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Initial Reactions and Preliminary ObservationsMahabo CommuneSoutheast Region

MadagascarMarch 2007

Prepared by Ken Harrington, Managing Director with Support from Madagascar Student Team #1

Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Prepared for Johnson Andrianahy, Chef de Region, Southeast Madagascar

Reviewed and Translated by the Missouri Botanical Garden

Discussion Draft--For Comment OnlyComments and Inputs Welcome

Not Confidential---Not for PublicationShould Not be Cited Without Discussion and Permission

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Mahabo Market, Village and Immediately Surrounding Area

Larger View of Full Mahabo Commune and Indian Ocean



Table of Contents

Page #

Executive Summary i

I. Purpose 1

II. Background 3

III. Summary of Meetings and Activities 6

IV. Approach 7

V. Preliminary Observations 9

1. Technology-Productivity Enhancement2. Law and Community Rule3. Entrepreneurship and Economy4. Blessing Basket Project5. Missouri Botanical Garden, Community Conservation Program6. Family and Society7. Government

APPENDIX A Project Madagascar Development Blueprint Appendix A (1)

APPENDIX B Madagascar Student Team #1 Bios Appendix B (1)

APPENDIX C Preliminary Work Plan-Madagascar Trip Appendix C (1)



Executive Summary

I. The Missouri Botanical Garden, Blessing Basket Project, and Washington University in St. Louis are developing a collaborative relationship supporting the Mahabo Commune.

Evolved over past year. Aligned goals but different roles. Purpose is to improve the lives of the Mahabo people in ways that reinforce

social, environmental and economic improvement. Develop replicable approaches that will benefit other villages. Have defined exit time frames for sustainable economic and environmental

commune self determination. II. Nearly 400 people participated in 14 meetings and activities during our eight day visit to

Madagascar. Five days in Mahabo Four of ten villages visited Numerous group and individual interviews. Two Saturday markets observed.

III. This report is one person’s, Ken Harrington, first impressions. Those first impressions are grouped in to seven areas for comment.

1. Technology-Productivity Enhancementa. Several opportunities exist. b. Plows, if properly shared and used, may provide the largest opportunity.c. Care should be taken to ensure new technologies do not damage the environment,

social structure, or healthy community rule of law.2. Law and Community Rule

a. Rule of law and property rights are primarily preserved by traditional systems that are community, not institutionally based. They seem to work well.

b. The community appears to be at an early stage of evolution from its “natural state” and care should be taken to preserve traditions as a transition to later development states occurs.

c. Zebu theft and enforcement systems are an important “bell weather” factor to watch.3. Entrepreneurship and Economy

a. People seem to exhibit strong entrepreneurial traits and healthy work ethic.b. Wealth disparity exists but does not appear to cause conflict.c. Economic stimulation beyond Blessing Basket Project needs investigation.d. Population growth, when combined with fixed levels of agricultural output, could

strain the rule of law and economy if enhancements are not found.e. Zebu ritual costs may strain the economy but have the effect of reinforcing the

healthy community rule of law.4. Blessing Basket Project Impact

a. Weavers are using their new wealth wisely to improve quality of life.b. The Blessing Basket Project may add over 10% to Mahabo’s income in its first year.

Page 1Discussion Draft--For Comment Only

Comments and Inputs WelcomeNot Confidential---Not for Publication

Should Not be Cited Without Discussion and Permission

c. More weavers will need to be trained to achieve sales projections.d. Quality and productivity levels will need to be maintained.e. Second order growth appears to be happening as a result of BBP wealth.

5. Missouri Botanical Garden, Community Conservation Programa. MGB partnership simplifies implementation and coordination of the BBP initiative.b. MGB was essential to Washington University research efforts.c. MGB has added jobs directly to the local economy.d. MBG has reduced the potential for conflict between communes by legitimizing and

staffing forest patrol systems.e. MBG adds substantial leadership capacity and knowledge to the Mahabo commune.

6. Family and Societya. There appears to be little risk for conflict between men and women because of

weaving income.b. Women are the primary steward for household expenditures.c. Domestic violence seems limited.d. Marriages are somewhat “fluid” and divorce common, although conflict seems

small.e. Men frequently emigrate to gain wealth. The frequency of emigration and return

may be an important bell weather to monitor.7. Government

a. Government seems supportive of community development effortsb. MBG and the government have an open dialog that is healthy.

Appendices provide additional back ground and summary of credentials.




I.Purpose:

This preliminary observation report is being prepared at the request of Johnson Andrianahy, Chef de Region, Southeast Madagascar whose responsibility area includes the Mahabo Commune. The report has been prepared by Kenneth Harrington, Managing Director, of the Skandalaris Center of Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis with support from the Madagascar Student Team # 1. Madagascar Student Team #1 includes Kate Burson (School of Law), Yiping Chen (School of Business), Kristopher Kelley (School of Arts and Sciences), Russell Kohn (School of Arts and Sciences), and Teresa Wallace (School of Social Work and School of Business).

Mr. Harrington expresses thanks for all the inputs that have been provided by the Madagascar Student Team #1, Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) personnel, Theresa Wilson, Blessing Basket Project (BBP) Founder, Mahabo Commune residents, and others. He accepts full responsibility for any errors or omissions in this initial document.

The reported was preliminary reviewed by the five students who participated in this initial visit to the commune. The report has been translated and commented upon by MBG but in the interest of time has not been rigorously reviewed.

This report will change and be expanded and should be viewed as a “single person’s first impressions” and not a final document. As such it should not be cited as being definitive in conclusion or as containing recommendations. Rather it should be seen as a basis for collaboration, dialog, refinement, and expansion. It should be something that causes us to work together with the goal of ultimately taking actions that we collectively agree would benefit the people, environment and economy of the Mahabo Commune.

The conclusions in this preliminary observations report will most likely change materially after complete review and consideration by the many stakeholders who are involved. The team has not yet had sufficient time to meet as a group, consult other subject matter experts, confirm facts with the MBG, and complete research. This additional work will be completed in late April and the final recommendations and report is due in May.

This preliminary report should also be used to:

Promote additional dialog and further inputs by all Quickly move the project to the next stage of implementation and research Involve other parties, including other MBG personnel, students, faculty, subject matter

experts, and Madagascar government representatives. As further cautions, this report is based upon one five day visit to Mahabo. During that visit a

series of unstructured introductory meetings and interviews were held with the leaders in four of the commune’s ten villages. Additionally, multiple one-on-one discussions were held with MBG personnel and villagers. MBG personnel served as hosts, guides and interpreters. We would not have been able to hold these meetings without the support and help of the MBG. Additionally, Theresa




Wilson, the Blessing Basket Project’s founder, accompanied the team and retained a videographer to record her first meeting with BBP weavers. This provides further record of the initial visit but also could influence comments and question responses.

While valuable and necessary, these initial meetings are only the first step in our process. They are not sufficient to form any concrete or empirically based findings. However, the impressions put forth will serve as a means for agreeing if there are certain things that can be quickly acted upon. Additionally, it is hoped they will cause this MBG, BBP, Washington University, and Madagascar government collaboration to expand and continue.

The next section provides some History and Background that will give context for later sections of this report.




II. Background:

The Missouri Botanical Garden Community Conservation Program (CCP) began in 2003 in the Mahabo Commune. MBG added substantial capacity to the local community conservation effort, contributed to the local economy by providing nearly 20 jobs, built a library, developed a plant nursery, constructed other buildings, provided planning ideas, and most importantly established relationships and trust with local leaders. A major outcome from the CCP effort was community leader creation of new DINA rules agreeing that all commune individuals would respect and protect the forest. This revision to the community rule of law was sanctioned by the Ampanzaka and the Madagascar government.

In 2004 it became obvious that when crop yields sagged the littoral forest still had the potential to suffer. People had to survive. This prompted the MBG, CCP leadership to approach Washington University in St. Louis to determine if there might be ways to enhance the growth and productivity of the local economy to reduce forest pressure in times of scarcity. The goal was to investigate ways to stimulate the local economy that would enhance forest preservation and expansions, fit with social values of the villagers, and begin a process of healthy, sustainable economic growth that would improve villagers’ lives.

In late 2005, an initial meeting took place between MBG, the Washington University School of Law, and Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The School of Law had been supporting the MBG on intellectual property matters related to indigenous people’s knowledge of natural botanical medical remedies. The Skandalaris Center was involved with several international social entrepreneurship projects and had helped fund some of these ventures. It seemed there might be value in sharing thoughts and approaches to international community centered development approaches.

