Farmer Elena

“I started growing sheep with my grandpa. It was a way to save some money,” Elena says. She then got married and she had the idea to start raising cattle to sell the beef to butchers in the municipality.

About 15 years ago she met someone from World Vision Mexico. “I never forgot the name ‘Vision Mundial’, they helped me in that time.” With seven kids, it was not easy to handle all the expenses. The youngest of Elena’s kids was sponsored by World Vision. Every year she received school supplies for the girl and that particular time they also received a plum tree and training to give maintenance to the family garden.

Elena being a true entrepreneur decided to learn how to make fruit preserves, taking advantage of the plums that were growing in her own yard. Soon, Elena added peach, fig and pear trees to make other flavors as well.

Shortly after being introduced to World Vision, Elena got to know about VisionFund’s microfinance loans which she started to use to buy more animals and maize to sow in her land. She continued to grow her livestock and preserves businesses and successfully putting her children through school.

Now that she has the opportunity with the Small and Growing Business loan she received one year ago, she has significantly expanded her business to buy more animals at once and to get a better price. Today, she has three cows, five turkeys, 20 chickens and 42 sheep.

When Elena started with World Vision and Vision Fund she had very little to support her family. Now she has been able to support her children and her grandchildren.

Elena would love to see her farm expand with even more animals. Knowing that one day she will not have all the energy to take care of the cattle, particularly, she is thinking of her next opportunity to open a store while two of her sons take care of the main business.