Las Victorias Group

Traditional wrap-around skirts called “cortes” are woven with intricate designs on a floor loom and then embroidered. This is the business of twenty-four-year-old Yenny. She attended school through the sixth grade and then started weaving and embroidering when she was fifteen years old. She is married to a singer in a religious group.

Yenny has noted that demand for traditional textiles is high where she lives in the department/state of Quiche. Four years ago, she started her business selling complete traditional outfits (skirt, blouse, belts, shawls), as well as colorful utility cloths. She sells in her own locale and counts on fifteen employees to help fill orders. Her goals are to expand the business, open another branch of the business, and be better positioned to take care of household expenses.

Yenny, along with four other women, is a member of the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Las Victorias.” They realize tremendous benefits from participating in the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, monthly educational training (family, women, health, business) and bi-monthly healthcare services (exams, consults, family planning). Recent topics for the training have been about the dangers of over-indebtedness, business administration, health, family planning, and effective familial communication. The program is essential to their success, as the women have little or no formal education and healthcare services are challenging to access.

Thank you, Kiva lenders!

In this group: Maria, Tomasa , Micaela , Tomasa , Yenny Vanessa