Environmental Leadership Alliance

Youth Environmental Leadership Alliance- Bahia Ballena
Luis Diego, Jackie, Luis Angel 

Arriving and ready to learn to:
promote environmental protection in the community,
execute a recycling program, swim with dolphins and surf!

Raquel and Daniella cooling off- 

Welcome! Bahia Ballena National Park, Costa Rica

Luis Diego enjoying the beach!

Designing a project to educate and motivate the community
to start a recycling system

Learning what type of leaders we are...

Los Tigres

Designing an environmentally friendly community

Ready to see some dolphins, turtles and whales!

Luis Angel catching his first wave!

Luis Angel and Luis Diego are developing a rural eco-tourism project
in San Cristóbal Norte- so I took them on a tour of
a local eco-hostel, Flutterby.

I'm going to miss this guy- Beto playing with his soon to be brother, Dobbie

Numbers, books and coffee! (& NYC)

With one month left in San Cristóbal Norte, I am wrapping up projects, beginning to say goodbyes and enjoying my beautiful environment as much as I can-

Here are a few photos from the last couple of weeks which included picking coffee, a quick visit to NYC (beautiful weather, friends and an inspiring conference on empowering women in microfinance!), a women's personal finance course, more books for the library and an almost finished multi-use salon (the new home for the library and other community groups/projects).

Helping my counterpart, Don Ananias, with the final  coffee harvest of 2012

 Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women's World Banking
at the International Women's Day breakfast in NYC. 

Daisy in Central Park

NYC!

Personal Finance Course: Sprouting the seed for reaching our financial goals!
These women's plans include: a store, a jewelry workshop,
a clothing manufacturing shop and a catering business (among others!)

Don Ananias and Vinyela (CED, Peace Corps) admiring
the multi-use salon that the CR-USA grant helped fund.

Karen and Sidey looking through boxes of a recent book donation.

The library, which will soon be moved to the new multi-use salon.
We are planning monthly  story telling, plays and movies along
with a big event before I leave to make sure all the
school children are making use of all these great books.

Community Bank Inauguration!

Founder of FINCA, Maria Marta Padilla, swearing in all the members

O Tyler, Nathalia (Treasurer), Melissa (Vocal), Sharlyn (Secretary), Nelson (Fiscal), Elieth (Vocal), Me

Last Sunday marked the inauguration of the community bank I have been forming in Cristo Rey, Costa Rica. After 22 steps, meetings and countless phone calls and text, the community bank is complete, legalized and operating!

We have 48 members, a stock capital of 815.000 colones (or $1,706.73) and access to 1,100,000 colones in credit.

The inauguration even got a mention in FINCA-Costa Rica's NEWS.

ALSO! I've been working with a veteran community bank in my town, SACRIN, to build a multi-use center for the community. The building will house the library that Blake (the previous Peace Corps volunteer) started, computers, study areas and local events. It's huge! We are just completing a beautiful ceramic floor, and before I leave on April 22 we are hoping to inaugurate the multi-use center so the community knows it is available to them.

This multi-use center was made possible with a $5,000 grant that I solicited through the organization CR-USA.

The materials

View of the multi-use center from my garden! 

The multi-use center with roof

11 Photos of 2011

11 photos to mark 2011, and the events that I feel best represent my year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica.

1) Forming a community bank in Cristo Rey. We finished the year with 50 members and we'll be inaugurating in January!

2) Dona Nathalia- my neighbor and closest friend. Many afternoons were spent embroidering, talking and sharing cups of tea.

3) Our network of 6 community banks comes together once a month to share challenges, solutions and celebrate birthdays! Maria Marta Padilla, Founder of FINCA- Costa Rica

4) Beto and the members of the Kid's Financial Education Program- learning the value of saving and planning.
 Posing with ice cream and my dog, Beto.

5) Making recycled pots and bowls with women from my English class. 

6) Celebrating the women's World Cup (& the visit of a dear friend)-  the San Cristobal Women's soccer team organized a day camp for girls. 

7) Organizing the First Annual Conference of Peace Corps Volunteers and Community Banks- a weekend of collaboration and planning for success for over 60 volunteers and community members from all over Costa Rica.

8) River rafting with the Central Valley Peace Corps Volunteers

9) In December I ran my first marathon in Panama City and placed 5th of International Women- with a $500 prize!!!

10) From working on computer skills, picking coffee, attending weddings and joking- much of the year was spent with my counterpart- Don Ananias. 

11) I dedicated a lot of my time to the microfinance organization- FINCA-Costa Rica: from planning FORO EC 2011 (an end of the year conference with all 115 community banks), to working on best practice manuals for the community banks, to organizing training's for my fellow Peace Corps volunteers and working with the Volunteer Committee to improve future training's and relations.

What to look forward to in 2012?

Inaugurating and legalizing the community bank in Cristo Rey, selecting new volunteers for the FINCA committee, finishing English and computer classes, working with Lies to become self-sufficient in selling her coffee bean jewelry to the US and other stores, providing a series of environmental workshops with the Kid's Financial Education program, running a 50 k in Arenal, climbing Mt. Chirripo and a trip to Nicaragua!

Happy New Year!!!

Estrellas del Norte

Thursday mornings are still spent moving about with the senior citizens.

