Aracely Rizo Hernandez

Aracely with some of her merchandise

Aracely was born in El Sauce and raised here by her grandmother and aunt. Her grandparents were always poor so she started selling the tortillas her grandmother would make when she was 8 years old. For some time, this was her family’s only source of income, to support her and her six siblings. 

Despite having to work at a young age, Aracely finished high school and is now in her final year at UNAN in León studying Business Administration. When she first began her college education, her family did not have enough money to finance her tuition, so she decided to start her own business selling clothes, which she is still running today.

Aracely decided to start selling clothes because she has two aunts in a neighboring town who have a store and taught her the necessary skills to be successful. She was able to start her business with a loan given to her by an aunt working in Costa Rica. This initial capital allowed her to purchase her first supply of clothing.

Today, Aracely travels outside of El Sauce to more rural communities trying to sell her clothing. She says she has many regular clients but she is trying to expand her business by visiting new communities. With her loan of U$200 from Enlace, Aracely was able to purchase children’s clothing in order to cater to a wider clientele. She is grateful to Enlace for teaching her how to maintain good bookkeeping in order to control her expenses and income.

Aracely is proud of her organized bookkeeping

In the future, Aracely is hoping to apply for another loan from Enlace in order to further expand her business. As of now, to get to different communities, she takes a bus out from El Sauce and walks for two hours, carrying her merchandise in a large bag. She hopes that with the capital from a second loan she would be able to purchase a bicycle so she doesn’t need to pay for transportation. Eventually, she also hopes to purchase a stand that she can maintain in her home so that she does not need to travel as frequently.

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser