CEDprofileENLACE2010web

revised october 2010

COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM PROFILE

Program Overview

ENLACE's Community Economic Development Program (CED) provides small-scale entrepreneurs and farmers training, technical assistance, financing, and links to markets to start or expand business ventures at the individual, community and regional levels.

The CED program recognizes that each community has different resources, knowledge, experiences and access to markets. Moreover, economic, environmental and social challenges are interdependent, complex and ever-changing. Therefore, the program trains church and community leaders to identify local resources and markets to generate economic opportunities at the individual, community and regional level. The program also works to link economic initiatives to other critical issues in the community such as housing, health, and education.

The CED program is an integral and important component of ENLACE’s community transformation approach. Since 1993, ENLACE has been training and resourcing church and community leaders to alleviate spiritual and material poverty in El Salvador. The CED is one of ENLACE's four main programs which include Church and Community, Housing and Infrastructure, and Healthy Communities.

Program Outcomes

• Reduce extreme poverty

• Eradicate hunger

• Insure environmental sustainability

Program Services

The CED program has two primary components: agricultural assistance and micro-enterprise development.

Agricultural Assistance

ENLACE works primarily in rural and semi-rural areas where hunger is one of the most pressing needs. One of the priorities of the CED program is to increase agricultural production, improve the quality of food products, increase access to food, and reduce malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. Upon meeting the primary nutritional needs of a family, the program aims to strengthen the capacity of farmers to generate income through agricultural activities and to improve markets for agricultural products.

Agricultural assistance is provided within three stages:

Stage 1: Increase Agricultural Productivity and Caloric Food Security.

In this stage, ENLACE works with church and community leaders to select the types of crops they would like to grow to increase their caloric intake such as vegetables and fruits. The

“These initiatives have changed our lives,” says Pastor Felix Amaya who is shown here displaying his recent tomato harvest.

ENLACE’s Community Economic Development Program Profile

KEYS TO CED SUCCESS

Holistic

Multi-sector

Multi-level

program also trains farmers in soil preparation techniques, effective seed planting, the making of organic pesticides and fertilizers, and harvesting crops. Upon harvesting their first crops, the program teaches them how to select and store their seeds.

Stage 2: Crop Diversity and Increased Income

ENLACE encourages farmers to diversify their production of vegetables, fruits and livestock both to reduce malnourishment as well as to generate income with high-value, cash crops. ENLACE works with local leaders to identify which crops are consumed locally or have a strong local or regional market. At this stage, the CED program assists farmers to improve their stock of seeds and provides additional technical assistance. The program also strengthens local farmer associations and provides credit when needed.

Stage 3: Strengthening Organizational Capacity and Expanding Markets

In the third stage, ENLACE works with local farmers associations and committees to build relationships and networks outside of the community with public and private entities to grow production and expand into regional or national markets.

One of ENLACE’s agronomists, Alejandro Perez, providing technical assistance to a Pastor and community leader in the community of La Loma

AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE 2010

• 250 home gardens

• 1,375 people benefited

• 200 farmers trained

• 10 farmer groups started in 7 communities

AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE 2009

• 100 home gardens

• 506 people benefited

• 120 farmers trained

• 5 farmer groups started in 4 communities

Tending to dozens of tomato plants CREDATEC client in one of her family’s pharmacies purchased with credit help

Farmer group training in Abelines

Micro-enterprise Development

Since 1996, ENLACE has helped to start or expand over 1,000 small businesses by providing credit and training to micro-entrepreneurs. Over the last five years, the program has maintained an excellent loan repayment rate of 98% and has been able to circulate over 1,500 loans for a total amount of $1,385,000. Such success is attributed to the hard work of the entrepreneurs who have received credit and training from ENLACE.

In 2000, ENLACE helped start a credit union called CREDATEC. CREDATEC is a limited liability corporation registered in El Salvador. CREDATEC was created to manage all financial and capital assistance to micro-entrepreneurs. ENLACE has established a trust fund in CREDATEC to on-lend to qualifying micro-entrepreneurs. An independent credit union provides the appropriate legal structure needed while also separating credit and financial decisions and operations from ENLACE and the local church and community associations.

ENLACE’s micro-enterprise development assistance includes two components:

Loans

ENLACE recognizes that for an economic opportunity to succeed an appropriate loan amount and terms need to fit the business’ needs. Too little or too much credit with difficult repayment periods will destroy rather than support and grow a business. Therefore, ENLACE performs detailed studies of both the prospective client’s businesses and household income and expenses. Through helping them construct a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement we can determine their businesses’ capacity to incur debt and how best to finance their activities. We also evaluate their household income and expenses to understand the real amount they can afford to pay, how often and at what terms. The loans are disbursed to the client and their repayments collected at local banks.

Business Training and Coaching

ENLACE also provides training and coaching to clients who desire and are able to grow their businesses. Clients who qualify will receive coaching on how to improve their businesses and/or other economic activities. We believe that coaching is just as important as the actual loan and emphasize its importance to our members.

MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT 2010

• 250 loans

• $306,000 total amount of loans circulated

• 98% loan repayment rate

• 75 entrepreneurs trained

MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT 2009

• 158 loans

• $276,000 total amount of loans circulated

• 99% loan repayment rate

• 27 entrepreneurs trained

ENLACE Credit Officer, Israel Melendez, talks with Rosa de Granados outside of her home

“Everyone is impressed at how my business has grown and improved...These little loans help in a big way.” -María Dolores Ayala