Daniel Zoltani - January 2008 - Patzun

January 16, 2008
Group 100 of Patzún

Like clockwork mother and daughter work on the task at hand. Few words are spoken over the blaring Latin tunes that rattle from the boom box over the doorway. Wood is continuously shoved in the stove to keep it roaring hot; a pot of beans, a creamy type of corn soup, and a pot of chilies simmer on the hot black iron stove. The room is dark except for the light let in at the doorway and the glow of the wood stove. A fattened chicken and her numerous chicks prance in circles around the dirt floor in search of fallen food. The smell of burnt corn leafs, and a smoky fire fills my lungs as I step into the kitchen. This is the scene I walk into as I meet Rosa Coyote and her mother Ricarda Coyote hard at work.

Rosa, 31 and her mother Ricarda, 76 live in Patzun and are first time borrowers of FAPE, a small private microcredit institution. Rosa and Ricarda are part of the group that has been funded by NamasteDirect. They have permitted me to observe what an average afternoon is like in their lives. I arrive around nine o’clock, but Rosa and Ricada have been up since six preparing a number of different foods. Today, like every other weekday, the two prepare lunch to sell to the teachers of the nearby elementary school. The menu consists of tortillas, tostadas, chucittas, beans and corn soup.

Both Rosa and Ricarda have received a loan of 1,500 quetzals, approximately $200, for a six month period. Every two weeks they meet with their borrowing group of eight other women and their loan officer to pay back a portion of their loan. They inform me that neither has missed a payment nor do they plan on doing so. Before receiving credit, Rosa worked in a broccoli factory packaging broccoli all day long. There was hardly time in the morning to cook a decent breakfast and if she was behind in her quota she often was only able to take a few minutes to munch on a stack for lunch.

With her first loan, Rosa was able to buy a variety of snacks, fruits and drinks that she sells out of her home, the basic ingredients used to cook up her lunches and some materials needed to weave her beautiful, detailed weavings. Rosa still works very long days, but as her own boss, she is able to work at her own leisure and work from home, while at the same increasing her income. Rosa was struggling in life not because she was lazy or because she lacked any kind of skill, she was struggling simply because she lacked the means to jumpstart ideas and opportunities she might have had. With just one small loan, Rosa was able to implement her skills, her hard work and her natural entrepreneur attitude to vastly improve her life. Rosa’s story illustrates the success that microcredit has in improving the lives of the poor. Given the support of financial capital, however small, the poor are fully capable of improving their own lives. Rosa’s story demonstrates the success of microcredit but is hardly one that is unique.

As a NamasteDirect Fellow, I was granted the opportunity to gain first hand experience of what life is like for those living in poverty and what is being done to improve their situation. For one week, I partnered up with Saturnino Cocon Coyote, a loan officer with FAPE. Together we set out to gain a better understanding of microcredit; how it truly affects the people, its success and its shortcomings, and its procedures and ideology.

We accomplished a lot in the one week. We traveled all over the department of Chimaltenago, from Patzun to Tecpan to more remote villages like Paraxquine and Xenimajuyu. I discovered in such villages my Spanish served little purpose as most of the people have maintained their indigenous language- in this region Cakchiquel is spoken. I was able to sit in on a handful of group meetings, conduct numerous interviews with the women borrowers, and spend an afternoon with one of the many micro-entrepreneurs, observing and participating in her average day. I rode along with Saturnino and observed the job of the loan officer- how he promotes microcredit and how he conducts his group meetings. At the end of each week all the loan officers head to FAPE’s office in Guatemala City to hand in reports, receipts and enter in their data from the previous week’s collection. This provided me the opportunity to meet the staff and gain further perspective on their work. To say the least, the office is a bustling hive on Fridays. The Director, Sergio demonstrated to be an inspirational and committed leader and it was clear his staff held the utmost respect for him, highly valuable in such a demanding line of work.

