At 28, Adela Eulalia Ac Sub is a determined mother of three living in Aldea Trinitaria, a peri-urban community about 10 kilometers from Playa Grande Ixcán, in El Quiché, Guatemala. Life in her neighborhood is shaped by a mix of informal economic activities: day labor, small-scale agriculture, backyard poultry farming, and selling household or personal items.
Adela’s family rents their home, not with money, but through faenas—a traditional form of community labor provided to the homeowner in exchange for rent. They also cover their own electricity costs. To make ends meet, Adela sold fruit and snacks, while her husband juggled agricultural work, day labor, and occasionally played with a local music group or migrated to Mexico for seasonal farm work. But the past year brought setbacks: their crops were ruined by animals due to the distance from their farmland, leaving the family with little to harvest.
In 2020, facing deepening economic hardship, Adela attempted to migrate to the United States with her young son—twice. Both attempts failed. Choosing instead to remain in Guatemala, she began seeking new ways to provide for her family.
The turning point came when she joined PROINSA (Social Inclusion and Food Security Program), implemented by Trickle Up in partnership with the Ixcán municipality, with support from the UNFCU Foundation and Focus Central America. With the seed capital she received, Adela launched a small business selling chocolate-covered fruit and invested in her own freezer, no longer relying on her mother-in-law’s.
“We used to have nothing. Now we have this freezer, this fridge,” she shares. “Little by little, we’re getting the tools we need. My husband used to borrow a grass cutter to work, and now he has his own. We support each other.”
Reinvesting her profits, she expanded her income streams by acquiring chickens and turkeys, which soon began reproducing, giving her a reliable source of income and savings. Then, in early 2024, after completing the first cycle with her savings and credit group, Adela used her earnings to start a new venture: making “eternal flowers” and surprise gift boxes. Inspired by video tutorials online, she began experimenting with decorative pens and floral arrangements. Later, with the encouragement of a community teacher, she enrolled in a government-sponsored course on event decoration, covering her own costs for materials, time, and transportation.
Today, crafting eternal flowers is her main business. With support from her husband and relatives, she promotes her creations on social media while balancing childcare and household duties. Her next goal is to develop branding and business cards to boost recognition and expand her client base.
Adela is also an active member of her local savings and credit group, Las Emprendedoras de Trinitaria. At the end of the first savings cycle, she received Q1,600 (around $207 USD), which she used to buy food and clothing for her children. “Before, I would sometimes be left without money and not know what to do. Now, I find a way, I keep going—even when I don’t have much to reinvest, I look for a solution,” she says. On days with no flower sales, she adapts by selling tamales or other homemade goods to keep the household afloat.
The savings and credits group has been key to building confidence and resilience. Members earn interest on internal loans, pay no account management fees, and benefit from low rates that benefit the group. This year, Adela feels more optimistic thanks to a steadier income, unlike the previous cycle, when her pregnancy and newborn expenses limited her ability to invest consistently.
Today, Adela’s working capital is around Q2,500 ($323 USD), and she dreams of opening a storefront in the town center to sell her chocolate fruit and crafts. While social media has helped her reach local customers, she believes a physical shop would help expand her business even further. “I hope my children can start their own businesses if they can’t find formal jobs—and if I manage to open my own shop, I want them to be the ones to run it,” she says.
Through creativity, determination, and community support, Adela is building more than a business. She’s laying the foundation for a future full of possibility, for herself and her children.
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