She then returns to the San Ramon community where she’ll spend the day walking through 5 different neighborhoods, selling the produce out of a large basket that she carries on her head. At mid-day, she swings by a public school to pick up her 11 year old son. Often times he will continue to walk with her. After trying to sell all her produce, she then comes to the Child Development Center at 5pm to pick up her daughter who receives a scholarship through Programa Velasco.
Sara’s business plan focuses on purchasing and re-selling seasonal fruit and vegetables. In El Salvador, every few weeks it seems there is a new harvest of produce so this allows Sara an opportunity to sell produce that are in demand. One of Sara’s strengths is knowing the market – being familiar with the changing cost of produce, which fruit or vegetable is next in season and how much she can potentially earn by selling them. One challenge many entrepreneurs in the informal market have is to earn enough money each day to cover all their costs while still earning a daily wage. Sara has a strong discipline to sell as much as she can so can earn a wage, ranging from $5 to $7 a day. From the project, Sara is requesting seed money to invest in her inventory. With more inventory, she will have more produce to sell, thereby earning a larger profit. Additionally, she won’t have to travel to the market everyday, saving her rest and time!
Another challenge she confronts is struggling to read and write. The Women’s Empowerment Project also facilitates a literacy class for Sara and other participants. A teacher from the Child Development Center instructs the class and it is helping the women to get more practiced and confidence with literacy.
One of Sara’s main goals is to save enough money for her and he husband to buy a small plot of land where they can construct their own house. They will likely need to construct the house out of tin and scrap metal, but even so, she desires a place that she and her family can call their own.
Until then, Sara will continue to work hard at selling fruits and vegetables while also saving money for her and her family.
