Motozintla in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas

So for most of October I was in Motozintla, Chiapas for work. This city is about 5 hours away from San Cristobal and is very close to the Guatemalan border. It is in the heart of the gorgeous Sierra Madre Mountains. While beautiful as it may be you also notice that it is very risky to live here as it is vulnerable to landslides and flooding. Last year’s Hurricane Stan greatly affected the area, people were killed and many homes were destroyed. Inhabitants who lost everything have been given new homes by the government and relocated to other municipalities. Truthfully I was scared on some of those roads, as parts had been washed out by landslides, and rocks fall blocking the way (that weren’t there the day before!)

So what was I doing here? We were conducting a market study for AlSol to determine if the MFI will open a branch in this area. We had a team of 8 researchers and I was the supervisor. The first week we received training on these MicroSave tools adapted to the Mexican context by a microfinance consulting firm, Alcance, and practiced them in Motozintla. The following week we implemented the methodology in four other municipalities. The researchers conducted numerous focus groups with the tools and many individual interviews and would enter their data into these spreadsheets. I would visit a team each day, accompany them to their appointments, clarify any questions or concerns, and spend time with them at their local internet café to help them process their information. It was a tiring week but I learned a lot and saw more of Chiapas. I am beginning to understand their reality a little better…

We found that many women are interested in microcredit and would like to work with AlSol. Some of their small businesses include small neighborhood stores or abbarotes, selling of prepared foods, clothes, fruits and vegetables. Some have comedores or informal restaurants. Another MFI who recently turned into a bank, Compartamos, is strong in the area. I’m amazed by the coverage of this MFI, they are everywhere!

The third week we finished compiling and correcting the data and Alcance joined us for an Analysis workshop, discussing our findings and making some recommendations. The final report is being presented to AlSol management and to the Board of Directors where they will make the decision as to where the branch office will be located and when operations would begin. Now that we know the methodology, in the future we can implement this market study in another area.