones in order to start and run their own businesses. Similar micro-credit projects have helped millions around the world lift themselves out of poverty.

I find this grassroots effort exciting because it speaks to the belief that when given a hand, we can all succeed, and especially when in a supportive and encouraging setting. The idea has expanded from its roots in places like Bangladesh to dozens of countries, including the USA. It’s about empowering people to help themselves; very much like the concept of teaching someone to fish so they can feed themselves. You know the one.

One article I read at The Huffington Post written by Premal Shah, the president of Kiva.org, is entitled Americans Can Help Each Other a Lot by Lending a Little.  The statistics are enlightening:

In 2009, the 27.5 million small businesses in the United States represented more than 99 percent of the nation’s workplaces, ranging from the traditional family owned dry cleaner, to the hip new gourmet food truck. According to a new study of businesses with nine or fewer employees commissioned by Kiva.org and Visa, nearly 51 thousand small businesses were lost nationwide between 2006 and 2008.

It makes me believe that small businesses are vital in our road to economic recovery and greater stability in the US.  And the ability to access these smaller micro-loans are particularly vital in countries where seemingly small amounts can make an even bigger difference between making it or not.

KivaToday is International Women’s Day and there’s a unique offer on the Kiva website to try the idea of providing a micro-loan to a woman who needs the help in creating a new business or venture. I am a fan of Kiva. I hope you’ll give it a read and maybe decide to make an investment too.

— Debbie Hindman

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 593 other followers

Categories

  • design (62)
  • environment (63)
  • inspiration (156)
  • miscellaneous (24)
  • Uncategorized (6)

Recent Posts

  • Happy Chinese New Year!
  • Colorado Gives Day 2015
  • Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving!
  • Chicago Cultural Center
  • Harmony with Nature

Archives

  • February 2016 (1)
  • December 2015 (1)
  • November 2015 (4)
  • October 2015 (4)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (2)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (3)
  • March 2015 (4)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (4)
  • November 2014 (7)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (5)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (3)
  • March 2014 (3)
  • February 2014 (5)
  • January 2014 (6)
  • December 2013 (4)
  • November 2013 (1)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (5)
  • July 2013 (8)
  • June 2013 (5)
  • May 2013 (5)
  • April 2013 (6)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (6)
  • January 2013 (7)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (6)
  • October 2012 (8)
  • September 2012 (5)
  • August 2012 (7)
  • July 2012 (8)
  • June 2012 (8)
  • May 2012 (4)
  • April 2012 (12)
  • March 2012 (14)
  • February 2012 (17)
  • January 2012 (6)

Tags

Alan Weisman Albert Einstein Allergen Allergy art balance Bee Biedermeier Bill McKibben Book Club Building material Business Chemical substance Chicken Chicken coop Chief Seattle Chipotle Christmas Climate change Color Colorado Compost Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations coop design creative relationships Denver Denver Chalk Art Festival Design Downton Abbey Downtown Denver Downtown Denver Business Improvement District Environment Factory farming Fast food Flatirons Community Church Formaldehyde Furniture Garden Graham Hill Health Healthy interiors hen house Highclere Castle holistic style Home Hong Kong inspiration Interior Design Ishmael John Muir Landscapes Larimer Square Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LifeEdited LoDo Denver London Marcel Proust Nature Photography Plant Recycling Red Rocks Rolling Stone SHINE Silent Spring Slavery Soil and Additives Sustainable Residential Interiors Symptom The World Without Us Toxicity Treehugger Volatile organic compound Waste management Zero Waste

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Periwinkle Porte
    • Join 593 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Periwinkle Porte
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...