tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21190937567777335452024-03-19T15:02:20.431-07:00The Social Capitalista"If you have come to help me you can go home, but if you consider my struggle as a part of your struggle for survival, then maybe we can work together" -an old aboriginal wise womenBrian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-8309982070792929902010-04-16T22:38:00.000-07:002010-04-19T13:55:25.577-07:00Computod@s closes the books on Q1I apologize for the leave of absence from SocialCapitalista this being my first post since the New Year. In my excuse, the business has taken off since returning from Christmas leaving me with a schedule eclipsing the standard 9-5 job, and a mind that has been fried deeper then Kentucky Fried Chicken rendering it incapable to entertain and update each of you as frequently as I would like. However, as we have just closed the books on the First Quarter of Computod@s, I felt that I would be able to summon the creative juices to provide you with a quick overview of the past three months.<br /><br />Being home over Christmas was a restful, delicious, and much needed trip. It was kind of like a vacation back to childhood; Mom preparing whatever I put my finger on in the pantry, friends coming over to play video games, watch television, and even a few trips to the local casino. I chose the word carefully when I said “vacation” to my childhood. When I was a teenager a vacation meant traveling to Hawaii, playing golf in Palm Springs, or Disneyland of course! But now that I have really been able to settle into the “realistic” lifestyle that roughly 70% of people in this world live, the only vacation I need is: the choice of what food I eat at night, every electronic device at my fingertips, the safety to walk to my friends house.<br /><br />From that feeling of not being able to walk safely throughout San Salvador, my business partner Sam and I knew that it was time to find an alternative means of transportation. Sam’s parents were so generous to donate a van that they had idled in their garage. Just after New Years, the Computod@s team migrated from the Pacific Northwest through Mexico, Guatemala, and finally reaching El Salvador one week later. You may be able to gain perspective on the safety here in San Salvador as I tell you that we felt it to be a good decision to drive a minivan (with 100k miles) thousands of miles crossing through cities like Juarez, and the capitals of Mexico and Guatemala just so we will not have to take the bus to work here in San Salvador. My good buddy Josh To (Founder of non-profit BRUTE Labs a key supporter of Computod@s) and his brother Justin To met us in El Paso, TX to tag along on this wild journey. We were happy to have them along for the trip, however, it was understood that this was not a trip for tourism, but rather strictly business as Sam and I needed to return for our much awaited shipment of 200 computers arriving any week. (Pic of the crew after arriving in El Salvador)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7xTKKQcokLCHEweo5HvYx2C3oM01CwcPY1QjGhFKtUSCzjLt7U8iEzRzXTW3yMYZKaMTPJCV4o4f3-_k53AM9s6_HSpVMny-Kvtk-CuaFR2cD9wd9Q2h6VSZYehyyfOGhwVBH97Dcw/s1600/van"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7xTKKQcokLCHEweo5HvYx2C3oM01CwcPY1QjGhFKtUSCzjLt7U8iEzRzXTW3yMYZKaMTPJCV4o4f3-_k53AM9s6_HSpVMny-Kvtk-CuaFR2cD9wd9Q2h6VSZYehyyfOGhwVBH97Dcw/s320/van" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460984264808696402" border="0" /></a><br />After arriving in El Salvador, Josh and Justin shadowed Sam and I for the next week providing key feedback and strong creative ideas for the presentation of our computers. We knew that we were going to be providing people with what would be their first computer and we wanted the experience and quality to match the feeling. With that, Josh has jumped on board as our creative director helping us to revamp our logo and branding giving Computod@s the marketing strength to take refurbished Dell and HP computers and turn them into Brand New Computod@s computers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCuxmX1Y2qD5d93LbGlQ_NZTF-_4-vhxVhyphenhyphenOvyTugodiB00jqqyqc5dYRO-p7SL9JQL2Eh7B2N7Nn_glr7nUwsDqLvMV1P5XDE5-RwwJacW9TfZjnO_H1lgY1c1smroykorZ3zKOFHA/s1600/@for+user+account.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCuxmX1Y2qD5d93LbGlQ_NZTF-_4-vhxVhyphenhyphenOvyTugodiB00jqqyqc5dYRO-p7SL9JQL2Eh7B2N7Nn_glr7nUwsDqLvMV1P5XDE5-RwwJacW9TfZjnO_H1lgY1c1smroykorZ3zKOFHA/s320/@for+user+account.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460990074033863090" border="0" /></a>Josh has also helped with our box designs (see pic below), which we are very proud of as something to not only protect the box, but also to help market Computod@s, considering that trash in El Salvador doesn’t end up in the waste like in the U.S., it gets reused somewhere, hence…great marketing! For example, the bedside table in my room is an Amazon.com box. Justin was able to make us small vinyl stickers (see pic below) of our logo to go on the lower corner of the computer next to the Microsoft Windows and Pentium Intel stickers. (Pic of Justin's vinyl sticker of the Computod@s logo created by Josh)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxISYPAUyVeQydOwVVPZr8avix-SKuTWOWlLkx_mzLNcxU0_8UXXy2VKHaUBRVu4ZrjJ-EZBBfWBPSRyR5fpJLjpvo-plFOm5KNAukB8Z2gI3bue2mEqgQLBUtctIHUOZAnGQuX4Is8g/s1600/P1000148.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxISYPAUyVeQydOwVVPZr8avix-SKuTWOWlLkx_mzLNcxU0_8UXXy2VKHaUBRVu4ZrjJ-EZBBfWBPSRyR5fpJLjpvo-plFOm5KNAukB8Z2gI3bue2mEqgQLBUtctIHUOZAnGQuX4Is8g/s320/P1000148.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460984955854641746" border="0" /></a><br />In general, marketing in El Salvador takes a new name from what I studied in business school. Comparably, I see marketing and advertising in the United States being subtle, respectful, or even subliminal, but El Salvador is more “in-your-face,” “buy this product now” type advertising. Through the city you will find that a billboard will be waiting at every turn. Being a major form of advertisement, the rate at which new billboards are hoisted within the city makes me feel like I am in a Swing State just one month before a Presidential election. (Pic of a client holding her new computer in our stylish boxes designed by Josh)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEAwjYAvrpwDaBYdxPKzBk7pSX_2OuDp9IUTMFRfxc60ohDqJA9kfpguxBbuz3fI0x2Rxvye7aUjc6RcTcbtD4IHxl0HDnQqbJC-Wpcs8hxaGDUsa67TqNrhogQaNhvKE1sG4mqJ4Pg/s1600/P1000151.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEAwjYAvrpwDaBYdxPKzBk7pSX_2OuDp9IUTMFRfxc60ohDqJA9kfpguxBbuz3fI0x2Rxvye7aUjc6RcTcbtD4IHxl0HDnQqbJC-Wpcs8hxaGDUsa67TqNrhogQaNhvKE1sG4mqJ4Pg/s320/P1000151.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460985451777159810" border="0" /></a><br />As marketing is important, I have found that the “word-of-mouth” to be a self-fulfilling, everlasting engine that has taught us that if you are selling a quality product that people want and need, it will sell itself. In another marketing comparison that I have been able to deduce; the U.S. is what I call “first and only,” while El Salvador is “first and viral”. It is really looking into what makes you popular amongst your friends. To break it down, “first and only” comes from the idea that Americans like to be the first and only person to own a new product. Its value comes in the fact that it is rare. You want to tell your friend about your new watch, pair of shoes, or Tesla automobile, or iWhatever, but if your friend went out and bought it, you wouldn’t be as “cool.” In El Salvador I have found it to be the contrary in that buying the product first while being able to share the great deal or product with your friends is something that makes Salvadoran consumers unique and of course, “cool.” Not to say that all Salvadorans are wearing the same watches and shoes, but that the word of mouth can have an unexpected affect on your inventory and forecasts.