We've recently found out about Kiva.org, a website that arranges microloans (very small business loans) directly between first-world lenders and third-world borrowers. We've made our first loan (to farmer Samuel Amilla in Ecuador) and are pursuing an application to become "Kiva Fellows," essentially field communication volunteers for the organization. We're tremendously excited about the possibility and are filling out the application. We hope you'll take a look at their site and make your first loan too!

One part of the "Kiva Fellow" application calls for us to interview an small-business entrepreneur concerning their business and write a journal entry regarding it. Here's our interview with Gloria Hernandez Torres, who we met selling "molotes" at the door to the market in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.

Gloria Hernándes Torres (56) has been selling molotes (a fried empanada of vegetables, cucumbers, cheese, and spices) in the same place in front of the market in Cholula for 33 years. Her niece Dulce (30) has been helping her with cooking and sales for the past year. She shares the sales spot and the business with her sister - Gloria does it two days per week, and her sister prepares and sells molotes three days per week.

The molotes sell for 9 pesos (about USD $0.81) each; the two seemed to be doing a brisk business at their little corner outside the market. Their profit varies from day to day, but they do not track it.

Gloria has been occupying this exact place outside the market for 33 years and is quite happy with what she's doing. She's not at all interested in changing or growing her business.