Nueva Santa Catarina Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the Nueva Santa Catarina group, consisting of Maria Antonia Tambriz Guarchaj, Catarina Felicita Sohom Tzep, Pascuala Teresa Xocol Sac, Antonia Chox Tziquin, Manuela Tambriz Y Tambriz, Manuela Tepaz Sac, Manuela Tzep Guarchaj, Isabell Tziquin Guachrac, Faustina Clara Tepaz Ajpacaja, Manuela Florencia Tepaz Tum, Catarina Chox Guachrac by Friendship Bridge in Guatemala. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 13 months, Friendship Bridge will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

When I arrived at the meeting for Nueva Santa Catarina I was greeted by Manuela Florencia Tepaz Tum, one of the older and more respected women of the village of Nueva Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, a small village just outside of Nahualá. The women were gathered in an empty room in her home. I eased in to a seat in the corner of the room to observe the group of entrepreneurs. Yawning children sat patiently with their mothers as the meeting began in the early morning hours with the sun barely peaking over the mountains of the highland village.

The women of Nueva Santa Catarina are mostly weavers. Manueala Florencia has been weaving guipiles, the traditional blouses of Guatemala, since she was a child. Maria Antonia Tambriz Guarchaj also weaves guipiles and cortes, the traditional skirt. She sells in the market, but also travels to the coast every month or so to conduct business there. Maria Antonia explains that the women on the coast do not weave and therefore depend on the fabrics from the women in Nahualá. Her sister lives on the coast and takes orders for her throughout the month. Once the order is big enough to warrant a trip, Maria travels with her 15-year-old son to sell her products. The family business has become very efficient and thanks to the loan from Friendship Bridge, she is able to produce more products in advance and receive even larger earnings. Prior to her loan, she was only able to buy enough materials to weave a few skirts. Now with the extra money she can purchase more materials and therefore increase her income.

The women of Nueva Santa Catarina were friendly and all wished me a happy holiday season before I left. They were extremely grateful for the opportunity to improve their lives and clearly excited for the potential of the upcoming year.