<br /><br />That lesson on Salvadoran Marketing was necessary to offer a perspective and reason as to why at Computod@s we are in a difficult situation today. Difficult, however, does not always mean bad. After arriving in our warehouse at the beginning of March, we were able to sell all 200 computers in the entire month of April, half due to word of mouth, and half due to contacts. Our network and contacts is to what we owe most of our early success. It might send the auditors for a whirl, but our contacts deserve a line on our balance sheet under Assets. They offer key qualitative support, which has directly translated into strong quantitative results. Knowing people means the difference between success and failure in El Salvador. I know that it goes a long way in the U.S., too, but it is a whole new ballgame here. Each meeting we have will lead us to 10 new organizations or figureheads. Earning a spot inside this informal network has lead to our speedy success, and to this difficult situation I mentioned. A situation of selling these 200 so fast that “word-of-mouth” is drowning our inventory! As I said, difficult is not always bad. Last week we ordered our second shipment of 200 computers from Interconnection USA, which will arrive at the beginning of next month. The only change in this order was that we told Interconnection to start preparing the third shipment because after adding a “word-of-mouth” multiplier in our forecasts, we will need a strong, consistent level of inventory. (Pic of the South end of our warehouse. We test every computer before packaging to make sure that is leaves our warehouse in great coniditon)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIO93c_rOMbmkWB_dzTw6PVleY051iTzbcq01gCseftgK-IHsCXDbnoRcVy_EL67V0_HnxU3D8sM1AQNF3b_dZK5QOUpxiKkODDZTZcxuc9U-mo9POJNIWt8SdKHtk4MNjLUbtMy69A/s1600/P1000091.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIO93c_rOMbmkWB_dzTw6PVleY051iTzbcq01gCseftgK-IHsCXDbnoRcVy_EL67V0_HnxU3D8sM1AQNF3b_dZK5QOUpxiKkODDZTZcxuc9U-mo9POJNIWt8SdKHtk4MNjLUbtMy69A/s320/P1000091.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460986122389363874" border="0" /></a><br />We are beginning to truly define our market and understand our customers. We are a few shipments away from reaching sustainability and we already see this business having a long lasting future impact. I can’t even imagine what kind of volume we will see when we decide to move beyond “word-of-mouth” marketing. A customer walked in our warehouse today asking to purchase a computer. When I told him the price he practically jumped out of his shoes. He said that he knows many of his friends that would love to purchase one, too. I was devastated to walk him into our warehouse showing him that we are currently out of stock. He asked if we would be here permanently. With the way we sold our first shipment and his reaction after learning of our never before seen price for quality computers, a reaction that I see everyday…I told him that I don’t think Computod@s will be going anywhere soon.<br /><br />Computod@s sends out a monthly email newsletter giving a snapshot overview of the business. If you are not receiving the newsletter and are interested, please email us at info@computodos.org.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-46705993149300527302010-03-08T19:13:00.000-08:002010-03-08T19:27:42.698-08:00Guatemalan GraduationTonight fear dominated the emotions of my house. It was 8:30 pm and we got word from another American house that one of our friends, Laura, had not gotten home from work. In El Salvador, when it feels a little unsafe, it usually is. We informed the police and began to rally the housemates to begin a search party. It is difficult to live in a country that when someone is late coming home from work, it usually means something bad happened. Just as we were walking out the door to jump in the pick-up truck we received a call from the other house informing us “she is okay, she just got robbed.” We were all relieved and began to joke that we thought something bad had happened to her. After settling back into my hammock with the book The Great Gatsby—a teacher once told me that everyone should read Gatsby twice, and that it makes so much more sense when you are older—I began to think about our reaction to the incident. Using phrases like “she is okay,” and “just” with the word robbed is a little unorthodox in most societies. But here in El Salvador we comment by saying, “OMG…we got all worried, and she was JUST robbed.” <br /><br />Having now lived in both rural communities and an urban setting I enjoy the rural lifestyle as I have found it much safer and more family oriented. I look for opportunities to visit my host family in San Pedro the rural village I lived in while creating the micro-credit program for Mercado Global. Recently an opportunity presented itself when Chema, the oldest sibling of the family asked if I would be present at his high school graduation. You may remember reading from a recent post that Chema’s father died a month ago in a tragic bus accident. Chema explained to me that in Guatemala it is tradition that the parents “receive” the student on stage as he is presented with his diploma. Chema was to be the only student out of 24 graduating seniors that would not have both his parents present. He said that it would be an honor if I would take the place of his father and “receive” him with his mother on stage. I told him that I consider it an honor to be asked. It was a great time to get away from the madness of San Salvador and support my host family as two of the younger siblings were celebrating birthdays in that same week.<br /><br />After twelve hours on a bus I can spot the lake. At this point in my trip the lake serves as a bolt of motivation that I am minutes away from San Pedro, one of the most pristine places I have every been on earth. However, as my bus began to descend upon San Pedro I noticed a difference in the lake. Its usual blue color was casting a green tint like a sheet of lily pads; however, I had not known frogs to be so apparent around this lake before. In fact, the lake was experiencing an Algae Bloom. A bloom to this degree had never been seen before among these indigenous Guatemalans. Hundreds by the day were traveling to the shores to clean the lake, bucket by bucket. At first I wondered why all these Guatemalan’s did not have to be at work. As I began talking to the people I realized how important the lake is to the economy. Fish had provided many jobs to the natives, and was a traditional food for all three meals consumed during the day. The bloom had also struck tourism. With a dirty lake, many hotels including the broader industries are at peril of survival. