March 31, 2009
#5 Measurement, Evaluation & Assessment Strategy
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This is the fifth entry on our process for how we work with communities in the field. I am taking you through this process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects. If you haven’t read the first entry please do so now at www.puravidacoffee.com/blog/?p=139.
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Measurement is crucial to understand the success and/or failure of the implemented projects. A baseline was set prior to implementation. A time series approach will be used against the baseline to understand the change in each community over time. The same questions used to set the baseline will be used to evaluate the project’s success in each community. The farmers will once again be the subjects of the survey throughout the time series. The survey will be taken at the end of year one and each year thereafter for a total of five years. Each result of each survey will be compared against the baseline.
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As I am finishing this blog entry, surveys from Santa Anita la Union in Guatemala just arrived. A group of students from Tufts University through a program called BUILD administered the survey in the community a few weeks back. The information from these surveys will set the baseline for the community of Santa Anita la Union allowing us to measure the project success over time.
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Pura Vida is striving to effectively come along side rural coffee farmers with resources that will empower lasting change and self-reliance. The energy put forth to develop a project strategy that includes measurement will help us fulfill this mission.
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Thank you for your support!
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Sam Snyder
Director, Pura Vida Partners
March 20, 2009
#4 Implementation Strategy
Implementation will take place at three communities; Santa Anita la Union, Guadeloupe Miramar, and Bueno Vista. These three communities were chosen because of their enthusiasm, drive, and need. Prior to any projects being set in motion a simple baseline study will be required.
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A baseline study is needed of each community to allow accurate measurements to be taken over time to determine success or failure of implemented projects. During the initial visit, basic information was gathered through several interviews and meetings. This information was used to determine which communities would be used for the study. Time did not permit, nor would it have been a good use of resources to perform a baseline study at every community during the initial visit. Therefore a second visit at these three communities will be required to collect more detailed information for the purpose of setting a baseline.
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Due to limited resources the baseline study in each of these three communities will be more simple than scientific. A full scientific baseline study would produce the best results; however, it is believed that a more simplistic approach will still generate a sufficient baseline from which to take future measurements. Information will be gathered through a survey which will be distributed to all coffee farmers in each community. The number of farmers in each community ranges from 10 to 41. The survey will consist of the following four questions and the information gathered will be used to set a baseline for each community.
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1. What is your household’s annual income? How much of that income is directly from coffee?
2. How much coffee did you produce and sell in the last harvest?
3. Rate the importance of education for you and your family: 1-5, 5 being most important. What is the highest level of education that you completed? Are your children attending school? What grades are your children in currently?
4. Rate the importance of health care for you and your family: 1-5, 5 being most important. Do you have access to medical help whenever you or a family member needs it? How serious of a medical problem must you or a family member have before you would seek medical help? 1-5, 5 being life threatening.
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The next phase of implementation falls on the leadership of each community. Each community must create a business or project plan. It is crucial that these plans be created by the community to ensure a high level of buy-in from the community. The needs and hopes of each community were discussed with the leadership during the initial visit. Each community is aware that they must come together and formulate a plan. Pura Vida staff will work with the community to make sure the plan is targeted and reasonable. Once the plans have been received and approved by Pura Vida, implementation of projects will begin.
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Projects will begin with a project agreement with the leadership of the community. This agreement will outline the financial responsibilities and project expectations between the community and Pura Vida. The community will be required to provide monthly updates on the progress of the project and quarterly reports containing financials.
March 11, 2009
#3 Field Research – Conclusion
This is the third entry on our process for how we work with communities in the field. I am taking you through this process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects. If you haven’t read the first entry please do so now at http://www.puravidacoffee.com/blog/?p=139.
Conclusion – Based on the research findings and the literature review, the development strategy which will be created for each community we work, must be consistent with the hypothesis, the well-being of the farmers and their families will increase if the community is empowered to direct development projects, have micro-loans and credit available, and the health and educational needs of their children are met. The primary focus of a development strategy will be on economic development for it is the most efficient and effective way to build a lasting and sustainable community. However, as stated above, the basic health and education needs must be addressed simultaneously to insure health and stability of the community. A personalized development strategy will be created by discussing with each community their economic, health and education needs and priorities.
The next posting will begin the discussion around implementation.
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Thanks for your support and please let me know your thoughts by commenting.
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Sam Snyder – Program Director
March 6, 2009
#2 Field Research – Health & Education
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This is the second entry on our process for how we work with communities in the field. I am taking you through this process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects. If you haven’t read the first entry please do so now at http://www.puravidacoffee.com/blog/?p=139.
