Seed Money Competition (Concurso Capital Semilla)

Practical Workshops and Fashion Show

The two practical workshops in Alto Perú began on the 23rd and 24th of October. The knitting and jewellery workshops started with a total of 16 and 25 participants respectively. SOLAC decided to implement strict rules for participating to the workshops to ensure the smooth running of the courses. A 5 PEN fine was charged to any participant arriving 15 minutes late or more to class, and a 10 PEN fine for missing a session. The workshops were extremely successful throughout the six weeks. Both Vilma and Gloria were very happy with the enthusiasm and the results achieved by the participants of the course.

At the end of the six weeks SOLAC, together with the participants and the teachers, organised a fashion show to give the participants the opportunity to show their families and the rest of the community the amazing work they accomplished throughout the course. A lot of people also took advantage of this opportunity to sell their products to other people in Alto Perú and to start making a name for themselves with their new activity in the community. The event was entirely financed by the fines collected from people arriving late to or missing the workshops sessions. One group was in charge of preparing food for the event, another to organise all the logistics (chairs, sound system, etc) and finally one woman decided to prepare small Christmas baskets (mainly food such as pasta, milk, etc) and to organise a raffle at the event for all the participants of the two courses. We invited the two teachers to present the different items to the audience. The participants of the knitting workshop presented a summer collection for babies and kids. The colours of the collection were pink, magenta and purple, and each participant designed and made one to three items for the collection (mainly a combination of top, hat and a bag). Each participant invited one kid from their family to model the item for the fashion show. For the jewellery workshop, the participants learnt a different ensemble (necklace, bracelet and earings) every week as well as several models of key rings. Each person brought some items they had done in class with the teachers as well as many others they had made by themselves. Many of them designed and made new models especially for the fashion show. We also had one man participating in the workshop who made jewellery for both men and women.

The event was a huge success; the audience was extremely impressed by the amazing work accomplished by the participants in terms of quality and creativity. All the participants received a diploma that certified the completion of a basic course. Out of the sixteen people who signed-up for the knitting workshop only ten completed the course due to time restrictions and other commitments. All the participants from the jewellery workshop completed the course, some of which were children of the beneficiaries of the microfinance project. The feedback from the participants was extremely positive, and we have had since then a lot of demand to continue with the courses.

The Fashion Show

Planning of Practical Workshops for Alto Perú

SOLAC decided to start practical workshops for the beneficiaries of the microfinance pilot project with the aim of giving the participants an opportunity to learn new skills that they may later use to start a new economic activity or to create an additional source of income (it is very common for micro entrepreneurs in Lima to have more than one small business).

We put together a list of six different options for the practical workshops according to what was more feasible to carry out in the community. The list of choices included: knitting and crochet, jewellery, yogurt, jam, pastry, and chocolate workshops. The members of each ASOL voted to decide the two workshops that we going to be implemented. The most popular choices were knitting and crochet, and the jewellery workshop. We contacted professional teachers for each workshop that were recommended to us by other NGOs, Vilma Acuña for knitting and Gloria Cabrera for jewellery, and we elaborated a six-week plan for each course. For the knitting and crochet workshop we decided, together with the teacher, that the course was going to take place twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays for three-hour sessions. The teacher explained to us that it was very important to have at least two sessions per week for the knitting and crochet workshop, as it is a very difficult skill to learn and requires a lot of practice at a basic level. For the jewellery workshop we decided to have a three-hour session per week on Sundays for six weeks. We also set a 5 PEN fee to sign-up for the course as a symbolic amount to ensure the commitment of people who decided to participate. The fee also included a set of materials for each participant for the course that they could take home to practice what they learnt in class. SOLAC decided to give priority for the signing-up to the workshop to the participants of the microfinance pilot project, then according to the vacancies in each course to the rest of the people of Alto Perú. The Head mistress of the local primary school, Nelli Villegas, agreed to let us use one of the classrooms of the school to carry out the workshops.

Extension of our Microfinance Pilot Project

Due to the successful running of the two original ASOLs and to the high demand for participation from other people in the communities, we have decided to extend our pilot project to give approximately another 24 people in the area the opportunity to benefit from a microfinance scheme, as well as to offer our two initial groups the option of entering a second cycle of the project, with the opportunity of receiving higher loans.

