General Information
Business Idea: This is an existing kiosk that is looking to
increase its customer base through marketing initiatives, as
well as improve the conditions of the kiosk.
Communtiy Name: Pueblo Nuevo
Community Members Involved: Yadira Gómez, Jorge
Serrano, Itsalia Bacorizo
Date Established: 2013
Business Description
Yadira is the owner and manager of Kiosco "El Luchador," located in the community of Pueblo Nuevo, an indigenous Wounaan community. Even though Yadira is Latina, she maintains a good friendship and work relation with the community. Yadira has experience in running small businesses, having previously operated two stores. The kiosk is centrally located, near the Casa Comunal and primary school within the community. Her husband assists with managing the kiosk, and they receive help from Itsalia Bacorizo, a fellow member of the caja rural. The kiosk was opened in early 2013--Yadira said she started the business becuase she had been working since she was 18 years old but has always wanted to be her own boss and in charge of her own destiny.
Yadira is a member of the community bank in Pueblo Nuevo, and through it she has taken out various loans to invest in her business. The most recent (in February 2015) was for $900, which she used to pay for two-doored freezer/refrigerator, as she doesn’t want to continue using the one given by Coca-Cola. The rest of the money was utilized to buy ice cream; a goal that she had to sell within the community. Nowadays, Yadira says that ice cream is the most sold product and is providing the most amount of profit for her kiosk. She reports that ice cream alone can earn revenues of $60 a day ($0.35 per cone), without counting the other products. She also recently began selling fruits, such as oranges and watermellon.
During the last brigade this past January, brigaders were able to give her ideas about how to take advantage of the space within the kiosk, to improve the way that the products are visible to customers. They also made recommendations about the freezer that she wanted to buy on credit, and they provided her with two notebooks to keep track of her expenditures, as well as to keep track of the sales she allows on credit to certain individuals. Since the brigade left, she hasn’t used the books as often as she’d like, saying that she keeps forgetting to utilize them, but she implemented many of the recommendations and was able to buy the new freezer that she had wanted, as they had recommended.
Current Status
Business Information:
- Yadira rents the space for her business from a local resident in Pueblo Nuevo.
- The business has been running for two years.
- Yadira has a monthly income of $2,000.
- The most popular products sold at her kiosk are soda, chicken, rice, oil, and salt.
- Yadira has an accountant that does her income taxes.
- As a member of the Caja Rural, she has requested a loan of $600 to invest in the kiosk, of which she has already paid off $200.
Business Opportunity:
- Yadira is well-organized and knowledageable about basic accounting topics. She is a member of the newly established community bank and is learning basic financial literacy.
- She has basic knowledge about accounting, which she says she learned through experience in working in other stores in the past.
- She says she works with an accountant to verify the status of her bookkeeping, but only once per year.
- She followed many of the recommendations that the brigade in January left, demonstrating her interest and trust in Global Brigades
- She does have a great deal of understanding about how her business runs, but she would like more trainings about business administration and accounting, how to manage her books, and inventory training.
- Her kiosk is currently the only one in Pueblo Nuevo, so competition is realtively low.
- It is strategically situated on the street in front of the Casa Comunal and adjacent to the primary school.
- Past brigades have helped with the organization of the kiosk's merchandise, so that it is more orderly and more visible to customers.
Business Obstacles:
- As the only Latina in this indigenous community, she cannot demonstrably own her business, house, or land due to the fact that indigenous land is communal land.
- The storefront is rented through a verbal agreement. The landlord charges $100 per month, but through products in her store.
- Yadira lacks marketing skills and does not have a sign for her shop.
- There are many unknowns about the business challenges that should be investigated.
Your Task
- Review past brigade deliverables under 'Brigade Log' below. Brigade deliverables let students know what they did with the client on the last brigade and what recommendations they have for future brigades.
- First get to know your clients and their business. Build a trust between you and your clients.
- Learn about their business' strengths and weaknesses
- Yadira is very interested in learning more about marketing and learn more about managing her books.
- Based on your recommendations, update/supplement this business profile.
Brigade Log
| Business Brigades Chapter |
Date | Volunteers |
| Texas A&M | August 2014 | 5 |
| University of Southern California | January 2015 | 4 |
| University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign | March 2015 | 5 |
Visit Other Programs in Pueblo Nuevo
Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of health, economic, and education initiatives in order to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in Pueblo Nuevo:
Dental 
Environmental 
Human Rights 
Medical 
Microfinance 
Public Health