Petrona is originally from Tzununá, one of the Santa Cruz villages. Her husband migrated north three years ago to start a new life, leaving her and her four children without economic support. Petrona struggled to care for her family during this time and was desperate to find a source of income. She found the solution in roasting cacao seeds, which she began to sell to clients she found by knocking on the doors of foreigners in her village. Once she began to generate money to get out of debt, Petrona decided to include other widowed or divorced women so that they too could have access to a source of income. Today, 12 women work with her.
"It was very painful the time I was alone and without support, I didn't even have shoes. I don't want another woman to feel that way."
In collaboration and with the guidance of our Women's Empowerment Program, her business has a name, Mamá Cacao, several points of sale both in Santa Cruz and in other surrounding cities and has even begun to implement diversification and customer portfolio management strategies to help her income grow.
