Individual Loans in Tutule, La Paz

The Intibucá branch office located in the highland town of La Esperanza has been offering mircocredit to the women of La Paz, a neighboring department, since 2008.  The Adelante Credit Officer responsible for loan pool in the area, Rosa Mejía, is based out of Marcala, La Paz, traveling to the branch office weekly.  Marcala is renowned for its coffee trade, with many families dedicated to producing the highly demanded bean. Coffee aside, the department is one of the poorest in Honduras.  Surprisingly many coffee producing families, whether independent or part of cooperative, still live in extreme poverty.

Catholic Church in Tutule

On a recent visit to Marcala, the distances Credit Officers travel to follow-up with their clients and attend bi-monthly assembly meetings became very apparent with a trip to San Pedro de Tutule.  This town is located about an hour’s drive from Marcala.  Adelante Credit Officer, Rosa, spent her younger years living in Tutule, so the commute is worthwhile since she has family and friends in town.  In the center of town, there is an attractive central park and an interesting Catholic church, while the surrounding hilly landscape is doted with the pine and plantain trees.  Plantains are an important staple of the Central America diet, especially crucial to poor families since the starchy fruit is inexpensive and very filling.  Rosa tells me that many families grow plantains to sell in nearby El Salvador.

Cecilia & daughter at restaurant

In Tutule, Cecilia has a comedor or small restaurant located in the center of town.  Cecilia has been a client with Adelante since 2009 when she received her first loan just L. 4,000 or $211.  Since becoming a client, Cecilia has seen her business grow tremendously and recently, she took out an Individual Loan for L. 15,000 or $789.  With this loan, Cecilia invested in a microwave, and she hopes that in the future, she can obtain another Individual Loan in order to start a small convenience store.   A single mother, Cecilia uses the income she earns from her restaurant to support her 3 year old daughter.  As a micro-entrepreneur, Cecilia feels confident that her daughter will enjoy an improved quality of life.

Adelante’s Individual Loan program rewards AA clients like Cecilia with the opportunity to secure larger loans, anywhere from $600 to $5,000.  Women who consistently attend assembly meetings, invest diligently in their small businesses, and have an excellent repayment record are considered AA clients.  Loan amounts are large enough that it would not be fair to the solidarity group to vouch for such a big loan.  Even still, recipients of individual loans must solicit a small group loan in order to maintain their standing in the solidarity group.  Loans over $2,000 are collateralized like a traditional loan, but in Cecilia’s case, her collateral is based on trust given her proven dedication to her micro enterprise.

Norma at the workshop

Another client I met in Tutule, Norma, is the recipient of Adelante’s largest Individual Loan in the Marcala area.  Norma has been a client for two years and she and her husband run a mechanical workshop out in front of their home.  After successfully paying back her first Individual Loan for L. 20,000 or $1,053, Norma solicited a loan for L. 50,000 or $2,632.  Given the convenient location of her workshop and the lack of gas stations in the area, Norma’s business venture necessitates major purchases of equipment, gasoline, lubricants and other items for vehicle maintenance.  Thanks to her micro business, Norma has succeeded in providing an education for each of her five children, ages 6 to 25.  Currently, she has two teenagers studying in secondary school and a third who just entered university in Comayagua.  The examples of Cecilia and Norma illustrate why it is important to reach out to distant communities like Tutule.  The need for microfinance is immense in rural Honduras and there are so many women eager to improve their standard of living through the hard work and discipline it takes to become a successful small business entrepreneur.

Alleviating Poverty in the Lenca Corridor

A rural scene from Intibuca

In the Western highlands of Honduras, achieving the basic necessities in life is a challenge.  This area is known as the Lenca Corridor, named after the indigenous group that inhabits its rugged mountains, primarily in the departments of La Paz, Intibucá and Lempira.  The Lenca are an indigenous minority and have an estimated population of 100,000 people in Honduras. During the Spanish conquest, the Lenca resisted colonization and fought a decade-long war until their leader was assassinated.  This warrior’s name would become the currency of present-day Honduras, the Lempira.  In spite of Lempira’s heroic legacy, the Lenca remain marginalized in a predominately mestizo country.  It is no coincidence that the poorest departments of Honduras are located in the Lenca Corridor.

Maria Sabina & baby boy

Adelante currently serves the Lenca Corridor with microcredit through its branch office in La Esperanza, Intibucá.  Many of its clients are Lencan women whose struggles to improve their quality of life are illustrative of the region.  Maria Sabina has been a client with Adelante for the past two years, and is currently paying back a loan for L 6300 or $332.  Akin to many Lencan households, Sabina’s family relies on agriculture for subsistence and also to earn cash.  Owing to the cool climate, they not only cultivate corn and beans, but also potatoes and other vegetables too.  Sabina travels over an hour by bus to the market in La Esperanza in order to sell their surplus.  When the family’s plot of land is not producing, Sabina also bakes and sells bread to supplement her family’s income.  During the rainy season, roads deteriorate and often the bus can not reach Sabina’s distant community, so she has to walk several kilometers until she can catch the bus.  The rural villages that dot the slopes of the Lenca Corridor commonly lack basic infrastructure, such as roads, electricity and running water. Sabina’s community is no exception.

