Persevering through the pandemic

Paula lives in Santa Clara Coatitla, Mexico. She bakes bread and sells it at her home and nearby a hospital along with coffee - so she has been providing food for health personnel during the pandemic.

How did she start the bakery business? “I have relatives who are bakers. Some time ago my husband was not able to find a job - because of his age nobody wanted to hire him. Then my brother-in-law taught him how to make bread and I learned too. At the beginning it was very difficult - just like any other trade, you must learn, and it was not easy for me. Now it is really easy. My kids go to school and help me in the bakery too,” she says.

Due to the pandemic production has been low, around 150 – 170 pieces daily. “I don’t bake much because of the pandemic, the sales have dropped. Before this I used to sell a lot more. So, I closed the establishment but since I’ve been selling for several years now, the clients already know the place. They come, they knock on the door, and ask for the bread.  Perseverance, there is no other choice. We must get used to it, that’s it,” she says, adding “It has been too difficult. In our community there have been too many infected and deceased, and some relatives got infected too, but thank God they got well. It has been economically difficult for everyone, but since bread is part of the basic meals, my business is still going on.”

She recently received a recovery loan of $715 USD which helped her buy more ingredients to bake the bread. “The loan is a great support to help me invest in my business, especially during this COVID situation we’re living in, in which our income has been affected,” she says.

Paula has 2 children, 16-year-old Gael who currently works in the bakery with her mom and in the afternoon studies for high school, and 22-year-old Aldo who had been made unemployed by the pandemic but has already found work again so she can support her family.

Her goal for next year? “The most important is that my children finish their studies, that they have a major. Thanks to God, we are getting the money from this business so that they finish their studies.”

Paula has managed well during the pandemic, and when asked what advice she would give other entrepreneurs struggling during this time, she says “Perseverance in business is important, no matter what the sector is, and to look for other means, you can’t be sitting and waiting. If sales are not good, we have to look for other means.”

Photo and story by Liani Berenice Cruz Vargas - VisionFund Mexico