Esperanza Marisol

Esperanza, a 55-year-old farmer, lives in the Carchi province in northern Ecuador. From a young age, she learned how to work in the fields, an activity inherited from her parents and relatives. After separating from her husband, Esperanza has continued and strengthened her work by growing her crops and selling groceries from her home.

Esperanza has been dedicated to agricultural production for ten years and currently grows avocados and lemons on one hectare of her orchard. Esperanza employs ten people who work on fertilizing and caring for her crops, creating employment opportunities for people in her community.

Each year, she harvests 139 boxes of avocados and 165 bunches of lemons from her orchard. Her fruit is sold in the markets of the city of Ibarra.

She also runs a small shop out of her home, selling products such as rice, sugar, sausages, eggs, and more, in addition to a small portion of the fruit she harvests from her orchard. This generates additional income for household expenses.

To continue improving the production of her lemon and avocado orchard, she has applied for a loan. She will invest in the purchase of; thirteen sacks of fertilizer, thirteen quintals of agricultural inputs, and will allocate the remainder to hire 30 people: fifteen people for fertilizing and cleaning the avocado crop, and fifteen people for the lemon crop.