March 2010 budget update

Thanks to a generous order from a US conference, I believe this is the first month we're in the green! Hurrah! Now we can start allocating money to developing our Eco-Tourism Walks and a new conservation project I'll just keep secret for now...

We'll also be able to set money aside so that our Campsite Staff will continue to be employed through rainy season, when income will slow down substantially. Needless to say, Wallace and T-Boy are thrilled about this.

Robertsport Community Campsite

Income
Campsite fees and tent rental $245

Expenditure
Salary for campsite staff $130
New hammocks $30
Benjamin making another bench $15
Kerosene for campsite lanterns $10

Expenditure sub-total $185

Campsite sub-total $60


Women's Sewing Co-op

Income
15% project fee from sales of Co-op products $551

Co-op sub-total $551


The African T-Shirt Company Fundraising

Income

Profit from Surf Liberia t-shirts $36
Profit from Cotton Tree t-shirts for conservation projects $22


Eco-Tourism Walks

Income
$250 donation from the winning team at Quiz Night February 2010 (thank you!)


Project Summary
Robertsport Community Campsite $60
Women's Sewing Co-op $551
Surf Liberia Scholarship $36
Conservation projects $272
Total $919

Budget Summary
Community Fund as of February 2010 -$199.40
Community Fund as of March 2010 $719.60

Monrovia geniuses win quiz night for conservation

I have some very exceptional friends, so when Dina--who supports our beach cleanup and helps organize my yoga class--said she was competing in a new monthly quiz night, I was not surprised. Our surfer friend who often comes to Robertsport on the weekends was leading Dina's team and had decided to give the winnings--if they won, of course--to Robertsport Community Works. And you know what? They won!

Special thanks to the team leader and his team (you know who you are), who raised $250 for the NGO!

What are we using the money for? Well, Benjamin and other young men from the village have been working informally with us to create a rainforest walk through the Robertsport old-growth coastal rainforest. It's a protected area, an Important Bird Area (not my capitals) and a RAMSAR site (important wetlands--not my acronym), so there's plenty to see.

There's also saw grass, which is just like it sounds. Nate pointed it out on an early walk and I scoffed. How sharp could it be? Bleeding ankles and forearms later, I repented being so blithe. Now, the guides have strict instructions to avoid saw grass at all costs. It does not make for a pleasant tourist experience.

Anyway, this $250 will pay for the start-up of the project, which is just what we need. We've advertised for a volunteer to come and help us set the walks up, but we don't have the cash stipend the two highly qualified candidates would've needed to stay for a couple of months. After all, airfare here is a hefty $2,500, more or less.
So, here's what's on our project list as we get started:

• Birds of West Africa and Mammals of West and Central Africa: These classic and rather expensive guide books will help Benjamin and the other guides identify the birds they know and learn their western names, as well as what they eat, where they like to perch and other fun stuff. I'd love a similar book for trees...

• Eco-Tourism Guide t-shirts for the guides to wear when they're leading a walk: This will help them look professional, although I'm sure they'll want ID cards too. All our project staff ask us for ID cards.

• Cash to develop and draft a map and species list of likely will-sees--trees, birds, insects and maybe lizards. We'd like to have the map onto and to add photos to it on Google.

• Guide training: Ben and the others know the forest like the back of their hand, but that doesn't mean their ready to lead inquisitive tourists on a two-hour hike. Guide training will include first-aid, guest relations, when to share information and how to best pace the group.

• Promotional photos and brochures: It would be great to have photos to share with Liberian tourism and conservation sites online, as well as a simple brochure to advertise the walks and encourage people to join on walks.

I'm sure there's more stuff, but I really wanted an excuse to post about how much the quiz night winnings will help put this project together. If you're visiting Robertsport in the near future, email me to schedule a guided walk--unless you see one of our brochures first!

Women's Sewing Co-op gets a grant from the U.S. Ambassador's Self-Help fund!

The Women's Sewing Co-op is the proud recipient of the U.S. Ambassador's Self-Help Fund. We're receiving funds this year that allow us to build the project and make it sustainable, and include workshops on leadership and financial management as well as work that I'll do around marketing and distribution.
The grant also gives us money to expand our product line. Here, you see Tina trying on a sample apron my sister brought us from El Salvador. The Co-op members loved it so much that Miriama ended up wearing home (or trying to) the sample they made, because my sister wouldn't part hers. It's fitted, feminine and functional--and we're now making it with West African lapa. Note the handy little side pockets. We won't need to embroider ours, but the pockets will stay.
Here are Miriama, Bendu and Josephine (left to right). Bendu single-handedly ran our booth at the U.S. Embassy Craft Fair and earned more than $600 for the Co-op in one day. Miriama, to the left in pink, will be the next team leader as we expand to 20 members in the coming months.
Matilda is our newest Team Leader. Here, she's tallying and handing over bags that her team members have sewn.

Over the next year, I'll be working with the Co-op to achieve the following:

1. Try to scale-up Co-op membership to 30 women.
2. Train team leaders in consistent quality control and management.
   
3. Market and distribute the monthly output of the Co-op, which now is over 100 products, both locally in Liberia and internationally.
4. Expand their product line to aprons, yoga mat bags and more.
5. Brand the Co-op as a women's microenterprise program and show buyers the positive effect product revenues have on members' lives.
6. Build the Team Leaders' capacity to effectively run and manage the Co-op on their own.
   
7. Build Co-op members' skills in business management and financial literacy.
8. Develop a Monrovia-based network of suppliers that the Co-op can directly liaise with.

If you're interested in giving us about any or all of these, let me know. I'll be blogging about how we're working towards these goals throughout the year, and your support and guidance is much appreciated.

September 2009 budget update

Here's a summary of our September 2009 income and expenditures by project:

Robertsport Community Campsite
Income
Camping fees $35
Tent rental $30

Expenditure
Hammocks (3) $53
Stamps for the beach bag $18
Carbolene to keep insects off the signs $10

Sub-total -$16

Women's Sewing Cooperative
Income
46 beach bags $23

Expenditure
Beach bag tags $4

Sub-total $19

Surf Liberia Scholarship fundraising
10 shirts sold $50

Project summary
Robertsport Community Campsite -$16
Women's Sewing Cooperative $19
August 2009 Community Fund -$630.50
Surf Liberia Scholarship fundraising $50

Community Fund as of September 2009: -$627.50
Surf Liberia Scholarship money raised: $50

To support our projects and buy beach bags or Surf Liberia t-shirts, visit www.robertsportcommunityworks.org.

The Cotton Tree

Photos courtesy of Sean Brody.

This is the cotton tree that towers over the Robertsport Community Campsite, a piece of land that Robertsport Community Works is invested in conserving through the creation of a conservation easement. Conservation easements are legal agreements that restrict the usage of property. Ours would ensure that no permanent structures are built on the land, that no trees of a certain age be cut down, that indigenous species be encouraged and that the community of Robertsport retain access and usage rights. We're working on the details, so stayed tuned.

This is the tree that the American Colonization Society tied its ship to when it landed in Liberia in the late 19th century, the supposed spot where Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia for whom Robertsport was named, stepped off.
It's estimated to be over 500 years old. It would have to be, in order for it to be big enough for the first Americo-Liberians to anchor their ship off of it. Trees like this often end up as raw materials for fishing boats. At Robertsport Community Works, we're starting to make a series of Cotton Tree t-shirts -- each batch the outline of a different ancient cotton tree -- to promote awareness and work towards their conservation. Email me if you want one or check out The African T-Shirt Company in a week or two for details.