Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

INTRODUCTION

Women around the world, especially in 'developing' countries, are key players in the management of natural resources and the development of healthy communities. As the primary caretakers of children and the family, they are responsible for nutrition, health and management of the household. As managers of the household, they also engage in environmental activities, often assuming the roles of food producer, animal tender, water and fuel collector. Furthermore, they represent approximately half of most countries’ population and therefore half of the potential labor force. Yet, despite their significant contributions to the well-being of society, their voices remain underrepresented at all levels of the decision-making processes on issues related to the environment and development.

In the last two decades, the voices of women are being increasingly heard. Their full equality, participation and leadership are being supported and promoted at the local, national and international level through countless programs. Microenterprise is one such program that has spread like wildfire across developing nations targeting rural women, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hailed as a form of economic salvation, microenterprises have not only helped women generate income, but also overcome gender barriers,develop invaluable leadership skills, a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and a strong sense of activism. In this sense, female-led microenterprises can have a positive impact on multiple levels—economic, environmental and social—which essentially reflects the goals of “sustainable development.” Limited research shows the impact of women entrepreneurs on sustainable development. Most studies tend to focus on economic growth and the market economy.

This comparative study examines the increasingly important role of female entrepreneurs in achieving sustainable development at the grassroots level. Drawing on five case studies conducted over a two month period in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the study shows the remarkable transformation of everyday rural housewives into social entrepreneurs leading microenterprises that benefit themselves, the community and the environment. It will also provide a brief overview and summary of the characteristics most common to these organizations including noteworthy successes and challenges.

The following are the woman-led microenterprises covered by the study (click on names to view individual posts):

1. Grupo Ecologico de Mujeres de Abanico (GEMA) – A medicinal plant cooperative that grows, processes and sells herbs in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. 

2. Colectivo Feminino Resclatando Nuestro Ecologia (COFERENE) – A community-wide recycling program in San Ramon, Costa Rica.

3. Asociacion de Mujeres Agroindustriales de San Luis de Grecia (ASOMAG) – An all-natural beauty product industry in Grecia, Costa Rica.

4. Asociacion de Mujeres de Reciclaje (AMURECI) – A recycled art and souvenir business in Santa Clara, Costa Rica.

5.  Genesis – A cotton spinning cooperative in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua

THE THREE E’S EQUAL SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND EQUITY

The concept of sustainability arose in 1983 with the United Nations creation of The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) led by Gro Harlem Bruntland, former Prime Minister of Norway. The Commission was formed to develop and implement ways environmental concerns could be addressed cooperatively among developing countries and result in the fulfillment of common goals that integrate ecological, social and economic issues.

With the release of the world-reknowned Brundtland report in 1987 entitled “Our Common Future”, an official contemporary definition of “sustainable development” was established. Sustainable development is still widely regarded as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".  The Brundtland report was groundbreaking in that it integrated social justice in the environmental debate declaring that inequality and poverty were the fundamental causes of the environmental crisis. After all, a world in which poverty and gender inequity persists will always be prone to both ecological and economic disasters.

At the heart of sustainability lies the concept of the three E's: Ecology/environment, economy/employment, and equity/equality.  Ideally any proposed initiative should consider the simultaneous interaction of these three elements. All Three Es require a long-term perspective and recognize the interdependence of all the “E’s.” Sustainability seeks to satisfy the needs and interests of all parties within the framework of concern for equity. This expanded focus offers the great possibility for broader changes to happen within a community and between communities (Edwards, 16-21).

Within this holistic model of sustainability, we shall see how female entrepreneurs in Central America have naturally incorporated the Three Es into the mission of their microenterprises and made an incredible impact on their community.


BIRTH OF THE MICROENTERPRISES

In the last 10-15 years, rural women across Costa Rica and
Nicaragua have taken ownership of problems plaguing their
community by organizing themselves and forming small
productive organizations that promote personal economic
growth, environmental conservation and social justice.  GEMA,
a medicinal plant cooperative,and ASOMAG, a natural
beauty product business emerged to combat the widespread
use of toxic pesticides that resulted in chronic health problems
among women and children, as well as the destruction of fertile
lands. COFERENE, a community recycling program and AMURECI, a recycled art business began as a way to creatively
reduce the level of trash suffocating their community while generating meaningful employment for women. Genesis,
a cotton spinning cooperative, made up of mostly women from
the second poorest city in the second poorest country in Latin
America, organized to secure basic services and a stable income
for their families. In sum, being most affected by the environmental degradation, pollution and/or lack of basic services, women have taken matters into their own hands and constructed microenterprises in the hopes of creating a better future for themselves and their family.