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZZH4YADJ-QuDNmzOSi9SX5TochYUP5R327knIrwRR5AJmx-gKxRPgyhyphenhyphenNAoXWrfum-MjQj-YHErWzkel_5vKmsZ27F41v8hxpuswJo8EAO6SUcm6wW8u-QuY0Bmu3CO4SAcOOhunAA/s1600-h/algae"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZZH4YADJ-QuDNmzOSi9SX5TochYUP5R327knIrwRR5AJmx-gKxRPgyhyphenhyphenNAoXWrfum-MjQj-YHErWzkel_5vKmsZ27F41v8hxpuswJo8EAO6SUcm6wW8u-QuY0Bmu3CO4SAcOOhunAA/s320/algae" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446469417740765234" /></a><br /><br />And they are trying to clean in bucket by bucket! Although I am no biology major, I made a quick trip to the Internet café and tried to relay information to the people about the real problem that has been growing at the bottom of the lake for years and years. I told them that it is the chemicals from which they wash their clothes and bath in the lake, the fertilizers that they use on their crops and allow to be washed into the lake, and the trash for which their waste management system is only to wait for the rain to wash it down into the lake. These problems have magnified as an affect of the native lifestyle, and now the bottom of the lake is beginning to roar. I try to explain that a real change of lifestyle is necessary to combat this problem, but how do you get across to a population whose answer to every problem is that “it is in God’s hands.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sE_LC1WFW55rQGPHJ0Z0gcgYCOMSWieeT-rYacYT6g2nbzPFDK9aijppcClMba1csrOQJwtyKNcVzpZEL4mY4fgTPu61G_EamD-OurrU12gVRgEgfiCo8tLKQpUB01sNkW5WG9qvdA/s1600-h/bay-ladies-gather-goo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sE_LC1WFW55rQGPHJ0Z0gcgYCOMSWieeT-rYacYT6g2nbzPFDK9aijppcClMba1csrOQJwtyKNcVzpZEL4mY4fgTPu61G_EamD-OurrU12gVRgEgfiCo8tLKQpUB01sNkW5WG9qvdA/s320/bay-ladies-gather-goo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446469949172081426" /></a><br /><br />As an affect of the lake the natives looked saddened, hungry, and the town carried an obsurd odor among everything else. However, there was a line in the cloud as Chema was graduating, and I was excited to be there for him on this important day. It was a very emotional experience. His Dad was a major influence on him continuing his education, and it was very difficult not having him there. In Guatemala, 50% of children drop out of school before sixth grade! This was a big accomplishment, and it was difficult for Chema to celebrate it without his hero. It was a beautiful ceremony held in the town convention hall, which is about the size of a movie theatre. Traditional Guatemalan graduation music was blowing from the speakers as the students received their diplomas. About half way through the list the power went out! We stood in the dark for about two minutes before it started up again. It forced me to contrast my high school graduation experience. I graduated from a prominent public high school in Washington State, and my graduation was conducted in Seahawk Stadium. My brother, who graduated three years before me, graduated at Safeco Field where the Mariners play baseball. Standing with the power out I could not help but wonder if the power has ever gone out at Seahawk Stadium. I was very proud of Chema, and honored to “receive” him with his diploma. Proud, and perhaps a tad bit out of place, as I was the only foreigner in attendance. <br /><br />A graduation and two birthdays complete, and more cake and coffee then my body could handle. It was time to return to El Salvador as Computod@s is just beginning to ramp up. I have been very busy in the warehouse/office lately…GOOD BUSY. In my next post I will be sure to update you on the recent progress of Computod@s and where we are headed with the business. Saludos!Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-35377516654887319072010-02-02T17:27:00.000-08:002010-02-04T18:25:31.272-08:00H2O, Computers, and Spiders OH MY!Computod@s, the business I created to provide low-cost, high-quality computers to low-income communities in El Salvador, has taken great strides recently. It is amazing how many people will “go to battle for you” when you are creating something for the betterment of society. We have received support from key individuals and institutions from both the U.S. and in El Salvador making my job less demanding and freeing up more time to take on new projects.<br /><br />This past March I came down to El Salvador for my first time with a delegation from the Santa Clara business school. Part of the immersion was focused on visiting micro-entrepreneurs in order to better understand the importance of micro-loans. At first I was hesitant to believe that in the rural villages lived such a kind of motivated, creative, and entrepreneurial persons. After meeting Angel Tobar from Santa Maria de la Esperanza, a small village just outside the capital San Salvador, I knew that the class did exist, and all that was needed was financial assistance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KMhvhrHVVy0heA1_1p3A8-MEnZey7cnveCKA5JSr1T6HCK-IaST7ahxjJfSXU6vUiFlh3527PcIVaRyfdVOsQ_m98ZfuB82m7BgtJj9qS82ntDIArd46zcOFOP_q_eSqPHTwjNjSCQ/s1600-h/Angel"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KMhvhrHVVy0heA1_1p3A8-MEnZey7cnveCKA5JSr1T6HCK-IaST7ahxjJfSXU6vUiFlh3527PcIVaRyfdVOsQ_m98ZfuB82m7BgtJj9qS82ntDIArd46zcOFOP_q_eSqPHTwjNjSCQ/s320/Angel" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433824944684933762" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At only 18 years old, Angel discovered a method to utilize the rainfall much more efficiently for the town with the creation of a hydraulic ram pump. The pump uses the power of flowing water to pump a smaller quantity of water at much higher pressure. Ram pumps (see Angel introducing the pump in photo above) require no fuel or electricity, they quite literally run on water! The pump in Santa Maria de la Esperanza cost only $52 and is a unique apparatus in that many of the parts are from recycled materials and other common products used in these rural villages. For example, the body of the pump was created from an empty fire extinguisher. Angel has been able to use this pump to create many crop fields (photo below depicts one crop field. Vegetables are grown above the ground on a fence like apparatus and beans are grown below to best utilize the water source) that feed the whole town, and not to mention all the water they could ever need. Shelby McIntyre, professor and co-chair of the marketing department at Santa Clara University showed a lot of interest after he found out what Angel had created. I have been working directly with Shelby, who is helping to secure funding from organizations in the States, and Angel to create a franchise model from this ram-pump. We are currently in the process of creating a manual of the ram pump and are looking to begin creation in a new community in early 2010. I will be sure to update all of you about the progress of this project.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ1WmWNlsW8zg824Zgl20u2FK0p9o6RWDaDiSmST-TTFywzvxPInx8fGXN6XMFbpp8yZXK4P10C4sspQhuuFIM4CXTQM91HZpkVBRLSSCQlN7NErHTiqFNCEC4Q6Z3vRJdWNzcFDxTw/s1600-h/crop+field"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ1WmWNlsW8zg824Zgl20u2FK0p9o6RWDaDiSmST-TTFywzvxPInx8fGXN6XMFbpp8yZXK4P10C4sspQhuuFIM4CXTQM91HZpkVBRLSSCQlN7NErHTiqFNCEC4Q6Z3vRJdWNzcFDxTw/s320/crop+field" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433824949757642290" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There is no doubt that economic development is a very large sector with an enormous budget, so the only answer to explain why the poor remain poor is to “follow the money.” It is now time to start channeling these funds to people like Angel who have the passion and creativity to create a positive change.<br /><br />If you remember when I was creating the micro-credit program in Guatemala one of the greatest hurdles was communicating with the many indigenous languages spoke in the rural villages I was visiting. Lucky for my Spanish, that which is the only language spoken in El Salvador. As my Spanish has improved immensely, I now look for opportunities to help with translation when delegations or other institutions visit from the United States. The opportunity presented itself last week as a group of prominent poets from the state of Indiana came to learn and study with poets of a different culture.