In March, 2006 the School of Law and the Skandalaris Center suggested that the MBG meet Theresa Wilson, founder of The Blessing Basket Project (BBP). BBP had been founded in 2003 as a US based not-for-profit that was paying prosperity wages to weavers in six countries. BBP had demonstrated success as an economy stimulating vehicle in its served communities and appeared a good fit for Mahabo, which had strong indigenous weaver skills.

The Skandalaris Center and Bob and Julie Skandalaris had supported BBP as the social entrepreneurship grew and evolved. BBP had won the Olin Cup business formation competition in 2004 and had received first year funding from the Skandalaris Foundation. Washington University students had helped prepare the ventures initial business plan that had laid out a plan for startup needs, financial sustainability, and social value outcome measurement. We had also offered advice and counsel as BBP had expanded.

The MBG and the BBP decided to collaborate and bring the BBP concept to Mahabo. As part of this partnership the MBG asked if Washington University would support Mahabo and provide thoughts on BBP implementation as well as any other concepts that might reinforce CCP and overall economic growth. BBP also wanted Washington University to become more involved with their




implementation by helping establish measurement approaches that might independently substantiate positive outcomes that were being anecdotally reported by its representatives in other countries. Further, BBP feared that there might be things they were not hearing about that could have negative outcomes. They wanted to make sure that they were truly achieving their mission and goals.

The BBP had experienced rapid growth (80% per annum over its first years) and achieved positive cash flow at its current revenue level (slightly more that $500K annually). It appeared that this rapid growth would continue. BBP was more than tripling its Whole Foods Markets stores served, BBP’s primary distribution channel, and awareness of BBP was growing nationally. Working capital needs would be increasing and it seemed prudent to revisit the original outcome measures as well as to provide support for the BBP planning effort being led by the company’s board of directors.

The SC agreed in the late summer of 2006 to support MBG and BBP by forming a three student cross discipline (law, economics-math, ethical media-entrepreneurship) team made up of one advanced degree student and two undergraduates. In the fall term, this team enrolled in the Hatchery Class MGT 431/531 and produced a Development Blueprint (Appendix A). The report resulted from research and interviews with MBG and BBP. The report indicated there was high potential for an economically enhanced CCP.

Douglass North, Economics Nobel Laureate 1993, was approached by the SC and BBP for input. He cautioned that international economic development and poverty reduction is a minefield with many potential unseen pitfalls. He stated that other community focused development approaches were showing early promise and that he was encouraged by the BBP approach but also stated that many approaches show early promise and then run into roadblocks in later implementation. He shared that the opportunity for finding solutions was large since “trillions of dollars had been wasted over the last thirty years in international development programs...”. He felt that BBP had encouraging outcomes, but advised us to do more in depth research.

The team received inputs and thoughts from scholars and faculty in their respective areas of study. The resumes of the three students, Kate Burson (law); Kristopher Kelley (ethical media-entrepreneurship); and Russell Kohn (economics-math) appear in Appendix B.

In January 2007 the student team was expanded and a decision was made to visit Mahabo in March 2007. Two advanced degree members were added, Teresa Wallace (MSW and candidate for MBA) and Yiping Chen (candidate MBA). Their resumes appear in Appendix B. This group reviewed the previous semester’s work, conducted additional research and met with several subject matter experts at Washington University.

This student team of five traveled to Madagascar at the beginning of March. They were accompanied by Ken Harrington, Managing Director of the Skandalaris Center; Theresa Wilson, Founder BBP; Armand Randrianasolo, Missouri Botanical Garden, and were supported by other MBG personnel in St. Louis, Paris, and Madagascar. The team had six goals:

1. To better understand the impact of Blessing Basket weaver payments on the Mahabo CommunePage 5



2. To identify additional MSVs or trading opportunities beyond BBP3. To determine if the introduction of new technologies might benefit the Mahabo Commune

economy4. To better understand and appreciate the social, economic, political, and environmental factors 5. To create language and approaches to similar types of social, economic, political, and

environmentally friendly development concepts that might be replicated in other Madagascar villages

6. To determine next steps

Prior to the trip, the student team prepared a work plan (Appendix C), conducted research, met weekly, and consulted subject matter experts including Professors Louise Brown (American Cultural Studies and Anthropology-Arts and Sciences); Judi McLean Parks (Organizational Behavior—Business); Gautam Yadama (International Development—Social Work).

During this period, the SC had also been working with BBP to identifying other US based not for profits that had BBP-like characteristics. These other not for profits might offer additional income stimulation approaches in Mahabo and other MBG CCP villages. The term Multi-National Social Venture (MSV’s) evolved. BBP was the basis for this concept but we were quite certain that others also must exist.

To help in the search we developed a definition. In order to be and MSV a not for profit would need to match BBP in a number of ways . In the case of BBP, they provide “Prosperity Wages” where local villagers received from 5 to 15 times the local wage for weaving baskets. We felt this was substantially more than “Free Trade” designated goods. In addition, BBP actively works to develop enhanced designs having a higher level of fashion and quality than the baskets previously produced in their villages. This causes higher prices and higher wages for it’s weavers potentially adding to the prosperity wage differential.

The SC initial definition of a Multi-National Social Venture evolved as:A Multi-National Social Venture (MSV) is a US based not for profit having all of most of the following ten characteristics:

1. Create village-specific plans that consider the indigenous skills in impoverished rural communities and villages (family incomes of $1 to $3 per day) with populations of 5,000 to 10,000 residents.

2. Understand the community’s social fabric and respect local leadership and customs. 3. Establish relationships by partnering with reputable NGO’s or in some cases hiring high integrity

local coordinators that educate villagers, monitor activities, and keep MSV commitments.4. Patiently work to establish trust with villagers. Examples include:

a. Help with product design and training to make sure the quality, utility, and fashion appeal of products exceeds for profit commercial offerings.

b. Pay prosperity wages (10x to 15x multiplier over the local norm) that return all profits and surpluses to the villagers who make products.

5. Develop and import products that have quick production cycles allowing fast villager payments and multiple units to be sold.




6. Ensure that US based distribution partners are aligned with MSV mission of poverty reduction, community development goals, and wealth creation strategies.

7. Plan operations so demand and price levels are maintained or increased over a period of years.8. Establish controls for villager payments to ensure promptness, full payment and to reinforce law and

fairness. Avoid villages where corruption, theft, and safety are issues.9. Ensure MSV plan increases local income enough to stimulate self-sustaining economic growth

(target 10%-30% overall village income increase in first year).10. Have in place a passionate champion who has a team and board that is committed to overall

sustainability. 11. Put in place systems for measuring social value, economic change, and environmental impact of

MSV activities.12. Collaborate with government, NGOs, and others to promote further economic growth. Concepts

might include microfinance, new in-country trade opportunities; villager determined local enterprise formation, infrastructure, development, and technology use to ensure continued local productivity gains.

The next section summarizes the larger meetings that occurred between the Washington University team and others. It does not include the numerous meetings that occurred between Theresa Wilson of the BBP and weavers that were observed by the Washington University team. Additionally many individual discussions between the team, BBP and MBG are not listed in the next section. However, these ad hoc and informal interviews and discussions were significant and provided much information.




III. Summary of Meetings and Activities:

The fourteen (14) meetings and activities occurred during our five day visit. These are summarized below:

Meetings & Activities

Walking time

(hours)

# Total People

Community MBG Wash U BBP Government

1. Antananarivo-Briefing

- 15 0 8 6 1 0

2. MBG Mahabo Facility-Preliminary Interviews

- 18 4 7 6 1 0

3. Mahabo Village-Ampanzaka Meeting

- 29 18 4 6 1 0

4. MBG Library-Minister of Culture & Art

- 27 0 7 6 1 13

5. Lemur Forest 2.5 14 0 7 6 1 06. Nosiala Village-

Community Representatives

2.5 22 12 4 6 0 0

7. Mahabo Village- Village Leaders

.5 32 22 4 6 0 0

8. Mahabo Village-Market Day

1 49 35 7 6 1 0

9. Lopary Village-Market Day

1 38 24 7 6 1 0

10. Baboaka Village-Village Leaders

3 24 14 4 6 0 0

11. Iobotako Village-Ampanzaka & Village Leaders

1.5 34 21 6 6 1 0

12. Farafangana-Chef de Region Meeting

- 14 0 5 6 1 2

13. Antananarivo-Debriefing

- 9 0 2 6 1 0

14. Antananarivo-Marketplace

- 49 40 2 6 1 0

Total NA 378 190 74 84 11 19

The next section describes the makeup of the Washington University team and our approach to this semester’s research and work. It estimates the percent completion of our various tasks.




