2009.02.26: February 26, 2009: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Agriculture: Peace Corps Press Release: Alexis Austin Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador with five families agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ecuador: Peace Corps Ecuador : Peace Corps Ecuador: Newest Stories: 2009.02.26: February 26, 2009: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Agriculture: Peace Corps Press Release: Alexis Austin Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador with five families agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.32.99) on Friday, March 27, 2009 - 11:39 am: Edit Post

Alexis Austin Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador with five families agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit

Alexis Austin Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador with five families agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit

Austin partnered with the local Ecuadorian nonprofit organization Creando Futuro to create an income-generating project for families with school-aged children. Five families in Muisne County participated in the project, agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit. All participating families have between five and eight children or grandchildren, and in accordance with the project’s stipulations, they agreed in advance to donate a significant portion of their earnings to their children’s education.

Alexis Austin Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador with five families agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit

Washington State Resident Helps Create Small Businesses in Rural Ecuador

Photo: On the Grill by Vilseskogen Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic

Washington, D.C., February 26, 2009 - In a small town in Ecuador, 100 chickens have improved the lives of five area families and advanced the education of over 30 youth. The connection between 100 chickens and improved education may seem obscure—but to Peace Corps Volunteer and Bellingham, Washington, resident Alexis Austin, the concept was clear from the start.

Austin partnered with the local Ecuadorian nonprofit organization Creando Futuro to create an income-generating project for families with school-aged children. Five families in Muisne County participated in the project, agreeing to raise, market, and sell chickens to local stores for profit. All participating families have between five and eight children or grandchildren, and in accordance with the project’s stipulations, they agreed in advance to donate a significant portion of their earnings to their children’s education.

For nearly a year, families saved $5 a month to contribute to the project. They researched the demand for chicken in local markets, and attended Creando Futuro-sponsored workshops on small business theory. Eventually, participants provided all materials and manual labor (a contribution of 46 percent of the total project cost) to build a structure that now houses 100 chickens.

"So far things are going really well," said Austin. "The chickens are growing fast, there are determined markets, the families are very excited, and future options for investment and sales are being explored."

A portion of this project was funded through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, which allows individuals or groups to donate funds to specific Peace Corps projects. The Partnership Program works to create true partnerships with the communities it serves. In order to receive funding through the program, a community must make a 25 percent contribution to the total project cost, as well as outline "success indicators" for the project. This helps to ensure community buy-in, a greater chance of long-term sustainability and, ultimately, the success of the project.

To find out more about the Peace Corps and the Peace Corps Partnership Program, please visit the Peace Corps website: www.peacecorps.gov . One-hundred percent of each tax-deductible donation goes toward a designated development project. In-kind contributions such as computers and school supplies can also provide valuable support to projects.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: February, 2009; Peace Corps Ecuador; Directory of Ecuador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Ecuador RPCVs; Agriculture





When this story was posted in March 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed

 Site Index Search PCOL with Google Contact PCOL Recent Posts Bulletin Board Open Discussion RPCV Directory Register

PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director Date: December 2 2008 No: 1288 PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director
Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.

Director Ron Tschetter:  The PCOL Interview Date: December 9 2008 No: 1296 Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia? Date: March 1 2009 No: 1333 Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia?
Clinton says PC expects to resume in Indonesia 18 Feb
Indonesia still touchy about Peace Corps 17 Feb
PCVs Remain Safe in Madagascar 30 Jan
Dodd's Senate seat up for grabs? 21 Feb
Tony Hall Talks About Poverty and Hunger 18 Feb
Pro Football Player Aaron Merz to serve in Zambia 17 Feb
Moyers could be new Murrow for US Public Diplomacy 17 Feb
Obituary for Nigeria CD Francis Underhill Macy 10 Feb
George Packer writes: Parties argue government role 10 Feb
James Rupert writes: Missile Strikes Counterproductive? 10 Feb
Danny Hevrol in Madagascar amidst fighting 6 Feb
Reed Hastings writes: Please Raise My Taxes 6 Feb
Obama overrides Hillary on Chris Hill appointment 6 Feb
Joseph Acaba has "The Right Stuff" 4 Feb
Maureen Orth writes: A New Start 2 Feb
Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything 1 Feb
Obama out to marry military power with diplomacy 30 Jan
Mike Fay honored by the San Diego Zoo 30 Jan
Charles Stroh writes: Karzai seen as impediment to change 29 Jan
Madeleine Meek writes: The market and the bath 26 Jan
NPCA gets new Web Site 22 Jan
Read more stories from January and February 2009.

Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own Date: October 23 2008 No: 1279 Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own
Peace Corps has withdrawn all volunteers from Bolivia because of "growing instability" and the expulsion of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg after Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the American government of inciting violence in the country. This is not the first controversy surrounding Goldberg's tenure as US ambassador to Bolivia. Latest: Some volunteers have returned to Bolivia on their own to complete their projects.



Read the stories and leave your comments.








Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Peace Corps Press Release

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; Agriculture

PCOL43506
13


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: