It doesn’t seem fair does it. Time flies, and it seems to go by even quicker as you get older. In the last month I had my birthday, and then its Christmas again. Another new years and it’s been 8 years since the millennium. Remember that. I had such a good time that new years!
My dad came to visit me, and my mom has come twice now. She is actually here as we speak. Work has gone well, and I have managed to get through a lot of it. For now at least the artisan’s project is over. It was a good process working with artisans and their products are really good. I have to say that there are still some doubts on their part, but you know, they like the idea. Making a shop that matches the quality and concept of the products has caught on in a good way. The main worry seems to be the group itself and the framework of the shops operation. This is a point, I mean; they don’t all know each other yet. So we have to see about this point. For now, if the project gets financing it should be operational by the next tourist season, and if that happens this issue should be resolved.
Sendero de Chile has also gone well. I did a bunch of questionnaires and two workshops. In the end it was quite a lot of work, but interesting to see how this kind of project is implemented. For a start its huge. What an idea! 5000km of trekking trails from the north of Chile to Cape Horn. It’s a really good idea, and people know it. What needs to be figured out though is how to get it operation. Same problem as the artisans! How can you make the trail self sustaining, and how can it be made so that it represents a great opportunity for the localities through which it passes. Important issues to be resolved. There is a model, and in the next phase we have to see how that can be made operational in the region. For now we have a fairly broad stakeholder analysis.
Capital Semilla rolls on. I have seen all of them now, its quite fun to see them making their investments. It looks pretty good! I am working with a local consultant in this one. She is helping me out with the different entrepreneurs from Porvenir, because I decided I just couldn’t do all of them by myself. Good decision I think. The first week of January I should be off to Puerto Williams to see popi and pati.
But I also want to see Jaqueline. The tourism association is still meeting up and its and I think its about time that I go and see some people over there. For all of those that don’t know, I could not get the support of Enviu in Holland to apply for the fund I was talking about. It’s a shame really and I have to say that it left me a bit disillusioned. I understand their point of view. I really do. But anyway, Jaqueline is doing quite well and is busy. She has been doing English classes, and she is looking into the possibility of creating new positions which she says there is demand for. I admit, I have been pretty slack in the area of foundation for the last month and Alexandra Visser I beg for you apologies, please do not be offended. I want everyone to know that I really appreciate the applications, but I just can’t do everything at once. Id really love to…. And maybe I could grow some extra arms, and duplicate myself…..but I don’t see that happening too soon.
Anyway lads and ladettes, it’s the New Year and I wish all of you a great new year. Missing all of you at once, and hope to see you soon! Ah yes, I saw Lorenza the other day, she is here in Punta Arenas. I want to meet up with her in the next couple of days. I have also been in touch with Seppe whom is happily working away in Cusco and might come down here for a laugh. I´d like that!
Cheers!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
3 proyects
Have you ever seen project runway. Its quite good. Obviously just another reality show, but enough to give you an hours worth of frivolous entertainment. I quite like it. Actually i think i need it. I have a lot of things going on now. It always seems that way. I only just realized that i haven't written anything for about a month. I have to do better than that!
Ok, so Capital Semilla is over, but getting out of that i was offered the follow up work with all the micro entrepreneurs. There is 31 winners, and for at least 3 months i will spend some time with them implementing their idea. That includes the investment plan, any support they need with making the investments and helping them out with their admin. It will be quite some work but i get to see the winners become small businesses. So great. I signed the contract the other day and i should start on this project in about two weeks.
At the same time i have been meeting all sorts of artisans in Punta Arenas for the other project we are doing. I have met some pretty talented people that use all sorts of primary materials to make beautiful objects. This includes objects in wood, wool, silver and clay. They have all sorts of designs and now the idea is to get them together in a room and discuss the possibilities of them selling their products together. I think i have said it before, but we are looking for artisans that go further than just making a product, the sell a concept. My idea is to make a sort of art gallery with these products but obviously make it in such a way that people realize that all the objects are for sale. I have been looking at locations in the city centre and its pretty expensive.
Also, and i really don't know how I'm going to do this, i was contracted by a consulting company that is taking forward the design of 250km of new trekking trails in the region. This is actually for a foundation called Sendero de Chile. What they want is for me to take forward the participative component of the design of these treks. So basically i am interviewing various regional actors, and i have to do some workshops. I hope a can do it all.....
Enviu also has a new name.....indeed....we decided upon it the other day so the process of formalization should continue soon. Oh yeah, and we also have a treasurer! Anibal Vickacka...some may know him....Sheila has already left. Before she left she managed to make a new logo too. Its really nice i think.
I have worked on the impulsis application a little bit, but things have been progressing bit more because there are some new ideas on how to make the centre more self sustaining. Although i haven't heard much from NL lately. Jaqueline is doing well in Williams!
We are also looking at some other new funding possibilities. Ok, well, I'm off!
Ok, so Capital Semilla is over, but getting out of that i was offered the follow up work with all the micro entrepreneurs. There is 31 winners, and for at least 3 months i will spend some time with them implementing their idea. That includes the investment plan, any support they need with making the investments and helping them out with their admin. It will be quite some work but i get to see the winners become small businesses. So great. I signed the contract the other day and i should start on this project in about two weeks.
At the same time i have been meeting all sorts of artisans in Punta Arenas for the other project we are doing. I have met some pretty talented people that use all sorts of primary materials to make beautiful objects. This includes objects in wood, wool, silver and clay. They have all sorts of designs and now the idea is to get them together in a room and discuss the possibilities of them selling their products together. I think i have said it before, but we are looking for artisans that go further than just making a product, the sell a concept. My idea is to make a sort of art gallery with these products but obviously make it in such a way that people realize that all the objects are for sale. I have been looking at locations in the city centre and its pretty expensive.
Also, and i really don't know how I'm going to do this, i was contracted by a consulting company that is taking forward the design of 250km of new trekking trails in the region. This is actually for a foundation called Sendero de Chile. What they want is for me to take forward the participative component of the design of these treks. So basically i am interviewing various regional actors, and i have to do some workshops. I hope a can do it all.....
Enviu also has a new name.....indeed....we decided upon it the other day so the process of formalization should continue soon. Oh yeah, and we also have a treasurer! Anibal Vickacka...some may know him....Sheila has already left. Before she left she managed to make a new logo too. Its really nice i think.
I have worked on the impulsis application a little bit, but things have been progressing bit more because there are some new ideas on how to make the centre more self sustaining. Although i haven't heard much from NL lately. Jaqueline is doing well in Williams!
We are also looking at some other new funding possibilities. Ok, well, I'm off!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Capital Semilla is Over!
I'm going to start making a back of notes that i can publish. These last two weeks have been very hectic. I cant remember the last time it was like that to be honest. After i finished the interview with the entrepreneurs i started making the reports and evaluation matrix. Remember that i had two competitions that i was evaluating.
Marnix managed to write up the report for one of them and make the evaluation matrix. However, loads of changes had to be made, and that kept me busy for days on end. Making small changes to the matrix, makes a lot of difference to the whole report and the remaining sections of the matrix as well.
For the other competition i did it all from scratch. I also did both the presentations. The presentations where quite fun. In both cases an evaluating commission would form and they would have the final say on how the subsidies would be distributed. They would ask about the business plans, etc. It was good.
Parallel to this Sheila and i kept working on the basics for the new organization. This included aspects like reformulating the vision and mission, as well as the objectives to be coherent and more focused on what we really want to do. She has been a great help in this and luckily she decided to stay 15 more days. I think once this is finished we can update the business plan and i have to say it looks really good.
She is also helping us out with the development of three products based on these reformulated aspects of the business plan for fundraising purposes. This would be more in the field of CSR and companies. We have also been thinking up some new names!
Jaqueline also arrived during this time. She was in Punta Arenas for 4 days and then went off to Williams. She was very motivated and happy and if all goes well i think her presence there will be very good. I presented her to the board of lakutaia, its administrative manager and a consultant that is working with them. All of them where super positive.
Also before she arrived i wrote a mass mail to Williams and got a good response back. So lets see!
I have also started the next project which we are also doing with SERCOTEC. This one is focused on the creation of a group of artisans. Basically, we have to establish the demand for artisan products by the tourists. This is done by means of a questionnaire. Based on these results we have to match this demand with products and artisans. It is important that the products produced by them are locally made and considered to be of high "quality". Once these have been matched we have to work with them to fortify them, and facilitate the creation of a joint space of product commercialization. So we have to facilitate the creation of a fair.
It is fun and i have only just started this project. There is a lot to do as well!
Besides that all is well, i am hearing a rumour that Lorenza is on her way back to Williams/ushuaia but i cant seem to confirm this...anyone know? I have talked to seppe and he is in Peru working for an NGO. So good luck to him! Marieke also started working at Enviu in NL.
I also have a bunch of applicants which now i have to dedicate some time to...........FYI the application for Impulsis has been on hold for the last month, so no progress there, (unfortunately).
Marnix managed to write up the report for one of them and make the evaluation matrix. However, loads of changes had to be made, and that kept me busy for days on end. Making small changes to the matrix, makes a lot of difference to the whole report and the remaining sections of the matrix as well.
For the other competition i did it all from scratch. I also did both the presentations. The presentations where quite fun. In both cases an evaluating commission would form and they would have the final say on how the subsidies would be distributed. They would ask about the business plans, etc. It was good.
Parallel to this Sheila and i kept working on the basics for the new organization. This included aspects like reformulating the vision and mission, as well as the objectives to be coherent and more focused on what we really want to do. She has been a great help in this and luckily she decided to stay 15 more days. I think once this is finished we can update the business plan and i have to say it looks really good.
She is also helping us out with the development of three products based on these reformulated aspects of the business plan for fundraising purposes. This would be more in the field of CSR and companies. We have also been thinking up some new names!
Jaqueline also arrived during this time. She was in Punta Arenas for 4 days and then went off to Williams. She was very motivated and happy and if all goes well i think her presence there will be very good. I presented her to the board of lakutaia, its administrative manager and a consultant that is working with them. All of them where super positive.
Also before she arrived i wrote a mass mail to Williams and got a good response back. So lets see!
I have also started the next project which we are also doing with SERCOTEC. This one is focused on the creation of a group of artisans. Basically, we have to establish the demand for artisan products by the tourists. This is done by means of a questionnaire. Based on these results we have to match this demand with products and artisans. It is important that the products produced by them are locally made and considered to be of high "quality". Once these have been matched we have to work with them to fortify them, and facilitate the creation of a joint space of product commercialization. So we have to facilitate the creation of a fair.
It is fun and i have only just started this project. There is a lot to do as well!
Besides that all is well, i am hearing a rumour that Lorenza is on her way back to Williams/ushuaia but i cant seem to confirm this...anyone know? I have talked to seppe and he is in Peru working for an NGO. So good luck to him! Marieke also started working at Enviu in NL.
I also have a bunch of applicants which now i have to dedicate some time to...........FYI the application for Impulsis has been on hold for the last month, so no progress there, (unfortunately).
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Business Plan round up
A full body massage, quite a few free books and 4 dozen free eggs later, the interviews for the business plan evaluation process is over! The last two weeks have been crazy. From nine in the morning until ten thirty at night, every day of the week, i have been in other peoples houses talking about their ideas and the costs involved. Oh yeah, and i met some Patagonian ostriches, (Ñandu), on a small ranch. they are very curious animals.....
Just yesterday i finished the report and i can tell you that i am still looking at my watch worried about getting to the next interview. But its over, and now i have to do the presentations and the next project to start.
I almost thought i wouldn't be able to finish it all, but luckily i found a willing soul to go to Porvenir and do the interviews there.
Carine has left now, and i imagine she is at the airport in Buenos Aires waiting for her flight to Curacao, via 5 medium sized south american cities, and one central american capital....What a way to finish your time down here. I can tell you! But its getting warmer and the birds are back from the north. Everyone is gearing up for tourism season here.
Well, sheila es still here! She will be here for another two weeks, unless i can find a way of convincing her to stay. We still have a few things to do and at the moment she is working on fundraising. Not with foundations, but with companies.
The Impulsis application is still pending, and even though i have not been in touch with Enviu in the Netherlands lately, i seem to remember the last news being positive.
I also met up with maria in natales a few times. She is busy working with pilar and organizing a glass recycling campaign which should kick off on the 20th of September, right after the fiestas patrias! Remember, 18th of September is the big Chilean national holiday. There should be a lot of glass to pick up.
Ill probably be off to Rio Gallegos beach for a day in Argentina. Ill tell you all about it!
Just yesterday i finished the report and i can tell you that i am still looking at my watch worried about getting to the next interview. But its over, and now i have to do the presentations and the next project to start.
I almost thought i wouldn't be able to finish it all, but luckily i found a willing soul to go to Porvenir and do the interviews there.
Carine has left now, and i imagine she is at the airport in Buenos Aires waiting for her flight to Curacao, via 5 medium sized south american cities, and one central american capital....What a way to finish your time down here. I can tell you! But its getting warmer and the birds are back from the north. Everyone is gearing up for tourism season here.
Well, sheila es still here! She will be here for another two weeks, unless i can find a way of convincing her to stay. We still have a few things to do and at the moment she is working on fundraising. Not with foundations, but with companies.
The Impulsis application is still pending, and even though i have not been in touch with Enviu in the Netherlands lately, i seem to remember the last news being positive.
I also met up with maria in natales a few times. She is busy working with pilar and organizing a glass recycling campaign which should kick off on the 20th of September, right after the fiestas patrias! Remember, 18th of September is the big Chilean national holiday. There should be a lot of glass to pick up.
Ill probably be off to Rio Gallegos beach for a day in Argentina. Ill tell you all about it!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tierra del Fuego
Wow! Time does fly. Its already the end of august and i can feel spring is on its way. I was in natales at the start of the week to do the field evaluations of the business plans, and it was very beautiful. It is getting warmer and the wind is starting to pick up. That's a definite sign!
We also received a new volunteer in natales. We don't have an office yet, but Maria, (from spain), decided to come anyway. She is an environmental engineer and studied for the last year in Santiago. She was going to live in nateles for 3 months anyway so looked for something to do.
She is interested in the waste management work, and has been looking through what imke did, and also meeting the stakeholders of natales.
We won another project with SERCOTEC!. No checking business plan though. This one is focused on facilitating a group of pre selected artisans develop areas of their business. This is mainly focused on the marketing aspect of their business. Its a 5 month project but the first is the intensive part. The rest is just follow up work.
We also applied for a project with CONAMA, (Comision de Medio Ambiente). This is a very big project and is focused on the development of about 250KM of new trekking trails as part of the Sendero de Chile project. This project is national and its objective is to create a trekking trail along the whole length of chile, (5000km). Through this trail they hope to create alternative tourism activities. We applied to this through another foundation and the answer is pending. What we would have to do is the whole participative component of the project. Propose activities for the trail, etc.
But good, should be interesting. We are definitely starting to feel a lack of capacity here because there is actually a third project which is super interesting but i don't think we can take it on. The thing is that when a project licitation is delayed, and then re tendered, the actual hand in dates of the project stay the same. So basically this project was two months long initially, the tender was delayed a month and now you have to do teh same amount of work, but in a month.
Sheila is working away and did her first workshop with us. It was really good, and i am super glad she is here. She definitely has some good views. Oh! And we decided we will be changing our name. It is not sure to what though.....so if anyone has any ideas......this is also affecting the speed at which the legal process is going because a name change should be done sooner than later. Other wise it will be very expensive.
I'm off to tierra del fuego this weekend! Have to check a business plan!
We also received a new volunteer in natales. We don't have an office yet, but Maria, (from spain), decided to come anyway. She is an environmental engineer and studied for the last year in Santiago. She was going to live in nateles for 3 months anyway so looked for something to do.
She is interested in the waste management work, and has been looking through what imke did, and also meeting the stakeholders of natales.
We won another project with SERCOTEC!. No checking business plan though. This one is focused on facilitating a group of pre selected artisans develop areas of their business. This is mainly focused on the marketing aspect of their business. Its a 5 month project but the first is the intensive part. The rest is just follow up work.
We also applied for a project with CONAMA, (Comision de Medio Ambiente). This is a very big project and is focused on the development of about 250KM of new trekking trails as part of the Sendero de Chile project. This project is national and its objective is to create a trekking trail along the whole length of chile, (5000km). Through this trail they hope to create alternative tourism activities. We applied to this through another foundation and the answer is pending. What we would have to do is the whole participative component of the project. Propose activities for the trail, etc.
But good, should be interesting. We are definitely starting to feel a lack of capacity here because there is actually a third project which is super interesting but i don't think we can take it on. The thing is that when a project licitation is delayed, and then re tendered, the actual hand in dates of the project stay the same. So basically this project was two months long initially, the tender was delayed a month and now you have to do teh same amount of work, but in a month.
Sheila is working away and did her first workshop with us. It was really good, and i am super glad she is here. She definitely has some good views. Oh! And we decided we will be changing our name. It is not sure to what though.....so if anyone has any ideas......this is also affecting the speed at which the legal process is going because a name change should be done sooner than later. Other wise it will be very expensive.
I'm off to tierra del fuego this weekend! Have to check a business plan!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
More projects to choose from.....
I think i´m smoking more. I don't know if its the dodgy belmonts which are lighter, or maybe I'm just stressed. Things are very busy lately, and maybe you have noticed. As the last title read, Chile is the country of projects. Public.......private, you name it and in all sorts of topics and themes. Basically its contracting work, which in the case that you win, will provide you with an income for the time the project lasts, which is up to 4.5 months usually.
This system provides you with an array of possibilities which you have to compete for. It is really quite exhausting but "fair". Writing up project proposals has become my daily activity for me. The themes are, (besides evaluating business plans): Facilitating ME in commercializing their products, the design and development of an integral development plan for 400km of trekking trails in the region, and facilitating the design of a strategy for a local foundation focused on innovation. Pretty interesting; all of it.
We lost the CORFO project i mentioned in my last post. After the almost forceful inclusion of third parties in our proposal the damn thing wasn't handed in in time by that same third party. So we lost it.....and it was totally beyond our control....incredible.
Shame really, but what does happen quite often is that the tender for a particular project is declared void for some reason or another. Usually administrative. This is both a pain in the ass when you applied for it, or an opportunity when you didn't....and this has happened three times now. In two cases it has been an opportunity, and in one, a pain in the ass.....
Oh, and we decided against applying for the project focused on beaver eradication because it just seemed beyond our capacity. As such we are applying for the above projects as partners and not as the main applicants.
We have also almost finished the Impulsis application with Marieke and i sincerely hope that we can count on the usual tidiness and transparency that Holland is known for during the application process.
Sheila has been working hard at analyzing what we do and how we do it. She is very knowledgeable in CSR in Brazil. For now here work has been focused on gathering information about the CSR status in Chile.
And changing the subject a little bit.....
I have been in touch with some old friends this week. Serious, i think i received three emails from people i hadn't heard of for years...it was really great. One had an incredible story to tell me.....here parents just moved house in Maastricht and when they had gone on holiday the gardener found 7, yes 7, human skeletons buried in the garden.....can you believe it?!.....can you!?.....check it out...... but remember that its in dutch....
I have added some pics to my flikr account...so have a look and i can tell you that the week coming is busy. We will have to start visiting ME this week all over the place! PW, PN, PA and Porvenir....ah yes, a new volunteer will be arriving to continue the work on waste management.