<br /><br />I met the poets in Quetzaltepeque, an hour bus ride outside San Salvador, which is the home of the Salvadoran poet organization. It was an amazing day as I became very close to the Salvadoran poets who were in there lower 20’s just like me. The day was dedicated to the arts. First we visited a pottery cooperative. As you can see from the video below these men are very skilled artisans in pottery. We were able to see, as you can, too, from this video how a pot is made from clay to finished product. These pots resemble many pots that I have seen on the mantles in the houses of my friends in the States. However, these pots were sold for only $2 to the natives who use them as a pail to transport water, and to cook soup.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-BtJaydkEtA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-BtJaydkEtA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />For the second part of the day we created murals on the village walls with poems inscribed over the paintings. My artistic creativity doesn’t fall far from the business tree, so I mostly stuck to translating. The poets were accompanied by a news reporter who was creating a documentary for one of the television stations in Indiana. As I was not occupied with a paintbrush, he approached me curious to find out more about my mission here in Central America. As I began to explain to him some of the projects I am creating with some of the experiences I have had he immediately asked if he could interview me for the news station. I said that I would be delighted to and that we would conduct the interview that night after we were done with the murals. Just as things couldn’t have gotten any better, they got worse! I began talking to one of my new Salvadoran friends and asked him what he does when he is not with this organization. He told me that he ferments and sells liquor. I found this to be very intriguing as he described the process of creating this alcohol using the corn from his fields. He asked if I wanted to try some, and as a curious college graduate, I bit the line. He gave me one large shot of this alcohol and waited to tell me after I drank it that it flirts close to 100% alcohol. I am pretty sure that my mind was still thinking college, but my body forgot to tell my mind that for the past four months I have been living in a city where I am not been able to leave my house at night; therefore, after one more shot I was drunk. After I returned to the murals the reporter had his camera and microphone all ready to go. You can just imagine how this interview went. Don’t worry if you do not have access to the Indiana news stations, because I am sure this will be on YouTube in no time. (Below is picture of me in my office surrounded by Computod@s computers)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJW3lZho63VMBYxrKuhKH1RCWPRdTChonv4cRzgIE7Aj7dODdh_6l12heb_xNJu-zCSUJ1NJSvTadtZ6qVxGz5kEj7Y3XZ2ldu4Jbxl8G3QmZFkdgYdUFsj10fN80tQqvnGWb_KyIUg/s1600-h/DSCN2820.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJW3lZho63VMBYxrKuhKH1RCWPRdTChonv4cRzgIE7Aj7dODdh_6l12heb_xNJu-zCSUJ1NJSvTadtZ6qVxGz5kEj7Y3XZ2ldu4Jbxl8G3QmZFkdgYdUFsj10fN80tQqvnGWb_KyIUg/s320/DSCN2820.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433824958039627250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Two weeks ago the CEO of DPG, a supporting partner of Computod@s invited my business partner Sam Baker and me to his beach house on the coast of El Salvador. The night before Sam and I traveled to Santa Maria de la Esperanza to meet with Angel about the ram pump. We ended up staying longer then expected, and due to the length of time necessary to get back to the capital as well as issues of safely traveling at night we had to spend the night in the village. We had a great night just enjoying the company of the people in the village. We sang songs because there were no devices to play music, and I think I was able to take care of my arachnophobia as when I turned off the light and the last thing I saw in my bedroom was a spider the size of my palm. In order to make our business trip on time, we woke up at 5:00am and had to walk 1-½ hours through the forest to reach the freeway. Four buses later and we were back in the capital with 15 minutes to spare before it was time to head off to the beach.<br /><br />Walking into this house on the ocean, my eyes saw a sight that I never thought existed in this country. A three-story house that was a pebbles throw from the ocean with a swimming pool accompanied by a hot tub with a table constructed in the middle to serve drinks. As this day was supposed to be relaxing it is very difficult in these extreme environments. As we left the gates of this beach house it was not more then two minutes into the drive when looking out the window you could see shack after shack. This is one of the greatest struggles in El Salvador, which has the seventh greatest inequality wealth gap in the world, and even worse is how visible. It was difficult to enjoy a drink with my boss in a hot tub that is a pebbles’ throw from the ocean, knowing that if I throw that pebble in the other direction it would land on a community struggling to keep the water flowing. What a day: eating breakfast in one of the poorest villages in the world, and eating dinner in one of the richest. That is doing business in the developing world!Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-15586395598421973652009-10-26T23:42:00.000-07:002009-10-26T23:59:26.369-07:00Building Bridges Across the Digital DivideThe past three months in Guatemala have been fulfilling and eye opening, but not always easy to understand. Hard to comprehend how a family of seven, their wallets empty, their house too small, was so willing to give me a bed and a seat at their kitchen table for three months. Harder to comprehend they have invited me to return at any time, on any notice.<br /><br />I’ve also found it hard to comprehend how families in the United States, unburdened by the fundamental challenge of survival, seem so frequently broken by smaller problems. The families of Lake Atitlan seem more willing to share their love – not just with each other, but also with strangers like me. And I wonder if their generosity is because, not in spite, of the hardships they face. Unlike families in the United States, they do not share material wealth; thus they do not have many possessions to fight over. Perhaps we have something to learn from the rural villages in Guatemala. Perhaps we need to reprioritize what is important and worth fighting for in our privileged lives.<br /><br />Never was this clearer to me than one week after I left for El Salvador, when Chema, the oldest son of my host family, contacted me with some tragic news: his father, Sito, had passed away at the age of 42. Sito, a bus driver, died on a trip he makes six days a week, when his bus – essentially a run-down American school bus from the 70s – collided with another one head on.<br /><br />Chema and his family were devastated. More than that, I sensed a fear for the future. Fear that a family of four children had lost its only income. But five buses and 24 hours later, when I returned to pay my respects, I saw something amazing. I saw hundreds of friends and family flocking to Chema’s home day and night to give what rice and beans they could spare, to offer their prayers and friendship and support for the future. A family with nothing materially appeared somehow to have everything. I’ve seen American families come apart in similar circumstances, fighting over the possessions of the deceased. In San Pedro, I saw family come together when family was needed most.