Sabina and her husband have six children, ranging in ages from a 1 year old baby to a 17 year old son. Of her six children, three attend a local primary school, but her two teenagers must help out to support the household. On most occasions, Sabina’s 13 year old daughter accompanies her to the market in La Esperanza.  Affording a secondary school education for their children is a challenge for most Lencan families.  Sabina’s small business ventures have lifted the family out of extreme poverty, but she will not be sending her daughter to secondary school this year. Sabina hopes that as her business grows in the future, she will have the income to offer her children a better education.

As part of an effort to alleviate extreme poverty in the Lenca Corridor, Adelante has included topics on agriculture in our series of Product Innovation Workshops in 2012.  Clients like Sabina learn how to improve production and increase profits from agricultural activities.  Other workshops on crafts and food preparation also allow Lencan women to diversify their businesses in order to enhance household income.

Rosario & daughter at flower-making workshop

Maria Rosario, a long-time client who also sells vegetables in La Esperanza, attended a flower-making workshop in February.  Rosario brought along her 12-year old daughter to the event, commenting, ¨It’s good that she came because she can make these products too, it’s important since she will soon be finishing primary school and if she wants to keep studying she will have to work hard!¨  Like Sabina, Rosario has achieved a better standard of living for her family, but a secondary school education for her daughter remains out of reach.  Fortunately, with the skills they have learned at the workshop, mother and daughter will be able to develop a new stream of income.

The poverty that pervades daily life for so many women and their families in the Lenca Corridor is one of the reasons why Adelante is keen to expand its operations in the region.  Already 1,000 women and their families are climbing out of extreme poverty as a result of our microfinance-education program.  We are excited to be expanding further with generous contributions from Women’s Empowerment International and the Rotary Foundation. Stay tuned to this blog to read more about how Adelante’s unique approach to microfinance is changing lives in the Lenca Corridor and across Honduras!

Product Innovation Workshops in Intibuca

Innovative Product: Pickled Veggies

The Adelante Foundation branch office in La Esperanza recently hosted product innovation workshops for clients in the departments of Intibuca and La Paz.  Many thanks to the Inter-American Foundation for the funds which made these workshops possible.  The workshops were held as part of the Adelante Foundation’s small business education program.    Developing workshops on product creation and innovation is a new frontier for the education department at the head office in La Ceiba.  Clients learn how to create new products or how to innovate existing ones in order to increase competitiveness and grow their businesses.  The Credit Officers who manage the loan pools in Intibuca and La Paz selected the women who would participate, and these women are responsible for passing on the skills they learn to their assembly groups.

In October, clients were invited to participate in a workshop focused on producing different varieties of breads and baked goods.  Most of the women who attended were already dedicated to this activity, but many were accustomed to producing only a few products, for example a few varieties of bread.  Over the course of three days, clients learned how to make several types of breads, donuts, fruit pastries, and more.  The Adelante Foundation’s Education Coordinator emphasizes that lack of innovation is one of the main reasons small businesses fail to grow.  Now these women and their corresponding assembly groups have the knowledge to expand their product inventories and earn more profits.

The second workshop took place in November and featured pickled vegetables and fruit jams.  Unlike baking, which requires specific equipment, producing jams and pickled veggies only necessitates a stove top or wood fire.  Every woman has the tools in her home to produce jams and pickled veggies, so participants did not need to have past experience.  The departments of Intibuca and La Paz benefit from a cooler climate that allows for the cultivation of an assortment of vegetables for pickling.  Pineapple, strawberry, and guava are also accessible and ideal for jam making.  Many clients grow the fruits and vegetables used in jam making and vegetable pickling, so by learning the process they can add value to existing products and sell them at a higher price.

I had the opportunity to attend the second workshop, observing and even participating myself in the production of pickled vegetables.  The process involves preparing, boiling, and arranging the vegetables, which are then preserved in homemade ginger spiced vinegar.  The fresh produce included cauliflower, carrots, shallots, onions, chilies and green beans.  The women were trained on how to sanitize the glass jars used for pickling by disinfecting them in boiling water.  Several clients already had experience pickling vegetables, but the women also learned how to innovate the product by cutting the veggies so as to make them more attractive.  Arranging the vegetables decoratively also makes the product more tempting to the buyer.  Take a look at the series of photos below to get a sense of the whole process pickling vegetables!

Preparing the chilies, yikes!

Filling jars decoratively with boiled veggies

Adding the ginger vinegar to complete the pickling process

In 2012, the Adelante Foundation plans to offer more product innovation workshops on different subjects.  The response from clients has been very positive, confirming that the workshops are practical.  A client from Jesus de Otoro, Marta, who attended the second workshop, explains, ¨it’s great because it’s a profitable activity that everyone can do in their homes¨.   Another client from the community of San Fernando adds, ¨you learn things that you did not know before, it’s very practical¨.  Through these workshops, the Adelante Foundation is providing clients with the tools to generate innovative businesses that support an improved quality of life.