This system provides you with an array of possibilities which you have to compete for. It is really quite exhausting but "fair". Writing up project proposals has become my daily activity for me. The themes are, (besides evaluating business plans): Facilitating ME in commercializing their products, the design and development of an integral development plan for 400km of trekking trails in the region, and facilitating the design of a strategy for a local foundation focused on innovation. Pretty interesting; all of it.
We lost the CORFO project i mentioned in my last post. After the almost forceful inclusion of third parties in our proposal the damn thing wasn't handed in in time by that same third party. So we lost it.....and it was totally beyond our control....incredible.
Shame really, but what does happen quite often is that the tender for a particular project is declared void for some reason or another. Usually administrative. This is both a pain in the ass when you applied for it, or an opportunity when you didn't....and this has happened three times now. In two cases it has been an opportunity, and in one, a pain in the ass.....
Oh, and we decided against applying for the project focused on beaver eradication because it just seemed beyond our capacity. As such we are applying for the above projects as partners and not as the main applicants.
We have also almost finished the Impulsis application with Marieke and i sincerely hope that we can count on the usual tidiness and transparency that Holland is known for during the application process.
Sheila has been working hard at analyzing what we do and how we do it. She is very knowledgeable in CSR in Brazil. For now here work has been focused on gathering information about the CSR status in Chile.
And changing the subject a little bit.....
I have been in touch with some old friends this week. Serious, i think i received three emails from people i hadn't heard of for years...it was really great. One had an incredible story to tell me.....here parents just moved house in Maastricht and when they had gone on holiday the gardener found 7, yes 7, human skeletons buried in the garden.....can you believe it?!.....can you!?.....check it out...... but remember that its in dutch....
I have added some pics to my flikr account...so have a look and i can tell you that the week coming is busy. We will have to start visiting ME this week all over the place! PW, PN, PA and Porvenir....ah yes, a new volunteer will be arriving to continue the work on waste management.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Chile - The country of projects
Its the 28th of July in Punta Arenas, Chile. The worst month of the winter is over, and lets get spring on! Well, we have to wait a little bit longer, but the days are definitely getting longer. Its been cold but sunny. I feel very very sorry for those Europeans which are living through the wettest summer in recent history. But Ive been told its not cold....
So what up?! You may ask yourself, (or not). What has ig been up to? I haven't heard from him for ages. Well lets start by saying that i have added some new pics to my website, (through the link). Work has been good. I got paid this week which was a plus and Sheila Saraiva arrived to volunteer with us for 2 months.
Sheila is from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is freezing her $%& off, but she has a lot of knowledge about CSR and is very interested in product development. She thought our business plan was good. So i like her!
Carine is off to Peru, although today she is in Chile still. I do wonder whether that bus strike is still on in Peru......Well I'm sure she knows.
Since the last post the work for SERCOTEC hasn't really advance. This has not been my decision but a combination of factors which lead to things going slow. This week coming should see this change. There have also been some very interesting new licitations.
I suppose the one i have spent the most time on has been one for CORFO. They are licitating a research project with the aim of creating a base line for a new public - private agency that is being set up. This agency should act as a coordinating body between the different government tools for productive growth and focus them towards priority areas. It is these priority areas that the study we are applying for should establish. Obviously we are not doing this on our own. this is being done with a partner, and we created a little working team. The study should take 4.5 months.
Some other projects are also being licitated which we are considering. This includes one other for SERCOTEC, and another which is a study for the SAG about the economic feasibility of the erradication of the beaver. Pretty interesting hey?! The government seems to have a lot of cash lately!
There are some other as well, but i wont talk about them just yet.
We should know by next week if we got it. What i will talk about is the application Marieke and I are preparing for Impulsis. I really hope this one goes through. This application is almost finished although the budget section still has to be developed fully. I hope to send this off soon. FYI - it is focused on Puerto Williams, and would allow us to further develop the concept of the facilitating ME.
Hey! I'm getting myself a webcam next week, so lets meet up and look at each other on skype...just a reminder my sign in name is blanco.ignacio
Well for now that's it! I was wondering about Bart....where are you Bart!?
So what up?! You may ask yourself, (or not). What has ig been up to? I haven't heard from him for ages. Well lets start by saying that i have added some new pics to my website, (through the link). Work has been good. I got paid this week which was a plus and Sheila Saraiva arrived to volunteer with us for 2 months.
Sheila is from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and is freezing her $%& off, but she has a lot of knowledge about CSR and is very interested in product development. She thought our business plan was good. So i like her!
Carine is off to Peru, although today she is in Chile still. I do wonder whether that bus strike is still on in Peru......Well I'm sure she knows.
Since the last post the work for SERCOTEC hasn't really advance. This has not been my decision but a combination of factors which lead to things going slow. This week coming should see this change. There have also been some very interesting new licitations.
I suppose the one i have spent the most time on has been one for CORFO. They are licitating a research project with the aim of creating a base line for a new public - private agency that is being set up. This agency should act as a coordinating body between the different government tools for productive growth and focus them towards priority areas. It is these priority areas that the study we are applying for should establish. Obviously we are not doing this on our own. this is being done with a partner, and we created a little working team. The study should take 4.5 months.
Some other projects are also being licitated which we are considering. This includes one other for SERCOTEC, and another which is a study for the SAG about the economic feasibility of the erradication of the beaver. Pretty interesting hey?! The government seems to have a lot of cash lately!
There are some other as well, but i wont talk about them just yet.
We should know by next week if we got it. What i will talk about is the application Marieke and I are preparing for Impulsis. I really hope this one goes through. This application is almost finished although the budget section still has to be developed fully. I hope to send this off soon. FYI - it is focused on Puerto Williams, and would allow us to further develop the concept of the facilitating ME.
Hey! I'm getting myself a webcam next week, so lets meet up and look at each other on skype...just a reminder my sign in name is blanco.ignacio
Well for now that's it! I was wondering about Bart....where are you Bart!?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Roller coaster
A roller coaster week like none other. Establishing an NGO is not easy, and this week has shown that. Damn is it frustrating. Its not that things have gone bad, its just slow.....
After the initial furor about the first sponsored position in PW, it has become clear that the funding body, CORFO, has decided to delay their decision about Lakutaia another month. Its just typical really. Hey........why don't we keep a bunch of people hanging on by a thread for another month! We are still fairly optimistic that this fund will be awarded, but its just that the certainty is not there yet. I have seen Randy Twyman loads this week. He is the new manager of Lakutaia whom informed me about this.
I participated in the "Jornadas de Analisis Turistica" organized by SERNATUR and Corfo-Pti. They were taken forward during this week at a really nice venue just outside Punta Arenas. Loads of people where there like, Randy Twyman, the governor of Antarctica Chilena, Fernando Paredes, all the ministerial representatives, people from CORFO and SERNATUR....well, just about everyone. It was more informative than really interactive. But it was good to meet people and see what progress is being made in tourism on a regional level.
Whats clear, is that its really on peoples minds. Whether this effort is all coordinated or not....well that's not so clear to me.
I asked about the issue of connectivity between PW and Ushuaia and got the answer from the minister of public works and the governor, that for this season coming up things should be sorted out. I don't believe them.....but i also discussed this issue with AustroChile and well, there should be some political clout from this sector.
At the sane time i finally finished and presented the project i developed on Beagle Channel development. This was presented to SERNATUR and its main objective is to create a common tourism product between PW and Ushuaia. The director likes it, and mentioned it during the meetings!
An answer from Cerro Castillo is still pending on whether we can take forward the necessary work to develop a tourism development strategy. We presented our idea about two weeks ago.
I have also been working on a funding application. Marieke identified this fund last week and mentioned it to us. Its called Impulsis and its from NL. Initially it seems like a good opportunity as the themes are relevant and NL also likes it! So great!
Also this week we realized that it will not be possible to re start our activities in PW or PN by September or October. There has been an incredible low amount of applications for this period. So basically we have decided that it is more feasible for January. We have to discuss this today. But i have to say that although PN seemed to offer a great amount of opportunities in terms of sponsorships for students,......i did not get that feeling when i talked to the stakeholders from there...and there has not been real progress in this theme for PN........
Anyway, we got some ideas on the go with CORFO, and lets see what this week brings us. OH! And i forgot to say that we finished the first stage of the SERCOTEC evaluation. I did the presentation of the results and it was all quite interesting. We also applied for the evaluation for a further 41 Business plans focused on tourism only. We Won but its not much money. Man.......its peanuts...almost......ok, pistacchio nuts......
Also we are applying for another job for SERCOTEC....(we are on a roll), that's for facilitating 10 ME in the implementation of their business plans. This would be for 6 months and would be more money but we have to win the licitation still. But its right up our street! They are ME owned by indigenous people and the winners of a Capital Semilla competition focused on this theme.
Ok that's it for now.......Cheers
After the initial furor about the first sponsored position in PW, it has become clear that the funding body, CORFO, has decided to delay their decision about Lakutaia another month. Its just typical really. Hey........why don't we keep a bunch of people hanging on by a thread for another month! We are still fairly optimistic that this fund will be awarded, but its just that the certainty is not there yet. I have seen Randy Twyman loads this week. He is the new manager of Lakutaia whom informed me about this.
I participated in the "Jornadas de Analisis Turistica" organized by SERNATUR and Corfo-Pti. They were taken forward during this week at a really nice venue just outside Punta Arenas. Loads of people where there like, Randy Twyman, the governor of Antarctica Chilena, Fernando Paredes, all the ministerial representatives, people from CORFO and SERNATUR....well, just about everyone. It was more informative than really interactive. But it was good to meet people and see what progress is being made in tourism on a regional level.
Whats clear, is that its really on peoples minds. Whether this effort is all coordinated or not....well that's not so clear to me.