<br /><br />The sense that there’s a community that’s bigger than each of us put together is something I try to incorporate into my work. Many of you know that after graduation, I chose to forego a job in the private sector and have been donating my time to helping to grow Guatemala’s third-world economy. I successfully created a micro credit program for the Mercado Global artisans and cooperatives of the Lake Atitlan region. Mercado Global now has a program that will provide a financial means for women to purchase the tools to innovate and the raw materials needed to increase production.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAFHgoA2t5bjzyaL8TMi2wf1zQ4DpiRL2-byekRVrgTwSVUzPNC1r2BYeXzuutjV4KM_VQuSBcK-S-Ll9XU0dcliS5ToWcmiPE0FDH61CSzyKMhXo-2Vq3AzeL2mDS_5b4Pj-9ayjYA/s1600-h/DSCN2798.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAFHgoA2t5bjzyaL8TMi2wf1zQ4DpiRL2-byekRVrgTwSVUzPNC1r2BYeXzuutjV4KM_VQuSBcK-S-Ll9XU0dcliS5ToWcmiPE0FDH61CSzyKMhXo-2Vq3AzeL2mDS_5b4Pj-9ayjYA/s320/DSCN2798.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397168686655112226" border="0" /></a><br />This undertaking brought some more harsh realizations. For it was not just about creating a credit facility; in a society that’s never had access to one, its worth needs to be explained. I had to visit each cooperative in the mission to explain the importance of credit and savings. And then I had to leave it in good hands.<br /><br />The language barrier made that first step very difficult and frustrating for me: my Spanish is pretty good, but there are three different languages other than Spanish that are spoken in the rural communities I was visiting. (Lucky for me, I had a translator.) But beyond language, the “digital divide” – the difference in computer literacy between the developed and the developing worlds – added another layer of complexity.<br /><br />My final job before leaving was to hire a loan officer to run the program. Finding qualified applicants was a challenge. Under “technical skills,” a section under which many Americans leave off Microsoft Office as too obvious, one applicant listed “calculator.” (This reminded me of a time I made my host family a slideshow on my computer; instead of watching it, they were entranced by the ability to scroll back and forward within the video.) It began to dawn on me that my progress, though laudable, is ultimately limited by the enormous technological gap that still separates the first and third worlds.<br /><br />I talked about this gap in a recent Brute Labs post. But in my final days in Guatemala, I got closer to understanding one way to address it. It will be impossible to connect the digitally deprived to the digitally endowed if one group lacks that basic fundamental technological resource: the computer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBCij9ww03VrKDs0ROZpINypk4GoAb322HBgjtPPyLVn1m4T1RuZi_GjtU9xApwmWkzVq7knevvtMgyXc48xSpI2Yo61tcB08LRHE5ophszd1X-42P8XNuZXkozAxQmgs8j7FjRqpWA/s1600-h/DSCN2770.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBCij9ww03VrKDs0ROZpINypk4GoAb322HBgjtPPyLVn1m4T1RuZi_GjtU9xApwmWkzVq7knevvtMgyXc48xSpI2Yo61tcB08LRHE5ophszd1X-42P8XNuZXkozAxQmgs8j7FjRqpWA/s320/DSCN2770.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397168279743331826" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Computod@s</span><br /><br />From this realization, I opened a new chapter in my passport. Along with Sam Baker, a friend and fellow SCU business grad who was having the same experiences and realizations in his work in El Salvador, we’re starting a socially driven, sustainable business that provides low-income communities, NGOs, schools and small businesses with access to high quality, affordable computers.<br /><br />We have forged a partnership with DPG, a large computer products distributor in El Salvador with over 20 years experience in importation, transportation, distribution to big companies, governments and PC product retailers. DPG will provide us with a strong logistical backbone and the operational support necessary to get off the ground and begin supplying computers. (They have already provided us with the legal support to register our entity under the name “Computod@s” — “computers for everyone.” They will also be supplying us with their warehouse to keep our inventory.) And we’ll be importing the computers from our supplier, <a href="http://interconnection.org/">Interconnection USA</a>, a non-profit located in Seattle, WA. Interconnection is a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher that looks to provide a second life to the many computers in the United States that are destined for the landfills.<br /><br />Working with refurbished computers is good because it’s green and it’s cheap. Extending the life of one desktop computer with a CRT monitor is equivalent to taking one half of a car off the road for a year. And we’ll be offering these computers at a price never before seen in Central America. Operating with a cost-recovery financial budget model, we will be selling brand name Pentium 4 desktops for $150. (Current stores resell comparable PCs for about $300.) Sam and I believe that computers should not be seen as a luxury, and we will be receiving our first shipment of computers very soon to begin working towards this vision.<br /><br />Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with a delegation of students from Santa Clara on an immersion trip. They asked me if it was difficult to pass up many high paying jobs to come live down here as a volunteer. The short answer is yes. But I’ve seen firsthand that the value of even one volunteer where I am are often overlooked and underestimated. Plus, the ability to volunteer is itself a luxury: for many, it is impossible to survive in the developing world if you are not working for a wage every single day.<br /><br />I’m lucky to be able to donate my time, and I’m lucky to be able to leave whenever I want to – to take a more lucrative job in a more prosperous country. This experience has taught me to wonder what it might feel like to live down here without that easy escape. But it’s also made me realize that we need to do what we can to make staying put a little easier. My job starts one computer at a time. I challenge you to seek where your job lies.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-19422288657999727872009-09-03T13:59:00.000-07:002009-09-03T14:10:17.481-07:00Finals Days in Guatemala<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fmYz1AI8Dvs&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fmYz1AI8Dvs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />3 Billion<br /><br />You must open your ears <br />To understand the tears<br />You must search your heart<br />To see this is not the start<br />You must lend both your hands<br />It’s time to make a stand<br /><br />You know that you and me<br />Have the power to set 3 billion free<br /><br />Vive en tu corazón y en tu mente<br />Para hacer que es verdadero<br />Though you many not understand what I am saying<br />We share the same dream…to do what’s right<br />What’s verdadero<br /><br />From the bottom to the top<br />The others gotta stop<br />Give them the tools to make a choice<br />To empower and raise their voice<br />It won’t be easy to change something<br />But it’s much harder than doin nothing<br /><br />You know that you and me<br />Have the power to set 3 billion free<br /><br />Vive en tu corazón y en tu mente<br />Para hacer que es verdadero<br />Though you many not understand what I am saying<br />We share the same dream…to do what’s right<br />What’s verdadero<br /><br />BRIDGE<br /><br />Vive en tu corazón y en tu mente<br />Para hacer que es verdadero<br />Though you many not understand what I am saying<br />We share the same dream…to do what’s right<br />What’s verdadero<br /><br />Sukari…shuka ah (meaning: good morning…good night in Tzutijil, the local language in San Pedro)Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-1045828436431219502009-08-13T15:40:00.000-07:002009-08-13T15:41:02.266-07:00Que Chivo Guatemala!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vMNK1Yh1oGU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vMNK1Yh1oGU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-35354022745559179252009-08-10T10:21:00.000-07:002009-08-10T10:43:13.155-07:00The Price is Right - ResultsThanks for all that participated in the "Lake Atitlan Price is Right." I was hoping to have the answers up by last Friday, but I was in Huehuetenango (a rural village in Central Guatemala, pronounced: Way-Way) and had zero access to internet for the past few days. I am excited to announce our winner, Ashley Foster, from Seattle, WA. Below are the correct prices along with the leaderboard of all contestants. After receiving all entries I decided to omit 2 questions (full week of rent, and 3 hours of spanish lessons) as my immediate family had "insider information." The hacksack Ashley has won is not your average toy played by kids outside at reccess. This hackysack was made by the Lema Cooperative who are famous as one of the only cooperatives in Guatemala that use Natural Tint for there products. Lema purchases only white threads, and creates natural colors from resources in Guatemala. Everything from plants, coffee beans, insects, tree's, and many other natural resources are used in a cooking-like procedure to provide the greens, yellows, browns, and reds in the hacksack. Stay tuned for more competitions to come in the future.<br /><br />Real Prices ($)<br />1) Chocolate covered banana = 0.12<br />2) Strawberry ice cream cone (w/ strawberry sauce on top) = 0.25<br />3) Kite (flies perfectly in the air) = 0.25<br />4) French Fries (size comparable to McDonalds regular container) = 0.18<br />6) 10 chocolate donuts that I bought for my family = 1.23<br />7) The Prensa Libre Newspaper = 0.37<br />9) Haircut = 1.23<br />10) Full loaf of banana bread = 1.96<br />Total = $5.58<br /><br />Leaderboard ($ from the total)<br /><br />1) Ashley - 0.96 (Brother's Girlfriend)<br />2) Alec - 1.63 (Cousin)<br />3) Christine - 1.87 (Aunt)<br />4) Cole - 1.97 (Cousin)<br />5) Mitchell - 1.97 (Brother)<br />6) Rich - 2.23 (Dad)<br />7) Jill - 3.42 (Mom)<br />8) Shelby - 4.32 (SCU Professor)<br />9) Rob - 8.32 (Uncle)Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-56928137559060798162009-07-31T15:55:00.000-07:002009-07-31T15:56:07.374-07:00Price is Right (winner gets a prize)The past week has been a little crazy. I got pretty sick Monday afternoon from…well, I really don’t know the cause. There are many ‘variables’ in my village to get sick from. I would be willing to bet it was the food I ate as it had a pretty big affect (the next part is graphic, do not read if you are under the age of 15) on the action that food takes an hour after it enters the body. Had to miss Tuesday and Wednesday of work, and have been playing catch-up the past couple of days. Don’t have time for a full update, so I decided to play a game with you instead. Below is a list of items that I have purchased in the past week. Comment on this blog, or email me (bsbelcher@gmail.com) what you think each item costs (quoted in US$). The person who scores the best will receive a hand made hacky-sack from one of the cooperatives I visited. <br /><br />1) Chocolate covered banana<br />2) Strawberry ice cream cone (w/ strawberry sauce on top)<br />3) Kite (flies perfectly in the air)<br />4) French Fries (size comparable to McDonalds regular container)<br />5) 3 hours of Spanish lessons with a private tutor<br />6) 10 chocolate donuts that I bought for my family<br />7) The Prensa Libre Newspaper<br />8) One full week of rent and food (three meals a day)<br />9) Haircut<br />10) Full loaf of banana bread (size comparable to footlong subway sandwich)<br /><br />A Big Mac costs $2.05 in Guatemala. That is a hint for most of you, and a joke for anyone that understood Econ 1.<br /><br />Responses will be graded and the winner (with the answers) will be posted on Friday, August 7, 5:00pm.<br /><br />Feliz Fin de Semana!Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-14544917606330267692009-07-23T11:22:00.000-07:002009-07-23T12:20:30.755-07:00Connecting the PoorAnyone who’s ever bought a house knows the importance of the credit application process. The most qualified applicants get the most attractive loans. But the difficulty and importance of a strong application has taken on a new meaning for me recently when I learned that many of the artisans Mercado Global will try to assist can’t read or write, let alone fill out a credit application form. As is too often true, those most critically in need are facing the most obstacles. I learned I’ll need to go through the applications with the applicants, step by step – and then fill them out myself.<br />The success of a micro loan hinges on the ability of the borrower to meet the monthly payment. One aspect of the loan application, then, is determining a borrower’s ability to repay the debt; for this, we use the Feasibility of Credit form. Put simply, the form helps to assess the borrower’s ability to pay by subtracting their monthly expenses from their monthly earnings. The Feasibility of Credit form will work to beneficially pair the borrower’s monthly repayment capacity with the terms of the loan.<br />Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Cooperative of Chaquija. A group of about 20 women in the Guatemalan village of Solola, Chaquija will be the first cooperative to receive a micro loan. The women of Chaquija often work through the day and night at antiquated loom stands to produce the fabrics that sustain their economy. Providing the cooperative with a loan will let them invest in higher quality tools and more advanced technology, in turn increasing their efficiency and improving their quality of life.<br /><br /><p align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzh-0ZyFtvogSIblHQqLcG31_2Qh3GeA3ZsrmqUz-2BBzA6P-Ab_RdIGyoA6pdEnv1GgDXEn5Ky_U_b3AEUtA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p>But the benefits of technological advancement stretch far beyond Chaquija’s looms. Access to information can in so many cases pave the way towards economic advancement. Yesterday, one of the boys in my host family, Victor, sprained his ankle during a soccer game at the local campo. I went to see how he was doing and was surprised to see that basic treatments – treatments we too often take for granted in our own homes – were being forgone. And I’m not talking about Advil and Ace bandages; I’m talking about ice. (Information isn’t all that limits Victors treatment; ice is hard to come by in a tropical climate and a home without a refrigerator or freezer.) I explained to him that it was important to keep his ankle elevated to limit the swelling, another step I had considered universally known.