They are watching their
children suffer and
die... literally.
In an area of Nicaragua suffering from more than 80% unemployment, the people of Ciudad Sandino need to create jobs. Without jobs and with no social welfare, Nicaraguans are living without the basic necessities of life: decent housing, clean water, latrines, food, clothing, and medical care.
They are watching their
children suffer and
die... literally.
The desire to work is not a problem. When jobs are available a long day's labor earns $3.50 a day. Meanwhile a pound of beans costs $0.70, a pound of rice $0.60, a cup of cooking oil costs $0.25, enough firewood to cook a meal costs $1 and transport to work can cost $0.65. For many, after working a long day and feeding their family only one meal, they are left with 30 cents.
When given half a chance Nicaraguans are very creative and hard workers – children wash windshields at stoplights, women make and sell tortillas out of their homes, men buy tomatoes at the market and resell them in the barrios for pennies more, women take in washing earning a nickel per piece of clothing...working, working, working and never, ever getting ahead.
In order
to
get
ahead, the poor need capital: enough
money to buy a bundle of used clothing to resell, enough to buy
rope
for making
hammocks, enough to buy laundry soap for taking in washing…enough
to
build a
factory and purchase machinery. If
the
poor walk into a bank in
So what are we doing to help? Since 1994, the CDCA has funded small businesses through microenterprise loans [see below]. Although we believe that the poor need access to credit and that these types of loans are absolutely necessary, we also understand that microenterprise loans alone are simply not enough to pull the poor out of poverty. So we now also partner with worker-owned cooperatives with the
The CDCA has a revolving loan fund to finance larger creative initiatives. Now this fund is expanding into a shared risk investment fund, named The Vida Fund. For many years, farmers belonging to the agricultural cooperative, COPROEXNIC, have received loans for the up-front costs of planting and raising crops, which have been repaid after the crops have been harvested and sold. Starting in 2007, major loans have gone out to Genesis, the cooperative with 13 members that are building and developing the spinning plant. With their building now completed, more funding is needed to purchase spinning equipment. Meanwhile, loans have been made to start a cattle feed operation. Loans are also needed for the expansion of an organic cotton ginning plant, which began operation in 2008.
What does it mean to share risk? The members of the Genesis spinning plant worked for nearly five years with no pay earning sweat equity in their cooperative. They have risked their time and energy and their families have gone with less, all with the hope that their cooperative dream will become a reality. They have risked everything they have.
They, and other co-ops like them, need investors to match that risk and invest capital in the co-op projects…patient capital with long term horizons… in other words, investors who can wait a for their return in order to allow the poor to have a fighting chance. If you have funds to invest or know someone who does, please consider sharing the risk with the poor who work so hard to have a better future.
We have an 18 year track record. Since 1994, the CDCA has received investments of more than $1 million and has maintained 100% repayment to its investors. Investment loans receive up to 5% interest and may be in U.S. dollars or Euros. All donations are tax deductible.
Interested in helping? You can invest through loans to the Vida Fund or make a donation. Investment loans receive up to 5% interest and may be in U.S. dollars or euros. We encourage a minimum period of 5 years and minimum investment of $5,000 for Vida Fund loans, so that they can be used most effectively. We accept donations of any size. Donations enable the Vida Fund to expand while maintaining an adequate reserve to protect investors in the event that the fund should experience unexpected financial losses.
Our dream is to have a revolving fund of $1 million, which would not only see the spinning plant and accompanying gin in full operation but also help other groups with similar needs!
For More Information on The Vida
Fund
In addition to the large loans above, the CDCA
has
funded
various small businesses: motorcycle repair, small neighborhood
stores,
school
uniform sewing shops, and freezers for neighborhood ice vendors.
Most
recently,
a small woodworking workshop, Slightly
Twisted
Spoons,
has been launched. 
We also sell local crafts in the
How does the CDCA Microenterprise Loan Fund work? People bring proposals, budgets, and studies of their project ideas to us and if we have the funding and feel the proposal can be self sustaining then the CDCA loan is made. The signed loan contract includes collateral and payment schedules with penalties for failure to make payments. Most loans include a 5% interest charge.
As with the Vida Fund above, all of the investors in the CDCA's microenterprise loan fund have been repaid or have reinvested their money. Investment loans receive up to 5% interest. All donations are tax deductible. Loans may be made for one year or many.
Send your donation or loan by check or credit card. Simply let us know, if it is a loan, how long you want to invest and at what interest (up to 5%). We will send you a loan agreement contract for your signature and will send you yearly updates. All donations are tax deductible.