Adding to basket
Sandra is a member of the “Bannen” communal bank in the city of Lota. She is an alternative perfumes merchant. She’s been in this line of work for 6 years; she runs the business independently. In addition, Sandra has a stable job as a Food Handler in a casino, Monday through Saturday afternoons. Her sales are via catalogue either in her home or at her customers’ offices. With this business and with her job Sandra managed to obtain a house of her own.
Sandra will use this loan to get her catalogue perfume orders filled in the city of Santiago (capital of Chile) which are then sent to her via delivery service.
Her dream is to buy more perfumes aiming at increasing the number of customers and of income because Sandra wants to invest in a new business for winter, specifically the sale of firewood.
For Sandra, Fondo Esperanza loans have meant support that has made it possible for her business to grow and her income to increase. In addition, the training sessions have been very useful, especially on how to organize her capital and invest efficiently.
Lota, in Mapudungun, the language of our Mapuche indigenous peoples, means “small hamlet.” It is a coastal commune located near the city of Concepción in the south of Chile in the Bíobío region. Lota is famous for its coal deposits which are tightly tied to Chile’s economic development history as well as for its underground miners whose difficult living conditions were described by the Chilean author, Baldomero Lillo, in his book “Subterra.”
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer anonymized. View original language description.
