Ever since she started, 17 years ago now, Rosa saw the business opportunity in making bricks: \u201cI started with a company and for the last eight years I have been doing this on my own. Some women friends and I decided to learn the trade from the experts. I managed to keep myself going with the help of programs, my own funding and help from friends\u201d, she reminisces, sitting on one of the enormous piles of bricks that are drying in the intense sun.<\/p>\n
But an earthquake in 2010 snatched everything from her: she lost her house and her business. The machines, the tools and the raw material were all destroyed. Rosa needed to get her life back and help from the government was not forthcoming. So she decided to go to Fondo Esperanza for funding and to get the factory going again.<\/strong> In just two months, she was already a member of the community bank Santa Sof\u00eda con esperanza y esfuerzo [Saint Sofia with hope and effort], which gave her the boost she needed to carry on expanding as a microentrepreneur and to consolidate her brick business. \u201cIt was a great help, it arrived at just the right time\u201d, she says, convinced.<\/p>\n\n\t\t