16 De Nobiembre Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the 16 DE NOBIEMBRE group, consisting of Elena Masabi De Masabi, Petrona Masabi Vega, Marlene Pereira Arias, Aida Chopecho, Ignacio Vaca Menacho, Rolando Martin Tarabillo Vargas, Rosa Viveros, Adrian Chavez Vaca, Roberto Garrido Moreno, Eldy Paz Rivero, Victoria Villegas De Mamani, Alberto Garrido Moreno by Fundación Agrocapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA in Bolivia. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 5 months, Fundación Agrocapital, a partner of ACDI/VOCA will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

I visited two members of the 16 de Noviembre group on Friday morning. The group is currently in its first loan cycle, and this is the first time most of its members have taken out a loan. Most of the group members work as cooks, washing clothes, or milking cows.

Most of the group members live in a newly settled neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Montero, where I visit the home of the group’s president, Elena. A narrow dirt road leads down to her house, and it’s a rough drive, even in a 4x4 on a sunny, dry day. The group’s loan officer, Victor, tells me that this road becomes unpassable (even by motorcycle) when it rains, so sometimes he has to come on foot. The neighborhood was recently provided with electricity and running water, but most of its residents still live in very humble conditions and there’s no telling when the road might be paved.

Elena tells me that things have gone pretty well for the group. They have hit some bumps in the road, which is normal for a new group, but have always been able to work things out. Elena used her loan of 1000 bolivianos (US$214) to buy more ingredients for her business. She sells empanadas (savory filled pastries), grilled meat and drinks from a stand in the afternoons and evenings. Her sales improved after she invested the money, she tells me.

Ignacio, another group member, lives about half a mile from Elena, where I caught him at home on his lunch break. Ignacio works as a at a local auto shop doing body work on cars (painting, fixing dents, etc). He is very experienced, but since he is an employee, half of the money he makes goes to the owner of the shop. Ignacio would like to start his own shop so that he can earn more money to better support his family. Once he has all of the equipment he needs, he plans to rent out a space and get to work. “This loan helps all of us to work and to get ahead a little bit,” he tells me. He used the loan to buy a polishing machine and an electric saw for his shop.

Ignacio’s wife is currently 8 ½ months pregnant with their first child. She’s ready to give birth already, she tells me, laughing. The heat and humidity of Montero can be suffocating at times (even for those of us who aren’t 8 ½ months pregnant) and she says she can barely sleep at night.

Elena is pictured below in the garden outside her family’s house, where she grows tomatoes, peppers, spices and bananas.