I set out to conduct as many interviews as possible. I talked with Namaste borrowers in their homes, during their group meetings, during promotional stops and in the bustling market. I talked with entrepreneur women borrowers that had used their credit to start a variety of businesses; selling their weavings, raising animals, selling lunches, selling vegetables, opening up small general stores, baking bread and making tortillas. What struck me was that the women already had the knowledge and capabilities to run all of these simple businesses, and the local markets were clearly active. All they lacked were the funds to get started and provide the necessary support.

The topics that I sought to investigate included such questions as; how they heard about microcredit and what they did before they received their loan, their daily schedule, other tools that could further improve their business, what impediments exist in improving their lives, the group atmosphere, and the extent of support they receive from their families. I followed up each interview with posing the question; what is your ultimate dream? The genuine responses to this question proved to impact me the most. Their responses were all very similar, very basic and absolutely obtainable. The general response was that they all wanted their children lives to be better then their own; better education, better work, and greater opportunities. Moreover, they dreamt that one day the family could all live comfortably together in a decent home. With the small credit provided to these women, for the first time, their dreams become obtainable and even realistic.

The story of Catalina Aleandria Surec is a prime example. Catalina her husband and their four children live together in a half built house. Two of the children sleep in the kitchen/living room, a room with two walls built from cinder blocks, one wall from cardboard and the fourth wall from tin sheets. The other two children sleep in the bedroom with their parents. There are two adjacent rooms that are being “remodeled” and the bathroom is nothing more then a tiny shack with a hole in the ground. Shockingly, their home was far from the worst that I witnessed during my short trip. Catalina bought a sewing machine with her first loan, and is now able to independently complete all of her works and sell them for a decent price in the market. She explains to me that she never had the opportunity to study but by selling her weavings she will be able to provide this opportunity to her children. When asked what her ultimate dream is she pondered for a moment. Up until then Catalina was able to hold her emotions back, but no longer. Her eyes watered up and over her tears she told me her dream. With the money from her weavings she could provide a substantial amount, along with her husband’s income, to complete the house. Catalina’s dream was that in her age of 51 she and her husband could have their own room.

A major vital aspect of the success of microcredit is the group lending process. After being introduced to the idea of microcredit, the women form groups of around ten. These groups are made up of family and friends in the community. A president, who leads the meetings, is elected, as well as Secretary, who documents the occurrences of the meetings. This gives the group structure, but more importantly acts as leadership training. Because the women have no collateral, credit history or guarantor, the group aspect provides a kind of peer pressure, or social collateral, to maintain payments. Every two weeks the women gather for their group meeting and to make their payments to the loan officer. Unlike a commercial bank, FAPE goes to the borrower and provides as much support as possible towards the women’s businesses.

There is also an element of support within the group. For example, during one of the group meetings, the issue discussed was counterfeit money. One of the women had received a fake 100 quetzal bill; consequently each of the women paid 10 quetzals to cover the one’s loss. The group aspect can provide interaction, education, and support not only for their business but for their lives. It provides the women an opportunity to talk with other women about their challenges, and the directions they seek to follow in their life. I believe that such interaction must be promoted, just as strongly as repayment of the loan, for microcredit to really influence development.

What then am I able to conclude for myself, and for generous people like you who seek to support those in need? The momentum for change is clearly in place. Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit and Noble peace prize winner, believes, “Poverty does not belong in civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum. That’s where it will be”. You are supporting the momentum to put poverty where it belongs. Changes are products of intensive effort. These efforts are definitely taking place from people like you mobilizing the resources, from the individuals committed in the field, and most importantly by the micro-entrepreneur women struggling to combat poverty. Microcredit is hardly charity. Rather it is a method to create a level playing field for everybody, giving every human being a fair chance. My mother often referred to the saying: If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach the man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime. Microcredit provides the opportunity to buy the fishing pole.

I must also take this opportunity to relay a message that I was continuously told throughout my experience. The message was felt as I was offered food, drink, fruit, and works of art from the people that struggle day to day. It was felt as I was introduced as a NamasteDirect fellow. It was felt as I talked with those who have made helping the poor their life work. The message was not necessarily for me, but for me to relay to you. Thank you. Thank you for knowing. Thank you for caring. Thank you for acting.

With the Kindest Regards,Daniel Zoltani