Goals don't see age: How Estanislao found new opportunity

At 73 years old, Estanislao has one of the most important jobs of humankind. As a farmer, he provides us nourishment by growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants for us to eat.

He also provides employment to his community in Sensuntepeque, El Salvador and is the sole breadwinner in his family of 7.

How did he do it?

He focused on growth, adapted to change and asked for help when needed.

Although farmers like Estanislao play a vital role in our survival and livelihood, they hold the lowest minimum wage bracket out of all working sectors in El Salvador, making around $200 a month.

Estanislao is one of them and regardless of the financial barriers he faced, he looked for new ways to get his family and community ahead and never lost sight of growth opportunities, regardless of his age.

He found an opportunity in a community project where technicians taught him how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse and for the past 10 years!

In order for him to be successful though, he had to improve infrastructure on the greenhouses, which left him with no resources to start growing the vegetables.

He sought for a solution and quickly learned about Kiva through our Field Partner CrediCampo, and applied for a loan.

33 lenders helped Estanislao raise $1,000 in order to keep his business running. He used the Kiva loan to buy materials and pay for the labor that was needed for the vegetable crops in the greenhouse.

The loan gave him the opportunity to grow and he doesn’t plan on stopping here. His next goal is to have more greenhouses so he can increase his production and sell vegetables in a formal market that offers better prices.

Estanislao shows us how no matter the age, one can always dream and accomplish their goals with a helping hand. It’s thanks to people like you, our Kiva lenders, who help people like Estanislao accomplish their goals and make all the hard work worth it.

Help more farmers like Estanislao grow today!