Microloans Help Guatemalan Women Reach Their Goals

Margarita Yax Tucubal was born 56 years ago in a small village of Tecpán, Guatemala.  She was one of seven children.  Her family had very little money so, from early on in her life, she was expected to find work to help with the family expenses.  At the age of eight, she left her family to work as a domestic in the home of a wealthier family in town. Margarita never attended a day of school.

At the age of 17, she fell in love and got married to a young farmer.  He was a good provider for Margarita and their three children. They were very happy but their happiness wasn't to last.  One afternoon, eight years into their marriage, soldiers came and draged her husband from their home.  She looked all over for him and sadly, after two days, she found his remains.  At 25, Margarita was a widow with three small children. 

To make ends meet, Margarita crocheted sweaters, hats and scarves and sold them in her community.  She also learned to weave.  Soon women came to her to purchase her huipiles, the traditional brightly woven shirts worn by indigenous women in Guatemala.  Within time she began to make products for MayaWorks and leaned to weave on a treadle foot loom with the help of MayaWorks trainings.

With a MayaWorks micro-loan, Margarita has purchased a sewing machine to expand the types of products she can sell. She has also purchased piglets that she cares for until they are ready to be sold at market for a very nice profit.  Margarita is very diligent about paying back her loan and has had several MayaWorks micro-loans to date.  She is an excellent example of how to manage a micro-loan for those young women who are just starting out on their income-generating projects.

Links:

• MayaWorks website