IV. Approach:

Students were selected based upon interest in international development and more specifically particular subject matter areas. The following table summarizes the subject matter areas:

Student Subject Matter AreasBurson, Kate Rule of Law and International DevelopmentChen, Yiping Government Policies and International DevelopmentKelley, Kristopher Technology, Energy Credits and Community DevelopmentKohn, Russell Economics and Community DevelopmentWallace, Teresa Social Welfare, Family Structure and Community Development

Prior to the trip students selected, researched and investigated their subject matter area. They shared selected reading with one another and assumed the role of peer-teacher in their area. Regularly scheduled weekly meetings as well as other individual meetings supported this exchange and learning. MGB, BBP, and others participated in these sessions.

Skandalaris Center staff supported travel planning and partially funded the trip cost, although students contributed approximately 75% of total travel costs.

Our approach was to follow seven steps in our overall thinking. The following summarizes % completion as of March 25, 2007 for each of these steps.

% Complete Step Description90% Step I Familiarize selves with established literature and Mahabo. Complete

literature search, meet with faculty experts, BBP, MBG, and others. Begin to develop perspective and language prior to trip.

40% Step II Define and document current state by assimilating Mahabo specific existing information including economic, demographic, health, geographic and other factors. Capture other information through interviews and field research. Document preliminary information and establish preliminary base line data sets. NOTE: information may be anecdotal or empirically incomplete and may be refined, expanded, or confirmed later.

20% Step III Use collaborative process to test conclusions and recommendations. Schedule work sessions to create straw man concepts and other implementation concepts. Discuss possibilities with others and review ideas with experts, BBP, and MBG. Present findings at Soros Fellows Seminar (March 29) and International Business Conference (IBOC, April 19) to share thoughts and effect further inputs. Refine idea, conclusions, and recommendations.




% Complete Step Description

15% Step IV Create list of observations, possibilities; and select high opportunity areas. Each student is in the process of completing their thoughts and considering areas of high potential. This phase began on the final day of our trip with a briefing by Chris Birkinshaw of MBG, Madagascar. A Skype call was held between Peter Lowry, MBG Paris, and Ken Harrington, Washington University.

15% Step V Consider potential risks and cautions . The Washington University team and MBG believe that all implementation plans must be owned by villagers of the Mahabo commune. This requires a “mora mora” (patient) implementation plan. However, BBP has experienced seemingly fast and healthy economic progress in other villages, most notably Ghana. Students will use the collaborative process (Step III) and discussions with MBG and BBP to more deeply review their most important observations and the implementation potential for high opportunity areas.

5% Step VI Decide next steps . Additional research will be required to determine the potential of high opportunity area. As stated earlier, villager ownership is essential to capacity building and sustainability. Additionally, while villagers will be expected to contribute to all efforts (time, learning, funding), it is expected that outside fund-raising or NGO Partnerships will be needed to as one way of further validating plans.

0% Step VII Develop outcome measures, feedback approaches, and sustainable exit plan . The Washington University team has set an artificially created five-year milestone as a future sustainable exit point for MBG and Washington University. At this point, it is expected that the Mahabo commune would be environmentally, economically, socially, politically, and otherwise self-sustaining. The littoral forest would not only be preserved but be expanding. The local economy would be diversified and growing beyond our vital agriculture and cycles of starvation; would be certain; rule of law would be strong and villagers would continue to view their enforcement system as “fair;” central government would be assuming an appropriate partnership role in law enforcement and infrastructure development with local leaders; balance would be evolving between community law norms and more formalized government enforcement and institutions; work ethic, happiness, humbleness, and other healthy community attitudes would not erode.

The next section lists preliminary observations based upon my summary. This list will be expanded and refined with inputs from students and other subject matter experts. It has seven categories of observations.




V. Preliminary Observations:This section has seven categories of observation including:

1. Technology-Productivity Enhancement2. Law and Community Rule3. Entrepreneurship and Economy4. Blessing Basket Project5. Missouri Botanical Garden, Community Conservation Program6. Family and Society7. Government

1. Technology-Productivity Enhancement

Numerous opportunities exist for introducing technologies that could improve productivity and quality of life. The following list was provided by Kristopher Kelley.

Tools: The farmers realize they are using outdated methods and have the desire and willingness for new technology. One such technology is the Plow. The price is $50, roughly one is needed for every group or village. Initially, the request was for one per family but it villagers agreed that a system of cooperation and sharing would be possible. Specifics about this need to be discussed in more detail. Plows could reduce the field preparation time from one week to an hour or so. The issue is how to best introduce such a labor saving and productivity enhancing tool in a manner that is not disruptive.

Crop Enhancement: Rice that matures in 3 months vs. 6 months has recently been introduced to Mahabo. Effectively combining the impact of these seeds with plows productive enhancement could offer a huge boost to rice crop yields.

Internet Communication-Satellite or Wireless Network: Communication and access to information will enhance relationships, provide market price transparency, improve trading relationships, simplify supply chain coordination, provide real time access to information, enhance entrepreneurial opportunities, and accelerate knowledge transfer. This technology, including cost and ongoing expense needs revisiting and cost confirmation. Reza and MBG have researched but benefits could be high and further review is needed.

Irrigation and Flood Control: Recognized as a problem across the board. On a large scale, some villagers stated that they mouth of the river needs to be dredged. Additionally the request for a dam was made several times. On a micro scale, man powered water pumps are available that can transport water short distances, but may or may not be suitable for the large amount of water for multiple rice fields Potentially, these pumps could be connected to manually drilled




wells, on-site in the fields. This topic needs more research, but if the water table is high enough, the manually drilled well could give access to water during periods of drought.

Food Security: I think there is real potential for a Rice Insurance plan. The payment for the insurance would be in rice, which is stored in a grain bin (need to be built). In the event of a drought or flood, the people would have a guaranteed food source. The concept might be hard to understand for some, but once it helped some out, others would join. It could pay for itself as the surplus rice could be sold during times of surplus.

Bicycles: Access to markets is a serious issue. In some places, the bicycles would not help much as the terrain is so rough reaching the road. In others, a load carrying bicycle could help them reach a larger market. Perhaps in some places community bicycles could be provided for use by anyone that used them. This would require support by villages, some form of enforcement against theft, and strategic locations that were understood by the commune members.

Eyeglasses: Some weavers have poor eyesight. Donated second hand eye glasses might be a potentially productivity enhancing technology.

Well for Iobotako Village: Clean water may be a problem in other villages. Iobotako children retrieve water from the close by river. This presents a safety issue because of child eating crocodiles. This might be solved with the digging and maintenance of a village well.

Opportunities For Electricity: Micro Hydro if the dam near the community center were repaired, Wind Power from ocean breeze, and/or a diesel generator powered by an oil producing plant like sunflowers, jatropha, or palm.

Smoke in Home: Reza has already been working on this, promoting a community kitchen house. Another option might be to design a smoke hood of some design that would funnel the smoke out of the house. Convincing villages to retrofit or change the way they build their houses, however, might be a challenge.

Carbon Sequestration: Some of the projects currently being implemented by MBG could be eligible for payment through carbon credits. This money could pay for the activity and potentially other projects after there is a surplus. This needs to be looked into further.

Other technology possibilities are to be determined.

2. Law and Community Rule

Community rule of law is strong and fair, although some weakening may be occurring.

Land title and ownership appears to be well enforced, with few disputes, although records and surveys are not well documented.




Mahabo Commune is largely what economists North, Wallis and Weingast would describe as a “natural state” that is moving to an “open-access order” state. To put it another way, the rule of law in Mahabo is largely the responsibility of the community and relies on historical tribal rules and enforcement. This is currently effective and care should be taken to preserve it as change occurs. A transition to an “open-access order” may gradually occur as wealth increases, collaboration and trading cooperation increases, and more institutionalized national and regional rule of law aspects evolve. The tricky part is how this evolution occurs. This factor is a key point to watch as the BBP and CCP efforts evolve.

Zebu ceremonies reinforce rule of community law but are expensive and may exert pressure on the economy and erode the community rule of law when wealth is not sufficient to support the continued tradition. High infant mortality may increase zebu ceremony cost.

