HOME PROGRAMS PRODUCERS INVESTORS & DONORS THE PARTNERSHIP
ANNUAL REPORT RECENT NEWS LINKS LEGAL & FINANCIAL INFO FALL UPDATE
RECENT NEWS

March 10 - 13, 2007


Alan, Miguel, Marvin & Orlando

   During the weekend of March 10 - 13, 2007 SOSTENICA hosted CEPRODEL's Executive Director, Miguel Gonzales; CFO, Marvin Garcia; and Director of Credit, Orlando Cortes. Current and prospective SOSTENICA investors had a chance to hear about our work at three public events: New Haven was hosted by SOSTENICA Board Member, Lee Cruz and Sarah Miller. Norwalk was hosted by Mich Zeman and Tish Gibbs from the SOSTENICA Board and the Men's Team. West Chester was hosted by Investor, Saint John's Church of Devon.
   
Also the three met with Alan Wright and Jay Pressman from the SOSTENICA Board to discuss the current state of our work and to plan for the future.
   To watch a video on youtube of Miguel's presentation in New Haven please click: watch video
   Thanks to Sarah Miller for the video.


Alan, Jay, Miguel, Orlando & Marvin


Lee and SOSTENICA Investor Beth Roth

Miguel, Orlando and Tom McCaney and Sister Nora Nash from Investor, Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia


SOSTENICA Investor and Men's Team Member Larry Comstock


Orlando, Miguel and
Congressman Joe Sestak

Miguel, Jim Hammerman, Alan, Orlando & Sally Hammerman at Jim & Sally's CSA, In My Back Yard at Misty Hollow

November 9, 2006

SOSTENICA President, Alan Wright delivered a lecture on "Microcredit and Development" to the International Affairs Council at Yale University. It was part of their Development Series Lectures. To view the text please click on Lecture Text

Fall 2006

Kelley Baldwin, Director of Communications, Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, wrote a very nice article on SOSTENICA for the September October 2006 issue of Spirt & Life, the sister's bi-monthly magazine. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adortation invested in the work of SosteNica in January of 2004. The article is on page 24. Click the link to download the pdf. http://www.spiritandlifemagazine.com/archive/SLSepOct06.pdf

September 2006

CEPRODEL was awarded five diamonds by the Mix Market.(See LINKS to connect to the Mix Market.) This signifies the highest quality of financial and program information provided by a microfinance institution. Congratulations to Marvin Garcia, the CFO for CEPRODEL and all of the CEPRODEL staff.

April 2006

CEPRODEL received at rating of BB+ from MicroFinanza Rating, an Italian agency evaluating the performance of mincrofinance institutions. This is their second straight year of a BB+ rating. Congratulations to all of the CEPRODEL staff. To view the rating report please go to CEPRODEL'S posting on the Mix Market Site. (See LINKS to connect to the Mix Market.)

February 15 - 18, 2006


Justin, Pete, Orlando, Chris & Jay
      During February four SOSTENICA representatives visited with CEPRODEL Staff and borrowers. The four SOSTENICA delegates were: Jay Pressman, SOSTENICA investor and Secretary of the SOSTENICA Board of Directors; Peter Flynn, West Chester farmer and proprietor of Pete's Produce Farm; Chris Bell, SOSTENICA staff and Justin Wright, SOSTENICA investor and delegation translator. Orlando Cortés acted as our
host for CEPRODEL. Below we offer a few of our observations


From Jay

     Our visits with Nicaraguan borrowers began in Nagarote, sister city to Norwalk, Connecticut. Nagarote is a small town accessed by a well maintained primary highway. Antonia Contreras Rueda, one of the first clients in town to participate in the loan program, and has repaid close to a dozen loans over the years. Walking through her dining room we met several young men working at sewing machines, sorting fabric and assembling backpacks on the back porch. She attaches a "Jansport" label for export, but her son hopes to patent their own brand name one day. He asked about a loan to grease the wheels of the bureaucracy, but CEPRODEL's Orlando promptly informed the young capitalist we were not in that business! Mrs. Contreras also has used SOSTENICA credit to purchase 850 laying hens. She supplies many families in Nagarote with their daily ration of eggs. This industrious family is a great SOSTENICA success story.



