Group Micro-lending

This is a unique group micro-lending model designed to assist those in most need achieve economic sustainability through micro-enterprise.  This Borrowing Group of 10-15 women reside in rural Guatemala, and are using the profit from their micro-enterprises to insure better health for themselves and their malnourished children, informal education, and pay tuition for their children to attend school.

Educational Program and Repayment Meeting

The members themselves elect group officers, determine repayment schedule, consider potentially new group members. Many of the Borrowers are unable to read or write so they use a thumb-print from a stamp pad next to their name, identified by the local Loan Officer.  The group-elected secretary takes attendance, the group-elected treasurer collects the loan repayment funds from  each group member.

Following loan repayment, the group receives informal education on the topic of their choice.  The educational modules are taught by the Loan Officers, all of which are paid by the partner organization and are indigenous to that community, thereby, having credibility with the local Borrowing Groups.

Borrowing Group Sample Micro-enterprise

This is a large Borrowing Group of entrepreneurs has several micro-loan supported enterprises. The group members themselves determine who will be members of the group; there is Group responsibility to insure repayment of the loans.

How are these loans used?

Various businesses have been developed, following are some examples of our entrepreneurs:

Chocolate maker: Borrowed money to purchase a grinder for her locally grown cocoa beans providing more efficiency, and increasing her production to sell in the district. When she is not using her grinder, she rents it to other women in the village to grind their corn for the making of tortillas, which they sell in the marketplace.

Clothing maker: Bought a foot pedal sewing machine to embroider on her hand woven cloth in larger quantities, to increase earnings. Previously all embroidery had been done by hand and she could not produce enough product to sell in the market place to the tourists.  Now she is able to afford better nutrition, and the tuition to send her children to school.

Yarn Dyers: Purchased yarn to dye in beautiful colors, using local vegetation to produce natural colors, using traditional non-toxic dying methods.  This enterprise sells/provides the yarn to another micro-enterprise of women weavers.

Matt weavers: Collect reeds from the lakeside, transports them in bundles by bus, or carry them back to their village, and weave them into sitting matts for the weavers, and into functional baskets to supply goods and carry product to marketplace.

Back-strap Weavers: Purchase brightly and natural colored yarns for the artistic weaving of clothes, blankets, table runners, place-mats, baby carrying wraps, and various handicrafts  sold in the surrounding district.  The weaving is accomplished using the traditional methods of back-strap weaving.

Village retail shop: Loan funds used for public transportation to travel to the city, purchase products for resale in the distant rural village. The first retail business been through one loan/repayment cycle, the larger retail business has been through several loan cycles and has received business education regarding capacity growth, this business also employs two other women in the village.

Agriculture project: Micro-loan money was used to rent land and purchase of seeds to grow flowers and vegetables.  The produce is sold in the local village and in the district markets; loan funds are also used to purchase public bus tokens to transport the product to the market.

This is a representation of many items that are produced by the recipient of micro-loans: chocolate, hand painted postcards, hand embroidered greeting cards, various purses, hand loomed table cloths, oven mitts, notebook holders, etc.