Product with a purpose!

At PurpleDirt we pride ourselves in the impact we are making with every purchase. Not only are you supporting a talented Nicaraguan artisan and their family, but a portion of the proceeds of each sale of the "Seeds" collection is donated to FINCA to support fellow entrepreneurs. 

Below is just a small sample of the female entrepreneurs you are impacting with every purchase. 

Elizabeth García Callejas operates a small variety store, which she managed to start with just $185 in savings but was struggling everyday to pay the bills. A close friend suggested she apply for a loan from the Village Banking group to help purchase some additional supplies allowing her to enhance the profitability of her store. 

Elizabeth did so, placing $50 in savings and receiving a loan of $100. It was the beginning of incremental, but very positive, changes for her life and her business. Elizabeth has now been with the group six years and has received and repaid 20 loans!!

She now has a flourishing business that sells groceries, drinks, clothing, shoes, and school supplies with an steady income of approx. $4,255 per year—about one and a half times the average salary for her country.

Elizabeth has been able to grow her business, purchase necessities for her home and family, and most important, keep her three children in school.

“I’m grateful to FINCA, both for the working capital and for the opportunity to earn more—and especially for helping me to keep my children in school.”

Nicolasa Carolina López Rodriguez, a single mother of five, lives in a small town on the outskirts of Managua. Her husband abandoned her when her children were very young. When one of them suffered severe burns in a fire, she realized she had to find a way to meet life’s challenges on her own.

She started a business making and selling tortillas to support her family, but could not afford to purchase corn in bulk quantities at a better price, so she struggled to make ends meet.

Nicolasa attended a meeting at a local FINCA branch and joined the Diseño (Design) Village Banking group. Nicolasa invested her first loan of 2,000 Cordobas ($96) in buying bulk quantities of corn for her tortillas.

Eight years later, she has expanded her business steadily and always repaid her FINCA loans on time. She is now able to buy corn at wholesale prices and greatly increase her profit margin. As her five children have grown, Nicolasa has used the profits from her tortilla business to make improvements to her house and to support her aging parents, who live in a rural part of Nicaragua’s Boaco department.

She is very proud that one of her daughters is already attending university, which should bring her opportunities Nicolasa never had. Remembering how hard life was when she started her business, Nicolasa is very grateful for the transformations FINCA has made possible for her family.

“FINCA helps the neediest women in Nicaragua, no matter the size of their business.”

Doña Aura, works from her home toasting, grinding, and blending corn and cocao (used to make chocolate) into a doughy consistency which she then sells to businesses that use it to make a traditional Nicaraguan drink—pinolillo. 

She has been fighting diabetes which causes her to walk with a limp, but that doesn't stop her from running her business for the past 30 years. 

Doña Aura took out her first loan with FINCA 14 years ago. With the support of FINCA she was able to build her corn processing business and provide a home with a roof under for her family to live under. 

But with the rising prices of corn and cacao and the instability of the market, she realized she needed to create a side business to ensure she is able to continue to support her family and purchase the medications she needs to treat her diabetes. 

With a help of a FINCA loan Doña Aura selling plastic bowls, dishes and containers.