Virgen Del Carmen Chuitacabaj Group

Twenty-three-year-old Catarina is a single mother who is raising two children (two and seven years old) and has no formal education. Instead, she worked with her parents, who were farmworkers. Seven years ago, she opened her business raising pigs that she sells by custom order. Her second business, which she started four years ago, is a traditional textile business. Seven employees help her fill custom orders, making colorful blouses called “huipiles”. She can offer thirteen each month. Her goals are to increase the size of her business and employ more women in her community in the department/state of Totonicapan. Catarina requests her fourth Kiva loan to buy thread and fabric.

Catarina joined six other Maya K’iche women who formed the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Virgen del Carmen Chuitacabaj Group”. These ladies weave colorful plastic strips into handy baskets, sew pants, fabricate “huipiles”, or raise domestic livestock. They meet monthly, make loan payments, and participate in educational training, part of the “Microcredit Plus” program. Recent topics for the training were about business administration and how to avoid over-indebtedness. Other topics are about health, hygiene, family matters, and women’s issues. Another “plus” in the program is bi-monthly healthcare services delivered by a traveling nurse who offers consults, exams, and family planning.

Thank you, Kiva lenders, for your generosity!

In this group: Santos Veronica, Sara Elizabeth, Maria , Catarina Marleny, Juana , Juana, Santos Alicia