Our most recent Village Bank in Guatemala helped fund microloans for 15 women in two Village Banks – Artesanas San Pablo and Panajachelense located in Solola, Guatemala. With an average age of 31-1/2, the women who received Alliance Foundation funded microloans are using the funds (average of $250 each) to expand their businesses, which range from selling jewelry to operating small storefronts to making and selling handicrafts.

One of the clients located in the San Pablo La Laguna area is thrilled to have the opportunity to expand her handicraft production as tourism in nearby villages, where she sells her merchandise, is on the rise. “Thanks to this organization for thinking about poor people,” said Marcela Ixcaya Culum de Ujpan. “San Pablo is a bit isolated from the rest of the town around the lake, but that didn’t matter.”