Tiny loans lead to big changes for Yanira

Yanira Azuceno Montano

The rising cost of food and the increasingly volatile weather conditions are destabilizing the already precarious situation of many women throughout rural El Salvador. Yanira Azuceno Montano is an example of this. Yanira has two children, ages 7 and 10, and her husband works as a day laborer harvesting sugar cane. Last year their community in the Lower Lempa was drenched with so much rain that Yanira and many other families were unable to plant their normal crops of corn and beans. Corn and beans are a food staple for most Salvadoran families, so not being able to plant is a huge set back.

Despite these challenges, Yanira continues to thrive due to her involvement with the Mujeres Ganaderas (or the Women’s Cattle Cooperative in English). Yanira has been a participating member of Mujeres Ganaderas since she was 17. She is now 29 and has two children, ages 7 and 10. Her husband works as a day laborer, harvesting sugar cane. This past year the rainy season drenched the communities of the lower region of the Lempa River with too much water to plant their normal crops of corn and beans, making other sources of income more vital than ever.

When Yanira first joined the Mujeres Ganaderas, El Salvador still used colones. She initially received a loan of 1,000 colones (roughly US$155). This was enough to buy one or two cows to start out and little by little move forward. Now she has several more cows. Whenever she has three or four calves, she sells one and uses this income to buy beans, sugar, and other staples.  With one of her more recent loans, she bought a milk cow. She give milk to her kids in their morning and makes cheese. The milk and purchases she makes when she sells a cow help her family have better nutrition and save money. The general goods store and agricultural services store that the cooperative built and run help as well, because now they can buy a variety of items in the nearby community of San Morano rather than traveling all the way to the town of San Nicolás Lempa or to the city of Usulután.

Yanira enjoys participating in the meetings and trainings that the cooperative holds, though at first she felt too shy and embarrassed to speak up and participate. Before the trainings she knew little about gender, women’s rights, and sexual and reproductive health. Now she gladly shares the information she has learned with other women.

Yanira’s husband has been very supportive of her participation in the women’s cattle cooperative. From the beginning, he has helped watch the children when Yanira goes to meetings and trainings. Yanira recognizes some women in the cooperative have had to struggle against their partners’ machismo to receive acceptance and support.

Yanira feels very happy to own her own animals and for the supportive community she has found in the cooperative. Following flooding during the last rainy season, the cooperative helped distribute beans, oil, milk, and other staples that no one had access to at the time. With her animals and the knowledge and confidence she has gained through her time in the cooperative, Yanira sees her economic situation improving, one little step at a time.

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