The great thing about working with Proyecto Horizonte is that you can pretty much do what you like! In the sense that if you see somewhere you and your expertise can help then by all means, help. So aside from working in the school I have my fingers in a few other pies. Last week I realised it might be a few too many pies, but with just over three months left here I know that time will show me what will rise, what is burnt, what tastes good and what is just a little under-cooked in the middle. So in terms of what else I’m doing here:
A little marketing and PR – I’m working with Tantakuna, this is the women’s microenterprise group that consists of a bakery and a handicrafts group. Their banana cake is good, very good, and I love banana cake so I will call myself a connoisseur. We’re trying to sell their cupcakes ´Cochabamba Cupcakes´ at some of the nice spots around town to not only make a little money but also as a channel to talk about the Proyecto and Tantakuna to local Cochabambinos and travellers.
A little communications – A new website takes a lot of work! Fingers crossed I can help get this thing live...soon!
A little branding – Tantakuna is a group of mothers that has a story to tell and we need to tell it in the best way possible. I am working to develop some new words and branding for us to get the word out, both here and abroad.
A little product development – The women of Tantakuna produce some beautiful (and very technical) weaving and knitting but not all of it appeals to the western world. So one of my first ideas when I saw the products of Tantakuna was how cute the key chains were and that with a little work we could appeal to the baby/kid gift market abroad. So along with a fellow Kiwi volunteer here (who had a lot of persistence, patience and better Spanish than me!) we have worked with the group to produce the first samples. I think they rock! Still samples that I think we can make some more improvements on but so far, so good (no pictures yet, it is all still top secret)!
A little design – It’s quite funny to think I’m working on Xmas cards here after all the time, politics, sweat and maybe tears that were involved every year in the process in my old job working for a large corporate with a strong CRM programme! Here in Bolivia, they are still an excellent tool for communicating with our international audience, so we’re looking at running some art classes or the like to get some creative designs rolling from the kids at school.
A little social marketing (fingers crossed) – I’m not sure why this is last on my list, maybe because it is what I am most excited about and therefore most nervous and anxious about. I want to do some social marketing/behaviour change work on nutrition and/or health in the Ushpa-Ushpa community, no small task given my budget (zero) and my Spanish (slowly creeping above zero). I’m still in the research phase and from the first few interviews the most used phrase has been “Es muy dificil” (“It’s very difficult”)!!
I won’t let that deter me (yet)!
A little marketing and PR – I’m working with Tantakuna, this is the women’s microenterprise group that consists of a bakery and a handicrafts group. Their banana cake is good, very good, and I love banana cake so I will call myself a connoisseur. We’re trying to sell their cupcakes ´Cochabamba Cupcakes´ at some of the nice spots around town to not only make a little money but also as a channel to talk about the Proyecto and Tantakuna to local Cochabambinos and travellers.
A little communications – A new website takes a lot of work! Fingers crossed I can help get this thing live...soon!
A little branding – Tantakuna is a group of mothers that has a story to tell and we need to tell it in the best way possible. I am working to develop some new words and branding for us to get the word out, both here and abroad.
A little product development – The women of Tantakuna produce some beautiful (and very technical) weaving and knitting but not all of it appeals to the western world. So one of my first ideas when I saw the products of Tantakuna was how cute the key chains were and that with a little work we could appeal to the baby/kid gift market abroad. So along with a fellow Kiwi volunteer here (who had a lot of persistence, patience and better Spanish than me!) we have worked with the group to produce the first samples. I think they rock! Still samples that I think we can make some more improvements on but so far, so good (no pictures yet, it is all still top secret)!
A little design – It’s quite funny to think I’m working on Xmas cards here after all the time, politics, sweat and maybe tears that were involved every year in the process in my old job working for a large corporate with a strong CRM programme! Here in Bolivia, they are still an excellent tool for communicating with our international audience, so we’re looking at running some art classes or the like to get some creative designs rolling from the kids at school.
A little social marketing (fingers crossed) – I’m not sure why this is last on my list, maybe because it is what I am most excited about and therefore most nervous and anxious about. I want to do some social marketing/behaviour change work on nutrition and/or health in the Ushpa-Ushpa community, no small task given my budget (zero) and my Spanish (slowly creeping above zero). I’m still in the research phase and from the first few interviews the most used phrase has been “Es muy dificil” (“It’s very difficult”)!!
I won’t let that deter me (yet)!
To contact me directly on my experience so far, and for any further information I could help with, please send an email to sarah.sinnott@gmail.com
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