We put the ESCALA Business School online, allowing us to provide our curriculum and scale at an accelerated rate in spite of the pandemic and economic climate.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, it has left the world's poorest and most vulnerable people at greatest risk - including many of the entrepreneurs trained by SPI in Peru, Tanzania, Bulgaria, and Guatemala. However, thanks to your tremendous support for SPI’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, entrepreneurs and artisans now have the resources to step up as local leaders, keeping their families and communities safe.
Meet Filomena Pingo Tejada, one of the traditional weavers involved in SPI’s Chotuna-Chornancap project in Peru. Together with the Chotuna-Chornancap Site Museum and the Brüning National Museum, SPI is helping the artisans like Filomena develop their experience as weavers into a sustainable and profitable business which offers a real income and preserves the site in doing so.
We couldn’t have done any of it without you! With 2020 around the corner, we ask for your support once again so SPI can continue to elevate women and other marginalized entrepreneurs globally. If you make a gift by January 10th, your donation will be matched!
For these vulnerable small business owners, new government restrictions to curb the pandemic mean less or no income at all in the coming weeks. Although these entrepreneurs are doing everything to adapt to this evolving situation, most do not have the resources to do so. Your support could be their lifeline.
In Tanzania, our WAUMAKI Kisiwani women’s group is kick-starting their business near the ruins of one of East Africa’s greatest empires. In Peru, SPI hosted a launch event for our long-awaited ESCALA Business School. Local entrepreneurs and their families are enjoying a holiday season filled with joy thanks to new opportunities and sustainable income made possible by SPI projects and your support.
We are setting up mini-business schools all over Peru and Tanzania for small scale artisans and entrepreneurs. The first two will be at Pachacamac, Peru and Bagamoyo, Tanzania, sites of existing successful SPI projects. And that is only the beginning!
Whether in Peru, Guatemala, Jordan, Tanzania or Bulgaria, these women overcome enormous obstacles every day just to survive. They tell us how their new jobs enable them to feed their families better, keep their children in school, get better access to health care, and give them confidence in all aspects of their lives. Machismo is no joke in many of these communities.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) will be using the SPI-developed ‘mini business school” and capacity building program in their Global Innovation Centers around the world.
The jewellery of our artisans at the site of Kaminaljuyu in Guatemala is now available online! The Rebirth Kaminaljuyu line was produced by and designed in conjunction with the 12 women cooperative there, drawing upon both their lives and the incredible archaeology and iconography of this urban site. Necklaces, bracelets and more.
We inaugurated an exciting new project at the site of Pachacamac, Peru last month. Twelve women and men, ages 18-22, will be giving bicycle tours of the almost 5 square mile monumental site. We developed an intensive business and bicycling training program, including site knowledge, customer service, bike maintenance, first aid, and management.
