Levantando Chile Fund

Levantando Chile Update (August-October, 2011)

After launching a social enterprise competition in March, NESsT selected six winning organizations to channel funds, knowledge and hope to local producers, artisans and microentrepreneurs whose livelihoods were affected by the 2010 earthquake. NESsT designed tailor-made interventions to support our beneficiaries in the different contexts where they live and work.

To do this, NESsT conducted research to gather relevant information about our beneficiaries in addition to the conditions in which they lived before and after the earthquake. A few important and interesting statistics about the people whose livelihoods NESsT supports includes:

Demographics

• NESsT is supporting a total of 373 people in the O’Higgins, Maule and Bio-Bio regions of Chile.
• 235 are women (67%) and 138 (37%) are men.
• The average age of our beneficiaries is 49 years-old.

Income and Livelihoods

• 53% of our beneficiaries have an average monthly income below the Chilean minimum monthly wage of US$364.70
• 47% of our beneficiaries employ other people through their work. Of these, 66% employ family members for specific tasks (as opposed to long-term work).

There is great diversity in the livelihoods of our beneficiaries. Although their jobs range in number, they can be grouped in 6 broad areas:

• Craftsmanship: microentrepreneurs in this group produce different products (jewelry, clothing, decorative items etc.), mainly in materials such as wool, leather, wood, ceramic and fabric.
• Gastronomy and food: microentrepreneurs in this group produce foods (from traditional Chilean fast food to traditional indigenous Mapuche food); work in bakeries or produce, jams and preserves.
• Agriculture and animal farming: microentrepreneurs in this group raise domestic animals, grow vegetables and flowers for sale.
• Tourism: microentrepreneurs in this group rent cabins; run hostels or work in the agritourism field.
• Beekeeping: microentrepreneurs in this group keep bees to sell honey or byproducts of pollen.
• Small Business: microentrepreneurs in this group mainly sell clothing, shoes, fruit, vegetables, crafts and used books.

Earthquake Damage, Effects on their Livelihoods and Current Needs

• 41% of our beneficiaries state that their current working conditions are not appropriate to increase production. 34% state that they are partially appropriate. This emphasizes the importance of providing start-up capital and raw materials in order to help them increase their production and sales.
• 56% of beneficiaries indicated a decrease in income after the earthquake.
• 91% of beneficiaries state that the earthquake damaged essential infrastructure in their small businesses.
• 98% of the beneficiaries requested financial support to recover tools and infrastructure.
• 91% of the beneficiaries consider that the earthquake affected them emotionally. Of these, 65% still feel affected by the earthquake.

Action Plans

Upon the completion of the baseline study, NESsT and its regional partners in Chile analyzed producer needs to design tailor-made action plans that addressed their main needs to help to recover and increase their income levels in the long-term. These action plans will provide our beneficiaries with a package of support activities that include individual financial support, workshops to provide business administration knowledge, access to consulting services and psychological support.  Action plan activities are expected to be finished by April 2012.

Current activities that NESsT is carrying out to support our 373 beneficiaries also include:

• NESsT and CET, our partner organization from Yumbel, Chile, are sponsoring the First National Community Tourism Conference in Chile, a fair with the purpose to strengthen business, knowledge and commercialization networks that are essential to community tourism enterprises in Chile.
• NESsT recently partnered with the University of Chile, where Business students will conduct research to help us assess what areas of investment have a greater return in terms of social impact.
• In October, NESsT launched a 2^nd Social Enterprise Competition specifically for civil society organizations in the O’Higgins, Maule and Bio-Bio regions. NESsT is seeking to work with organizations that have a strong connection with local producers and that want to develop a social enterprise to support them and increase their income streams.
• NESsT continues to recruit experienced business professionals from the affected regions to our Business Advisory Network (BAN). The BAN is a select group of business professionals stemming from the investment community, government organizations and independent businesses that donate their financial, intellectual and social capital to help our portfolio organizations and beneficiaries.

Over the last few months, Levantando Chile team members Ignacio Blanco (Coordinator) and Felipe Cordero (Project Assistant) surveyed the regions of Chile most affected by the February 2010 earthquake; O'Higgins, Maule and BioBio; to identify the needs of existing organizations. They met with government and civil society leaders to spread the word about Levantando Chile, as well as to identify organizations with the greatest potential for impact that would be good candidates to participate in a NESsT Social Enterprise Competition in Chile and invite them to apply to the competition.

In March 2011, NESsT sponsored a Social Enterprise competition geared towards civil society organizations that work directly with local producers in the three regions most affected by the earthquake. Twenty-eight (28) organizations applied. Although the selection process was not easy, the selection board at the NESsT Santiago office selected six winning organizations. These organizations were selected based on their potential for impact and their methodology, commitment and experience working in the affected areas.

Over the next ten months, NESsT will provide financial and entrepreneurial support to these six organizations and their producer members affected by the earthquake to improve their income streams and quality of life. Every beneficiary is different and works in a different field, but among them are farmers, beekeepers, micro entrepreneurs, artisans and craftspeople:

APIUNISEXTA
San Fernando, O’Higgins Region
www.apiunisexta.cl         

Mission: To make beekeeping sustainable, competitive and efficient through collective solutions benefiting each of the bee keepers who are members of the organization. APIUNISEXTA’s work is focused on improving productivity and competitiveness of its partners, allowing to expand markets and improve bargaining power, through access to market information and business opportunities.