Zebu theft may be increasing and interlocking family relationships may be causing natural state community law enforcement mechanisms to “look the other way” in selected occurrences. While this is not certain it is something that bears watching. The erosion of community law fairness to erode may increase the potential for unhealthy individually justified “vengeance” acts.

Villages have diverse types of natural resource-based wealth that varies quiet widely (fishermen appear richest). However, based upon initial discussions the commune residents, people appear to peacefully coexist despite wealth differences.

Some villagers expressed an opinion that wealth disparity may be widening, increasing the gap between Mahabo’s people. This could pressure community rule of law systems, especially in the area of zebu theft.

Ampanzaka power legitimacy should be preserved as Mahabo Commune evolves from as natural through the next stages of cultural and economic evolution.

Ampanzaka selection is hereditary and male centric.

3. Entrepreneurship and Economy

Local people appear quite innovative and entrepreneurial, expressing a willingness to try new things, especially those, like BBP, that can be quickly confirmed as viable and helpful. Work ethic is good and motivation, even in the face of devastating, uncontrollable natural disasters, seems high.

Villagers, both male and female, seem to have good instincts about their greatest needs. It appears they are fully capable of setting individual priorities for new wealth use. An example of BBP weaver payment use supports this (see table below in BBP Impact section).




The overall potential for CCP aligned economic growth and productivity improvement in Mahabo Commune appears to be high.

Labor rates and primary income source vary by village:

Village Primary Income Source Daily Labor RateMahabo Rice, Market, Weaving $.40-$.50Nosiala Rice, Cassava, Fruit,

Weaving, Fresh water shrimpTBD

Iobotako Rice, Weaving, Vegetables, Fruit

$.60 plus food (needs confirmation)

Baboaka Fishing, Cattle, Rice (own field in Mahabo village

$.75-$.90

Manakara (Seaside Resort-Not part of Mahabo Commune)

Larger town. Multiple activities including some tourism.

$1.50 unskilled daily temporary$2.00-$2.50 skilled monthly contract $3.00 skilled daily temporary rate

Zebu can be viewed as a means of savings, although this appears to be diversifying to cash, land, and food stores as zebu theft risk increases.

Finance and insurance type institutions are largely absent, although a few people have accounts at TIAFA, the local rural bank which has an office in the neighboring commune. Having an account in TIAFA is a prerequisite for qualifying for their CRS supported, new micro-loan program.

Mahabo Commune’s agriculturally based economy is stressed by natural disaster and population growth. It has the potential to become increasingly pressured unless new sources of economic growth and productivity gains are found. High population growth (families average over 6 members), division of family lands with each generation, agreements to constrain forest harvesting, and natural disasters limit crop yields straining food supplies and wealth. Shortages could easily increase stress on the people and environment.

Mahabo Commune is remote, requiring between 18-21 hours of driving from Antananarivo, Madagascar’s largest city. Two relatively large regional markets are a short drive from Mahabo. Farafangana, region and district (41 km, 40 minutes); Vangandrano, neighbor district (20 km, 20 minutes).

There are limited opportunities for other export based MSV partnerships in the near term. Potential may exist for limited higher priced “do work” researcher and ecotourism revenue streams, but these may be difficult to implement and could easily strain the current MBG and community.




Regional export may provide some opportunities. Vegetables and other products could be sold if transportation and distribution/sales systems evolved.

Public works projects might add jobs and wealth if funding were available. This includes flood control, irrigation, expanded reforestation and other possibilities.

4. Blessing Basket Project

A best case scenario is that BBP could add nearly 15% in new village income over the first year.

The Blessing Basket Project is giving villagers access to considerable outside wealth during a period of post-cyclone crisis. The 900 basket initial order (Unit weaver payment of $5.30 US or 11,600 Ari Ari Malagasy) will add over $5000 to the Mahabo Commune economy.

Planned additional orders would increase BBP direct payments to nearly $37,000. At current exchange rates this would cause the local community income to grow by over 8% in the first year. Achieving this rate of growth will require that BBP train 80 to 120 weavers or about one fifth of the estimated local weavers.

Middleman collectors may have taken advantage of weavers in the past, but this may be changing because of BBP effects. This could add an additional 1% to 2% to the local economy.

BBP has most probably caused second order economic benefit by increasing basket quality and functionality, causing a mix of demand and price increases. The following table shows how prices have changed.

Basket Type Price in Mahabo

(collector)

Price in Closest Market

Payment to Weaver

% Change from Pre-BBP

Traditional Type

Days to Weave on

Basket

Pre-BBP Traditional

$.40 NA $.40 0% 1

BBP low quality “knock-off”

$1.00 NA $1.00 250% 2

BBP high quality “knock-off”

$2.00 $2.50 $2.00 500% 2

BBP original for export

NA NA $5.30* 1325% 2

* Excludes $2.20 in material costs that are paid by BBP. Total price to BBP for @ basket is $7.50. (1875 % change from Pre-BBP )

BBP payments have probably stimulated an additional 3% to 6% to the economy due to multiplier effects from the weaver direct payments.




BBP weavers’ self-reported use of payments indicates stewardship is driven by needs to improve their quality of life.

“How using BBP payments?” Frequency of Mention (19 BBP weavers asked)

% of Weavers Mentioning

Food 17 89%School or educational supplies 9 47%Hire labor to work field so can weave

9 47%

Clothing 4 21%Medicine 3 16%Seeds for replanting 2 11%Care for elders 2 11%Kitchen utensils 1 5%

BBP weaver productivity and time commitment appear to be increasing as learning curves mature and prosperity wage payments are fully understood. There appear to be few constraints to BBP production. Raw materials and labor are available, although field restoration work priorities may limit weaving time and capacity for the near term.

Pressures for help with field work during seasonal peak activity and post-natural disaster periods may limit married women weaver labor, although this is uncertain.

A large portion of the initial weavers are divorced or widowed, although men expressed enthusiasm about their wives weaving for BBP. This point may simply be a start-up period anomaly that is magnified by the recent cyclone crisis.

5. Missouri Botanical Garden, Community Conservation Program

MGB has added considerable capacity to Mahabo Commune by creatively meshing environmental and economic planning around the littoral forest. The littoral forest loss has been substantially stopped. Concerns still exist that villager conservation support could backslide when survival is threatened.

MGP guide, forest patrol, and other local employment add materially to the local economy, although annual costs are very low in U.S. terms. Additionally, one community stated that conflict between Mahabo and the neighboring commune have been reduced because of MBG involvement.

MBG is currently active at four sites with CCP efforts. Mahabo is the most developed.




MBG has identified 77 potential sites, which if substantially preserved, would protect nearly the entire known remaining Madagascar flora

o MBG personnel enjoy a high level of trust and confidence with Mahabo

6. Family and Society

Women exert reasonable and healthy influence over cash and resource use. On a day-to-day basis, they seem to be the primary steward for household expenditures. This approach is supported by the male members of the population, although the men have final say on matters, especially for large expenditures like zebu purchase and land sale or purchase.

Young men frequently take “the journey” to accumulate wealth prior to returning to their villages. Return rates appear to be decreasing in some villages, although this is uncertain.

Emigration of young men is common but seems to vary from 10% to 40% depending upon the village. This may be due to wealth differences.

Emigrating young males set clear, publicly-disclosed goals and time frames prior to emigrating. Most frequently cited goals were acquiring house, zebu, and land. Duration of trip is usually expected to be one to three years, although actual stays seem to be longer.

Domestic violence is low. Close family ties serve as strong prevention and enforcement mechanisms.

People appear happy, curious, hard-working, and accepting, even though they live in an extremely difficult and threatening world:

o Healtho Starvationo Crocodileso Fishing deathso Natural death

7. Government

Meetings with the newly appointed top ranking government official for the region, Johnson Andrianahy, Chef de Region, signal support for community based environmental and economic efforts.

The national government president is a successful entrepreneur who is decentralizing authority and eliminating one layer of government hierarchy.




Traditional “single solution” or top-down study (not action) based on economic growth and environmental conservation efforts have been expensive and largely ineffective.

A mixture of simple economic activities that builds off existing villager capabilities and desires is preferred over over-complicating little understood approaches.