Furthermore, rural women appear to be drawn to the idea of self-employment in microenterprises for a number of reasons: flexible hours, close proximity to the home, working with close friends and family members, combining income generation with domestic and reproductive tasks, freedom to make structural changes and connection to local markets.


CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MICROENTERPRISES

• Small to medium size; comprised of 5-18 workers
• Led or dominated by women

DEMOGRAPHICS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

• Age: between 20 and 70

• Marital status: mostly married but also includes single and divorced women

• Number of children: 1-5

• Education level: women above age 40 tend to possess a K-6 level education while others a K-12; very few have a university degree.

• Socioeconomic status: marginalized, low-income communities

• Current occupations: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, or member of an association or cooperative

• Former occupations: housewife/homemaker and occasionally with small side jobs such as selling food drinks and handicrafts in the community.

• Multifunctional role: perform multifunctional roles as homemaker and businesswoman combining the concern for the well-being of their family with the business activities.

COMMON THEMES AND SUCCESSES

There are striking similarities in the successes achieved and the key values practiced by the organizations that truly resonate with the concepts of sustainability.

• Environmental Stewardship – All of organizations are committed to the sustainable use of natural resources. GEMA and ASOMAG grow the natural ingredients for their products on 100% organic farms. COFERENE and AMURECI are dedicated to the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. COFERENE collects, processes and sells recycled materials compiled in the community to local, national and international businesses. AMURECI’s products are 100% environmentally friendly and made from natural or recycled materials. Genesis believes in the clean, sustainable production of organic cotton.

• Fair distribution – Women in the microenterprises have equal access to fair wages and professional growth. The businesses are owned and managed by the workers. As a “worker-owned” cooperative, Genesis lives and breathes fairness as each worker is entitled to a fair share and the business is based on the 1person/1vote principle.

• Democratic participation- All workers have a voice and participate in the decision-making process. As mentioned Genesis was designed to guarantee the democratic participation of all cooperative workers.

• Cultivation of women’s leadership – As female-oriented groups, they are dedicated to supporting the spiritual, economic and social growth of other women by facilitating women’s workshops, supporting local women’s initiatives and continually recruiting more women into their program. All the women have grown tremendously in their entrepreneurship roles. They have gained enormous self-confidence in a strong “macho” society and attained unimaginable levels of socio-economic independence from their husbands.

• Inter-generational perspective- As mothers responsible for the well-being of the family, especially the children, they tend to think about the impact of their actions on future generations. Their long-term perspective motivates them to pass the valuable skills acquired through trial and error and formal trainings to their children. Many of the women plan to pass their business roles on to their daughters. Some of their children already participate in their businesses to a certain degree.

• Interdependence – Participating in both domestic and agricultural work, these female entrepreneurs possess a natural understanding of the interconnectedness of the social, economic and environmental fields. They made a conscious decision to build a business that would benefit the entire community including the natural world. Generating income alone does not fully sustain families if they are being debilitated by widespread diseases from the consumption of contaminated local food and water.

• Community development – The women are continually developing new ways to meet the changing and growing needs of society. The small size of their businesses allow the women to easily refocus their efforts on different areas of the community at any given time. AMURECI is predominantly concerned with recycled paper and artwork, but they also connect women to employment opportunities, provide them with leadership advice and support small local projects.

• Education – Having minimal formal education, these women feel blessed to have completed a vast numbers of trainings virtually related to every sector in society: business management, leadership, gender, communication, conflict resolution, information technology, construction, art, beauty, farming, medicinal plants and the list goes on. Becoming educated in an array of fields has significantly raised their self-esteem and helped them perceive themselves as professional businesswomen. Some have continued their education on their own at local universities and received government-sponsored scholarships. Others have used their skills to start side businesses to supplement their income. Not only are they dedicated to educating themselves, but they become inspired and motivated to educate more women by organizing and facilitating workshops, sharing what they have learned others.