<br />I started to realize how much a simple internet connection could have provided real, physical – even medical – benefits to Victor and his family. Type "sprained ankle" into Google Search, and he could have learned in five minutes all he ever wanted to know about sprained ankles. (And in almost any language, no less.)<br />Technology that provides access to information can educate, strengthen, and connect communities across the world (both the “first” and “third” worlds). A family’s access to medical information, a farmer’s access to prices and markets, a mother who is able to contact her son in the United States about the status of next month’s remittance – these are just three of a limitless number of reasons that a connected world is a better one.<br />While I’m down here, I’m exploring ways to provide technology infrastructure to the three billion people that lack it. (And I look forward to the possibility of working with the Brute Labs team to provide this resource.) <a href="http://http//muhammadyunus.org/content/view/133/128/lang,en/">Dr. Muhammad Yunus</a> echoes the same vision that there are too many middlemen between the developing and developed worlds.<br />In this last picture, taken from my office last week, you can see four Americans sitting inside using computers, and four artisans outside making jewelry. How much longer until no one needs to be on the outside looking in? As critically as we must pursue the many green efforts in place across the world, it’s time for us to enable an equally vast information revolution. It’s time to start "G-chatting" with the developing world.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361724741778947698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgp7m2u6vHVVa8AH35X7VtiVLr_WgtonbqHsnFvpgUFhWeM5rbxx8LrVqr_iqC6A70olIqR_ku-bH8ltsIVg2LHve63qQwerkn5AosqzOjBoa0_UkYwmFQ9f6ldF-KgQg0V1GuGc9oUw/s320/DSCN2718.JPG" />Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-71462165195446718352009-07-09T16:34:00.001-07:002009-07-16T15:19:07.071-07:00Seasons of the SkyMany of my posts share the same theme of the peaceful beauty of Lake Atitlan, and its beauty deserves every word. It is easiest to blog about the lake, because it is the one time of the day, on the lake traveling to and from work, when I am alone with my thoughts. No children asking me to perform card tricks, no ladies smacking there hands together to make tortillas, and not trying to figure out what interest rate we must charge so that all the costs that go into the program break-even with the monthly payments on the loans of the artisans. <br /><br />The boat ride home the other day was one I will never forget. As the mountains and volcanoes surrounding this lake create a climate that would even keep Bill Nye guessing, its mystery brings natural beauty. This day, however, was a special day as I call it the "Seasons of the Sky." I refrained from taking a picture as I fear it may not do justice to this experience, but hopefully my words will be able to fill your blank slate. As I stood up on the boat I found that each cardinal direction of the sky was displaying, in my mind, a different season. To the south I saw what looked like to me as fall, a clear dark blue, partly cloudy setting which gave me a chilly feeling. To the North, winter, as I saw headed straight for my boat a rain cloud that in the right temperature would make Whistler look like a shaved ice machine at a carnival. To the East, Spring, and to the West, Summer, which brought up one of the greatest myths? I know that the sun sets in the West, however; at this moment I could not tell where the sun was in the sky. I have never been anywhere on this planet where the weather was so mysterious (except in Prague when in the winter the sun sets at 2:30 pm), and it is so beautiful. I felt like I was playing Truman in the movie The Truman Show, and Ed Harris (actor who plays God) has created a mini-globe for me.<br /><br />Within the beauty I get frustrated. As I exit the boat the poverty stains my mind. One of the main sources of poverty is geographical location. Some countries are blessed with natural resources that can only be controlled by the location of the country. Whether it is oil, gold, or an environment perfect for agricultural production, location can be a main determinant in the outcome of a country long before “Columbus” even arrived. But I have begun to think, Lake Atitlan may not have the natural resources to sell on the futures markets and exchanges, but they have another natural resource; its natural beauty. As the Seasons of the Sky put a smile on my face, I cannot help but look on this lake and realize that at any point in time there will be no more than two boats on its surface. Atitlan is home to many tourists, and I wonder how well a jet-ski, or water sport business would do on this lake. A water sports industry could possibly provide jobs for hundreds of Guatemaltecans. The true question remains: is beauty something to capitalize on?<br /><br />Trying to picture this lake with jet ski’s and another hundred speedboats, I can’t help but think that the lake will loose some of its beauty. What is the cost of beauty, and is it worth loosing some to earn profits? One of the reasons the lake is so beautiful is because when I am on it I know that I am the only one. I get frustrated because I see what potential this lake has, but I get frustrated when I think about the effects of that potential. <br /><br />What is more important, income or happiness? I know that industrializing this lake will bring hoards of cash to Atitlan, but I also believe that the hoards of tourists that it will take may decrease the happiness of the natives. In the country of Bhutan, they measure GNH (gross national happiness) as opposed to GDP (Gross Domestic Product). They believe that the happiness of the people should be the focus, and not the size of their wallets. <br /><br />If hoards of tourists are not wanted by the Atitlan natives, I have another answer for the economy, the film industry. Tell George Lucas that if he wants to make another Star Wars film that I have a great location for his next planet. He has used Hoth, Tatooine, and everyone’s favorite Endor (home of the Eewok’s), well I think Atitlan with its towering volcanoes, and mysterious climate would make a great setting for the next “In a galaxy Far Far Away…”Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-62914005184367593272009-07-06T15:35:00.000-07:002009-07-09T15:34:50.628-07:0010 Things You Should KnowAt the moment I have so much work piled up with the microcredit program that Obama would consider fixing health care a walk in the park. I have lots to do, and yet it feels a little stagnant. I am using stagnant to say that we are taking steps forward, but to not have a lot of muddy footprints to show for. Because I am so busy I will refrain from a long post right now, and will keep it to a list of the ten things you should know about me over the past week. Starting with number 10…<br /><br />10) I ate eggs, beans, and tortillas for dinner every night this past week.<br /><br />9) I caught six fish. Although the size of the worms we use to catch fish in the United States…still, I caught SIX fish.<br /><br />8) It rained every day and I saw three lighting storms.<br /><br />7) This past Monday the kids from my host family just go the okay to return to school. The children have been out of school the past month due to Swine Flu. Hmmm...<br /><br />6) I watched Michael Jackson music videos with my family on our 10 inch television each of the past four nights. We are all working on our Moon Walk.<br /><br />5) My Spanish went from a 4 to a 5, out of 10 (on my scale).<br /><br />4) I wore a Brasil jersey the day Brasil beat the U.S. in soccer.