Formal Governance Structure*

National President and Ministers of Various Agencies (Provinces being eliminated) Region – governed by the Chef de Region (22 Regions) District – governed by Chef de District (5 Districts in Southeast Region?) Commune – governed by Mayor (Mahabo is a commune. 5 communes in District?) Fokontany – governed by a President (There are 10 Fukutanes in Mahabo. A Fukutane is equivalent to a village.)

* Reza inputs. Recorded by Kate Burson




APPENDIX A

Project Madagascar

Development BlueprintManagement 431/531: The Hatchery

December 2006

Kristopher Kelley Kate Burson Russell Kohn




Project Madagascar Development Blueprint

I. Table of Contents

I. Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................A (2)

II. Executive Summary........................................................................................................................A (3)

III. Current State and Goals.................................................................................................................A (5)

IV. Foundation of Success...................................................................................................................A (7)

V. Start-up Period..............................................................................................................................A (10)

VI. Step Back Period.........................................................................................................................A (12)

VII. Potential Projects.......................................................................................................................A (14)

VIII. Sustainability............................................................................................................................A (17)

IX. Monitoring...................................................................................................................................A (18)

Appendix A2


II. Executive Summary

Mission Statement:

To develop and implement a plan for sustainable and replicable economic development in rural

Madagascar, and to achieve conservation through the improvement of the quality of life for residents of

villages surrounding highly endangered natural resources.

Background:

For more than 30 years, the Missouri Botanical Gardens has been working in Madagascar to

conserve forests containing species of plants that exist only within the country. During the course of

their work, they have found that the impoverished population surrounding these forests rely upon these

plants for survival and cannot be expected to conserve their resources unless they have another means

to sustain themselves. Herein lies our task: To stimulate the conservation of natural resources through

the improvement of quality of life and alleviation of poverty.

Though we will initially focus on a small group of villages, starting with the village of Mahabo, the

plan needs to be robust enough to be implemented throughout the country. To this end, it is important

that the plan not rely heavily on charity or human capital, which would limit the ability to replicate

results. The villages we work in will be chosen based upon the environmental needs of the surrounding

areas.

Philosophy:

To achieve maximum sustainability and replicability, our plan empowers villagers to make their

own choices based upon their priorities. We provide them with the resources necessary to make an

educated decision, but ultimately give them the choice of how to spend money within their village.

Initially, we help them develop an income stream that takes advantage of their skills and the

existing demand for their goods. In many cases, this involves removing a middle-man from the selling

of goods and increasing the villagers' margins for their goods sold. Having increased income within the

village, we provide the information necessary about how they can spend their money to maximize its

impact. To ensure the project is effective, we monitor progress within the village, taking into account

quality of life, such as hunger and disease, economics and conservation. In this way we can modify the

plan as needed and present our results to other groups working on similar global problems.

Appendix A3


Immediate Objectives:

1. Ongoing quality-of-life improvements within Mahabo, with measurable results in less than five

years.

2. Ongoing conservation in the forests surrounding Mahabo, with measurable results in less than

five years.

3. Expansion to three more villages within the next five years.

Appendix A4


III. Current State and Goals

Located in southeastern Madagascar, the village of Mahabo has a population of 7000 people, 65

percent of whom are under the age of 25. The village has 1900 weavers and 400 fishermen, but the

average monthly family income is just $27. Rice is the primary source of sustenance for most villagers,

leaving many malnourished and lacking the basic vitamins and proteins necessary for a balanced diet.

Currently, weavers are able to sell their baskets along the side of the road or to a middleman for less

than $1 per basket. Similar products sell for as much as $40 in the United States.

The Agnalazaha Forest located near Mahabo is one of the largest littoral forests in Madagascar,

containing many species of plants and animals that can only be found in the region and are quickly

nearing extinction. Currently, the forest supplies timber for fuel and sale, animals for food, and land for

agriculture. Without finding new sources for food and fuel, the villagers will continue to exploit the

forest until it can no longer support them.

Our goal is to help the villagers develop new

revenue streams and food sources that do not depend on

the forest, which will lead to an improvement in the

quality of life while at the same time leading to

environmental conservation. Our specific goals are as

follows:

Within 5 years, we will double the average

monthly family income;

Within 10 years, we will reduce malnutrition and infant mortality by 50%;

Within 20 years, Mahabo will have developed the economic stability to no longer need assistance

from the Missouri Botanical Gardens or other

charitable organizations.

Appendix A5

Figure 2: GDP Per CapitaCountry Ranking

(233 ranked)GDP Per Capita

Congo (DRC) 6 $700Madagascar 13 $900Kenya 22 $1,100Togo 41 $1,700Uganda 44 $1,800Sudan 53 $2,100Zimbabwe 58 $2,300Ghana 64 $2,500Angola 73 $3,200Botswana 148 $10,500Singapore 203 $28,100

Figure 3: Malaria Related Mortality RateCountry Ranking

(53 ranked)Deaths Per 100,000 People

Angola 3 254Congo (DRC) 8 224Madagascar 13 184Uganda 15 152Ghana 30 70Sudan 30 70Kenya 31 63Togo 33 47Botswana 39 15Zimbabwe 52 1Singapore 53 0


IV. Foundation of Success

There are certain conditions that must exist within the village before this plan can succeed. These

conditions have already been met within the village of Mahabo, but will need to be examined in each

village into which this project is expanded. The conditions are:

1. Develop trust. Trust emanates from a sense of fairness, a long-term commitment, and an

embeddedness in the community.

2. Long-term commitment. Make sure that there is a long-term commitment from your

organization. Building trust, developing social infrastructure, and stimulating an economy take

time. The people need to know that you will not abandon them with a half-finished project.

3. A government that is not pursuing work or an agenda counter to your objectives. When

national or local governments are corrupt, oppressive, authoritarian, etc., it will be difficult to

develop a sustainable business model by applying the recommendations in this report.

Madagascar, while not perfect in these areas, is a new democracy and does currently have a

workable system. The national government is developing laws and institutions to stimulate

economic activity by creating a land titling system and developing a functional banking and

credit system. Though it will take time for these changes to reach Mahabo, it is significant that

the national government is working on complimentary development projects which will

eventually assist the sustainable enterprises developed in Mahabo.

4. Understand the community’s social fabric. Spend time getting to know the people, the

culture, their social norms (informal methods of regulation), their laws (formal tools for

regulation), and their traditional methods of barter, exchange and survival.

a. Understand their incentive system. This will differ in each area. For example, in war-torn

areas or villages frequently destabilized from environmental problems such as typhoons,

earthquakes, droughts, etc., there is an incentive to under-invest resources in agriculture

because the physical insecurity makes the benefits uncertain.

b. Understand gender roles and family dynamics.

c. Understand what they value.

d. Bypassing this step will impede entrepreneurial development. Failing to understand the

social fabric of a community will prevent a business or project that seemingly has all of the

necessary tools – such as technical assistance, education, market access, etc. – from

Appendix A6


becoming sustainable. Example: A World Bank project wanted to promote farming in a

rural Lesotho community. Despite having sufficient financial backing, and the requisite

expertise and tools necessary to develop a farming community, the project failed. The

project managers blamed the failure on the local people’s “defeatist” perspective –

specifically, that the people did not think of themselves as farmers. In reality, farming and

agriculture was not a part of the community’s history and social fabric; a majority of the

population were migrant mine workers. The only result of the project was that they built a

new road on which South African lorries brought grain into the region, which drove the few

existing farmers out of business.

5. Introduce financial opportunities that allow for relatively equal wealth dispersion.

Businesses that create opportunities for large portions of the community can prevent wealth

concentration amongst small pockets of the population, which in turn makes theft and violence

less likely.

6. Identify the main impediments to basic economic development in the community. There

will be several factors impeding entrepreneurial activity. Some can be altered from the ground

level and others will require government assistance. All factors should be identified, but it is

essential to isolate the local problems preventing the bare bones economic activity from

developing and make sure that the initial businesses address these issues. For example, a lack of

information or knowledge, an absence of technology, electricity, or running water, or an

inability to obtain credit or access a market can all stifle economic activity. All of these factors

need to be addressed over time, but you should initially sift out the issues which are essential to

change the current state of business and trade. In Mahabo, the lack of electricity and running

water are problems, but basic economic activity can exist around these problems. This basic

growth can not take place, however, with the current over-reliance on the exploitative middle-

man, the high transaction costs involved in getting the goods to market, and the lack of access

to larger markets.

