Adding to basket
Twenty-three-year-old Maria is a busy mother of a seven-month-old son. She has a sixth grade education. Her husband is a day laborer.
For five years, Maria has worked at her traditional textile business weaving colorful traditional blouses/”huipiles,” elaborate belts/”fajas,” and shawls/”perrajes.” Weaving and embroidering are labor intensive and so Maria has three employees. She can deliver an average of four “huipiles,” 12 “fajas,” and five “perrajes” each month. She also rents a stall by the side of the road where she sells flowers and fruit. Occasionally, she hires one person for this business.
Maria is one of eight Maya K’iche women who live in a rural area in the department of Quiche, who participate in the Friendship Bridge “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, education, and healthcare. The ladies learn about effective business management practices at their monthly meetings that help them with their farms (apples, avocados, lemons, peaches, plums), and their traditional textile businesses.
They also learn about health, family matters, and women’s issues. Maria and her friends have access to bi-monthly health care consults, exams, and services. Friendship Bridge calls the effective combination of loans, education and health care “Microcredit Plus.” (The girl in the photograph is the daughter of a borrower who authorizes her to appear in it).
Thank you, Kiva investors, for giving Maria and her friends the opportunity to empower themselves and create their own solutions out of poverty!
In this group: Claudia Leticia, Maria Magdalena, Maria, Anastasia, Victoria Fernanda, Anastasia, Josefa , Maria Mercedes
