Vilma Esmeralda

With her first individual Kiva loan, Vilma has managed to strengthen and grow her business, which has become her main source of income.

Although she has a high school diploma with a specialization in education, she has not been able to practice her profession due to the lack of job opportunities in Guatemala. Vilma is 27 years old. She is in a relationship and is the mother of three children (ages 2 to 7). The oldest is a kindergarten student. Her husband works in construction.

For ten years, Vilma has been making traditional garments, such as aprons, “huipiles” [traditional tunics or blouses], “cortes” [traditional skirts], and wool caps. She sells them on a made-to-order basis and makes 24 dozen a month, supported by a staff of five employees. Additionally, for the past five years she has raised pigs, cows, free-range chickens, and farm-raised chickens, which she sells from her home and at the local community market.

Vilma is requesting her second Kiva loan to buy traditional fabrics and thread and to repair an industrial machine. Her goal is to continue growing her businesses, generate more jobs, have her own shop and, in the future, start selling full traditional outfits.

Vilma is from the department/state of San Marcos, and thanks to the training she has received, she has strengthened her knowledge in business management, customer service, inventory preparation, business finance, and decision-making, key skills for the sustainability of her business.

Vilma thanks Kiva’s lenders.

Translated from Spanish View original language description.