Appendix A7


7. Identify other organizations working in the community, understand what these

organizations are trying to accomplish and the methods they are employing, and

determine whether their projects are counterproductive to your work. You do not want a

small community receiving mixed messages. It is not effective for one group to pursue a market

development approach if others continue to subsidize transactions and offer publicly-funded

services in the same market. You should meet with other groups working in the community to

adjust assistance methods to compliment each other’s work. By doing this you will at best help

further everyone’s goals and not waste resources on counterproductive activities. Coordinating

projects will also help insure there are little repetition of work and fewer wasted resources.

Provision of free or highly subsidized services may contribute to market failures and inhibit the

availability of services. In the long run, highly subsidized services hinder economic growth,

employment generation, and poverty alleviation.

Appendix A8

Steps for developing enterprise in rural communities:

Example of poultry in India

Understand local source of income. Poultry rearing was a traditional income

generating activity for millions in rural Bangladesh. Development group, BRAC,

identified the poultry sector as important growing market where poor earned income.

Identify impediments to productivity. Staff studied problems facing the small scale

poultry rearers and identified low quality chicks as cause of low prices.

Tie the solution to the problem. BRAC helped small-scale poultry rearers gain access

to high yield varieties, the necessary feed and medical services, and to education on

methods for sustainably and productively raising the new poultry.


V. Start-up Period

When developing enterprise in an extremely poor area, such as Mahabo, the first goal must be to

inject revenue into the economy from the outside. This can occur through exporting locally produced

goods to a larger, more developed economy and returning the profit to the producers, or from

“importing” more affluent consumers, such as tourists, to spend money. Instituting positive change

requires financial resources; however, outright monetary donations are not viable for large scale

implementation. Bringing in revenue through increased wages and profitability puts the power for

change in the hands of the people. In exporting goods to larger markets, such as the U.S, the

substantially higher price for the good results in larger profit margins for the producers, even with

shipping cost. In the case of bringing in consumers, an industry can be created, around tourism. While

tourists might not travel to Mahabo, goods produced in the village can be transported to larger cities

and sold to tourists there.

Because of its remote location, Mahabo is not a viable tourist destination. Therefore, it is most

effective to export locally produced goods. For success, it is essential to build on the existing strengths

and natural resources of the area. It may not be feasible to develop a completely new industry that the

people do not trust or have experience with. The natural resources on the supply side of production

must be readily available or quickly and consistently made available. The knowledge of production

needs to be already present or easily developed. Without real support and enthusiasm from the

community, the industry developed to produce the goods is likely to fail. For this reason, industries and

knowledge that are already a part of the culture work best.

Several other key aspects affect the decision for what goods should be produced and exported.

Certainly, the profitability of a given product is a central concern. The goal in the start-up period is to

substantially raise the profit margin on goods produced. As such, a good that results in a higher wage

for the worker is clearly favorable. The distribution of this wealth is also a concern. If only a few

individuals are able to produce the goods, and they become much wealthier than the average person,

jealousy and theft can become a problem. Ideally, the industry developed around the exported goods

would employ a large percentage of the area’s population. This creates a balanced improvement for the

masses rather than large increases for a few.

The potential workforce should be carefully considered. In general, there must be an adequate

number of able and willing bodies to produce the goods at a quantity that can be exported profitably.

Appendix A9


Cultural concerns are important here as specific labor may be heavily divided by gender. If only one

gender is able to work in the suddenly profitable industry, that gender may become financially

empowered, which could cause hostility and potentially significant problems. This echoes the same

idea of a balanced improvement for all. The culturally imposed, gendered division of labor can be an

obstacle.

It should be noted that during the start-up period one particular industry or good might not be the

solution. In fact, relying on only one option has inherent risks: If that outlet becomes unavailable or the

production of the good must be stopped, the entire economy could collapse. This could lead to a worse

economic situation than what was already in place. An even bigger problem could be the loss of hope

resulting from the failure of a once-profitable “solution” to economic problems. If a few industries are

developed simultaneously, the start-up process becomes more complicated, but can increase the wages

of a larger percent of the population and provide more stability for the developing economy.

It should also be noted, the start-up period requires the most top-down guidance in the enterprise

development process. While the people must be involved and their total situation considered in

choosing the right goods to export, initially the infrastructure for the industry needs to be put in place.

With the trust of the people, a group or entity from the outside most likely will develop the production,

exportation, and sale of the goods. With potentially no business experience, the native inhabitants will

be guided through the steps of developing the industry, but doing all the production works them. The

management is essential to begin the motion toward positive change. However, forcing the people into

a project that they do not believe in will lead to failure.

One project that fits the model described here and is currently being implemented in Mahabo

during the start-up period is Blessing Basket. Blessing Basket is a nonprofit organization that exports

woven baskets made in developing countries and sells them in the U.S. The profits are then returned to

the weavers. Blessing Basket is extremely well-suited to Mahabo. Weaving baskets is ingrained in the

culture and the natural resources necessary are already available locally. Out of 7,000 residents in

Mahabo, 1,800 are potential weavers. Weavers are able to make three to four times more per basket

through Blessing Basket than selling locally. Through weaving, a substantial amount of revenue will be

injected into the economy. Blessing Basket is still not the perfect answer as it leads to dependence on

one good and one company. If the demand were to decline in the U.S. or the weavers were unable to

weave, the people could be devastated. The division of labor could also lead to problems, as the

Appendix A10


majority of weavers are women and they will be earning a substantial portion of the family’s income.

No one solution is perfect, but Blessing Basket is a good fit for Mahabo.

Appendix A11


VI. Step Back Period

Economic development does not lend itself to universally defined markers to delineate the end of

one phase and the beginning of the next. While we cannot say what the exact state will be when the

start-up period ends, it will end and at this point large amounts of external guidance will be

unnecessary. It is our philosophy that the community must be given personal control. After the start-up

period brings money into the local economy, decisions on how to spend that money must be made on

the individual and community level. Imposing improvement projects on the community that are not

supported by the people will not yield lasting results. Also, it is important that they take affirmative

steps in selecting development projects so that they take ownership of their futures. In the step-back

period, the goal is to provide the resources for individuals and the community to make their own

informed choices on what steps to take for positive change. This creates the unknown, but necessary,

variable in the process. If the revenue injected into the economy is not controlled by the people, they do

not have control of their own lives. However, by giving them free choice to spend the money, there is

no prevention against individuals that choose to waste their money rather than improve their lives. This

is a necessary evil. The guidance, then, in the step-back period is one of

presenting options.

A community fund, working in a similar way to taxes, establishes a

fund of money for addressing problems on the community level. In the

Blessing Basket model, excess profit over wages paid to weavers goes

into this fund. Through community meetings and one-on-one interaction,

information and advice on possible community projects is made

available, but the final decision rests on the community. For example,

projects could include a water sanitation program or the building of a

new school.

For options on the individual or small group level, KickStart

provides technologies that establish profitable small scale enterprises.

After an individual reaches limited financial stability from the start-up

period, he is in a position to invest in a KickStart technology. One such

technology is the “MoneyMaker Pressure Pump,” a man-powered

Appendix A12

Source: Small Enterprise Development Programme of the International Labour Organization


micro-irrigation water pump that allows for greatly increased agricultural production. For example, the

real impact on a family in Kenya:

Mrs. Jane Ondiek, small-scale framer, Kenya

After the death of her husband, Jane's 6 children almost dropped out of school for lack of school

fees. Using affordable small-scale irrigation to increase her vegetable crops production, she now makes

enough money to send them to college. "I'm making enough money now to support my family fully

without begging from relatives since my husband died!"

Appendix A13


VII. Potential ProjectsAgriculture

Kick Start (www.kickstart.org) – Kick Start is a non-governmental/non-profit organization that

develops and promotes technologies that establish and run profitable small scale enterprises.

Micro-irrigation technologies allow farmers to irrigate from 1-2 acres of land with man-

powered “Moneymaker Pressure Pumps.” The irrigation allows for greatly increased production

capacity and therefore profits. Forty five thousand pumps are currently in use by poor farmers

with $37 million per year in new profits and wages generated by the pumps. A manually

operated oilseed press, “Mafuta Mali,” produces seed oil ready for use or sale. The oil has

nutritional value and the seedcake by-product is valued as a high protein animal feed

supplement. In large quantities, the oil can also power diesel engines.

Water

Global Water (www.globalwater.org) – Global Water is an international nonprofit,

nonsectarian, nongovernmental organization. Through its Rural Outreach Water Supply

Program, Global Water works on a location specific basis to acquire and install the appropriate

hardware for providing clean water to villages.