I asked about the issue of connectivity between PW and Ushuaia and got the answer from the minister of public works and the governor, that for this season coming up things should be sorted out. I don't believe them.....but i also discussed this issue with AustroChile and well, there should be some political clout from this sector.
At the sane time i finally finished and presented the project i developed on Beagle Channel development. This was presented to SERNATUR and its main objective is to create a common tourism product between PW and Ushuaia. The director likes it, and mentioned it during the meetings!
An answer from Cerro Castillo is still pending on whether we can take forward the necessary work to develop a tourism development strategy. We presented our idea about two weeks ago.
I have also been working on a funding application. Marieke identified this fund last week and mentioned it to us. Its called Impulsis and its from NL. Initially it seems like a good opportunity as the themes are relevant and NL also likes it! So great!
Also this week we realized that it will not be possible to re start our activities in PW or PN by September or October. There has been an incredible low amount of applications for this period. So basically we have decided that it is more feasible for January. We have to discuss this today. But i have to say that although PN seemed to offer a great amount of opportunities in terms of sponsorships for students,......i did not get that feeling when i talked to the stakeholders from there...and there has not been real progress in this theme for PN........
Anyway, we got some ideas on the go with CORFO, and lets see what this week brings us. OH! And i forgot to say that we finished the first stage of the SERCOTEC evaluation. I did the presentation of the results and it was all quite interesting. We also applied for the evaluation for a further 41 Business plans focused on tourism only. We Won but its not much money. Man.......its peanuts...almost......ok, pistacchio nuts......
Also we are applying for another job for SERCOTEC....(we are on a roll), that's for facilitating 10 ME in the implementation of their business plans. This would be for 6 months and would be more money but we have to win the licitation still. But its right up our street! They are ME owned by indigenous people and the winners of a Capital Semilla competition focused on this theme.
Ok that's it for now.......Cheers
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Step 1
What a week, what a week. All sorts of progress has been made. Well, they are small steps, but i think they are good ones. Ill start with the progress, and then with the reality check......i hate reality checks!
Anyway, so what i forgot to say in my last post is that i also completed a course in business plan development taken forward by CORFO. It was simple, but really good. I learned some basics on project design, how to make cashflows and balance sheets. The latter i have already applied to some things and hey i got a 6.5/7 for the course....pretty good hey!
I had two meetings with Lakutaia this week and they agreed to sponsor a student in PW! This is really great news and the position that is related to this is very interesting indeed. As i think i have mentioned Lakutaia is implementing a program aim at fortifying local producers and service providers in a bid to strengthen its supply chain, and create opportunities for local industry. This is a 3 year program funded by.....CORFO.....and they are really enthusiastic about it. Lakutaia has new management by the way, Paulina and her husband have left and the new manager is a young guy from Santiago. Really accessible and enthusiastic. Also, the directors of Lakutaia have changed and it is no longer J. Vasquez. Now it is the owners of DAP. Also a very nice guy.
I had actually applied for two sponsored positions, but as it is one company, they said they would sponsor one volunteer, and then offered discounts or some, (to be determined), amount of free flights to PW. So great!
Also spoke to Jacqueline whom is a young professional that has applied for the ME position in PW, and she decided that she would like to take forward the volunteer position with Lakutaia. So there are a few details to work out, but it seems that things are going ahead.
So, this is the first of 5 we need in terms of sponsored positions. In Natales things should work out. Christian has asked for 4 volunteers. Not all at the same time, but first two and then their follow ups. Marnix was in Natales, and he has some possibilities with Mr Gomez of waste management, Chile Emprende and Alfonso Lopez. Lets see what this week brings.
Apart from that I talked to Pesquera Productos Marinos/Torres del Paine/Whiteland and they said no to sponsoring a student. Apparently the fishery sector is really doing badly this year. This is due to various reasons which include an appreciating Chilean Peso. So basically he would like to...but cant now....also CONCAR has actually closed their plant in PW.
Carine has also been busy. One of the initial applicants for the coordinator position distributed some positions in her network of contacts. This was the Brazilian girl. Sheila. And we received about 30 applications from Brazil in one day! Carine is filtering them now, as the conditions may not be so clear to all of them.
Also in terms of creating the foundation, basically we have our signers and are close to continuing the process.
Now for the reality check! During our Friday afternoon meeting in the Cabo de Hornos we realized we have loads to do still, and very little time. Our first volunteer is arriving the 5th of September.....so you do the math! We can do it...but the next two/three weeks are critical i think....So fingers crossed all goes well!
Besides that we made some project proposals in tourism development for SERNATUR and Cerro Castillo, both on demand....ill keep you informed.
Ah yes, i added some pics......and im on skype...my username is blanco ignacio, (i think)
Anyway, so what i forgot to say in my last post is that i also completed a course in business plan development taken forward by CORFO. It was simple, but really good. I learned some basics on project design, how to make cashflows and balance sheets. The latter i have already applied to some things and hey i got a 6.5/7 for the course....pretty good hey!
I had two meetings with Lakutaia this week and they agreed to sponsor a student in PW! This is really great news and the position that is related to this is very interesting indeed. As i think i have mentioned Lakutaia is implementing a program aim at fortifying local producers and service providers in a bid to strengthen its supply chain, and create opportunities for local industry. This is a 3 year program funded by.....CORFO.....and they are really enthusiastic about it. Lakutaia has new management by the way, Paulina and her husband have left and the new manager is a young guy from Santiago. Really accessible and enthusiastic. Also, the directors of Lakutaia have changed and it is no longer J. Vasquez. Now it is the owners of DAP. Also a very nice guy.
I had actually applied for two sponsored positions, but as it is one company, they said they would sponsor one volunteer, and then offered discounts or some, (to be determined), amount of free flights to PW. So great!
Also spoke to Jacqueline whom is a young professional that has applied for the ME position in PW, and she decided that she would like to take forward the volunteer position with Lakutaia. So there are a few details to work out, but it seems that things are going ahead.
So, this is the first of 5 we need in terms of sponsored positions. In Natales things should work out. Christian has asked for 4 volunteers. Not all at the same time, but first two and then their follow ups. Marnix was in Natales, and he has some possibilities with Mr Gomez of waste management, Chile Emprende and Alfonso Lopez. Lets see what this week brings.
Apart from that I talked to Pesquera Productos Marinos/Torres del Paine/Whiteland and they said no to sponsoring a student. Apparently the fishery sector is really doing badly this year. This is due to various reasons which include an appreciating Chilean Peso. So basically he would like to...but cant now....also CONCAR has actually closed their plant in PW.
Carine has also been busy. One of the initial applicants for the coordinator position distributed some positions in her network of contacts. This was the Brazilian girl. Sheila. And we received about 30 applications from Brazil in one day! Carine is filtering them now, as the conditions may not be so clear to all of them.
Also in terms of creating the foundation, basically we have our signers and are close to continuing the process.
Now for the reality check! During our Friday afternoon meeting in the Cabo de Hornos we realized we have loads to do still, and very little time. Our first volunteer is arriving the 5th of September.....so you do the math! We can do it...but the next two/three weeks are critical i think....So fingers crossed all goes well!
Besides that we made some project proposals in tourism development for SERNATUR and Cerro Castillo, both on demand....ill keep you informed.
Ah yes, i added some pics......and im on skype...my username is blanco ignacio, (i think)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
So, what are you up to?
Man, have i had a hectic three weeks. There has been all sorts of activity...or is it just me...
I finally finished the SERCOTEC evaluation. No, sorry, i haven't finished the whole thing, just the first part of evaluating the business ideas. Now comes the evaluation of the business plans. Like i mentioned before this was really insightful and i quite liked it, but it has been extremely time consuming. The final statistics are quite cool. I made all sorts of graphs, some of which made sense, and other which did not. I looked at the data from all different angles and finally started going in circles, etc. Now we have to present the results to the CORE, (Consejo Regional), and suggest a cut off grade.
Working with SERCOTEC has been my first experience of working with the government under contractual obligations. Its good because i feel i am getting a "behind the scenes" glimpse of how they think and how they work.
Finally finished the first draft of the Enviu Chile Business Plan. Its 26 pages......but i think it makes sense. If anyone would like to help me figure that one out please ask me for a copy and check it out...you are definitely welcome to. With this is also a first operational budget to get re started. I have to say, that there are risks involved. The problem is that there are so many variables that it just makes it difficult to stipulate this plan concretely.
We are looking to 16 volunteers in the region for 8 months of the year. Having 16 is not impossible, but having them for 8 months...well that's just a tad harder. Still, its a first step. Out of the 16 volunteers, 5, minimum have to be sponsored. Again, as this would be our first experience we have to get passed the initial positive response from possible sponsors and make the position concrete. That's what we are working on now.
For Williams i have asked for sponsorship from Lakutaia, but i am still waiting for further action by them, COMAPA, Ultramar and DAP. I think i should be able to get 1 or 2 positions sponsored. In Puerto Natales we are focusing on Chile Emprende, and AMA Torres del Paine. Also i think we should get some sponsorship from them. But lets see.
Associated to this is are the coordinators. Although we had an initial response to these positions, they have all decided to cancel. This is quite a problem, but sometimes i just don't get why people with financial aspirations apply for positions which are clearly indicated as volunteer positions. Anyway, enough of that.....basically we are working on itemising our overhead and i think we can squeeze some salary out of there for coordinators....
There s a volunteer arriving in august from Brazil. Her name is sheila and she will support us with our product development. For those of you that saw the business plan, you may have noticed that our core business section needs some work. The basics are there. For example; Technical support to/Facilitating micro enterprise development in specific themes. But I think its important that its dynamic, but also fresh......like lettuce. Its how its presented and how its taken forward. It does need a bit of polishing.
