ALUM LEADER/MENTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MANUAL

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1 ALUM LEADER/MENTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MANUAL PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES Each Mentor and Alum Leader is assigned to oversee one of your team s core committees, which are: Community Health, Cultural, Business Development, Vocational, and Education. There is no specific committee for construction because all team members participate in construction projects. Committee structure exists to reflect solid international development principles, to allow for mentorship, to promote leadership of student participants, and is grounded in project-based learning and sustainability. BEST PRACTICES IN INTERNATIONAL DEVLOPMENT The Youthlinc approach to international development is based on research and practical experience. Our goal is to help communities become self-sufficient. We help in the construction of compatible and sustainable structures for education, health, and the general well-being of the community. We offer information (in the form of lessons for people of all ages, community workshops or fairs, and professional exchanges) in basic health and hygiene, education, vocational training, and small business development and/or livestock exchange. Youthlinc partners with small villages in developing countries for three to five years with the expectation that these communities continue to help themselves with the resources we provide. We structure our curriculum so that our Service Year participants have strong leadership, education, and cultural exchange opportunities. Educational and service learning research is clear: the best learning experiences come through hands-on activities, interaction with partner communities, and project based learning. In keeping with these goals, we have established a basic curriculum for our international trips. Each team (35-40 people), no matter where they travel, is comprised of five core committees, which work collaboratively during the Service Year to plan and then carry out the projects at each site. These committees are led by students and mentored by adult professionals, who travel with the teams. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE The Business Development committee focuses on finding and strengthening business opportunities in each community, based on information gathered from previous team visits and on-going communication with our in-country coordinators. Prior to each trip, members of these committees meet regularly to develop hands-on and engaging lessons about marketing, tracking, and recording finances. While in-country, committee members meet regularly with community members to teach, and work together to determine how to make community business ideas sustainable. 1

2 THIS MANUAL The purpose of this manual is not to tell you what projects you must do, but rather to give you a starting point. This information is to help provide you with ideas of possible projects your committee could do based on what has been done. We don t want you to feel as if you are being asked to reinvent the wheel with your committee work. However, if you have project ideas that are not included in this manual please, feel free to explore them with the input of your Team Leader and In-country Coordinator. Our projects are based on community need, so if your international community is not interested in the project don t force it on them. We encourage you to look at projects that have been done at other international sites. You are not restricted to exploring only what has been done in the country you will be traveling to. The contacts below have good insight as to what items should/should not be collected, things to avoid and/or look for, and general tips and advice in planning international projects. Good luck! We recommend utilizing the Youthlinc Business and Vocational Manual as a resource for projects in this committee: CAMBODIA PROJECTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION Business Development Committee o The team fell short on their implementation of this committee there was a misunderstanding of committee roles by the Team Leader o You get to trail-blaze a committee project this year rather than building on one from last year. o Read through the other countries Business Devlopment projects and see if they spark any ideas. o You will work closely with your Team Leader and In-country Coordinator (and if needs be the International Service Director) to determine projects for the Service Year. o Kim and Paul Stringham team leaders. kcstringham@aim.com o Shelly and Mark Burningham team leaders...shellyandmark@youthlinc.org G UATEMALA PROJECTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION 4 P s Lessons* o Project goals: teach lessons on Product, Price, Place, and Promotion to compliment the skill(s) being taught Taught the community the 4 P s lessons and basic lessons on how to start a business Teamed up with the Vocational committee to teach these lessons to the women that had been learning to sew Provide more visual aids and make lessons interactive Doing a livestock exchange and/or micro loans would be a good project for next year o Mike Erickson bus. dev. mentor...mgerickson@gmail.com o Lyra Gills vocational/ bus. dev. alum leader... futbolgirl53@gmail.com KENYA PROJECTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION Start-up Grants/Co-ops* o Project goals: help women in the community learn the basics of business, develop a business strategy, 2

3 and then provide them with small loans to help them get started Taught the following business oriented lessons to a group of 11 women: 4 P s (product, place, price, promotion) Loan repayment Entrepreneurism Conflict resolution/problem solving Communication strategies Created 3 co-ops that received small grants Goat co-op 42,000 shilling grant Milk co-op 42,000 shilling grant Grocery co-op 70,000 shilling grant Interactive lessons were best At first the women had very limited ideas, so we had to teach them to identify needs in Kajuki that weren t being filled and help them realize they could fill them if they had the capital. Sent them home with homework related to 4 P s and business lessons. Required them to create a marketing and start up plan and present it to us. Worked with them to create short start up goals and long term goals. Only after they participated in all the above lessons and processes did we issue them the grant. You should have official contracts for them to sign. Next year you could either work with a new group of women to teach and provide small grants or you could work on a livestock exchange program Business Computer Project* o Project goals: provide the community with computers and basic lessons on how to use them taught basic computer lessons to men and women in: Keyboarding Microsoft Word Excel Publisher You must go very slow and repeat information a lot. Provided lessons in the morning and in the afternoon we ran a lab that 2-3 YL students oversaw and people could come and practice their computer skills. Students had literally never seen computers before keep it simple! Keyboarding can t be taught in one day a program needs to be brought and left for them to practice. They have a projector. Project examples but also bring hard copies to pass out. These lessons should be continued next year! o Sylvia Jessen bus. dev. mentor...sylviajessen@me.com o Justin Powell bus. dev. mentor...justin@youthlinc.org NEPAL PROJECTS AND CONTACT INFORMATION Nepal June Business Lessons o Project goals: work in partnership with the Vocational committee to meet and teach business lessons to the women that were learning sewing. Form a co-op among the women and the school on how the sewing machines would be used and managed. 3