Play Pumps International (www.playpumps.org) – PlayPumps International is a nonprofit

collaborative, which installs water systems that pump water into an elevated holding tank as

children play on the connected merry-go-round. A single, sustainable water source is created for

the community.

Enterprise Works (www.enterpriseworks.org) – Enterprise Works is an international nonprofit

organization that teaches local enterprises manual well drilling techniques for irrigation wells

and potable water. Their Potable Water Technologies allow for an affordable alternative to

mechanically bored wells and use local human resources to create a new well drilling industry.

Water Aid (www.wateraid.org) – An international nongovernmental organization whose

mission is to provide safe domestic water, sanitation, and hygiene education to the world's

poorest people. This works through partnerships, sustainable technology, and integrated

Appendix C (14)Discussion Draft--For Comment Only




projects that address all three issues.

Energy

Enterprise Works (www.enterpriseworks.org) – Through the private sector approach, assists in

commercial production of high-efficiency cook stoves that burn less charcoal or wood than

normal stoves. Several types of these cook stoves are available. By reducing the raw burning

materials needed (i.e. charcoal, wood, etc.) by an estimated 40%, expenses and deforestation are

both reduced. In Ghana, families have saved $30 a year on charcoal with the $5 investment for

the cook stove.

Sanitation

KickStart (www.kickstart.org) – Dome Concrete Pit Latrine Slabs improve sanitation and can

be produced without wire reinforcement. Making and selling the slabs creates a business

opportunity. Over 90,000 slabs have already been installed in refugee camps in East Africa.

Water Aid – See under Water section.

Health

Roll Back Malaria (www.rollbackmalaria.org) – A partnership that facilitates access to high-

quality, affordable anti-malarial medicines and other essential supplies: insecticide-treated

mosquito nets, rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), and insecticides.

Plumpy Nut (www.nutriset.fr/products/en/malnut/plumpy.php) – Plumpy Nut is a high protein

and high energy peanut-based paste in a foil wrapper that can be distributed to children at home

rather than in specialist feeding stations and can be eaten without any preparation. Within six

weeks, it can bring children back to a healthy state. It is categorized by the WHO as a Ready to

Use Therapeutic Food. Plumpy Nut is distributed by Doctors Without Borders and

manufactured by Nutriset. It is currently being distributed in Haiti by Washington University-

based organization Meds and Foods for Kids.

Transportation





Bikes for the World (www.bikesfortheworld.org) – A sponsored project of the Washington Area

Bicyclist Association, Bikes for the World collects unwanted bicycles and related material in

the United States and delivers them at the cost of shipping to community development programs

in poor developing countries. Also, this sets up the possibility of a bicycle repair business in

those countries.

Worldbike (www.worldbike.org) – A nonprofit organization that designs and distributes high-

quality, low-cost load-bearing bicycles for the developing world. They provide safe, fast

transportation with the ability to transport food, goods, and people. This could greatly reduce

the transaction costs of bringing goods to market.

Communication

Inveneo (www.inveneo.org) – A nonprofit social enterprise, Inveneo offers a decentralized and

sustainable approach for providing Information and Communication Technology systems for

the developing world. They have an affordable, solar-powered system for building internet and

telecommunications networks in remote areas without electricity or communications

infrastructure.

Construction

KickStart (www.kickstart.org) – The Action Pack Block Press combines soil and cement under

high mechanical pressure to produce structural building blocks. This allows for construction at

half the price of concrete blocks. One press can produce 500 blocks per day.





VIII. Sustainability

When the community has developed economic diversity and is no longer dependent upon the start-

up company for adequate financial remuneration, the start-up period ends and the sustainability of the

system is now tested. Development programs are more likely to end successfully if they envision a

sustainable market. The challenge is assessing the market objectively to determine when it has reached

a sustainable level. Sustainability factors will differ between communities, but there are commonalities

that can help identify this point. One sustainability indicator is economic diversification. Another

significant point is when the community can function and income can grow independently of the

original start-up business.

a.Start-up business will provide the foundation for sustainability by:

altering the incentive system, and creating hope, ownership and pride in their work.

The start-up companies should provide the community with a good financial return for their

hard work, which in-turn will aide the development of hope, pride, and ownership necessary

for sustainability. For example, with Blessing Basket weavers are guaranteed $5.50 for

making a basket. Before Blessing Basket, weavers were not assured of selling their goods,

nor were they assured of receiving an adequate return for their labor. By providing workers

with both a buyer and a good return, these start-up businesses will show the people that

good compensation can consistently result from hard work.

giving the population the know-how to develop products and compete in the market.

providing access to markets. The start-up businesses will connect people with local,

national, and international markets for their goods.

b. With these tools the population should be able to:

export multiple types of products.

sell domestically with good return.

access technology that will serve as an economic stimulus and improve productivity

and quality of life.





start local secondary businesses. With the new income streams, people will have the

financial ability to develop enterprises to meet the growing local needs. More goods stores

will emerge, the village market will expand, etc.




IX. Monitoring

Ensuring the continuing success of this project requires constantly checking that progress is being

made in Mahabo. If progress is substantially slower than expected, there may be an unanticipated

obstacle that needs to be addressed. Therefore, the state of the village should be measured initially

before any action has been taken, and then for the first 10 years it should be measured annually.

Thereafter, a biannual survey will be sufficient, though under difficult circumstances a more frequent

survey may be called for.

The specific metrics being used will vary from village to village, depending on the immediate

problems in the region. In Mahabo, the metrics to be used are:

Average monthly family income

Infant deaths per thousand

Malaria-related mortality rate

Malnutrition rate

Since conservation is an important goal of this project, this project must also measure the level of

conservation. The relevant metric will vary from region to region, but in general we will use Hectares

of Conserved Land. This represents how much local land is unthreatened by the surrounding

population.

When this project expands beyond Mahabo, the monitoring capacity will become especially

important. By tracking progress in different villages, we will be able to determine when a village isn’t

progressing at a reasonable expected rate. This data will be closely monitored to determine unnecessary

inefficiencies in the development process.

The model we have developed for this project allows for both tracking and projecting progress

within each village. Using the metrics we will use in Mahabo, it projects the impact that the initial

project (e.g. Blessing Basket) will have upon the village. As the village institutes news projects (e.g. a

school or water sanitation) the expected effects are added to the model to develop a new picture of how

the village will progress. When past progress is added to the model through regular monitoring, it

automatically adapts its projections to account for the past progress.




APPENDIX B

Project Madagascar

Students

March 2007




Kate BursonKate Burson is establishing a career centered upon social entrepreneurship and international development. She is currently working on a social entrepreneurship and economic development project in Mahabo, Madagascar with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Olin School of Business at Washington University. Burdon’s interest in these areas arose from working in environmental protection and sustainable commerce at the World Wildlife Fund, international trade at the World Trade Organization, corporate social responsibility at Burson-Mars teller, and civil liberty protection and democratic development at the Liberty Institute in the Republic of Georgia.

Burson is currently a visiting law student at New York University School of Law and will receive her J.D. degree in May 2007 from Washington University. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in history in 2002. She also graduated with All-American and Academic All-American honors for her athletic and academic achievements during her collegiate tennis career.

Yiping ChenYiping Chen is currently a first year MBA student at Olin School of Business at Washington University, with concentration in Finance. Before entering Olin, she worked at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for nine years, rising to the position of assistant director of a district branch of the bank. Yiping graduated from China University of Political Science and Law in 1997, majoring in economic law. She received the qualification of attorney of China in 1998. After graduation from Olin, Yiping plans to continue her career in the financial industry.

Kristopher KelleyKristopher Kelley is an undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently a junior, double majoring in Aesthetics & Society and Entrepreneurship. For the past year, Kristopher has been working on a social entrepreneurship and economic development project in Mahabo, Madagascar with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Olin School of Business at Washington University. This summer, Kristopher will be participating in the Village India Program, teaching entrepreneurship to a class of 11th graders in rural India. His interests lie primarily in socially conscious, for-profit entrepreneurship in the U.S., and non-profit social entrepreneurship in the developing world.

