Moving forward!!!

August 13, 2008

Well, you probably are wondering what is happening with the project in San Mateo. As you probably remember from our past blog, this community has never before received credit. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Guatemala call this type of community a "comunidad virgen" (virgin community). Namaste’s team and partners did a brief assessment to decide if this community could be the first region to launch the microfinance plus program. San Mateo will be part of the pilot program, so we are happy to announce this news to you and to the San Mateo women.

We were on our way to have our second meeting; the weather conditions were not that favorable. It was foggy, raining, and cold. Eighteen women and twelve children came to the meeting at the community center. We were surprised that so few women came to the meeting, when we had expected 100! Well today was "cut day". People call it "cut day" when it is time to cut vegetables in the mountains, so many people were in the campo (country side) doing farming work. You probably are saying, “Wow what a day to be outside cutting the vegetables!” but this is our borrowers' world and we can see how fortunate we are that someone is doing this to get our fresh vegetables to our tables.

Fundacion para la Asistencia de Pequena Empresa (FAPE) is an NGO. They are our partner and they work as a microfinance institution. FAPE has been working with micro entrepreneurs since 1984. FAPE is going to lead the meeting; they are going to handle the credit component of our pilot program in this region. FAPE delegated five local women to be in the pre-credit phase. These women have a lot of experience working with loans in the Guatemala communities. They were aware that many of the women are unable to read and write, so they brought drawings to explain the process, the requirements, the time, and the interest rate of a loan. The FAPE team started the meeting with a prayer. Most people are Catholic and we can see how they incorporate their beliefs in their professional practices.

The FAPE team explained the concepts well, but of course, many women still find this credit concept new. They have a lot of doubts, but they are also shy to directly ask all their questions. We know that women have a lot questions because they converse with Lyz, our community leader and facilitator. There were a few women who asked questions about the loan periods and the type of the business. We told them that the loan officers and the business advisors will work with them to create a business plan to guarantee success in their business. Many women want to raise pigs and it looks like this is a good business there. However, too many businesses like these could hurt them because we will help create too much competition. We decided that we are going to create new ideas for business and see what members of the community buy in Antigua, the near-by big city. This is Bob's idea and we think it is a good concept. Bob suggested that these women need to see internally what they need from outside of the community and create a business selling or doing what they get outside of their community. Transportation costs are becoming too high to buy most goods outside of your town. Therefore, we will work next Tuesday exclusively in this idea, so if you have any ideas that you would like to share with us for a business for our new clients, please write to me to nelly@namaste-direct.org. We definitely will share your ideas with them.

Lyz and I are also going to visit the mass this Sunday, where we will talk in the church to communicate officially that we will start the credit of Namaste in the community. Keep track of our blogs to learn about our success and challenges in the pilot program.