Hope2012    Apr 6, 2013

Thanks for your march repayments and the updates

LA    Jan 18, 2013

Hi Charles,
Do you have an idea of when you will be able to get back on schedule with repayment?

Charles    Nov 14, 2012

I got caught up with buying of maize before some of the beans were disposed because the farmers harvested early due the fear of the rains locking them out of harvesting. In this place when it rains heavily, it becomes very difficult to harvest as everything is done manually. The maize is usually shelled either manually or by use of a shelling machine. However, the farmers sun dry their produce such that if it rains, they may lose a lot of their produce through aflatoxin infestation. For this reason, they are usually quick to harvest when there is some sunshine. This makes them start disposing their produce early enough and since the prices fluctuate with time it is always advisable to buy early. This has made me get caught up before finishing disposing my beans. I am therefore unable to pay my monthly instalments as the beans have not yet been sold out . i request to change my instalments.

Charles    Apr 8, 2012

Thanks so much for making my business viable. i was able to buy maize and also some farming comodities which i have availed to the farmers since it is the planting season. i hope that the rains which have started in my area in ngarua will continue so that the harvest can be good for the farmers.

Annie    Mar 6, 2012

Hi Mr. Mushemi,

You say you want to borrow money to stockpile corn until June, when there is no more corn on the market to sell it at double the normal price. Your activity will actually contribute to create an artificial shortage of grains to starve your fellow neighbours into paying double what they usually pay for their food.
Knowing that everybody is very poor in the area where you are, and literally live frome hand to mouth and often are at the point of undernourishment, I find it pretty unethical to subsidize the borrowing rate of someone whose objective is to exploit the lack and the poverty of his fellow citizens to a point of starvation.
How is it that our “charity” is so badly organized that we will blatantly help someone prey on the poor and the destitute? Are we so blind and complacent?
This is baffling to me. I think such business (if we can call it that) objectives should not be endorsed, even less than cock fighting. At least, in cockfighting, it is animals that suffer and die. Not humans.

Please understand me: I have nothing against selling products for a profit. The problem is when someone stockpiles essential goods to sell them at a hicked price when the shortage point has been reached. This person does not contributes to the well being of his community, but to its misery.

• Daniel    Mar 6, 2012

  Hi Annie, you might be under a small misunderstanding as to what Mr. Muchemi is doing here. The supply of agricultural goods is always cyclical (something we're usually insulated from when shopping at a supermarket). You could say that Charles is stockpiling, but you could reverse that and say that he's actually providing an essential market role -- storing agricultural produce so that it would be available throughout the year, and not just during harvest time. By doing so, Charles is also taking on risk (theft, spoilage, etc.) and also capital expense (purchasing now, receiving revenue later). The price must thus naturally be higher during that later period. Since Charles has the ability to provide the storage and bulk purchase, he's well-placed to provide this service -- something that individual households might not necessarily be able to do. And those households who can, will then stockpile themselves, to take advantage of the lower price.
  
  As to Charles affecting the price by stockpiling, I doubt he could do that even if he wanted. The food market, even in Kenya, is far too large for a trader like Charles to have any impact on price. There will always be someone else to sell if Charles raises his price too high. Affecting market price of such commodity goods can really only be done by very large suppliers or trusts (think OPEC).
  
  Charles is doing nothing wrong here at all, and is in fact providing an important benefit to his community. Lending to him via Zidisha only helps support his local economy.

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• Aahz    Mar 6, 2012

  Annie,
  
  I think Daniel rebutted your statement that Charles' actions do not contribute to the well being of his community rather well. I'd like to address a separate issue.
  
  While Zidisha itself may be a charitable organization, Charles' store is not. Without profit, he would be unable to support neither himself, his family, nor the other businesses in his community. Which would mean those other businesses would not profit and be able to support their families and neighboring businesses, and so on, and so on.
  
  Additionally, I am not here to perform a charitable function. I provide exactly what the site advertises: business loans. I run my life in a 'for profit' manner so that I can support myself, my family, and my community. I have done so well enough that, in addition, I am able to support communities around the globe through services such as Zidisha. In fact, I've already helped more than 40 such businesses, providing nearly 1% of the total money Zidisha has loaned out so far.
  
  If you truly want to live in a world where profit is not sought, I recommend you abandon your comfortable home in Toronto, give all your money to those in need, and travel the world, penniless, working for others at no charge whatsoever. Please let me know how that goes for you, as I am not aware of a single community that has abandoned the profit model and survived, much less thrived. Business it what makes well being possible.
  
  In conclusion, I not only endorse, but support Charles' business model 100%. It is this very model that will not only help raise his community up, but also built our communities to the point they are today, allowing Westerners such as you and I the ability to reach out and help communities such as Nakuru, Kenya.

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• A

  Anninymouse    Mar 10, 2012

  I am afraid I don't understand your logic Annie, I agree with Daniel and Aahz, stockpiling goods is part of what has allowed civilisation to develop.

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Charles    Dec 18, 2011

i have been busy travelling to and fro trying to supply the animals which have been on high demnd because of the festive season when meat becomes on high demand. iam very grateful to all the zidisha lenders who made my dream to come true.

Charles    Apr 7, 2011

thanks a lot to all those who have agreed to lend me the money. i am glad i wasn't closed out as i had earlier feared. i will put it into good use when i finally get hold of it.

• J

  jra299    Apr 7, 2011

  best of luck Charles!

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• CatholicNetworking    Apr 8, 2011

  Glad you made it, just on time! Let us know how you get on.

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Charles    Apr 3, 2011

iam scared to see the days passing very fast. the 6th of april is approaching very fast and i wonder whether i might be closed out. iam hoping for the best.

Charles    Mar 22, 2011

iam excited! i now have hope that i will be able to do more. thanks alot the lenders.

Charles    Mar 21, 2011

a friend requested me to transport for him the farm inputs as i travel to laikipia. this made me to look for a lorry from bahati so that i can take the farm inputs and bring back the animals.this will be good because it means that we shall share the cost of transport and this will give me a better profit. if i had enough cash i could buy my own inputs to go and sell in the area or transport food items which have become scarce in the parts of laikipia where i visit after the dry season.

seabass    Mar 19, 2011

Good luck!!! Safe travels...

Charles    Mar 18, 2011

iam excited all my animals have sold out. i intend to travel to laikipia for more before the rainy season sets in.

• d    Mar 18, 2011

  Best of luck with your business, Charles!

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Charles    Mar 9, 2011

my current butch of animals are selling slowly and i wish i could be able to transport the ceraels as i wait for them to sell. i hope i will be able to do so soon.

• T

  t    Mar 23, 2012

  Keep up the good work young man!

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