Adding to basket
Victoria is a 48-year-old woman who is married, has two children who are 11 and 12 years old, and who makes a living weaving blankets. She is a good mother, is enterprising, independent, responsible, and hard-working. Her business is done in the Pampa Chililaya community, which is known for being a rural area dedicated to livestock, for having a cold and dry climate, and a temperature that varies during the day from 2-14 degrees centigrade.
Victoria has dark skin and long, black, braided hair. Her mother language is Aymará but she speaks Spanish for general use and for the work she does. Her life is shared with her family. She lives in a brick house that has potable water and electricity. Her business is weaving blankets by hand and by machine. Her blankets are well sought after by women in town for protection from the cold and as part of their traditional dress. This is work that she does every day of the week, independently in her home. She carries out the sales in a makeshift stall in the street, as well as at the fair and markets as a street vendor. "The wool products are much needed in the city because it is cold all year long," she says.
Her dream is to have a permanent stall for sales so she can stop walking. She wishes to make an investment in her business through the purchase of wholesale wool for weaving and producing her blankets faster and in larger quantities. This is the first loan sequence with the institution that she has had in the six years she has been doing this work. For these reasons, Victoria asks for a loan to buy wholesale wool for weaving and increasing her sales.
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Stephanie Sawyer. View original language description.