Yesterday I accompanied them to San Isidro del Guarco (outside Cartago) for a gathering of over 200 senior citizens from the area. A few photos from the day:

Don Begnino

Excited to be here! (He's the only muchacho in the group!)

Las Estrellas del Norte

Doña Anna

Keeping the Mission in Mind

FINCA’s Mission: Promote integral development in communities, through the formation and strengthening of Community Credit Enterprises.

Nathalia, the treasurer, selling the first stocks

Two weeks ago we elected the board, credit committee and fiscal and purchased the first stocks. We sold 48 stocks, at 5000 colones each. Our social capital is 240,000 colones or around $480.

Yesterday was step 8  ½; granting the first loan. Please note, that once again we have a ½ step.

One side of me pushes to finish each step in time, to reach the end “goal” faster. But then I step back- realizing I am losing sight of the mission; which is to promote integral development in communities. This means not just the economic growth that will come from the access to loans, but also the education and financial literacy. Spending the time to make sure all elements of the process stay clear is crucial in working towards FINCA’s mission.

CCE- Cristo Rey

So we spent all of Saturday afternoon going over the process for soliciting a loan, the analysis of a loan, and how to calculate the repayment schedule.

The CCE charges a monthly interest rate of 2% (although the annual rate of 24% interest can sound high, it is important to take into account all the benefits of having the bank local, not paying for transportation, paperwork etc. and also earning dividends on their stocks. Many microfinance institutions charge a much higher annual interest rate).

Nathalia, our treasurer, is taking out the first loan for her artisan business. She wants to buy a new machine that cuts wood, and will make her work easier and faster. The machine costs around 100,000 colones or $200. Because this is the first loan, she has agreed to a short term loan of 8-months, in order to keep the money circulating.

Month	Initial balance	Interest	Principal	Ending Balance	Total Payment Due*
1	100,000	2,000	12,500	87,500	13,625
2	87,500	1,750	12,500	75,000	13,625
3	75,000	1,500	12,500	62,500	13,625
4	62,500	1,250	12,500	50,000	13,625
5	50,000	1,000	12,500	37,500	13,625
6	37,500	750	12,500	25,000	13,625
7	25,000	500	12,500	12,500	13,625
8	12,500	250	12,500	0	13,625

* To calculate the total payment due, we averaged the interest payments + the principal payment:                                                                          

It was essential that I took the time to really make sure they understood the whole loan process, as one of the most important aspects of microfinance is transparency. They need to understand what they are paying with each loan repayment and be able to complete the loan analysis, repayment schedule and forms with confidence.

Thus, we will finish step 8 next week, with payment of commission (3% to pay for administrative costs of the loan) and filling out receipts.

I’ll end with my golden moment: Cali, the president, asked if he could take home the loan repayment schedule we had written on large construction paper, "to study".

CCE-Cristo Rey voting on new members

It is so inspiring, so motivating that the members all have so much interest, and desire in the Community Credit Enterprise’s success. 

Motivation

Right now I am forming a Community Credit Enterprise in Cristo Rey, but also I work with a well-established CCE in San Cristobal Norte (my community).

San Cristobal Norte’s CCE (named SACRIN) is successful. Founded in 1996 with a social capital of 100,000 colones (around $200), they now have a social capital of 26,000,000 colones (around $52,000) and a credit portfolio of 115,000,000 colones (around $230,000). The capital is formed by means of members of the bank buying stocks in the CCE.  This is impressive, especially considering that the majority of the 83 members have not finished primary school and work principally in agriculture.

As I go through the formation process with the group in Cristo Rey, I ask myself, what is the recipe of motivation? Why has SACRIN succeeded while many other CCE’s are still struggling year after year?

Autonomy. Purpose. Mastery.

“Autonomy-  The urge to direct our own lives

Purpose- The yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves

Mastery-  The desire to get better at something that matters” (-Daniel Pink, TEDtalk)

In Daniel Pink’s 2009 TEDtalk, he outlines the science behind motivation, arguing that for complex “thinking” tasks rewards are not the answer, but rather the intrinsic motivation to do something interesting is .

SACRIN is motivated, and not by money. The board of directors takes time away from their families, their work, their leisure time for the betterment of the CCE. They have been handed full control of the workings of the CCE, FINCA-Costa Rica was there 15 years ago to help in the formation, and they have a once a month meeting with 5 other CCE’s in the community, but the CCE is all theirs. They have complete responsibility of its success or failure.

2 members of the Cristo Rey group, taking responsibility and putting up the 22 steps 

SACRIN takes a great focus on the improvement on the community (members and non-members of the CCE). They offer various business courses, space for meetings, a library and a savings program for all youth in the community. The CCE is a part of something greater; it is not just access to loans, but a vehicle for change in the community.

And lastly, mastery- they have progressed greatly since the day of 20 members, and a suitcase for an office. Don Ananias, the president, directs the meetings with great skill, after years of experience and the continued desire to get better. He brings Costa Rican’s “Commercial Code” along with the CCE’s own regulations to every meeting, and can often be seen referencing them to help guide his decisions.

Right now, with Cristo Rey, I am focusing on autonomy. Giving them control of the formation of the CCE, allowing them to direct the meetings and take full responsibility.