Health - Basic health needs of all six communities are not being met. This was evident both from observations and from conversations. Basic health check-ups, prescription eye glasses, and basic dental care are nearly non-existent. Hypertension and diabetes are common and untreated, elderly people in need of prescription glasses must navigate cobblestone streets and forest trails, not to mention all of the responsibilities of life. Dental needs are endless. Federal and State government are supposed to be providing some level of health care but most rural communities are completely forgotten.
Education – Education is basically provided by the government given that families can afford uniforms, books, and transportation. The cost of uniforms, books, and transportation can amount to thirty to fifty percent of a household’s income per student. This cost forces many parents to only send one child through school or all of children part way through K-12 schooling. Also, children are often needed to work in the fields during harvest time. The education system is somewhat structured around the coffee harvest so that school is not in session during the major harvest.
Conclusion on field research coming next.
Thank you for your support.
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Sam Snyder – Program Director
March 4, 2009
How did you help to Create Good today?
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Pura Vida is constantly humbled and honored by all that our customers do to Create Good in their everyday lives. We would like to give you the opportunity to share how you, a friend, or loved one Create Good and we will give you a free bag of coffee for the effort.
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Daily we will select one person at random to be our Create Good Featured Poster of the Day. If you are selected we will send you a free bag of your choice of our small batch roasted coffee. Plus, we will feature your post on our Facebook group and through our Twitter page.
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So go ahead and tell us how you helped to Create Good today…Just leave a comment below. Don’t forget to give us your name! We will announce the winner at 10am for the previous day via Twitter and Facebook and will contact you directly about your coffee PRIZE.
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You will need to register and login to leave a comment (see links on left)
March 3, 2009
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Over the past few months we have made trips to six coffee growing communities in Mexico and Guatemala. The purpose of these trips, which were discussed in previous blog entries, were to strengthen our relationships with the communities that we buy from and better understand how we can come along side the communities to help them reach a better quality of life. Before we begin any projects in these communities we need understand the current state of the communities and what our goals and expectations are for any projects. Over the next few weeks I am going to take you through our process beginning with field research and ending with evaluations and measurement of projects.
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Field Research – #1 Economics
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Prior to the field research a literature review was conducted to understand how others have done rural development work. Understanding what has and has not worked for others is a great way to focus efforts. A hypothesis was drawn from this review and greatly supported by the actual field research conducted. The hypothesis is that the well-being of the farmers and their families will increase if the community is empowered to direct development projects, have micro-loans and credit available, and the health and educational needs of their children are met.
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The field research was conducted at six communities in Guatemala and Mexico. The information collected through interviews, conversations, and observations was placed into a metrics chart for each community to identify common themes and concepts. The following paragraphs will summarize these themes and concepts within the three main areas of economics, health, and education.
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Economic - It became quite apparent that economic development was a very high priority. Through interviews and conversations, it is believed that economic and business development is the key to long term sustainability and self-reliance. Each farmer is a business owner and member of a cooperative which obviously has a focus on growth and sustainability. It is believed that if the business is growing and strong more resources will be generated that will ultimately lift the standard of living not only for the farmer and their family, but also for the community as a whole.
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Two major hurdles surfaced that are slowing the economic growth and plans of these communities; diversification and access to credit. It was stated over and over from the farmers, and the cooperative leadership, that coffee alone cannot generate enough resources. Each farmer simply cannot grow enough coffee and if they expand they must hire workers. The cost of the workers erases any profit gain. Diversification into other crops, markets, and /or products is required to increase the income of the farmer.
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The second hurdle is credit. Without access to credit it is nearly impossible to grow and diversify a business. Credit is a very important instrument that has the power to transform business, communities, and individuals. Most of the farmers do not own anything of real value that can be used for collateral, not to mention the extreme rural nature of these communities and how out of reach they are from lenders. Credit is an absolute necessity to diversity, expand, replenish crops, nurture plants, and ultimately reach a good level of self-sustainability.
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Next section will cover health.
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Kindly,
Sam Snyder – Program Director
March 2, 2009
CLEAN WATER FOR NICARAGUA
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Over the past 24 months, Pura Vida has supported seven communities
throughout rural Nicaragua bringing clean water and sanitation to 334 families.
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Water is scarce in Nicaragua and poverty reaches most families.
Over 80% of the rural indigenous people of Nicaragua
live on less than $1 per day.
In Nicaragua, from Nueva España to El Chagüite,
your purchase and generosity is making a significant impact.
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Thank you for supporting Pura Vida Coffee
and our effort to Create Good!
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Kindly,
Sam Snyder – Program Director