• Multi-level partnerships – The success of all of these organizations can also be attributed to the resources leveraged from local, national and international institutions. The Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), a national Costa Rican vocational training institute has been instrumental in imparting basic skills to women that are starting a new business. The Jubilee House Community Inc is an American NGO in Nicaragua that has worked vigorously to train cooperative workers of Genesis in all the nuts and bolts of business administration and management . In all of the microenterprises, women have worked with local schools, universities, private businesses, the municipality, the national government, other microenterprises and international organizations to secure funding, training opportunities, equipment and new markets for the products.

• Optimism – No matter how great the odds, the women have managed to maintain a remarkably positive attitude. AMURECI is severely struggling with finances and also dealing with the constant lack of community support for their program. With their well-endowed creativity, they have generated new projects bring in additional income. Genesis was deceived $150,000 and have not been able to start work because of the fraud. Amazingly, however, all 18 members remain motivated, hopeful and strong. Like AMURECI, they have designed an alternative income generating project to focus on in the meantime.
  

• Unity – Combined with their positive outlook, the women have grown and bonded tremendously together. They have supported each other through the organizations’ peaks and valleys. They have learned to work cooperatively together and also learned much from each other. It is impressive that a group as large as Genesis has continued to work together despite the magnitude of their challenges. COFERENE successfully maintains worker moral by organizing several family-oriented staff excursions a year, bringing the members closer together each time.

OBSTACLES THAT IMPEDE GROWTH

• Tradition – Stands as one of the greatest to barriers for women’s participation in public processes. Women are still expected to dominate the domestic sphere. Their valid reasons for involvement are no match for the religious, cultural and other sociological influences that keep women at home. In the beginning stages of every microenterprise, there is always a large number of female participants. Over time, however, the numbers tend to drop by more than half. Lack of spousal support is cited as the number one reason for the lack of female participation in small business initiatives.
  

• Dual roles – All the women juggled multiple responsibilities as the primary caretakers of the home and family, and as the income generators outside the house. Many times, women were permitted to participate under the condition that all responsibilities in the home remained in their hands and completely unchanged. This dual role puts immense pressure on women to combine household responsibilities with business activities and may limit their ability to reach their full potential as female entrepreneurs.

• Lack of financial capital – Microenterprises are constantly finding themselves struggling to keep their goods and services afloat due the continued lack of funds. Even when financial stability is secured, the loans women receive are seldom large enough to enable the expansion of microenterprises.

 
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Capacity building – All of the female entrepreneurs expressed their love and enthusiasm for learning through various capacitation workshops. Local, regional, national and international conferences that regularly bring these change-makers together would help reaffirm their efforts, inspire new ideas for growth and change, provide training in new skill sets, and facilitate the exchange of successes and challenges with like-minded individuals. Conferences also greatly increase the representation of women in the decision-making process at all levels, allowing them to voice their specific needs. A step further would also be pairing newly emerging entrepreneurs with veterans from at home and abroad that share similar experiences and expertise.

• Volunteer support- Ecotourism or sustainable tourism is an increasingly popular trend among developed countries. In a country that attracts the largest number of tourists in Central America, organizations can recruit volunteers not only through national and international volunteer organizations, but also through tour agencies. They can market their programs in a way that catches the attention of tourists seeking authentic opportunities to interact with the locals in a meaningful way. Sending a flyer or brochure with their mission statement and the volunteer opportunities available could expand their volunteer base. While they may receive short term volunteers, they may also find those that come with the intention of staying for longer periods. Furthermore, a focus on long-term volunteers will also require that lodging options. Organizations can generate extra income by hosting volunteers and charging a reasonable fee. This way, they gain free labor, supplemental income and an enriching intercultural experience.

• Marketing – All of these microenterprises offer goods and services that are highly beneficial to the community. Yet, most community members are uninformed about the noble work these entrepreneurs do. A comprehensive marketing strategy that targets government officials, local community members, national and international organizations would attract greater attention and lead to greater support in various forms (funds, in-kind, volunteer, etc) for their businesses.