Antonia Contreras Rueda with her Son
and in her shop (below)




Luis, Alfredo & Renaldo

Luis Ramon Rivas - CEPRODEL Staff
Alfredo Mendoza Davila - Farmer in El Sauce
Renaldo Juarez Castellon - CEPRODEL Staff

From Pete

     I was most surprised to discover that the Nicaraguan farmers' concerns were not unlike the issues my local colleagues have wrestled with for the past 35 years! Our most common shared frustration is that the cost of production equals or exceeds market value at harvest time. The SOSTENICA farmers do all the right things -- diversifying, developing new markets, engaging in cooperative education, and protecting natural resources. Their greatest challenge however, lies in their lack of machinery and water. Given the proper resources and fair prices for their crops, these farms could be completely sustainable. Productive agriculture is the foundation for a healthy, independent economy. SOSTENICA's rural lending offers hope for both the farmers and the community


From Chris

     In visiting with many of CEPRODEL's staff and clients, I was moved by the pride people took in their work. In the countryside, farmers would offer us gifts of pineapples or honey or cheese that they had produced. In the city clients would beam as they displayed the clothes, or beds or saddles or nacatamales that they had made. The CEPRODEL staff also took great pride in their efforts. One example is Orlando Cortés, the director of Credit for CEPRODEL. He came up with a credit program based in the markets. Staff, who work from an office in or adjacent to the market, can get to know borrowers and make quick decisions on commercial loans. This program has been a great success. And the cash flow from this program, in turn, allows CEPRODEL to continue lending in the countryside supporting sustainable rural development.


Maria Nubia Urcuyo Casco and her husband showing us a beautiful bedspread produced by their company in Leon


October 29, 2005

A team of men (who refer to themselves as ordinary) have come together to support one another in leading extraordinary lives. One of their commitments has been to support the people of Nicaragua by promoting SosteNica's loan program. Their first public outreach effort involved Wilton Congregational Church and the Talmadge Hill Community Church. On October 29th, 130 people gathered to raise awareness about the situation in Nicaragua and to celebrate and support the work of SosteNica. According to one of the organizers: "SosteNica is unique among micro-lending organizations in its focus and commitment to its purpose. No others designate such a high percentage of its investment monies (100%) in actual development projects. Very cool!"


Men's Team member Jon Sabrowski addressing the gathering.


March, 2005

Interested in seeing more of Nicaragua and the work of SosteNica? Recently, film makers Julien Jarreau and Bill Schroeder made a short documentary. Please click on the photo to the left to view the film on YouTube. If you would like to receive a DVD of the documentary, please send us your name and address, along with a check for $15 made out to "SosteNica". We'll be happy to send you a copy to share with friends and family.

 

March 13 - 15, 2005

     We held our annual meeting with CEPRODEL at Las Cañadas, near Veracruz in Mexico. www.bosquedeniebla.com.mx Attending from SOSTENICA, Inc. were Alan Wright, Lee Cruz, Mich Zeman, Bill Schroeder and Chris Bell. From CEPRODEL: Miguel Gonzales, Orlando Cortés, Carlos Cáseres, and David Jiménez

     We received the following reports from CEPRODEL: 1. Sustainable Rural Development Program 2. Evaluation of the first three years of the Sustainable Rural Development Program; 3. a book of personal stories of CEPRODEL'S Borrowers; 4. the 2005 Audit of CEPRODEL's finances

We also had several meetings planning our future work and collaboration.



Mich, Alan and Lee


Orlando, Carlos and Miguel



Orlando, Lee and Miguel

 

September 19 - 28, 2003

Orlando Cortez, CEPRODEL Regional Director of Credit and Julio Cisneros, CEPRODEL Board Secretary travelled to the United States.

From left to right: Julio, Mich, Tish, Bill and Orlando

From left to right: Julio, Lee, Alan and Orlando

 

September 5, 2003

An article published in La Prensa, one of the Nicaraguan daily newspapers, announces the publication of CEPRODEL Board Secretary, Julio Cisneros' 15 year study of sustainable agriculture in Nicaragua. see article (in Spanish)

July 11, 2003

An article published in El Nuevo Diaro, one of the Nicaraguan daily newspapers, details the Sustainable Rural Development Program supported by SosteNica investors and donors.

May 17, 2003

Lee Cruz hosted the Spring meeting of the SosteNica, Inc. Board. Some of the highlights include:
     · A review of our mission and history
     · Commitments by Board members to help achieve our 2003 fundraising goals of $300,000 in new investments and        $41,000 in donations in order to create the opportunity for 100 more farm families to participate in the Sustainable        Rural Development program
     · The assessment that both partners are financially healthy


March 10 - 14, 2003

SosteNica Administrator, Chris Bell's trip to León

Marvin Garcia, CEPRODEL Financial Director

Eulogia Amanda Gutierrez Jiminez and CEPRODEL/León Director, Orlando Cortés

The León Office Championship Softball Team in the all CEPRODEL League

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua and visit with some of the people we work with. My hosts at the León office of CEPRODEL were great. They took whatever time I needed for me to understand how they administer all the programs they run, including the two supported by SosteNica investors & donors. We also spent a day in the countryside meeting with participants in the Sustainable Rural Development Program. I left León feeling very impressed with the vision and hard work of the CEPRODEL staff. I also learned how important are the opportunites we create for the producers and their families.

July 2002
Author, Beth Kephart profiles SosteNica President, Alan Wright, in the July/August 2002 issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette
see article