Las Palomas Group
A loan of $4,375 helps a member to buy fertilizer and pay her employees.
Las Palomas Group's story
Santa is a single 36-year-old mother of a 4-year-old son. Santa shares that she has no formal education since she accompanied her parents, who were farmworkers, to help seed and harvest basic grains. Now, she has a cardamom farm, a crop known as 'Green Gold', that is a strong spice used in coffee flavorings, Indian curries, and Scandinavian sweets. It is hardly used in Guatemalan recipes because most of it is exported. Santa opened her cardamom farm six years ago in the department/state of Alta Verapaz. Five employees help her with the farm. She also raises chickens and pigs that she sells from her home. She wants to earn more income and enlarge the farm. Santa requests her first Kiva loan to buy fertilizer and to pay her employees.
Santa joined six other Maya Q'eqchi women and formed the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank, “Las Palomas”. All the ladies farm cardamom or raise domestic livestock and poultry. The 'plus' services in the 'Microcredit Plus' program of loans, monthly educational training, and bi-monthly healthcare services, are very important for their empowerment and success. Recent topics for the training have been about business administration and how to be an effective entrepreneur. Other topics are about health, hygiene, nutrition, self-esteem, and empowerment. Every other month, they have access to basic healthcare services, including exams, consults, and family planning.
Santa shares "Thank you, Kiva lenders".
In this group: Estela Emiliana, Eulalia , Ana Marina , Ofelia , Santa Cecilia , Regina, Aracely