Carine is working on getting the 16 volunteers.....and up to now i think we have 2 confirmed, and 3 or 4, in the pipeline.....so that's going well. My aim to get it all going again is September/October remember...the clock is ticking, and i have to say that it would be great to compliment this with some funding.....even if its small....which of course is the next aim....
As is the final signing for the foundation, or corporation, as it will be called here in Chile. We have decided that that would be best as a foundation needs to have patrimonio, or ontroerend goed, which we don't have. A corporation on the other hand is made up of people. Like an Associacion Communitaria. So we are getting together the people that would like to sign support for us. Even though in English, a corporation is associated with companies and profit making, this legal entity in Chile is non profit.
There are some more developments of course........but that's for the next post.....
I finally finished the SERCOTEC evaluation. No, sorry, i haven't finished the whole thing, just the first part of evaluating the business ideas. Now comes the evaluation of the business plans. Like i mentioned before this was really insightful and i quite liked it, but it has been extremely time consuming. The final statistics are quite cool. I made all sorts of graphs, some of which made sense, and other which did not. I looked at the data from all different angles and finally started going in circles, etc. Now we have to present the results to the CORE, (Consejo Regional), and suggest a cut off grade.
Working with SERCOTEC has been my first experience of working with the government under contractual obligations. Its good because i feel i am getting a "behind the scenes" glimpse of how they think and how they work.
Finally finished the first draft of the Enviu Chile Business Plan. Its 26 pages......but i think it makes sense. If anyone would like to help me figure that one out please ask me for a copy and check it out...you are definitely welcome to. With this is also a first operational budget to get re started. I have to say, that there are risks involved. The problem is that there are so many variables that it just makes it difficult to stipulate this plan concretely.
We are looking to 16 volunteers in the region for 8 months of the year. Having 16 is not impossible, but having them for 8 months...well that's just a tad harder. Still, its a first step. Out of the 16 volunteers, 5, minimum have to be sponsored. Again, as this would be our first experience we have to get passed the initial positive response from possible sponsors and make the position concrete. That's what we are working on now.
For Williams i have asked for sponsorship from Lakutaia, but i am still waiting for further action by them, COMAPA, Ultramar and DAP. I think i should be able to get 1 or 2 positions sponsored. In Puerto Natales we are focusing on Chile Emprende, and AMA Torres del Paine. Also i think we should get some sponsorship from them. But lets see.
Associated to this is are the coordinators. Although we had an initial response to these positions, they have all decided to cancel. This is quite a problem, but sometimes i just don't get why people with financial aspirations apply for positions which are clearly indicated as volunteer positions. Anyway, enough of that.....basically we are working on itemising our overhead and i think we can squeeze some salary out of there for coordinators....
There s a volunteer arriving in august from Brazil. Her name is sheila and she will support us with our product development. For those of you that saw the business plan, you may have noticed that our core business section needs some work. The basics are there. For example; Technical support to/Facilitating micro enterprise development in specific themes. But I think its important that its dynamic, but also fresh......like lettuce. Its how its presented and how its taken forward. It does need a bit of polishing.
Carine is working on getting the 16 volunteers.....and up to now i think we have 2 confirmed, and 3 or 4, in the pipeline.....so that's going well. My aim to get it all going again is September/October remember...the clock is ticking, and i have to say that it would be great to compliment this with some funding.....even if its small....which of course is the next aim....
As is the final signing for the foundation, or corporation, as it will be called here in Chile. We have decided that that would be best as a foundation needs to have patrimonio, or ontroerend goed, which we don't have. A corporation on the other hand is made up of people. Like an Associacion Communitaria. So we are getting together the people that would like to sign support for us. Even though in English, a corporation is associated with companies and profit making, this legal entity in Chile is non profit.
There are some more developments of course........but that's for the next post.....
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Visit to Natales
This week has had its ups and downs. On Thursday we decided to go to Puerto Natales and visit some stakeholders there. It was actually a very productive visit and we wanted to see whether the follow positions that were written were still valid.
I met up with Hugo Bahamonde of Natales Emprende to get an idea of what they were up to and tell him a little bit about what we were doing. I also asked him if it would be possible that they sponsor one student. He quite liked the idea because he felt that the work taken forward by our volunteers had been really useful and would like it to continue. He will get back to me this week.
Marnix met up with Jovito of CONAF who seems to have received money to start managing la Reserva de los Alacalufes. Although i am still not 100% sure about CONAF and whether it is really a good idea to work so closely with them, the meeting did seem to be positive and the follow up of Marions work still stands. Although good news, i think it is still important to see how this develops into a useful constructive relationship.
We also visited Cerro Castillo. We went to the municipality where we found out that the waste management project was still on hold. They had been very busy, and the project had been deprioritised, although this did not mean that they were not interested in its implementation in the future. On the other hand the municipal tourism office is interested in receiving a proposal for the development of a strategic tourism development plan. This is good, and hopefully this week we can get something on paper. They do not have the money, but based on that they would be looking for funding within the regional government. I think this is a really good opportunity, i also think it is very interesting, and above all i think we have the capacity to do it.
Meanwhile back in Punta Arenas...................
We had a meeting with the director of CORFO and they are interested in working with us within a specific framework. I wont go into details now, but it is really up our street....working on micro enterprise facilitation......, but we have to see if we have the capacity. Ill keep you informed.
This week was also peppered by business plan evaluation activities. This was quite fun until i reached number 125. Well, what i really mean is that it is actually super interesting to get an insight into the ideas that are out there. Although many are not so innovative, it is giving me an idea of what entrepreneurs are looking for, and maybe the skills that the have, or don't have, to get there. There are quite a few from williams, so keep your fingers crossed. I am not going to evaluate them though. For ethical reasons of course.....how honest is that!
We have worked with carine and she is busy taking forward the selection process for the PW coordinator, and organizing the other available positions. So basically, we all updated the available positions and have sent that to wouter so when he gets back from holiday he can get straight into it......
Alejandra is back from williams. Man, i moved 200 boxes from one place to another, and then around, and then another 15 from a third place to a fourth place. Now everything is where it should be........well almost. Patty is also in Punta Arenas and i met up with here a few times. She is trying to get the hell out of Williams, (her words), but is well. She misses all of you! Obviously we caught up with all the capucha de Puerto Williams.
Meanwhile back in NL.....its nice weather apparently......
I met up with Hugo Bahamonde of Natales Emprende to get an idea of what they were up to and tell him a little bit about what we were doing. I also asked him if it would be possible that they sponsor one student. He quite liked the idea because he felt that the work taken forward by our volunteers had been really useful and would like it to continue. He will get back to me this week.
Marnix met up with Jovito of CONAF who seems to have received money to start managing la Reserva de los Alacalufes. Although i am still not 100% sure about CONAF and whether it is really a good idea to work so closely with them, the meeting did seem to be positive and the follow up of Marions work still stands. Although good news, i think it is still important to see how this develops into a useful constructive relationship.
We also visited Cerro Castillo. We went to the municipality where we found out that the waste management project was still on hold. They had been very busy, and the project had been deprioritised, although this did not mean that they were not interested in its implementation in the future. On the other hand the municipal tourism office is interested in receiving a proposal for the development of a strategic tourism development plan. This is good, and hopefully this week we can get something on paper. They do not have the money, but based on that they would be looking for funding within the regional government. I think this is a really good opportunity, i also think it is very interesting, and above all i think we have the capacity to do it.
Meanwhile back in Punta Arenas...................
We had a meeting with the director of CORFO and they are interested in working with us within a specific framework. I wont go into details now, but it is really up our street....working on micro enterprise facilitation......, but we have to see if we have the capacity. Ill keep you informed.
This week was also peppered by business plan evaluation activities. This was quite fun until i reached number 125. Well, what i really mean is that it is actually super interesting to get an insight into the ideas that are out there. Although many are not so innovative, it is giving me an idea of what entrepreneurs are looking for, and maybe the skills that the have, or don't have, to get there. There are quite a few from williams, so keep your fingers crossed. I am not going to evaluate them though. For ethical reasons of course.....how honest is that!
We have worked with carine and she is busy taking forward the selection process for the PW coordinator, and organizing the other available positions. So basically, we all updated the available positions and have sent that to wouter so when he gets back from holiday he can get straight into it......
Alejandra is back from williams. Man, i moved 200 boxes from one place to another, and then around, and then another 15 from a third place to a fourth place. Now everything is where it should be........well almost. Patty is also in Punta Arenas and i met up with here a few times. She is trying to get the hell out of Williams, (her words), but is well. She misses all of you! Obviously we caught up with all the capucha de Puerto Williams.
Meanwhile back in NL.....its nice weather apparently......
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Photos
Ive added a link to my photos. Find it to the right in the links sections. I hope you enjoy them.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Its 15 degrees in Punta Arenas - Is it a sign?
This Morning in Punta Arenas it started like any other. It was still dark, it was cold and it was windy. I drove like a maniac to get to the Policia Internacional to be the first of the day at the office to hand in my visa application and had to wait while they were having their coffee. After that i sent the application full of letters saying how great i am, and of course the necessary documentation. On the way back i noticed the thermometer in the car....and can you believe it was 15 degrees C. That's summer weather!
Anyway, back to work. Carine arrived. She arrived on Saturday after experiencing Murphy´s Law first hand, but she was still happy to be here. After some introduction talks, we have defined some of the things she will be doing for us. She is an HR person, so we hope to take advantage of this knowledge. For a start i have now got 4 applicants for the PW coordinator position. One from Chile, one from Colombia, one from Brazil and one from Belgium.....you might know him......
Based on this Carine and I are working towards a profile which we will then compare to the presented curriculum's. The idea is to make a standardized process for this. Carine will be taking this forward and then at the end of her stay we hope to have some kind of HR plan. Her presence should also help us develop our roles better, and define the minimum required HR at organizational level. To this end we now have an HR department!
