As promised, 2 names drawn. First out of the palm was Veggie Gnome! Then came Ramsey!
I then discovered that Emma from Indian Earth had gone ahead since reading the giveaway Haiku and put up $25 of her own for a micro-loan!! - nice work Emma - so im gonna give another one to Kale for Sale then all four of you will be loaners! As Emma said 'Be the change you want to see'.
I have been micro-loaning for a while. Its easy. I like to lend to women who are supporting families and who are prospoing sustainable and 'ethical' businesses (not soft drink sellers). I think these micro -loans are a brilliant idea. They are non interest bearing loans; you make no money on the 'investment', you just get your initial investment back. Then when the loan is repayed in full you can choose to make that money available for another entrepreneur or redeem your money. For the recipient, it can mean the difference between susbsitence living or a more secure future. By by-passing the big banking system this way, we are building our own community and providing opportunity for people who do not meet big bank lending criteria. For me, micro-loans are a way to express my belief in sharing the wealth around without condition so i have never chosen to take my money out of the Kiva system, i always re-loan and every time a loan is repayed, for each loan i add another, hence this giveaway; 2 loans were repayed.
So Katrina at Kale for Sale, Veggie Gnome from The Mad Gnome Strikes Again and Ramsey of Sunshine Valley Hut, I will email you your $25 Kiva gift certificates to redeem at your leisure and to loan to whomever you choose. Pass on the Kiva word, give locally too and thanks for reading Haiku!
