CDRO

Mission:  As a holistic, community development organization that provides microfinance services with other grassroots development initiatives, CDRO couples microfinance services with grassroots development initiatives.

Specialty: Rural lending to the indigenous peoples of western Guatemala.

Organization Profile: CDRO, the Association for Cooperation for Rural Development of the West Region, operates in the department of Totonicapán, located in the western region of the country, and serves hundreds of rural and indigenous borrowers living in western Guatemala (96.7% of whom are Mayan Quiché).  CDRO was formed in 1981 during the armed conflict and later in 1986, it acquired its legal status as a non-profit, non-government institution.  Many of its branches are located at the community centers in small indigenous villages where CDRO executes its development programs——making them easily accessible to CDRO’s borrowers.   

Due to the geographical location of Totonicapán and its mountainous terrain, the amount of arable land is limited, permitting the proliferation of diversified economic activities like the combination of handicrafts with small industry, agriculture and commerce. 

CDRO continues to strengthen the participation and organization of the local community through the organizational approach of “POP,” a Mayan Quiché word meaning the “total participation of the community.”  In doing so, CDRO has 26 community councils and four local associations within western Guatemala.

In addition to community involvement, one of the touchstones of CDRO is women’s empowerment.  Eighty-two percent of the individuals trained in the areas of agricultural extension, horticulture, poultry, soil environment, management of organic fertilizers, nutrition gender, environmental education, community development, public health and local leadership are women, illustrating CDRO’s holistic, gender-inclusive, and alternative approach to microfinance.

WCCN Partner Since: 2009

Borrowers: CDRO lends to 1,662 borrowers.  Of these individuals, 61% are men and 39% are women (as of 2009).

Lending Portfolio: CDRO has an average loan size of $2,629 with a total lending portfolio of $4,622,575 (as of 2009).

César Tocón is the General Director of CDRO, WCCN's first partner agency in Guatemala. In this interview, conducted April 23, 2009, he describes what CDRO is, and its connection to WCCN.