4 taught basic business lessons selected and trained a women to head up and manage the co-op The rigid caste system in Nepal had most the women believing that they were not good enough to start a business. There is an overarching cultural idea that women cannot start businesses Future teams need to find a way to convince and show the women the importance of a business and how it could improve their lives this will be your biggest obstacle. o Holly Chavez bus. dev. mentor...hollychavez@comcast.net o Angela Hackwell bus. dev. mentor...angelabhackwell@gmail.com o Kevin Bawden bus. dev. alum leader...kevin.bawden@gmail.com Nepal July Business Lessons* o Project goals: worked with 14 women representatives of families that were selected to participate in the livestock loan program to teach business lessons in preparation for implementation of the lifestock loan program. business lesson topics: What is a loan? Loan repayment Marketing and selling Record keeping and profit The women represented the older generation in the village and all of them were illiterate. Lessons must be very visual. There were translators. A calculator and ruler for every village participant would have been helpful. Livestock Loan Program* o Project goals: after completing the business lessons reward the 14 families with female goats for the Livestock loan program. The offspring of these goats will be passed along to other needy families it is a self perpetuating sustainable project. 14 female goats rewarded $50 for non pregnant goats $70 for pregnant goats Distributed goats at closing ceremonies In-village coordination also selected the second generation goat recipients. Families were very opinionated about what goat they got. Distributed goats via a lottery conducted by the village elders. It is very important that next year s team follow up and continue with the livestock program. o Margareta Hjoth-Vlassic bus. dev. Mentor...margareta.hjorth-vlasic@mhtn.com o James Smith bus. dev. mentor...conrads@adobe.com o Anika Nacey bus. dev. alum leader...anikanacey@gmail.com PERU PROJECTS AND INFORMATION Business Lessons o Project goals: teach people in the community business basics in hopes of creating small businesses and/or co-ops. Business classes for men 4

5 Didn t have a great response from the men. Business classes for women* Women loved this! Focused on sewing and soap making Business classes for teens Make these lessons as interactive and interesting at possible. Communicate with Carlos (in-country coordinator) about lesson topics to see if community has interest in specific topics. Co-ops o Project goals: help form groups of people that are interested in the same business venture. o Project Specifics Formed a women sewing co-op Formed a women soap making co-op Work in conjunction with the vocational committee on this. Animal Pass Along Program* o Project goals: set up a sustainable animal pass along program using chickens, an animal that a lot of families in Peru have already. o Project Specifics Built chicken coops for families that had chickens Families that received coops committed to pass along a portion of their chickens offspring to other families in the community. Took about $900 in project funds Families already know how to raise chickens, they just need help turning it into a business and better housing for chickens. Try to get families that do not already have chickens. o Heidi Poulter bus. dev. mentor... heidipoulter@msn.com o Mike Poulter bus. dev. mentor... michaelpoulter@msn.com o Thea Holcomb bus. dev. alum leader... thea.holcomb@me.com THAILAND PROJECTS AND INFORMATION Thailand June Business Seminar o Project goals: worked with people in the community to teach the fundamentals of business and select people to participate with the business loan program. seminar included lesson on: Entrepreneurship How to make a business proposal Problem solving and decision making Bookkeeping Loans At seminar discussed possible business ideas, the best ones were invited to participate with the business loan program. Business Loan Program o Project goals: provide small loans to groups that attended the business seminar as well as the vocational soap making co-op. Not a true loans, more of a pay it forward program. 5

6 o Project Specifics: Met with groups from business seminar to fine tune their ideas and proposals. Awarded 2 loans of 5,000 baht to each group. Awarded a 2,000 baht loan to the vocational committees soap making co-op. Coordinate better with vocational committee so you don t repeat training. Maybe have vocational be over the skill training and business development be over the business side of everything. o Hunter Jackson bus. dev. mentor...hjackson@nvgn.com o Joel Bruder bus. dev. alum leader...jbruder07@comcast.net