Building with Bottles

As we prepare for our March launch date, we have begun to update our model and identify those we will be working most closely with on the ground in Haiti. We have identified the furniture builders, and are brainstorming ways in which we can teach each builder how to run a business. This has materialized into materials which teach the builders about the financial aspects of the business they will run. This includes general ideas as to how to price a product based on material cost as well as market demand in the country. 

We have also begun to develop materials which will help empower the builders when running a business. Our goal is to have each of the initial builders we train take on apprentices once the project launches. So, we have spent time developing a instruction guide that will not only help us train the builders, but will also help the builders train others in the community. This guide contains infographics as to how to actually construct the furniture, along with instructions in both french and english to describe each step. In this way we hope to give the builders the oppurtunity to become a leader int he community: Jean Charles will not only be responsible for facilitating a relationship between the builders, seamstresses, and bottle collectors, but he will also be responsible for teaching others about how to run a sustainable business. 

Hence, we have also begun to look at what locations would be ideal to launch in based on builder relationships with the community, need for sustainable income, and potential for market penetration. We have also looked at logistical challenges in the communities in which we will work, such as how to recycle any waste we create and how to work closely with Nathalie, our in-country coordinator, to monitor progress while we are in the United States.We have also looked in these communities for those the builders can work with, most notably, bottle collectors and seamstresses. We hope that all involved can benefit from each other, with seamstresses being given a template which not only works as a slipcover for a final stool, but also for a bag which bottle collectors can use to carry components, or furniture makers can use when selling the product. We are hoping to not only have a large financial impact, but a profound social one as well.

Thank you for all your support!

In "Good Health",