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!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
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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