A few years ago siblings Aura Orozco and José Pacheco established a community store together. Aura shares their experience. 

“I first joined the PSA program as a participant and then became a tutor. Later, I also supported other tutors as I became part of the coordination team of the program, which was extremely intellectually, spiritually, and materially rewarding. After the birth of my son, I withdrew temporarily from these activities and when the conditions were right, I formed a new PSA group. The participants graduated from the program and that brought me a lot of joy. Helping them in carrying out productive projects made me think about having my own business.”

In Los Castillos, at that time, there were three stores that supplied the needs of the family basket. “We realized that people needed a store that could provide them with small quantities of different products, as the economic situation of some community members does not allow them to afford larger quantities.” 

Aura and José started selling bananas and cassava on the terrace of their house, then they started a mini store in their living room. They bought rice, oil, sugar, coffee, salt, soap, and other items in small quantities – two or three units per product. 

“In this process, community members played a vital role as they supported the initiative with great conviction. Customers were satisfied with the service we were providing and new customers were consolidated.”

Good management and a steadily growing customer base created the ideal conditions for expanding the project. “We acquired more products and a greater quantity of them. The living room was already too small and a new investment was necessary: the construction of a larger and more appropriate store.” 

This is when Aura and José requested funding from the PSA program’s seed fund, which provided the impetus to continue growing and strengthening the store. They also received funding to create a stationery store, with a printer, stationery, party supplies and more. “We’re very grateful to FUNDAEC for all the support they’ve given us; their help has been a great encouragement. At the time, neither José nor I had any experience of running a business, and now, I’m the one overseeing it. It has been great to have the help and support of the PSA program team, and to learn along the way how to run the store.”

Through the PSA program, Aura and José learned basic accounting: “We keep an accurate inventory and we have an accounting book where we record all expenditures, outputs, and balances. The profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and the administrative and organizational aspects have enabled the business to continue to grow and consolidate its position within the community.” This led Aura and José to decide to formalize it and get it registered with the Chamber of Commerce: “This will also enable us to offer at least one or two jobs to local young people.”

The project has not only supported Aura and José’s family economy, it has also strengthened the local economy: “We have been working with local producers of cheese, butter, eggs, vegetables, meat, chickens, corn, and cassava. They generally sell from their homes, but when they have a surplus, it is convenient for them to have it sold by a local store. This means that many of the products we sell are locally-produced, rather than sourced from external suppliers.” 

“Our objectives are quite different from those of other stores in the community. One that sets us apart is service; we are very attentive to people, and no matter what time they call us, we are always ready to serve. We try to help as much as we can by keeping our prices affordable. Obviously, we have to make sure we don’t have any losses, but we try to help people because we’re aware of all the needs that exist in the community.”