This communal bank is called Estrellas and is made up of 15 entrepreneurs who work in different areas, among which are selling clothing, selling arts and crafts, selling groceries, baking, food preparation, and others. All of them are from the city of Talca.

Bernardita is the president of the communal bank group. In the photo she is in the center of the first row, in the third place from the left. Her hair is black and she wears glasses. Also, she is wearing a white blouse, jeans, and light brown sandals. She works in the area of arts and crafts, specifically sewing, embroidering, and weaving. She has worked in this business for eight years. She promotes her work by word of mouth in accordance with what her customers show, and she sells door-to-door. She buys her merchandise from distributors located in the cities of Santiago and Talca.

With the loan she will buy a multipoint sewing machine to finish her jobs.

Her goal is to set up her business in an established place where she also can set up a workshop.

Bernardita lives with her husband and 22-year-old son, who works for somebody. One of her dreams is to study the profession of dressmaking and wardrobe, because for now she only has taken short-term courses and she wants to perfect herself more and with better results.

She is very happy about and grateful for the opportunity offered by Fondo Esperanza because she feels supported. Also, the loan will allow her to invest in her business. With regard to the group, she comments that it is welcoming and organized.

Talca is in the Maule region, located in the central part of the country. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of the region, being the most important city in the Central Valley of Chile. There is a curious allusion to Talca in Chile, the expression "Talca, Paris, and London." Among the many myths about the matter, some say that it derives from something an English person once said, "Talca looks like London" [Spanish "parece" 'looks like' and "París" 'Paris' sound alike] because of the abundant fog that frequently covers the city in the winter season, similar to the capital of the United Kingdom.