Sylvia, Lucia and Eugenia have been trying to come up with an idea for a micro business that would help support their family. They are all underemployed and pretty much living hand to mouth and anything would help. We have agreed to an initial investment in their business if they give us a decent business plan that shows a chance of making money. We rejected the cigar idea because we don’t see a huge market in Nicaraguan cigars and there is already a lot competition.
Lucia has been raising pigs for several years (while studying to be a lawyer) and she thinks she understands the market for processed pig parts on a small scale and has good connections to sell her products. She did all the research and we sat down and put her numbers into a spread sheet; it looks like it might work. I learned a lot of really useful vocabulary. Who know there were so many different words for different parts of pig skin? She thinks she can provide a better product for less money in her neighborhood where there is little competition. She wants to slaughter 3 pigs a week, sell the pig parts and make nacatamales for sale from her house. Her nephews, Rudy and Jose will help with the work. She has to track down a few more items and then she will be ready to start. She invited me to watch them slaughter the pigs which will be done in the middle of the night. Fortunately, I had just learned how to say, “I faint when I see that.” I had to explain to her (again) that we don’t eat pork and we had a few laughs about Jews in the pig business. She promised to make some chicken nacatamales, too.
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