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Published: November 7th 2023
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We had a busy week traversing the north central part of Nicaragua to meet with several women entrepreneurs.
We started in the Somoto region and visited a village called Unile. The only way to get to this village is a 40 minute dirt bike ride. Fortunately we did not have rain until after we arrived back to the office. Below I am sharing a little bit about each woman I met with to learn about her business, challenges, and dreams for her future.
Deysi: Is a single mother with 5 grown children. Her sons' wives have helped her start a bakery to service the community. Previously Somoto, a 40 min motorbike ride, was the closest place to buy baked goods. She said one of her biggest challenges is finding firewood, especially in the rainy season. Once she heats her oven it will bake for 1 hour during the dry season and 20 mins during the wet season. She has to work fast to make the most of her oven heat.
Dailiea: She raises bees to harvest their honey. She has become an expert when it comes to knowing when her bees need 'vitamins', food, or are ready to
be split into two hives. But she also has a lot of factors out of her control. For example last year she lost one of her hives as there was not enough pollen and those bees did not return to their hive. But on the flip side she is hoping to split two of her hives this Fall thanks to her careful care and nurturing. She has a desire to start capturing the extra pollen from the bees to sell for consumption. Pollen is very high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The cost of this pollen is quite high making for pure profit.
Clairabelle: Before COVID she had started a candy making business. She had to stop during COVID as a family member got very sick. She has now started her business back up again with the help of CEPAD. She produces a candy made from milk, cocoa, and sugar. It is harder than fudge but still pliable. During certain times of year she also makes mango jam and papaya candy. During the rainy season she is not always able to access the milk she needs for her candy so she is looking into alternative candy options.
Our
next Village for the week was Motuce. This was a special visit as the local community bank president and vice president (both women) joined us. Several of the villages will collaborate to create a local 'bank'. Their primary purpose is to manage the loans the women receive.
Yolanda: I really enjoyed meeting with Yolanda. She is a self taught seamstress as well as any training she can access. She mends clothes as they are brought to her, but she also comes up with her own designs that she makes and sells in her village. Currently she is teaching 10 other women in the village to sew. She wants them to find independence and success as she slowly is herself.
Egma: She is growing corn which is not uncommon to the area. But instead of selling it when it is harvested she is storing it and selling it when supply is low and the price is higher. She said without the business training she has received she would have just sold the corn as she harvested. The difference has made a meaningful impact to her profit margin.
Our final village for the week was Casas Nuevas. This was
a difficult village to learn about. This area has 3 very large rice plantations. While this supplies a lot of jobs it also has caused a lot of illness. I was told that the life expectancy in this community is 40 years old due to the polluted water. Majority of the women are widows and many are sick themselves. Kidney disease is the leading cause of death.
Marcellus: She is a widow with four children she has raised mostly on her own. Before working with CEPAD she had a small shop selling refreshments. But she wanted to include food. She has started to raise pigs and chickens so she can make homemade enchiladas and tacos. Her busy time is the weekends so she gets up at 3am on Thursday to start cooking for the weekend. She doesn't stop until she runs out of food at the end of the weekend. She said the taco she served us was a new version after she watched a cooking show 😊
Concepcion: She has a cornbread bakery at her home. She makes bread that people come to purchase, but she also delivers it by motorbike to the workers at the rice
plantations. She has to travel very far to get the raw ingredients for her bread. But her husband is unable to work and one of her children is sick so she feels she has no choice but to make her business succeeded so she can care for her children.
Nora: I was very impressed with Nora. She is a single mother with a disabled daughter, a younger child and extended family to care for. Her roadside food stand started with just a few items in a basket. She now expanded it to have a large selection of fresh produce, clothing, and other essentials. Her business is very dependent on the rice workers. If their pay or hours goes down, then they don't have money to buy items at her shop.
Rosa: This was our last visit of the day and a highlight for many reasons. For starters there were 4 puppies just 3 weeks old who greeted us as we entered. The one pictured slept in my arm the whole time we spoke. I joked with her 5 year old daughter when I slipped the puppy in my pocket to take home. I loved Rosa's desire to not
let gender stereotypes hold her back. She started her business with selling gasoline. The closest gas station is far away and most people drive motorcycles that don't hold much gas. So she started with bringing barrels of gas back to her home and selling it to the bikes. For anyone who watches Always Sunny in Philadelphia I couldn't help but think of that episode with the gasoline barrels in the van. Now she has expanded her business to include tire repair and a motorcycle parts shop. She does have a husband who repairs motorcycle engines, but men and women don't believe that she can repair their tires and wants the husband to do it. Rosa holds her ground: it's either her or you find another repair shop (they are few and far between in her village).
When I had completed these meetings I had an opportunity to sit down with Emily the Executive Director of CEPAD. I wanted to discuss how we might partner together to further grow their women's empowerment initiative. A pillar of what CEPAD promotes is that the recipients of the lessons share what they have learned with other members of their village. I have asked
each women if she would feel confident in her ability to teach what she has learned to a mentee. They enthusiastically agreed they would love to pass on their knowledge. But, CEPAD does not have the funding to offer micro loans to these mentees. And this is where Emily and I feel we can work together. I am excited to see how these women can take their new found business knowledge and not only help themselves, but now pass it on to the next woman.
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Renée Koenig
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Those women!
Such a great post! It’s interesting to learn about each of their pursuits and the challenges that they face. Thanks for sharing! 💚