Russell KohnTBD




Teresa WallaceTeresa Wallace, MSW, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, and then worked in the legal and nonprofit fields in Houston, Texas, for several years. In 2004 she enrolled at Washington University, and in 2006 received a Master of Social Work degree from the Brown School of Social Work concentrating in Social Economic Development and Nonprofit Management. Teresa is currently a Woods Fellow at Washington University’s Olin School of Business pursuing an MBA with focus on Management and Entrepreneurship. Because her studies and career goals focus on women’s issues and the trend to social entrepreneurial endeavors for nonprofits, Teresa was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the Madagascar Program, working closely with The Blessing Basket Project and Missouri Botanical Garden and traveling abroad to experience international development in progress.




APPENDIX C

Project Madagascar

Mahabo Visit Preliminary Work Plan

March 2007



Project: Missouri Botanical Garden and Blessing Baskets Project

Date: 2/19/2007

A. Meetings:

Weekly Meeting: Friday at 2:00 pm, SC room 100

B. Brief Meeting Notes 02/16/07:

Administrative Issues: Discussed increasing effectiveness of between meetings

communication. Confirmation when receive emails from distribution list. Consistent

header (i.e. Madagascar: Issue).

Reviewed required final project presentations (i.e. IBOC Conference April 19th, MSWs –

Dr. Yadama, Practicum)

Continued discussion of in-country project objectives, overall project deliverables and

long-term project outlook. Understand intersection between Village Culture, Economic

Development and Environmental Sustainability.

Wash U Team Goals for visit:

o Build relationships with local community leaders, villagers and project weavers.

o Identify keys to replications

o Identify/evaluate the criteria to measure positive program impact.

o Identify possible negative impacts of project actions.



o Identify/evaluate key points in society for introduction of additional income in order

to generate the most substantial and widely distributed positive impact (alternatively,

where are negative points of infusion?)…leverage points.

o What is the sensitivity of project success with regard to choice of infusion point?

o Identify/evaluate mechanisms/feasibility of sustainability. What are possible exit

strategies?

o How leverage initial and secondary economic development to promote environment

conservation.

Discussed Theresa Wilson’s in-country plans and how relate/intersect with Wash U team.

o Visual (video crew) documentation of early stage BBP program development process.

o Identify and understand operational issues of development stage phase for BBP.

o Video documentation of conservation efforts. Interview 3 MBG folks re:

conservation.

o Identify, meet and interview Mahabo weavers. Collect at least 5 weaver profiles.

Discussed methods for focusing in-country efforts (i.e. evening debriefings with reports

from each group individual; daily documentation of events and reflections; discussion of

daily perspectives to evaluate for accuracy and understanding).

Chose “Subject Matter Expertise”

o Yiping: Economic analysis; Village/country economic characteristics

o Russ: Government

o Kris: Technology interaction (NGO inventory)




o Teresa: Effect of community infrastructure/organizational infrastructure on economic

development sustainability.

o Kate: Community Rule of Law

Next Meeting (Friday, February 23rd) Agenda:

o Round table lunch discussion with visiting professors regarding Malagasy culture,

society, geography etc. as well as relevant issues relating to international socio-

economic development.

o Potential Guests:

Dr. Yadama (Social Work) – Confirmed

Professor Brown (Anthropology) – Confirmed

Professor Bob Sussman (Anthropology) – No response

I. Sened (Anthropology) – No response

Professor Judy McClain-Clarks (Business) – No response

Professor Chris Long (Business) – Unable to attend

Carl Toborowsky (Biology) – Confirmed

Current articles for review: Hatchery Proposal (doc and final power point presentation);

“Consulting Is More Thank Giving Advice” from The Harvard Business Review; “Hope

Diamonds” from Fast Company; “A Peasant Surprise: India’s special economic zones”

from The Economist; “Democratization in Mali: Putting history to work” from United

states Institute of Peace; “Relearning Lessons We’ve Forgotten: The significance of a

piggy bank” from Michael Costello at University of Missouri St. Louis




C. Pre Trip Work Plan:

Research Madagascar culture, social, economy, current economic development projects,

ecology etc. Research division by choice of subject matter expertise.

Dissect hatchery proposal to identify weakness and strengths and points of improvement

from each member to develop.

Re-scheduled brown bag lunch education meetings with interested experts to learn more

regarding the culture of Madagascar and the Malagasy people as well as integral

components of economic and social development of LDC’s (lesser developed countries).

Identify relevant reading and related articles that can contribute to understanding of

project.

Prepare detailed itinerary for in-country travel, research and educational process.

Includes identification of primary achievement goals both for group as well as individuals

in-country.

D. In Country Work Plan (General):

See chart at end of document for more detailed in-county schedule..

Meet and develop relationships with key village leaders and decision makers. Interview

such individuals to understand their interests, position, project ideals and project

concerns. Determine key project success factors from their prospective.

Work closely with MBG representatives currently located in Madagascar in order to

understand the “on-the-ground” issue faced daily within Mahabo.

Meet and talk with MBG Partner Institutions and NGO’s who are currently and directly

active in social development initiatives at given site.Appendix C (5)



Meet and develop relationships with key organizers of current in-country economic

development efforts. Interview such individuals to understand their interests, position,

project ideals and project concerns. Determine key project success factors from their

prospective.

Experience culture of Madagascar and Mahabo village to determine relevant factors for

project success, future development and successful replication.

Identify relevant factors that may inhibit project success.

Develop outline of potential projects that may achieve sustainable economic

development goals as well as environmental/ecological destruction prevention.




Date AM Activities PM Activities Lodging Notes

Saturday 3-Mar

-- Theresa arrives (Andry to pick up)

Tana: Hotel de Rova x 1 room

Sunday 4-Mar

Theresa rests Theresa meets camera man (Christian to fix rendezvous)

Wash U team arrives (Air France 22.50) Andry to pick up

Tana: Hotel de Rova x 4 rooms

MBG x 3 rooms

*Ask Armand to assist in identifying minimum of 5 Mahabo weavers for profile documentation.

*Wash U team purchase visas in airport upon arrival.

Monday 5-Mar

Theresa site-seeing?

Wash U team rests

Introductory Briefing. Tana: Hotel de Rova x 4 rooms

MBG x 3 rooms

Time for shopping and last minute supplies purchase.

Tuesday 6-Mar

Mini-bus Tana to Ranomafana

Mini-bus Tana to Ranomafana Ranomafana: 9 rooms?

(Fortunat to reserve)

Traveling

Wednesday 7-Mar

Minibus Ranomafana to Farafangana

Minibus Ranomafana to Farafangana

Farafangana: 9 rooms?


Traveling

Thursday 8-Mar

Meetings Farafangana (regional perspectives on development)

Travel to Mahabo

Wash U team evening debrief

Mahabo 2 rooms in house

3 bungalows

Friday 9-Mar

Meetings in Mahabo (local perspectives on development)

Continue meeting with Mahabo village individuals and locals



3 bungalows

*Meet with MBG representatives to learn more regarding the day-to-day activities associated with BBP development and conservation efforts.

*Reza will identify local individuals, weavers and non-weavers, local authorities (administrative and traditional) and MBG representatives for interviews/discussions. Reza is committed to translating.




*Scheduled day subject to change given Reza’s ability to schedule meetings.

Saturday 10-Mar

Tour Mahabo village, surrounding area and perhaps surrounding village/s.

Continue tour of area; visit surrounding villages.



3 bungalows

*Wash U team divided: portion of group to shadow Theresa in meeting individual weavers, remainder of group to interview MBG/Mahabo individuals as needed?

*Mahabo is a relatively small area (7 km long x 6 km wide) and touring area should take only half a day. Likewise, neighboring villages are within reasonable distance and travel to these areas should be achievable.

*Scheduled tour subject to day change given Reza’s ability to schedule meetings.

Sunday 11-Mar

Meet with MBG Partner Institutions and NGO’s

Continue talking with MBG Partner Institutions and NGO’s directly active in social development initiative at given site.



3 bungalows

*Reza will schedule meetings with appropriate institutions and partner organizations.

*Scheduled day subject to change given Reza’s ability to schedule meetings.

Monday 12-Mar

Minibus Mahabo to Ranomafana

Minibus Mahabo to Ranomafana Ranomafana: 9 rooms?


Traveling

Tuesday 13-Mar

Minibus Ranomafana to Tana

Minibus Ranomafana to Tana Tana: Hotel de Rova x 4 rooms

MBG x 3 rooms

Traveling

Wednesday 14-Mar

Rest/site-seeing Farewell Debriefing. Depart after midnight on 15th





Thursday 15-Mar

0130 leave Air France (Andry take to Airport)

-- -- Traveling




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