CEDESUS
Pichilemu, Chile
www.cedesus.blogspot.com

Mission: To support and promote environmentally conscious practices that contribute to improving the environment and the quality of life of the surrounding community. The program will reach farmers, salt gatherers, artisans, and other beneficiaries from the Cardenal Caro Province.

Education and Technology Center (CET)
Yumbel, Chile
www.corporacioncet.cl

Mission: To advance knowledge in Ecoagriculture and environmental sustainability to help residents in the poorest rural and urban areas to increase their quality of life, in terms of food security and the improvement of their family and community environment. The program will reach beekeepers, farmers, artisans, rural tourism entrepreneurs, and other beneficiaries in and around the rural towns of Yumbel, San Carlos, Contulmo and Niquen.

Trabajo para un Hermano Concepción
Concepción, Chile
www.tphconcepcion.com

Mission: To facilitate meaningful educational opportunities for communities and staff members to contribute towards a more just society and create employment, economic and social leadership opportunities. The program will reach artisans from Concepción, Talcahuano, Penco, Tome and Dichato.

SEPADE
Concepción, Chile
www.sepade.cl

Mission: To contribute towards building a more inclusive Chilean society that does not inhibit personal and community development, nor that arbitrarily discriminates based on social motives, culture, ethnicity, religion, political views, sexual orientation, gender, age, health, physical or mental disabilities. The program will reach beneficiaries from different areas in and around Coronel, Lota and San Pedro.

SurMaule
Talca, Maule Region
www.surmaule.cl

Mission: To work with other entities to construct a just and inclusive democratic society in the Maule Region, especially through training, research and community interventions. The program will reach  small shop owners in Talca’s historic Central Market that have had trouble re-establishing their livelihoods after the earthquake.

Links:

• Stay tuned for NESsT's new website launch...

A year after the devastating earthquake, NESsT’s Levantando Chile continues to support social enterprises that enable local entrepreneurs to not only rebuild but to improve their livelihoods

 The 8.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Chile one year ago today left many local artisans and producers in a dire situation. In the southern coast, where the effects were most severe, entire fishing villages and towns were wiped out. Local producers saw their small enterprises literally crumble to the ground. While international aid agencies have long since departed and public attention has shifted to other global emergencies, rebuilding the lives of local producers continues apace in Chile.

 Today some of those devastated local entrepreneurs have not only rebuilt their homes and businesses but have increased their incomes above pre-earthquake levels, thanks in part to the relentless efforts of NESsT’s Levantando Chile Fund to support sustainable social enterprises in the community. “What started as an emergency response -- rebuilding homes and helping local producers regain their pre-earthquake income -- has shifted to helping them to increase their income and improve their livelihoods overall,” says Chilean-born NESsT co-founder and CEO, Nicole Etchart. “Returning to the status quo isn’t good enough. Social enterprise has allowed us to turn a horrible crisis into an opportunity to design an entirely new reality, a better life. For Chileans to return to monthly household incomes of less than $500 is not acceptable.” To date, NESsT has leveraged over US$1 million for Levantando Chile from donors in over 20 countries around the world.

 Rebuilding homes - emergency family housing

The first funds raised for Levantando Chile, through an event held in New York with Puro Chile, were given to Chile Ayuda a Chile as part of Fundación Teletón, helping to build 30,000 emergency homes in the areas most affected by the earthquake. NESsT then joined forces with Wines of Chile (WoC), the promotional arm of Vinos de Chile, the Chilean wine industry trade association committed to promoting Chilean wines around the world. Together with WoC in Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States, NESsT has raised funds from wine industry sources to assist families living in Chile's wine regions devastated by the earthquake. With support from Levantando Chile, over 20 houses were built by Habitat for Humanity Chile enabling vineyard workers to rebuild their homes and resume their work. Levantando Chile has made a further significant donation to Fundación CasaBásica for the development of additional housing to be donated to families living in Chile's most damaged wine regions.

Through Levantando Chile, NESsT has provided financial, technical and psychological support to hundreds of local producers in the most affected areas. One such story is of the support provided to local entrepreneurs through Relmu Witral (“Rainbow Loom”), an association of 150 indigenous women that produces hand-woven textiles using traditional Mapuche techniques. The earthquake and tsunami completely paralyzed Relmu Witral’s production and sales. Their shop was devastated along with precious woven products, stocks, records, equipment, and most tools. With support from NESsT, Relmu Witral first repaired the storefront and production workshop, allowing production and sales to resume. The immediate result: a doubling in the number of customers and a resumption of sales and income. At their request, the women also received emotional support from psychologists to help them deal with the fears, loss and stress of the more than 300 aftershocks. This support allowed the weavers to refocus their energies, resume their weaving, and also strengthened the group’s sense of teamwork and community. With consulting from NESsT, Relmu Witral also evaluated its business strategy to improve its cost structure and develop revised financial projections. To open up distribution channels, new contacts were made with fair trade stores. An updated marketing plan and website is helping to boost sales by targeting new clients at national and international product fairs and shows.

 This new model of comprehensive post-catastrophe social enterprise redevelopment “helped us get back on our feet,” says Angélica Pérez Pirquimán, President of Relmu Witral. The social enterprise model was innovative but simple. “Tents and immediate relief aid are critical for the short-term well-being of a community after a natural tragedy. But the true foundations for rebuilding and improving livelihoods come with enabling local producers that have been temporarily shut out of the market to find a better way back in. Social enterprise is a powerful and effective way to do that,” says Etchart, “I’m not just saying that, we’re doing it.”

Links:

• Watch the Levantando Chile Fund Video
• Learn more about the Levantando Chile Fund
• Learn more about NESsT