We are busy looking through the business plans of SERCOTEC. There are 479 of them....so that's a lot! Initially there are some innovative ideas, but most are classical in terms of what product the entrepreneur wants to develop. There are some ideas from Williams but for ethical reasons Marnix will evaluate them!
We recently also received an email from CORFO. They are interested in talking to us about the project that was taken forward by the MF team. Ill keep you informed.
On a personal note, Andres is busy packing his stuff as he and murielle are moving to Santiago on Friday. This will be the end of an era in which he put a lot of effort into doing things for the people of Puerto Williams. I think its a shame he is leaving, but i can also understand that it may be time to move on.
On an even more personal note, Alejandra is also in Puerto Williams and she is also packing her things. Yes, she decided to close Hostal Coiron for good. This is also a shame, but she felt that she had reached an imaginary ceiling there. She couldn't do much else, so she preferred to try her luck in the same business but in Punta Arenas. Now we can also be together!
Anyway, back to work. Carine arrived. She arrived on Saturday after experiencing Murphy´s Law first hand, but she was still happy to be here. After some introduction talks, we have defined some of the things she will be doing for us. She is an HR person, so we hope to take advantage of this knowledge. For a start i have now got 4 applicants for the PW coordinator position. One from Chile, one from Colombia, one from Brazil and one from Belgium.....you might know him......
Based on this Carine and I are working towards a profile which we will then compare to the presented curriculum's. The idea is to make a standardized process for this. Carine will be taking this forward and then at the end of her stay we hope to have some kind of HR plan. Her presence should also help us develop our roles better, and define the minimum required HR at organizational level. To this end we now have an HR department!
We are busy looking through the business plans of SERCOTEC. There are 479 of them....so that's a lot! Initially there are some innovative ideas, but most are classical in terms of what product the entrepreneur wants to develop. There are some ideas from Williams but for ethical reasons Marnix will evaluate them!
We recently also received an email from CORFO. They are interested in talking to us about the project that was taken forward by the MF team. Ill keep you informed.
On a personal note, Andres is busy packing his stuff as he and murielle are moving to Santiago on Friday. This will be the end of an era in which he put a lot of effort into doing things for the people of Puerto Williams. I think its a shame he is leaving, but i can also understand that it may be time to move on.
On an even more personal note, Alejandra is also in Puerto Williams and she is also packing her things. Yes, she decided to close Hostal Coiron for good. This is also a shame, but she felt that she had reached an imaginary ceiling there. She couldn't do much else, so she preferred to try her luck in the same business but in Punta Arenas. Now we can also be together!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Have i got news for you
The other day marnix and i decided to apply to take forward the evaluation of the business ideas, and subsequent evaluation of business plans for SERCOTEC´s program of Capital Semilla. I think you all may remember this program. For those in natales it is the program that JJ was always talking about, and in Williams you may remember the SERCOTEC consultants walking around now and then checking up on people like Cecila Mancilla. Basically, SERCOTEC is a government tool focused on business service development for micro enterprise. It is a subsidy that can reach 8000 US$ for start ups or scale ups.
Well, we uploaded our bid to ChileCompra....and got the damn thing! So, what does this mean. Basically we are going to evaluate approximately 400 business ideas from the region, and then based on a selection made by the regional government, evaluate the remaining business plans! Pretty cool hey! We have to see how much work it really is, but it makes us some money....although we accidentally undervalued ourselves...(well....marnix did - but its a learning experience).
Also this week, i made a bold, not bald, decision to visit Mr. J. Vasquez of Lakutaia. I did this to see whether they would be interested in sponsoring one student in Puerto Williams. This in return for direct, or ¨free¨ work for Lakutaia in the themes of our interest. He thought about it and then agreed to it. What the volunteer would be doing is taking forward the day to day of a program based on local micro enterprise development. This is also great as i discussed how indirectly it would also be supporting Enviu because of what i said in one of my first posts. Next step would be to develop the position, and i think it may be a good idea to sign some kind of contract.
So....not a bad week so far....
Well, we uploaded our bid to ChileCompra....and got the damn thing! So, what does this mean. Basically we are going to evaluate approximately 400 business ideas from the region, and then based on a selection made by the regional government, evaluate the remaining business plans! Pretty cool hey! We have to see how much work it really is, but it makes us some money....although we accidentally undervalued ourselves...(well....marnix did - but its a learning experience).
Also this week, i made a bold, not bald, decision to visit Mr. J. Vasquez of Lakutaia. I did this to see whether they would be interested in sponsoring one student in Puerto Williams. This in return for direct, or ¨free¨ work for Lakutaia in the themes of our interest. He thought about it and then agreed to it. What the volunteer would be doing is taking forward the day to day of a program based on local micro enterprise development. This is also great as i discussed how indirectly it would also be supporting Enviu because of what i said in one of my first posts. Next step would be to develop the position, and i think it may be a good idea to sign some kind of contract.
So....not a bad week so far....
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Sambal Telor
I have come to see that in Chile, a simple ¨I'm sorry¨ is not easy to come by. Because of my lawyer, the process of legalizing our foundation in Chile has been delayed by 5 months. I was finally able to see him, and do you think he said that. Well, no, he didn't. He just said that he had ¨trusted¨ the system too much. What he is actually referring to is that he expected the process would be slow, so he didn't bother to check in the ministry of Justice whether the process was going or not! Well, issue is that they are getting the necessary papers to see why the process stopped.
We met up with CONAMA this week. We presented the waste management results from both PW and PN. Although the presentation and following meeting went well, i got the impression that these guys were not overflowing with ideas. Well, maybe they just keep them to themselves. Even so, we also discussed the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, and the need to fortify the community participation component. As at the moment it is not so well developed and the whole concept of participatory policy development is not really being implemented.
I also reformulated the position for the coordinator role in PW. For your perusing it can be found using this link. This was distributed via Enviu NL, but also via the network of Fundacion Prohumana in Santiago. I have an applicant already from Chile.
Some other meetings were taken forward with the regional coordinator of the national network of volunteers. This was interesting although it seems that the network in the XII region is not so active. I also wanted to meet with Sergio Lausic from the university of Magallanes, but unfortunately he did not show up....what can i say.
For the moment it does not seem as if we will be able to get restarted by July. It looks like it will be september at the earliest. Although we had quite a lot of applications, the most enthusiastic ones have changed their plans unfortunately. But, well, the positions are still there, so if you know anyone just go to the Enviu website and check them out.
This week i received a great package from Holland! It was full of spices to make Indonesian food, and a recipe for Sambal Telor! Woopi!
We met up with CONAMA this week. We presented the waste management results from both PW and PN. Although the presentation and following meeting went well, i got the impression that these guys were not overflowing with ideas. Well, maybe they just keep them to themselves. Even so, we also discussed the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, and the need to fortify the community participation component. As at the moment it is not so well developed and the whole concept of participatory policy development is not really being implemented.
I also reformulated the position for the coordinator role in PW. For your perusing it can be found using this link. This was distributed via Enviu NL, but also via the network of Fundacion Prohumana in Santiago. I have an applicant already from Chile.
Some other meetings were taken forward with the regional coordinator of the national network of volunteers. This was interesting although it seems that the network in the XII region is not so active. I also wanted to meet with Sergio Lausic from the university of Magallanes, but unfortunately he did not show up....what can i say.
For the moment it does not seem as if we will be able to get restarted by July. It looks like it will be september at the earliest. Although we had quite a lot of applications, the most enthusiastic ones have changed their plans unfortunately. But, well, the positions are still there, so if you know anyone just go to the Enviu website and check them out.
This week i received a great package from Holland! It was full of spices to make Indonesian food, and a recipe for Sambal Telor! Woopi!
Monitoring & Evaluation
This is pretty heavy topic. As a new NGO it has become necessary to create the framework within which we want to work. Although this is quite similar to the one of Enviu in the Netherlands it is important to stipulate our road map for both internal and external purposes. Bit by bit we are trying to finish this for the end of the month. The mission and vision have been formulated, we have written up our geographical focus areas, our approach and we have stipulated 4 organizational objectives. Based on this we have formulated our core business.
Now its time to see whether this can be evaluated or monitored. What will be the impact. Although i think it is fairly straight forward to set up some simple qualitative and quantitative measurables, i am not so sure what they will say about the effectiveness or impact of the program. I want to know this, and would not feel comfortable without having at least some idea about it. Can this be measured? I have looked through a lot of NGO websites to get some inspiration, but have found that none really mention how they monitor their activities.
What i did find was some literature on the topic which has been useful so far. For a start i have seen that we all face the same issue. Secondly, this is the topic a large amounts of research and investigation, thirdly, there are many different proposed methods. The best literature i have found come from the big institutions like USAid, and the following interesting website; www.mande.co.uk.
At first glance it seems that we have to design two levels of monitoring and evaluation. The first responds to the objectives, and if we are reaching our objectives. The second responds to our impact. The latter is a little more difficult to measure although initial indications recommend a scorecard system which will allow for comparison over time. In both cases it is important that the evaluation process is participatory in that it include our stakeholders and a consensus is found between opinions. This is actually how our last evaluation was taken forward about a year ago.
Ok, well ill keep going and see what i come up with.
Now its time to see whether this can be evaluated or monitored. What will be the impact. Although i think it is fairly straight forward to set up some simple qualitative and quantitative measurables, i am not so sure what they will say about the effectiveness or impact of the program. I want to know this, and would not feel comfortable without having at least some idea about it. Can this be measured? I have looked through a lot of NGO websites to get some inspiration, but have found that none really mention how they monitor their activities.
What i did find was some literature on the topic which has been useful so far. For a start i have seen that we all face the same issue. Secondly, this is the topic a large amounts of research and investigation, thirdly, there are many different proposed methods. The best literature i have found come from the big institutions like USAid, and the following interesting website; www.mande.co.uk.
