En Via is a great organization and a tour that no one should miss. It was a highlight of our three weeks in Oaxaca. You get a first hand look at where your donation dollars are going, plus a chance to help make a difference in a families life, plus just a great experience in the homes of these women. Really, I mean it, don't go to Oaxaca without including this in you trip.

Every country has two stories. We always get to see the more polished side – where people seem to be doing really well, where everyone is partying downtown, or where everything seems just like home (for me in the USA).

However, there is always another story to every country (even at home) – where people are just getting by, living check to check, working all day to support their family, and quite possibly skipping several or many meals a week. It’s not the more “real” part of any country, but one that exhibits just another reality.

I have been in Oaxaca, Mexico for a total of three months living near the Zocalo, essentially living in the same sort of comfort as home. Not once did I get to explore something completely different from my daily life. En Via gave me a glimpse into the current life of a people and culture of a particular community, that has been around far before the Spanish arrived to present day Mexico. That community is Teotitlan del Valle.

En Via, a microfinance organization that gives interest-free loans to women in the aforementioned community, raises money by providing tours of a very different nature. Instead of touring a ruin or simply walking around a community, the borrowers of En Via invite tourists to either their residence or place of business to discuss what they will do with their loans that amount anywhere between US$100.00 and US$300.00.

The day-long tour consisted of six presentations, each lasting about an hour and occurring at a different borrower’s home or vending stand in Teotitlan. I was very excited to go into their homes to see their current living conditions, and at each visit, I only wanted to wish them even more luck with their business. I absolutely enjoyed the visit and seeing their workspace. More importantly, I enjoyed listening to their answers to our questions, everything they had to say about their business, and all of their stories about their lives.

For most of my stay in Mexico I have been exposed to families where men made all of the decisions and did all of the talking. However, with En Vía, I finally saw empowered women addressing a very important aspect of their family’s life. En Via gives them a wonderful opportunity to play an even greater role in their family by making important decisions that will hopefully improve their living situation.

This is not to say that I was 100% sure that the women made all of the decisions around their En Via loan, for there were occasional instances when the men of the household tried to do more of the talking. I was disappointed on those occasions but the En Via staff, who translated the presentations in English and our questions in Spanish, definitely made an effort to get the spotlight back on the women. Regardless, it must be a difficult matter to control.

Lastly, the tour concluded several hours later with lunch at a restaurant owned by former En Via borrowers, but beforehand, I had water and a small snack while the tours were happening – which turned out to be a smart move.

To conclude: the presentations were great, you know your tour fee is going to an excellent cause, and you get to meet women and their families who have the same amount of ambition and work ethic as you do, but just no credit to accommodate their skills. I definitely suggest you take this tour when you visit Oaxaca, Mexico.

My tour with Fundacion En Via was one of the best parts of my trip to Oaxaca, and to my understanding of microfinance as a tool to fight poverty. I have been curious about microfinance for many years, but never really understood exactly how small loans benefit the borrower--how far can a small loan go in making a difference? En Via unites indigenous women from the Teotitlan region of Oaxaca in applying for small loans to fund new business ventures. The woman apply in teams of three, and then hold each other accountable for repaying their loans in weekly installments. The loan funding comes from tours. On my tour, we visited the homes of six women and learned about their business goals. One woman introduced us to the world of making and selling agua fresca cold drinks. Her expenses include the cost of the canned milk and fruit, the ice and the disposable cups. Our investment would allow her to purchase glasses, thereby cutting the expense of disposable cups and helping her comply the city's new anti-trash mandates for food distributors. We also met two weavers, a honey-maker, a craft-seller, and a woman who runs a daily produce stand. At the end of the tour, my fellow tourists and I decided which group of three women to invest in, knowing that the group we rejected would be able to apply again. The tour also included stops at two terrific local tourist sites, and we learned a lot about the town and its history. This tour is a chance to meet women as potential investors in their business--a very different, more equal, intimate and respectful connection than outsiders are typically afforded when touring other countries.

Last fall, I studied abroad through PLU in Oaxaca, Mexico for four months. I had the privilege to go on a tour with Fundación en Vía (at the time, called InvesTours) to the nearby village, Teotitlán del Valle. The $50 each that we paid for the trip would all go directly as a loan toward one of the two groups of entrepreneurs that we visited. (The first three were group A and the last three were group B). We visited six entrepreneurs, who each summarized what they planned to do with the loan money, and then chose which group we should give the money to based on our own criteria.

This was an eye-opening and important experience both for us and for the new entrepreneurs. It gave us personal contact with people from a different culture, to learn more about their lifestyle, customs, values, social organization, and traditions. It also gave the entrepreneurs practice marketing their product, and learning how to design a sustainable, profitable, innovative project based on their resources and skills. Furthermore, this organization gives these poor people the tools to accomplish what they otherwise couldn't, and not only to earn a living but to find a calling and match their skills with the needs of their community.

This is a very worthwhile experience, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in combating poverty, promoting sustainable development, engaging in cross-cultural experiences, and meeting people with similar passions.

I have just gone on the Fundacion En Via tour, and have to share the experience with people who want to do something really special and worthwhile during their stay in Oaxaca . Fundacion En Via offers a socially responsible tour that gives an experience that would otherwise be difficult to have. This micro finance organization gives interest-free loans to indigenous women in Teotitlan del Valle to start or expand their business. You get to meet these women in their homes or at their businesses, and talk to them (with the help of the volunteer guides/translators) to learn what they do, and how they want to improve their lives and the lives of their families. In addition to having a wonderful, inspirational day, you get the satisfaction of knowing you have done something to really help them, because 100% of the tour money goes to the loans for these women. I highly recommend this special experience.