In May we started talking to people in Santa Isabél, Unión Perú and Santa Crúz de Huachipa, to see who was interested in forming a new group. By the end of the month we had already formed two new groups, one in Santa Crúz de Huachipa and another in Santa Isabél.

Approved funding for the extension of our project by the Austrian Embassy in Lima

We are very pleased to announce that our application for funding from the Austrian Embassy in Lima for our extension of the Microfinance Project in Alto Peru has been approved. At a meeting with the Ambassador, Dr. Andreas Melán, and with Mrs. Karin Eckert, responsible for cultural issues and international cooperation, which took place at the end of May, we were told that the Embassy was happy to provide funding to our project and cover the remaining budget.

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Austrian Embassy in Lima, Education World 86, as well as our other donors for allowing us to carry out our work!

New Training Sessions

As previously mentioned, we have decided to carry out the next training courses on entrepreneurship ourselves. Throughout April and May we have been creating a syllabus together with INCUBA Networks, using their manual as a basis to create one that has been greatly adapted to the requirements of the people in Alto Perú.

As we are strongly emphasizing the notion that a microfinance project is not only about the loans themselves, and recognizing that a training programme will develop a strong group atmosphere and a good relationship with the loan officers, we have designed four initial sessions which are compulsory for participants in order to receive a (or their next) loan.

Syllabus:

Session 1:
Understanding the environment and recognizing one’s own qualities as an entrepreneur

Session 2:
Brainstorming various business ideas, out of which three are selected to be put through an internal and external filter, in order to see which business idea is most viable. At the end of the session the participants decide what business they would like to invest their loan in.

Session 3:
Analyzing the market and the four Ps of the chosen business idea.

Session 4:
Bugdet (and breakdown of what the loan will be invested in)

The two new ASOLS:

ASOL “Las Triunfadoras” (Santa Isabél) and ASOL “Karin” (Santa Crúz de Huachipa)

After receiving an introductory session on what the Microfinance project consists of, the two newly formed groups, “Las Triunfadoras”, consisting of seven women and one young man, and “Karin”, which consists of six women, began with our four–session training course. The classes were very beneficial, both to the individual members of the team to support and guide them with their business ideas, as well as for the strengthening of the group dynamics and the relationship with the loan officer. By the end of the four sessions there had been a clear change in the level of comfort and trust between the group members.

The loan officers of each group then went to visit each person individually to fill in a questionnaire and discuss their business idea and the investment of the loan. Each case was then discussed at the office before the papers were prepared for the disbursements.

The disbursement of ASOL “Karin” took place on 7th June in Santa Crúz. Mrs. Karin Eckert from the Austrian Embassy took this opportunity to visit our project on site. She had the opportunity to meet the women, visit one of their sewing workshops and participate at the disbursement meeting. The group decided to name their ASOL after her, as a thank you for providing the funding required for the project.

The disbursement of ASOL “Las Triunfadoras” was held the following day (8th June) and was celebrated with soft drinks and cake. Group photos were taken and the members stayed longer to chat.

ASOLs “Sagrado Corazon de Jesus” and “Unidos para el Desarrollo”

Our two ASOLs which started in December last year have completed their fifth and sixth repayment meeting (on 11th May and 11th June respectively), and have herewith completed their first lending cycle. Although we have had two women with difficulties repaying the fifth loan, they have all managed to repay the whole amount by the end of the loan period. The repayment rates of the two groups have therefore been 100 % for the first cycle.

Almost all group members have been showing much interest in continuing with the project and were eager to receive the second cycle of the loans, in which they are entitled to a maximum of 800 PEN (around 280 USD) – depending on their repayment capacity.

Sagrado Corazon de Jesus has completed their four training sessions and have had their disbursement on 21st June. They are 11 members – all nine who have participated in the old cycle plus two new members (who have been accepted by all group members, but are, according to SOLAC rules, only entitled to a maximum loan of 400 PEN).

Unidos para el Desarrollo insisted on completing their initial classes before 11th June and therefore had their disbursement on the same day as the last repayment meeting. The ASOL consists of nine people in this second cycle – two members have left and a new participant has joined. The loan portfolio of this group is 4,450 PEN (approx 1,565 USD).