Adding to basket
Guatemalan women who live in rural areas often have traditional clothing and beaded jewelry businesses. This is true of 30-year-old Maria, a Maya Tz'utujil married mother of two children (ages five and seven), who lives in a rural area in the department/state of Solola.
She uses part of her income from her beaded jewelry and traditional textile business to send her children to kindergarten and first grade. She is also able to help out with household expenses.
Orders are increasing for her embroidered colorful blouses or “huipiles" and beaded jewelry (bracelets, coin purses, necklaces) and so, after planning carefully, Maria is requesting a loan. She will use it to buy beads in various colors and sizes as well as thread.
She is a member of the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Tejedoras” or “Weavers” in a small village on the shores of the beautiful Lake Atitlan in the department/state of Solola. There are seven other Maya Tz’utujil ladies in the group.
They gather monthly with social distancing and masks to participate in educational training sessions, part of the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, education, and healthcare services.
Maria shares, “Besides being able to access credit, I learn about business strategies to help me be successful with my business. Every two months, a traveling nurse contacts me by phone to see if I have health concerns. This is really a good thing.”
Kiva investors are highly appreciated by these ladies. Thank you to each of you!
In this group: Carmen, Concepcion, Ana, Concepcion, Ana, Maria Chiquibal , Andrea , Maria Lucia
