Fe

Loan description:

Fe Decio is 43 years old and married with four children aged 24, 20, 13 and 12 respectively. Her eldest has already graduate while the other three are still in college and high school. Her family reside in the neighbourhood of Hermarco located in the town of Palompon in Leyte province. Fe and her husband Aurelio work together as farmers. Their smallholding is situated near their home. They grow 'taro' plants. Taro is native to south-east Asia and is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible starchy corm, and as a leaf vegetable and is considered a staple in many Asian cultures. In the Philippines, taro is called 'gabi'. Among the most popular dishes cooked with gabi are 'laing' which originated in the Southern Luzon region and 'sinigang' which is a national stew famous because of its sour taste. They deliver their harvest to vegetable sellers in the local public market. Fe and her husband have been farmers for the past 25 years. Fe has also been a member of the microfinance organisation, Omaganhan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, for five years and has over this time received and repaid 12 loans altogether. Her latest loan application is to buy fertiliser, good quality seeds and help with other costs associated with ploughing the land. She intends to repay the loan over six months.