'Calendar Girls' fundraising plan backfires in Spain

"I do not like to hunt. I do not like to kill things. But we had to do something representative," she said.

A similar idea was pioneered by a group of women ranging in age from mid-50s to early 70s in Yorkshire, England. They sold a calendar of discreet nude photographs of themselves to raise money for cancer research. The women, whose story inspired the 2003 movie "Calendar Girls," raised $2.55 million through sales of 800,000 calendars as well as book and film royalties.

The plight of the mothers of Serradilla del Arroyo resurfaced recently because the distributor filed a complaint alleging they were behind on payments, and local media picked up the story.

The moms say they are trying their best to chip away at their debt, in part by paying out of their own small salaries.

The new flash of publicity is helping. Garin said many people thought the calendar had sold out, and are now placing orders.

"People are really coming forward again," Garin said.