Peru: Women Entrepreneurs and Community Supports

The Peru Project reflects the kind of international service that grows through trusted relationships and practical support. In partnership with Mujeres Uniendo Esfuerzo por Alcanzar sus Sueños, Rotary assistance is helping women in the Chincha region strengthen businesses that are closely tied to everyday life: food, farming, clothing, household goods, and community care.

The work is beautifully grounded in real livelihoods. Luz Tasayco Marcos received support for clothing production. Angela Cáceres Romero is raising pigs. Madeleine Lévano Cáceres is raising chickens. Gabriela is selling school supplies. Sonia Nicho is building a small business around prepared food, beverages, and grocery items. Other women are running neighbourhood stores, preparing meals, selling fruit, sewing garments, or combining several modest income streams at once in order to keep a household going.

What makes these stories so compelling is not just the variety of the businesses, but the strength of the women behind them. Elizabeth is raising three children while working and also raising poultry and ducks at home. Yovana runs a small shop selling groceries, drinks, sweets, and cleaning products, and also prepares meals for delivery in Chincha. Cecilia prepares sweets and weekend foods while supporting two children, including one in university. Rosario raises cuyes and sells fruit she harvests herself, helping support four children, three of whom are in university. Mónica begins work at 5:00 a.m., preparing breakfast for early workers before continuing to sell food and drinks through the day.

These are not abstract examples of entrepreneurship. They are women using the resources available to them: a stove, a sewing machine, a small storefront, a bit of land, a flock of birds, a few pigs, a push into the market, a commitment to keep going. Their enterprises may be modest in scale, but their impact on family life is anything but small. Income from these businesses helps cover food, education, household needs, and the basic stability that allows a family to plan beyond the next day.

The project also reaches beyond individual enterprise. In Barranquito, the Comedor Señor de los Milagros provides daily lunches for people living in difficult economic circumstances, including older adults who are without support. That detail says a great deal about the wider spirit of the work. This is not simply about helping one person at a time. It is also about strengthening the fabric of community life: neighbours organizing, cooking, selling, caring, and creating a little more resilience together.

One recent lending round distributed S/. 8,000 across eleven new women entrepreneurs, with individual amounts ranging from S/. 700 to S/. 3,000. The projects supported included clothing production, pig raising, chicken raising, school supplies, groceries, and prepared food. The range of those enterprises shows how closely the initiative responds to local reality. It is not imposing a model from outside. It is backing women in the work they already know, the markets they already understand, and the opportunities they are ready to grow.

That is what gives the Peru Project its quiet power. Through Yves, Kay, and local partners, support is reaching women who are not waiting for change to arrive: they are creating it themselves. They are cooking, sewing, planting, raising, selling, delivering, and building. They are using small opportunities to make larger possibilities real. And in doing so, they are shaping something that matters deeply: stronger families, stronger communities, and a future built with their own hands.

Carmen: Building a Home Livestock Farm

Carmen raises turkeys and pigs at her home, building a small livestock operation that contributes to her family’s income. She is the mother of three children and works from home while her husband operates a mototaxi for additional household earnings. Together, their work supports the family and helps provide opportunities for their children.

Program Snapshot

• Business: Small livestock farming

• Activity: Raising turkeys and pigs

• Family: Mother of three children

• Location: Chincha region, Peru

Luisa: A Store at the Heart of the Community

Luisa operates a small neighbourhood shop from her home, selling groceries, drinks, clothing, sandals, and other household goods. Her children are now independent, and she helps care for her granddaughters. The shop she runs with her husband provides steady income for their household and supports their extended family.

Program Snapshot

• Business: Home-based neighbourhood shop

• Products: Groceries, drinks, clothing, sandals, household goods

• Family: Lives with her husband and helps care for her granddaughters

• Location: Chincha region, Peru

Rosario: Farming for Her Children’s Education

Rosario raises cuyes and sells fruit that she harvests herself. Each day she travels into the city with a tricycle to sell her products. Through her work, she supports four children: three studying at university and the youngest still in school, demonstrating how small family enterprises can create opportunities for the next generation.

Program Snapshot

• Business: Small livestock and produce sales

• Activity: Raising cuyes and selling harvested fruit

• Sales method: Daily market sales by tricycle

• Family: Mother of four children; three in university

• Peru Project - Informe Préstamo de Dinero a los Proyectos de Emprendimiento

• Mujeres Uniendo Esfuerzo por Alcanzar sus Sueños