CONCLUSION

Women-led microenterprises can become an important vehicle of sustainable development from the bottom-up. As small-scale, low investment projects, they provide immediate personal fulfillment and stable employment, especially for uneducated or semi-educated women. Microenterprises empower women to be self-sufficient financially and emotionally, enabling them to make a meaningful difference in their lives. As this study shows, women are generating new concepts for entrepreneurship by leading microenterprises that, in the long run, produce far reaching economic, social and environmental impacts for the entire community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Christie, I. & Warburton, D. 2001. From Here to Sustainability: Politics in the Real World. London: Earthscan.

Edwards, A.R. 2005 The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. B.C.: New Society Publishers.

GTZ. World Bank. Inter-American Development Bank. 2010. "Women’s Economic Opportunities in the Formal Private Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Focus on Entrepreneurship."

Portilla, Melania. 2007. “ The Growing Strength of Rural Micro-entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean.” COMUNIICA.

Author: Joan Ngo

Genesis: A Cotton Spinning Cooperative

Genesis is an extraordinary female-dominated, worker-owned spinning cooperative dedicated to community economic development, the advancement of workers’ rights and the protection of the environment. Located in Ciudad Sandino, one of the poorest cities in Nicaragua with an 80% unemployment rate, it is one of several “worker-owned” cooperatives formed and funded by Jubilee House Community Inc., a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and its project the Center for Development in Central America (JHC-CDCA).  Comprised of 18 members (15 women and 3 men), these workers spent an incredible four years building a 15,000 sq. ft. factory (about half the size of a football field) from the ground up with their bare hands, one cement block at a time. The labor for construction was their contribution and is what Jubilee House Community Inc. describes as their “sweat equity buy-in to the cooperative.”

Genesis emerged to meet the needs of its former sister cooperative, Nueva Vida, a women’s sewing cooperative that makes organic cotton clothing for fair trade companies in the U.S. (such as Maggie’s Organics) and Europe. It is also recognized as the world’s first certified worker-owned fair trade zone. The Fair Trade Zone provides sustainable employment under humane working conditions, and is fully owned and managed by members of Nueva Vida.  Also located in Ciudad Sandino, Nueva Vida is now running completely independently of JHC-CDCA. In 2007, 8 years after it was launched, Nueva Vida experienced an explosion of growth in sales, but lacked an ongoing supply of cotton cloth to keep up with the new demands. JHC-CDCA identified and organized another group of dedicated local individuals to form a spinning cooperative that would spin the organic cotton into yarn. Thus, Genesis was founded to be a fundamental link in the production chain of organic cotton, which will spin the cotton bought from Nicaraguan cotton farmers at fair prices and then sell their yarn to Nueva Vida in the Fair Trade Zone.  This will help reduce costs and turn-around time for clients.

The story of Genesis is one of triumph, despair, resiliency, and hope for a better future. In February 2007, JHC-CDCA helped the group secure land and all the materials required for construction of the spinning plant. Forty-six members began work with cement blocks and iron beams to build the factory. Within 6 months, their membership was down too 36 members, and continued to drop until it reached the current 18 members. In between building, JHC-CDCA provided workers with opportunities for training in a wide range of skills and expertise. As a worker-owned cooperative, members have been required to complete countless hours of training in construction, business management and administration, accounting, marketing, gender equality, health issues, teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, information technology, and business/cooperative law.

While the spinning facility is finally complete and they have gained the legal status of a true cooperative, Genesis cannot begin their operation due to a major recent setback. In 2010, the group was swindled out of $150,000 by a U.S. broker that promised them spinning machinery and failed to deliver. As they await the ruling of the lawsuit against the broker and another offer of spinning equipment, they are designing alternative income generating projects such as jewelry making to sustain themselves and their families.

Unlike similar groups visited in Costa Rica during this study, Genesis is still in the development stage, and has not yet begun business operations. This is of particular interest because all other organizations visited as part of this comparative study have been in their production phase and already overcome their biggest barriers early-on. In contrast, here is a group that is still in the initial stages, but has already achieved a tremendous amount: The construction of a factory, the legalization of their cooperative status and the innumerable life skills that are transferable to every facet of society. They worked extremely hard for over 4 years and are so close to realizing their dream.  For the moment at least, their plans have come to a screeching halt. Yet, despite the long delay that may await them, the cooperative maintains an impressive level of optimism and continues to grow together.

