Jose, 32, is a native of Yali in Nicaragua's Esteli region. He is single with 2 children. He started working when he was 5 years old, doing farm work for his father, tending the family garden and his father's coffee crop. When he was 12 years old, he started full-time work because he had to support himself. He met the mother of his children when he was 22 years old, but they've never married, only been together for years. A year and a half later, he decided to plant vegetables and other produce that he then could sell. He made enough to set up a small store selling everyday commodities--food and other everyday items--and a meat-butchering business. He was able to use the income from the business to buy his own house. He's succeeded in maintaining his level of sales and even buying a vehicle of his own. One of his children is in elementary school and the other is one-year old.
Jose is applying for a loan so that he can prepare his fields and plant coffee. He hopes that preparing the fields in advance will allow him to increase the size and quality of his crop.
Jose's plans for the future are to increase his coffee production and stock his grocery business. He also wants to sell his coffee crop directly to the companies that distribute coffee both in and away from Estel so that he can get a better price that he can get from local buyers. His main goal is to make sure that his two children can finish their studies, something especially important to him because he had to drop out of school at a young age in order to support himself.
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Jere Wiseman. View original language description.