San Miguel De Mayocc Group

BCR “San Miguel de Mayocc” is located in the district with the same name as the bank, in the province of Churcampa. The community, situated in one of the lowest parts of the department of Huancavelica, at only 6,500 ft above sea level at the borders of the Mantaro river, has, compared to other parts of the department of Huancavelica, a warm almost tropical climate. The warm climate and the vicinity of the river make the area very suitable for growing fruits like oranges, lemons, avocado, papaya and mango. Besides the fruits, most of the people dedicate their time raising guinea-pigs, which are considered a delicacy.

The bank was formed recently with 13 female borrowers and therefore has no history…yet. It has only just started to create history in its community. The expectations working with FINCA Peru are very clear: increase business and save. For all members, the main use of the savings they will be generating is to invest in their business´ or for the education of their children, buying school uniforms, supplies, books and even to pay the fee for entering primary or secondary school.

As mentioned in the introduction, the area is known for guinea-pig raising and for fruit production. With only a few exceptions, the members of the community bank dedicate their time to both activities. Some of the members are investing their loan in new fruit plants, others need the loan for raising the guinea-pigs. Of the exceptions in the group, 2 have a small grocery store and another has a “cafetin”, a small kiosk selling sweets, drinks and sandwiches at a school in a neighboring city.

Every member has a different testimony, as is the case of Cristina Chavez de Medina. Cristina made her loan request of 200 soles to be able to buy new fruit plants and fertilizer. Antonia Felices de Medina, the group´s democratically elected President, has another purpose for her loan of 600 soles: increasing her store with more supplies like rice, sugar, soft drinks and beer. Alberta Alanya Reyes, the woman with the smallest loan in the group (with 100 soles), will invest in food for her guinea-pigs. She will buy special food to be able to raise high quality guinea-pigs. The guinea-pigs can be sold in cities nearby: Huanta and Ayacucho.

Although many women dedicate their time to the same business, they require different loan sizes because of the differences in the size of the business they run. The loans range from 100 soles, 200 soles, up to 600 soles and the total of the loans reach 4,300 soles among the 13 members.



About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more