The 18 members of the cooperative range from ages 21 to 69, and have devoted nearly all of their time and energy to the effort without pay because they feel they are part of something positive and important for the community. Moreover, they truly believe in the value of working hard to fulfill one’s own hopes and dreams. At the heart of this cooperative lies the values of mutual assistance, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. During the visit, each of these values resonated as they expressed their thoughts and immense gratitude for all of the opportunities they have been presented with. Here are some of their stories…

Pablo is 44 years old with a wife and 5 children. He described how difficult it has been to do this type of work. They have endured years of working in the hot sun and no salaries. His family has reprimanded him for failing to bring home income. However, “what I see is a bright future for my family and I have had to explain that to them.”

Martha is a 45 year old proud mother of 4 children. She claims the project has been a huge sacrifice but also emphasizes the many benefits they have gained such as the educational opportunities through numerous workshops. It is true they have no salary and they have families to maintain, but they love this project and have used their newly acquired skills to create side-jobs such as selling juice, tortillas and bread to the community. “ I thank GOD and the foundation for this project and hope we are in the final stages of making our dream a reality. I believe that a better future lies not too far ahead.”

Milagro is another female member who spoke of the how the group reacted when they discovered the spinning equipment betrayal. “Imagine the deception we felt when the long waited machines finally arrived and they didn’t work. Our spirits collapsed, we fell into a depression, but we united and felt intense strength in our unity. A friend taught us how to make jewelry to sell to groups of foreigners that frequently visit our project. The idea gave us hope and something productive to do while we wait for a new set of equipment. It’s funny how we learned how to build a factory with our bare hands and now we’re learning to make jewelry. It feels good to transition into a project that is more feminine and makes us feel like beautiful women. Our children are helping us as well. We have taught the skills we learned to them and they in-turn help us. We’ve also learned a lot from each other during the 4 years we’ve bonded. While we live with this pain and betrayal, we continue and here we are still…”

These words vividly illustrate the remarkable strength and resiliency of the cooperative workers. Coming from extremely poor backgrounds, having labored for years without monetary compensation and waiting patiently for their machinery, they still manage to see the unique, beneficial value in their work and continue to move forward together.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

AMURECI (Asociacion de Mujeres de Reciclaje)

AMURECI is an association of incredibly creative women dedicated to the production of unique handcrafted art and souvenirs made from recycled materials from the community. Located right off the main highway towards Volcano Arenal in the small town of Santa Clara, it has become a gift shop for passing tourists as well as a service-learning destination for world volunteers. Its mission is three-fold: 1) Support the social, economic and spiritual growth of women, 2) Pomote the economic development of Santa Clara and surrounding areas and 3) Inspire environmental stewardship.

The birth of AMURECI happened one afternoon, about 10 years ago, when four beloved young housewives met for their usual “coffee time” to engage in a daily conversation about their lives. Two of the women had just attended a women’s leadership workshop held by a local cooperative. All participants were required to create and present a “project” that they would like to implement in the community. The project envisioned involved recycling paper and selling recycled paper products. The idea was mentioned and the others loved the it. From there, a series of community meetings were organized with local women to make their dream a reality.

Established in February of 2001, AMURECI was the first women’s group in Santa Clara to receive a loan from Banco Popular, a Costa Rican bank, to start a microenterprise. Like other female-led grassroots organizations in Costa Rica, getting their business off the ground involved a lot of patience, teamwork and most of all faith. The women had to collect paper and cardboard waste in the community on foot. They attended workshops on how to make recycled paper and art. They identified and capitalized on the strengths and talents of each individual woman in the group. Some were business savvy, while others were creative artists. They worked diligently to coordinate their efforts to ensure all their bases were covered. In addition, the women had to remain positive and strong amid widespread skepticism that their project would succeed. For a long time, even their husbands thought they were  only getting together regularly to share gossip.  Fortunately, despite the doubts, the women were always permitted to meet and work towards building their dream. The initial community meetings yielded 12 members but gradually fell to 7 as most women couldn’t maintain the support of their husbands or had a hard time believing that a recycled paper and art business could become successful.


Slowly but surely though, their dream business started to become a reality. Through partnerships formed with other local organizations, AMURECI began receiving volunteers who provided them with English classes and training to work with tourists. The local municipality delivered technological support while the local university provided workshops on self-esteem. The National Apprenticeship Institute (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, INA) offered painting and customer service classes. Additional support was given by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of it's gender program.