At first glance it seems that we have to design two levels of monitoring and evaluation. The first responds to the objectives, and if we are reaching our objectives. The second responds to our impact. The latter is a little more difficult to measure although initial indications recommend a scorecard system which will allow for comparison over time. In both cases it is important that the evaluation process is participatory in that it include our stakeholders and a consensus is found between opinions. This is actually how our last evaluation was taken forward about a year ago.
Ok, well ill keep going and see what i come up with.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Proposals, and some bad news
So i don't mean to be a downer for you guys but this week has brought me some bad news. The first one is related to the formalization of Enviu in Chile, and the other has to do with Andres.
I got in contact with the Ministry of Justice last week and found out that the process of formalization, or getting the Personalidad Juridica, was actually stopped the 12.12.06. This is due to the fact that they had sent a letter with observations about our application to our lawyer, and he never responded. This is strange as the little contact i had with my lawyer was actually after this, and he didn't say anything. What a bastard. At the moment i am trying to see how we can get the process going again!
the news about andres is that he decided that he is leaving at the end of May. He was going to leave at the beginning of July, but his trip to Santiago changed all that. This does have implications for me at least, and maybe even our work in Puerto Williams. I need a replacement pretty fast. Initially i have sent wouter a position to distribute through his network in Europe, and i sen the same position to Fundacion Prohumana in Santiago to do the same within Chile. I hope we get someone.
Besides that i met up with the director of INETEC in Punta Arenas. This is a new incubator for business ideas that is hosted by INACAP and paid for by CORFO. INACAP is a private university network in Chile. I am thinking that we may be able to work together by complimenting each others work, as they are also looking for ideas that respond to the triple bottom line. The next step would seem to come up with a concrete proposal.
I also had some lenghty conversations with SERNATUR, (Servicio Nacional de Turismo). These were pretty good. Klaus was really happy with the copy of National Geographic that i handed to him with the article about us and this region of Chile. After that we discussed the brochures we made, but also the possibility of presenting a project to the BID based on tourism on PW. this is actually not a bad opportunity. Lets see if it develops. For now, we should make a proposal for June.
We also attended a participatory meeting organized by CONAMA in Cerro Castillo. The aim of the meeting was inform and create a dialogue around the quality and use of the Rio Serrano in Torres del Paine. Surprisingly CONAF didn't show up, and neither did the Municipality of Cerro Castillo. Never the less it was a good chance to get to know CONAMA a bit more, and next Wednesday we have meeting with them and present the results of the waste management work done by us.
Also. Carine Hordijk, (a new volunteer), will be arriving the 15th of May.
Well, that's enough about my work! I am well, but it is a bit cold down here. Alejandra is doing well and she is developing a project in tourism her in Punta Arenas. I really hope it works out, as that would mean that we could both stay here...which would actually be really useful.....i cannot tell you how much my productivity has increased since i got a fast Internet connection!
I got in contact with the Ministry of Justice last week and found out that the process of formalization, or getting the Personalidad Juridica, was actually stopped the 12.12.06. This is due to the fact that they had sent a letter with observations about our application to our lawyer, and he never responded. This is strange as the little contact i had with my lawyer was actually after this, and he didn't say anything. What a bastard. At the moment i am trying to see how we can get the process going again!
the news about andres is that he decided that he is leaving at the end of May. He was going to leave at the beginning of July, but his trip to Santiago changed all that. This does have implications for me at least, and maybe even our work in Puerto Williams. I need a replacement pretty fast. Initially i have sent wouter a position to distribute through his network in Europe, and i sen the same position to Fundacion Prohumana in Santiago to do the same within Chile. I hope we get someone.
Besides that i met up with the director of INETEC in Punta Arenas. This is a new incubator for business ideas that is hosted by INACAP and paid for by CORFO. INACAP is a private university network in Chile. I am thinking that we may be able to work together by complimenting each others work, as they are also looking for ideas that respond to the triple bottom line. The next step would seem to come up with a concrete proposal.
I also had some lenghty conversations with SERNATUR, (Servicio Nacional de Turismo). These were pretty good. Klaus was really happy with the copy of National Geographic that i handed to him with the article about us and this region of Chile. After that we discussed the brochures we made, but also the possibility of presenting a project to the BID based on tourism on PW. this is actually not a bad opportunity. Lets see if it develops. For now, we should make a proposal for June.
We also attended a participatory meeting organized by CONAMA in Cerro Castillo. The aim of the meeting was inform and create a dialogue around the quality and use of the Rio Serrano in Torres del Paine. Surprisingly CONAF didn't show up, and neither did the Municipality of Cerro Castillo. Never the less it was a good chance to get to know CONAMA a bit more, and next Wednesday we have meeting with them and present the results of the waste management work done by us.
Also. Carine Hordijk, (a new volunteer), will be arriving the 15th of May.
Well, that's enough about my work! I am well, but it is a bit cold down here. Alejandra is doing well and she is developing a project in tourism her in Punta Arenas. I really hope it works out, as that would mean that we could both stay here...which would actually be really useful.....i cannot tell you how much my productivity has increased since i got a fast Internet connection!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Surfing on the net
Good to write to you all again. I hope everything is well. This week here in Punta Arenas has been quite productive, and I'm about to tell you all about it!
I did a lot of searching on the net this week. I found some interesting sites that may be useful for us. For a start i found out there is a national network of volunteer organizations in Chile. I was quite impressed by this and its actually quiet straight forward to join the network. I still have to find out what the direct benefits of such a network are, but the regional contacts phone doesn´t work. So i sent a mail. Lets see what kind of response i get.
Other members of the network are organizations like the Bomberos de Chile and El Hogar de Cristo. These organizations are very different to us. However, what did become clear is that volunteering is Chile is becoming more popular. There was some data on a related site that indicated that in places like europe and the US 30% of the population has volunteered in something. Here it is less, if i remember correctly it is at about 6%, but rising!
Another interesting find was Fundacion PROBONO. This is a foundation is made up of volunteer lawyers in Santiago. They provide free and paid advice for organizations that want to get formalized. So they help organizations to get their Personalidad Juridica. This is exactly the process we are in now. As our lawyer has not exactly been very forthcoming with information.....ie, he is impossible to get a hold of, i decided to get in contact with this foundation.
They replied so quickly to my mail it was amazing. Anyway, what they said was that Yes indeed, it takes 6-8 months to become a legal foundation in Chile and, like Phil Collins once said (over and over again), you just have to wait....unfortunately there is no way of speeding up the process. Well, ok so that means that 1. my lawyer was right, and 2. we should be formalized between May and July......
This is pretty critical, because i also looked through the websites of funding bodies and one of the things they ask is the legal statues of the organization, which we ofcourse.....do not have yet.
Ok, well another interesting find was the BID website. Well, this is a big website but if you go to the section on projects in Chile your realize that loads of the projects you hear about area actually funded by them. This includes the ecotourism development fund i mentioned in another post.
There is some interesting stuff there. I found a project they are funding in Santiago. Its about using volunteers to help micro enterprises!!! The volunteers come from the US. This project received about 1 million US$, and is being executed by Accion Emprendedora. A foundation from Santiago. I´m trying to get into contact with them to find out more. The title of the project is actually Volunteerism in Chile.
I also checked out the Patagonia Inc fund. Yeah, from the clothing maker. If we get our papers sorted out i can see us applying for money there under the theme forests, and the certification system Andres is always talking about. Deadline is the 31 of july i think.
Anyway, some some interesting things on the web. Besides that i met up with Christian Morales, and Orlando. The BMF group contact from Punta Arenas. Also a good talk and seems promising for future work.
Not much news from Natales or Williams for now. Andres was in Santiago, and Alejandra has been in Torres del Paine. However, it does seem that CONAMA has also become interested in the waste management work we have done there. Hopefully i can have a meeting with them next week. They would like the information!
We have also been working on the strategy, Marije got an 8 for here thesis, pepe/gigabyte/ipod ran away from patty, Catalina is fine, and German is coming back! I also recieved a package from a good friend from England this week. It was great!
I did a lot of searching on the net this week. I found some interesting sites that may be useful for us. For a start i found out there is a national network of volunteer organizations in Chile. I was quite impressed by this and its actually quiet straight forward to join the network. I still have to find out what the direct benefits of such a network are, but the regional contacts phone doesn´t work. So i sent a mail. Lets see what kind of response i get.
Other members of the network are organizations like the Bomberos de Chile and El Hogar de Cristo. These organizations are very different to us. However, what did become clear is that volunteering is Chile is becoming more popular. There was some data on a related site that indicated that in places like europe and the US 30% of the population has volunteered in something. Here it is less, if i remember correctly it is at about 6%, but rising!
Another interesting find was Fundacion PROBONO. This is a foundation is made up of volunteer lawyers in Santiago. They provide free and paid advice for organizations that want to get formalized. So they help organizations to get their Personalidad Juridica. This is exactly the process we are in now. As our lawyer has not exactly been very forthcoming with information.....ie, he is impossible to get a hold of, i decided to get in contact with this foundation.
They replied so quickly to my mail it was amazing. Anyway, what they said was that Yes indeed, it takes 6-8 months to become a legal foundation in Chile and, like Phil Collins once said (over and over again), you just have to wait....unfortunately there is no way of speeding up the process. Well, ok so that means that 1. my lawyer was right, and 2. we should be formalized between May and July......
This is pretty critical, because i also looked through the websites of funding bodies and one of the things they ask is the legal statues of the organization, which we ofcourse.....do not have yet.
Ok, well another interesting find was the BID website. Well, this is a big website but if you go to the section on projects in Chile your realize that loads of the projects you hear about area actually funded by them. This includes the ecotourism development fund i mentioned in another post.
