Project Report
| Apr 4, 2012
From Hardship to Happiness
By Jeannie Balanda | Executive Director
![Francisca is happy to have a steady income.]()
Francisca is happy to have a steady income.
Francisca hasn’t had an easy life. The fifth of 12 children, Francisca wasn’t able to attend school. Instead, she and her sisters worked harvesting corn and beans in her village, Agua Caliente, while her brothers went to school.
At 17 Francisca was forced to marry a man she didn’t love. Her life with him was very difficult. He was an alcoholic and was habitually unfaithful and did not support her or their children. Francisca had no option but to move back with her family. Soon after moving back home, the armed conflict in Guatemala began. Tragically, her father and two of her brothers were killed. Francisca needed to find work to help support her mother and siblings.
She left her rural community and her children to find work in the city. Fortunately for Francisca she found work as a maid in the home of a weaver. He was kind enough to teach her how to weave on a treadle foot loom. She was 19 and it was the first time in her life that she ever weaved! Soon after learning this new skill she returned to her community to teach other women how to weave on the big loom. She is the first woman in her community to weave products for MayaWorks. Today Francisca has many looms in her home and has a MayaWorks microcredit loan to cultivate and sell blackberries for export.
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Jan 5, 2012
Microloans Make a Difference for Single Mothers
By Jeannie Balanda | Executive Director
![Maria Elena at her loom]()
Maria Elena at her loom
María Elena was born in San Juan Comalapa in 1970. Her father died when she was 13 years old. Unfortunately, her mother did not have the financial means to keep María Elena and her siblings in school so, at the age of 13, María began to work to help support her family. As is the case with many young Maya women, María began to make a living by weaving. Initially, María spun thread but it brought her very little money. In order to earn better wages, it was necessary that she learn to weave on a treadle foot loom. Soon after she also learned to sew which allowed her to make many more products and more money.
María married when she was 26 and has one son. Her husband died early on in their marriage. Being a single parent has been very difficult. She doesn’t have someone to sow their fields and provide firewood which means she has to buy staples like corn and beans and pay for firewood. Her son is 15 years old and is in junior high. When he isn’t studying, he helps his mother around the house and also weaves on the foot loom to help with the household expenses.
When María isn’t weaving, she supplements her income by selling Omnilife products that she purchased with a $40 MayaWorks microcredit loan. She loves selling nutritional supplements in her community because she feels she’s able to help people improve their quality of life. María was very happy when her first client’s health improved using the Omnilife supplements she sold to him. Now she has many clients who seek her out for her products and she is expanding the number of products she offers her customers. María is well on her way to paying off her loan and securing a steady income from her product sales!
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Oct 18, 2011
Meet Lili Carmen Master Weaver
By Jeannie Balanda | Executive Director
![Lili loves to spend her time weaving]()
Lili loves to spend her time weaving
Lili Carmen Osorio lives in the Central Highlands of Guatemala high up in the picturesque town of San Juan Comalapa, a place famous for its painters. Lili has been weaving since she was a little girl. Now, women from all over the highlands come to her to commission the beautiful guipiles she is famous for. Lili has perfected a complicated weaving technique called "marcador" or double-sided brocade. Only master weavers care capable of creating weavings that are identical on both sides.
Lili uses her MayaWorks microloan to expand her weaving business. She's bought thread in bulk, purchased a new, larger loom and equipped her looms with heddles. Because of her growing business, Lili is able to send all three of her children to school, provide them with the necessary nutrition to keep them healthy and suport her family when her husband is out of work.
Her weaving work not only allows Lili to care for her family but it also makes her feel fulfilled. She knows that she is contributing a valuable service to her community while doing something that she loves. Lili especially enjoys weaving when she is at home surrounded by her family.
Thank you for supporing MayaWorks microloan program. Your donations help more women like Lili realize their dreams.
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