As their business expanded, the women found themselves juggling dual roles as full-time moms and housewife's, and entrepreneurs. Unfamiliar and worried about how this situation, the women sought the advice of a local social worker to determine the best way to care for their children in the face of their rapidly changing roles.  One solution was for the women to help each other with raising their kids. Interestingly enough, the children have grown up to become more independent than most Costa Rican kids.

Today, ten years later, the 7 women in the association now have a spacious colorful facility off the main road in Santa Clara where their goods are made and sold. Recycled materials, specifically paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard are supplied by another local women’s group called the “4 R’s” in charge of collecting and classifying the community’s solid waste. Combining shreds of paper with dried banana leaves and water, the women gradually transform this mix into recycled paper to create a variety of products including journals, bookmarks, folders, notebooks, greeting cards and mobiles. Using seeds that drop from the trees of the nearby rainforest, they also make simple, earthy jewelry from earrings to necklaces. Their handmade goods can be found at various tourist spots in the La Fortuna and Poas Volcano regions, as well as in nearby communities.

AMURECI also has a program called “Paper Adventures” that are comprised of fun, educational paper making workshops for children and adults to teach the community and tourists creative ways to recycle. Paper Adventures is a two hour session for groups or individuals of any age for $16 U.S. per person. The sessions include a step by step process on how the women make paper, a take-home finished product that can be decorated, and delicious homemade snacks with locally grown coffee. Hours of operation are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Reflecting back on the formative years of AMURECI, Militza Chacon, President of the Association, claims “the women have grown tremendously…before we were just housewives wondering what we could do to bring more meaning into our lives and the lives of other women. We have not only made a positive impact , but we have also become professional businesswomen along the way.”  Her colleague, Martha Carvajal, the AMUREI Treasurer, adds that “we feel like professionals in what we do because of all of the training we have received and the experience we have gained throughout the years..”

The women of AMURECI are not only the recipients of training workshops, but have also become leaders as they organize and facilitate workshops for others. Groups of women in Costa Rica as far north as Guanacaste have come to AMURECI in search of inspiration, encouragement and support. These women, like them back in the day, are housewives hoping to build their own microenterprise in their communities someday.  An incredible opportunity key leaders of the Association received was an all expense paid trip to a business management conference organized by the Instituto de Andalucia in Sevilla, Spain. It was the first time the women had traveled overseas and become part of a global network of professional businesswomen. As one of 345 organizations represented, the women participated in 2 weeks worth of workshops that included a fair featuring the work of all the organizations. Proudly displayed on the wall of their art lab is a poster-size sign displaying AMURECI’s booth number 148, which had appeared at the fair and which now stands as a daily reminder of one of their major accomplishments.

In the last few years, AMURECI has had difficulty securing long-term, stable volunteer support. In the past, they have been granted volunteers by international organizations such as “Cross Cultural Solutions and local groups like “Juventud de Agricultura de Zona Norte” (JAZON) and Project ASIS, an organization focused on conservation and wildlife. Most of the volunteers they have received have been short-term, but ideally they would like volunteers to stay months at a time so their visits can be more productive.

Furthermore, as the world economy has suffered, so has AMURECI. The last few years have seen less tourists and therefore less business. Struggling to pay the debt they still owe to Banco Popular, the women have adopted side jobs such as catering. They now cook large orders of food for special events in the community and occasionally prepare lunches and dinners for local and international tourists stopping in their community for a homemade meal.  These days, the women of AMURECI find themselves with more leisure time on their hands than they would actually like. The hardest work has been done. They had an idea. Fulfilled it. And made a difference in the community. They are currently working hard to pay off their debt and expand their business. They would like to continually grow and provide new forms of employment opportunities to other women.

The next step: Reviving their lost afternoon coffee dates perhaps? Since the early years some of the women have moved to different homes and now live further apart from one another. However, they hope to revive this once-cherished tradition soon. This time, however, they hope to have them embody a greater spiritual focus and possibly have each meeting revolve around a specific theme, such as gender or leadership.  Anything that truly celebrates the strength and beauty of women.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.