Business Trainings (29/10/18 and 4/11/18)

The first step in this process was to hold a training in both villages on how to form a business plan. The groups were introduced to concepts such as "S.M.A.R.T. Goals" (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based) and "S.W.O.T. Analysis" (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). These trainings were led by agriculture volunteer Casey Welsh, who has a degree in Finance. Agriculture volunteer Katie Lloyd assisted. Once these tools were explained, the groups were given a handout where they then outlined their short and long term goals (using the S.M.A.R.T. model) and assigned themselves positions within the group (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc.) to allow for accountability. In addition, we gathered information on the background of each farmer in apiculture (if any) and acquired pricing information about the honey currently available in village. All of this will help us to write out our grant proposal, and guide the project into the future. The farmers were very engaged, and interested in how they could make their project a success with these new tools.

PCV Casey explains the Business Plan handout