Adding to basket
This community bank is called 'Nuevo Camino'. It has 18 members who are all entrepreneurs and who all work in different fields including: selling clothing, preparing fast food, raising pigs, selling vegetables, making pottery, hairdressing, producing cheese, selling cosmetics through catalogs, making confectionery, selling stationery, etc. They are all from the town of Chillán.
Carolina is a member of this community bank. She is in the back row of the photograph, second from the left. She wears glasses and her dark brown hair is tied back.
Carolina is a saleswoman. She sells new clothing for adults, children and babies. She makes her sales from home and also door to door. She has regular customers and this allows her to move safely around the area to make her sales. She has been in this business for a year and a half. She says that her peak season is during the spring and summer months.
Carolina buys her merchandise wholesale in Patronato neighborhood, in the city of Santiago (this is a commercial area which is noted for having domestic and imported clothing and accessories at very low prices).
Carolina will use her loan to buy fall and winter clothing. One of her business goals is to continue working and keep her business running over time. She has saved up enough money to apply for a housing grant.
Carolina is very happy and grateful for the opportunity provided by Fondo Esperanza as it will allow her to invest in her business. She feels very comfortable within her group as they are all united and committed people. The training sessions have helped her to learn new sales and administration strategies.
Chillán is a town in the central-southern area of Chile. Its name means 'Chair of the Sun' in Mapudungun (the language of our Mapuche ancestors). Chillán is known as 'The Cradle of the Nation' or 'Land of Artists' because it is the birthplace of a number of well-known figures from Chile's past such as, for example, the famous pianist Claudio Arrau.
In this group: Carolina, Rosa, Ana María, Rosa, María, Cristina, Ercilia, Eliazar, Gladys, Flor, Magdalena, Teresa, Victoria, Ana María, Olfa, María José, Priscila, Yohana
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer anonymized. View original language description.