There is some interesting stuff there. I found a project they are funding in Santiago. Its about using volunteers to help micro enterprises!!! The volunteers come from the US. This project received about 1 million US$, and is being executed by Accion Emprendedora. A foundation from Santiago. I´m trying to get into contact with them to find out more. The title of the project is actually Volunteerism in Chile.
I also checked out the Patagonia Inc fund. Yeah, from the clothing maker. If we get our papers sorted out i can see us applying for money there under the theme forests, and the certification system Andres is always talking about. Deadline is the 31 of july i think.
Anyway, some some interesting things on the web. Besides that i met up with Christian Morales, and Orlando. The BMF group contact from Punta Arenas. Also a good talk and seems promising for future work.
Not much news from Natales or Williams for now. Andres was in Santiago, and Alejandra has been in Torres del Paine. However, it does seem that CONAMA has also become interested in the waste management work we have done there. Hopefully i can have a meeting with them next week. They would like the information!
We have also been working on the strategy, Marije got an 8 for here thesis, pepe/gigabyte/ipod ran away from patty, Catalina is fine, and German is coming back! I also recieved a package from a good friend from England this week. It was great!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Funding or no funding.....
Hello all, i hope you have found the entries to be somewhat useful or atleast informative. At the moment i am in Punta Arenas and the big issue is FUNDING. when isnt it really. But, to be honest, it wasnt until Xplore decided that they would not give us a third round of funding. This was quite a surpirse as everything seemed to be going smoothly. Anyway, the main reason for this was based on the famous ¨draagvlak activiteiten¨, (imagine me saying that in dutch). For details see Wouter.
So we are looking for ways to fund our activities here in Chile. Obviously we are looking at funding possibilities with international funds. The problem is that at the moment we do not have any way of determining with certainty when we could get funding. So we want to continue working but what do we tell the stakeholders. We are working on a way that we may be able to decrease this uncertainty and it is related to the students fee. Initially we are seeing whether it is possible to get our partners to host students. In this way we could use the fee paid to us to cover things like office costs. Obviously this would have to be stipulated before hand so that the students/volunteers are aware of where the money goes. This is one idea and as such we could basically keep the fee as is. However, if this is not possible, we are looking at the possibility of higher fees......but is this feasible? Not much higher, just around 25 euros..................As such we are looking at a way to create a basic budget that will give certainity and then supplement this with funding applications.
So we are looking for ways to fund our activities here in Chile. Obviously we are looking at funding possibilities with international funds. The problem is that at the moment we do not have any way of determining with certainty when we could get funding. So we want to continue working but what do we tell the stakeholders. We are working on a way that we may be able to decrease this uncertainty and it is related to the students fee. Initially we are seeing whether it is possible to get our partners to host students. In this way we could use the fee paid to us to cover things like office costs. Obviously this would have to be stipulated before hand so that the students/volunteers are aware of where the money goes. This is one idea and as such we could basically keep the fee as is. However, if this is not possible, we are looking at the possibility of higher fees......but is this feasible? Not much higher, just around 25 euros..................As such we are looking at a way to create a basic budget that will give certainity and then supplement this with funding applications.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Back in Punta Arenas and off to Puerto Williams
So it seems that getting back from holiday is always a bit hard. Atleast it wasnt pouring down rain. We were in Punta Arenas for about three days and then went off to Isla Riesco for easter weekend. Thats were Alejandras mom has an estancia, Rancho Sutivan. She wants to do some kind of rural tourism there so it may be an opportunity for future work. But for now it was a nice quite place with a great view and lots of cows......
The day after we got back we whisked off to Ushuaia. I wanted to go see Rob, and then cross to Puerto Williams. Well, i have to say that this trip was a typical Williams experience for those who know it. We crossed over to williams no problem. Got to Coiron and Andres and Murielle were there taking care of the business. Everything was good, although andres had tired eyes. He has been working loads with the ACT, (Asociacion Comunitaria de Turismo), and it seems things are going well. Since the end of the season they have had three meetings witha high attendance. They even arrive early to the meetings! Anyway, the directorio was changed and now Luis Tiznado is president, Patti is treasurer, and Jeannete is vice. They are also preparing a presentation for the authorities about how they see tourism growth. FYI, A lot is based on the strategy that Marieke worked on, and obviously on the relentless promotion of cooperation, and its advantages, by all of us.
We were going to stay for two days in Williams, but then the day we arrived we heard that the governor had shut down Navarino for Ushuaia boating for good. Although this had happened a few times with no avail. This time both the alcalde and the governor decided that the pier at Navarino is not in conditions for the arrival of tourists efectively screwing ushuaia boating. So basically the pier is not safe. He decided this from one minute to the other.
So alejandras mom starts calling her contacts in PA and goes off to complain to the governor. About two hours later he shows up personally at the hostel to tell us that we can leave with a yacht which is leaving the island immediately.
So we got off the island, and after a 6 hour yacht ride we arrived in Ushuaia. Its snowing by the way. The thing is, before i left i went to SERNATUR. I talked to Klaus, Christian wasnt there. We discussed a new BID porject that they are applying for which could be a funding opportunity for us, (Ill keep you informed), but he also showed me that they are making an effort to promote Cabo de Hornos. They have made three advertsisements in the spanish edition of National Geographic, they are making TV and Radio announcements. So good. But then Navarino is closed AGAIN for tourism! I could go on about this, but it just makes you wonder about how serious the governing entities are about coordinating their efforts, tourism development and even participation. Oficial discourse always sounds good, but actions like these are real bombs which will effect local tourism development profoundly, but also the local community which uses this crossing for reasons as varied as going on holiday, or even a medical check up. The ACT seems to be taking action and from Punta Arenas Alejandras has promised to create a scandal. Lets see what happens.
The day after we got back we whisked off to Ushuaia. I wanted to go see Rob, and then cross to Puerto Williams. Well, i have to say that this trip was a typical Williams experience for those who know it. We crossed over to williams no problem. Got to Coiron and Andres and Murielle were there taking care of the business. Everything was good, although andres had tired eyes. He has been working loads with the ACT, (Asociacion Comunitaria de Turismo), and it seems things are going well. Since the end of the season they have had three meetings witha high attendance. They even arrive early to the meetings! Anyway, the directorio was changed and now Luis Tiznado is president, Patti is treasurer, and Jeannete is vice. They are also preparing a presentation for the authorities about how they see tourism growth. FYI, A lot is based on the strategy that Marieke worked on, and obviously on the relentless promotion of cooperation, and its advantages, by all of us.
We were going to stay for two days in Williams, but then the day we arrived we heard that the governor had shut down Navarino for Ushuaia boating for good. Although this had happened a few times with no avail. This time both the alcalde and the governor decided that the pier at Navarino is not in conditions for the arrival of tourists efectively screwing ushuaia boating. So basically the pier is not safe. He decided this from one minute to the other.
So alejandras mom starts calling her contacts in PA and goes off to complain to the governor. About two hours later he shows up personally at the hostel to tell us that we can leave with a yacht which is leaving the island immediately.
So we got off the island, and after a 6 hour yacht ride we arrived in Ushuaia. Its snowing by the way. The thing is, before i left i went to SERNATUR. I talked to Klaus, Christian wasnt there. We discussed a new BID porject that they are applying for which could be a funding opportunity for us, (Ill keep you informed), but he also showed me that they are making an effort to promote Cabo de Hornos. They have made three advertsisements in the spanish edition of National Geographic, they are making TV and Radio announcements. So good. But then Navarino is closed AGAIN for tourism! I could go on about this, but it just makes you wonder about how serious the governing entities are about coordinating their efforts, tourism development and even participation. Oficial discourse always sounds good, but actions like these are real bombs which will effect local tourism development profoundly, but also the local community which uses this crossing for reasons as varied as going on holiday, or even a medical check up. The ACT seems to be taking action and from Punta Arenas Alejandras has promised to create a scandal. Lets see what happens.
In the mean time, i am in Punta Arenas and i want to follow up on the contacts that the BMF group made here, and obvioulsy continue the search for funding. Alejandra is Puerto Natales is fine, and has found a job in Torres del Paine with CONAF.
The beginning
Well, hello there. All of you with even the smallest interest of how things are going with Enviu in Chile, and Ignacio Blanco within it may like this blog. Its always been pretty nice to hear that all the students/volunteers, yp's that have worked with us have wanted to stay in touch with us and be updated on what we are doing. This is one way of doing that. I hope its useful and informative. This blog was created in February by me, Ignacio Blanco, and i hope to keep it updated as much as possible. But i would also like to hear from those that check the blog. Maybe this blog can become interactive in that ideas can be exchanged, and maybe, just maybe, you guys can help me out every so often.
The idea is that this blog also update people about how i am doing. Yes, that would be me, Ignacio Blanco. Present in southern Chile since January 2005, and working with Enviu as the local co founder of the organization. born in Argentina in 1975, to Ruth Waisman, and Carlos Blanco. Lived in Holland most of my life. Well, Maastricht actually, so i do speak dutch but you wont catch me doing that. I studied geology with mineral exploration at the Royal School of Mines, and then Environment and Development at Kings College London. Yes, London, where i spent about six years of my life learning about how to love lager, sarcasm, and my friends!
Ok, but enough of that,
Cheers!
The idea is that this blog also update people about how i am doing. Yes, that would be me, Ignacio Blanco. Present in southern Chile since January 2005, and working with Enviu as the local co founder of the organization. born in Argentina in 1975, to Ruth Waisman, and Carlos Blanco. Lived in Holland most of my life. Well, Maastricht actually, so i do speak dutch but you wont catch me doing that. I studied geology with mineral exploration at the Royal School of Mines, and then Environment and Development at Kings College London. Yes, London, where i spent about six years of my life learning about how to love lager, sarcasm, and my friends!
Ok, but enough of that,
Cheers!
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