Crafting Joy: Rosa's Journey as an Artisan and Entrepreneur of Chicharras

Rosa (40) heard about VisionFund through an ad on the radio and thought the loan could help grow her business, so she went to the VisionFund office to sign up. 

Rosa is a unique artisan creating chicharras, small noise making toys. She learned the art of making the toys from her husband’s family who had been making them for decades. They are created  with mostly purchased recycled materials: the round tubes are the center of bolts of fabric, the decorative feathers are chicken feathers that they dye, and the sticks and string are also recycled; the one non-recycled product is the decorative paper.  

The most recent US $1,000 loan she used to purchase more materials so she could increase her production. She went from making 5,000 chicharras per month to making 15,000, with the loan. She said, “Now I have enough income to feed my family and pay the extra school expenses for my 12-year-old daughter.” Recently, because she had savings from her business, she was able to help with her mother’s unexpected hospitalization costs. 

Her vision is to improve their home and make more chicharras. She currently employees three other women who make the toys at their home.  

In their town of San Pedro, she is the only person making the chicharras – and she recently got an order from Germany to make 30,000 chicharras that will be sold in an airport in Germany.