Asoserteñas
How one association is impacting the lives of women and children in Atuntaqui, Ecuador
Elena Francesca Imbacuàn Ponce is the founder of Asoserteñas, an association of thirty-eight women who prepare food for children and provide cleaning services for the community of Atuntaqui in the Imbabura Province of northern Ecuador.
Prior to Asoserteñas, nearly all of these women volunteered for informal day care centers or were self-employed in domestic and childcare services. Often referred to as “community mothers”, these women received a monthly stipend of about $200, less than one-third of the minimum wage in Ecuador.
In 2013, the national government started to formalize this sector in an effort to universalize access and improve the quality of childcare services. Childcare was now considered a formal public service for which workers were paid minimum wage, and these services were now coordinated primarily between local governments and civil society organizations.
When the government also began to externalize food preparation services, an essential part of the childcare sector, Elena saw an opportunity. She spent the following year coordinating with the women in her community and going through the process to form an association for this service — Asoserteñas, the Asociación de Servicios de Alimentación y Limpieza Mujeres Emprendedoras y Productivas Anteñas.
Together, the women of Asoserteñas work to prepare and deliver daily catered meals for over 360 children in nearby day care centers, with the objective of promoting healthy and adequate diets among the community’s youth. They also provide cleaning services as an addition source of income.
Elena, a widowed mother of three, cares deeply about the wellbeing and future success of her fellow women, the majority of whom are also single mothers. Most of them have not completed their education at the high school level or beyond, she says, but they encourage each other to continue studying. From her perspective, a better education means more possibility for better work opportunities in the future, and this is very important because in reality there is great competition in the workforce.
Elena has a degree in accounting, but has dedicated her career to social work. Her first job was with a foundation serving children without a home or without parents to care for them. Prior to founding Asoserteñas in 2013, she also worked for the United Nations in Ecuador, then for the local municipal government in Atuntaqui, always with a mindset of service toward others.
I really enjoy this type of work, helping others and administering an organization of service, more than anything. It’s very important for me, and I believe that the work that we do is very important for the community as well.
Asoserteñas is a registered organization of the “Popular and Solidarity Economy” (EPS) of Ecuador, a concept of economic organization first introduced by Ecuador’s 2008 Constitution and later formalized by the 2011 Law of the Popular and Solidarity Economy.
The organizations of the Popular and Solidarity Economy are guided a set of principles, including: the search for good living and the common good; gender equity; fair trade and ethical and responsible consumption; and the priority of work over capital and collective interests over individual interests, among others.
Being a part of this economy is a point of pride for Elena, who integrates many of these principles in her work at Asoserteñas. She proudly displays the association’s certification and ratings on the walls of her office.
Here we are all equal. No person is more important than the other. We all work the same amount of time, and we are all paid the same wage.
The local government provides Asoserteñas with the space needed to prepare food for the local day care centers in Atuntaqui.
Asoserteñas’ operations are bolstered by the Cooperativa de Ahoro y Crédito Mujeres Unidas (CACMU), a microfinance institution whose mission is to improve the quality of life for women and families in northern Ecuador through the provision of financial services.
We are lucky to have found such a great way of working with CACMU, which provides us with the capital and the guarantee we need when other organizations would not. They care about the success of our association.
For the past two years, CACMU has played an essential role in supporting Asoserteñas alongside the local government. While the government guarantees a salary for the women of the association, they only get paid every five to six months. By providing a loan to the association (Asoserteñas has received two loans in total), CACMU ensures that the women of Asoserteñas get paid more regularly and that the association has the working capital it needs to maintain its food supply, purchase equipment, and operate smoothly.
My aspiration for Asoserteñas is first and foremost for every woman to have steady work and a fair and reasonable salary, better than just a minimum salary. We are working towards this goal every day as we continue to grow and benefit the children of our community. One day, I hope to even have our own building to house our operations, to sustain the association without the need for debt, and to employ as many women as possible.
CACMU has been a part of MCE Social Capital’s Microfinance Institution (MFI) portfolio since April 2015, when MCE made its first loan of $400,000 to the institution. CACMU has successfully repaid two loans from MCE, and is now on its third loan, which was disbursed in August 2018. MCE is proud to support CACMU as an investor and enhance its ability to reach organizations like Asoserteñas that are benefiting the lives of women and families.
Story and photos by Harrison Pharamond, MCE Impact Analyst and Communications Associate