<br /><br />3) I went two days without light…and could barely tell the difference.<br /><br />2) My Host Mom made 350 tortillas!<br /><br />1) I had $500 stolen out of my bank account after I used one out of the only two ATM machines in my town. Bank of America said that it was a criminal who set up a scanner in the ATM. We were able to trace the money and replenish my account. But the question remains…where the hell am I supposed to withdraw money?!<br /><br />Here are two pictures that I really like. The first is of my with part of my host family. I was attempting to teach one of the boys how to play guitar (that's me in the hammock). Teaching guitar is difficult as it is, so imagine teaching in another language. The second picture is me waiting at the launches for my boat after work.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355481511848463922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrwInWieX2Kz4iv79W6gsjeq2-jVy-y6hiFiWuvAThh13xmZT0Pu7royGdlo5X2bQ47J-JqGBW-Mp3u3c_-TtIx3hyphenhyphen1nfnSZmu_E0vyH5m0d62VO_JQSeo_cWarT6sid8buHsAPiaIg/s320/family.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 254px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355481509682083602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxFaYFPQbdywn4Em_v8CHnhpfpiX5p7gqfGIuLzIajQCAs585-xsKGx7z-PEsTE8-c5u1AWKyra9unVfWCgSLVUXubLnsa48hJCfs36TEf9q3rraLG-AtkVh5F-VZSVEzSxzhJDWCxg/s320/boat+launch.jpg" />Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-85847871223922525322009-07-02T09:16:00.000-07:002009-07-02T09:17:15.880-07:00Lights OutAt Mercado Global I am currently working on a document that will explain, step-by-step, the process of credit. We need to present the function of the program, Mercado Global Credit, to the Board of Directors and receive the “Go for launch” before moving forward. Last night as my boat approached the launch at San Pedro I noticed that the power was out. <br />In America when the power goes out and I am driving home there is still hope that electricity is alive in my neighborhood. I figure that in America power comes from many sources and boxes in different regions. But in San Pedro, when the power goes out, it’s OUT! <br />In America when the power goes out, every activity is affected as everything we do seems to be connected with electricity. I was amazed sitting in my house last night to see that my usual activities were not affected. I understood this as since San Pedro has not made themselves as dependent on electricity and do not have the many amenities that require this resource then no major changes were needed. Sure we did not have light, but I think the kitchen/living room (we only have one room other then the bedrooms, which I would call the “living kitchen”) was more lit now with candles then with the single bulb that normally serves as the light source. I had to use my flashlight to go to the bathroom, but I always have to use a flashlight to go to the bathroom. We did not need to worry about our food getting rotten in the refrigerator, because we do not have a refrigerator. We have a gas stove, and I was worried that without power we were not going to be able to eat. However, the gas stove is one of those little Coleman cookers running on propane, so Teresa, my host mom, was able to cook our traditional beans, eggs, cheese, and tortilla dinner. My conclusion is that when the power goes out nobody is that affected. Now the question is when will the lights turn back on? The power went out yesterday at 1:30pm, and it is still out today at 10:00am. In America I rest assure that I will go to sleep and an electrician is at work, so when I wake up I can look at my clock and it is flashing 12:00 (my signal that the power is back on). But I am not sure if anybody is working to get the power back on in San Pedro. And if I have to take a few cold showers that is fine because we do not get hot water anyway.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-35989755575145730872009-07-01T13:12:00.001-07:002009-07-01T13:29:55.299-07:00Fishing for DinnerOne of the kids in the family is the cutest boy you will meet. Kind of like a male version Mary-Kate/Ashley Olson…pre-drug rehabilitation center era (okay maybe that comparison was not necessary). His name is Checha, which is short for Cesar (He is wearing the yellow shirt in these pictures. Speaking of yellow shirts, yes I am wearing a Brasil jersey, and yes that was on the same day Brasil beat U.S.A. in the finals). Checha is eight years old, and I spend a lot of time with him making card houses, playing marbles, and I even taught him how to play the card game Uno. I have determined that if Checha and I were stranded alone on an island with no resources, he would survive much longer then me. I figure this is because they do not have some of the resources that we in America are so adapted to. Boys like Checha have developed skills that the American man has lost through innovation, growth, and technology.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353589300937858770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslxzACtFLrIQAgJ9IGnHnZVCasHuJ3g8ygYe4P1tytMoNpqvgyzhKpn8uEfNpMNq-yEW3ROcy88Cu-rlExP859TCnmuDvHfTfWtaluvJ_nCHuopIVp6LjFRpKfbf8YY3opN3et-WB9g/s320/fishing+group.JPG" /><br />This past Sunday, Checha invited me to go fishing with three of his best friends. I was excited to see just how an eight-year-old Guatemalan boy fishes. When I fish in America I get out of my bed, put my rod and tackle box in the car, drive to the local store to buy worms then pick a local lake to drive to. In America fishing is usually personal time with my Dad for the main reason that we never catch any fish, so there is no need to pay attention to our lines. And now for Guatemalan fishing…<br />We had nothing to fish with when we left the house. First, we had to walk to a store to buy our line, which cost 20 cents. Next we had to walk to a different store to buy our hook, another 20 cents. We walked back to our house to grab the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper. This was going to serve as our fishing rod (see first picture in the hand on the boy on the left). The boys helped me create my rod. In many steps broken down to a few, you need to wrap the line around the roll, make a few holes here and there, attach the hook, and now you have a Guatemalan fishing line. I assumed that the next shop we were going to walk to would be for worms or bait. But there is not bait shop. Instead we had to find our bait. First we walked to the fishing location, which are the docks of the launches for the boats I take to work each day. These are the only docks on the whole lake. We looked below the docks and saw enough fish to take the next step. We walked to the beach where the sand meets the dirt and began digging for worms. All five of us dug with rocks for about 15 minutes, and were unsuccessful. Then one of the boys said we could get our bait in the trees, but it was a pretty long walk away. I had to see what he was talking about so I said it was okay. We walked to a farm 20 minutes away, which had trees with fruit in the shape of large peapods (I tried the fruit and it tastes like jicama). Supposedly inside some of the pods we would find little worms that we could attach to our lines. But they are not in all of them. Two of the kids climbed the trees and begin looking inside the pods.<br /><div><div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 318px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353588668280136338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-tVYzIj_3sqPxZSNeE6QWjB4lSFgXKlRH8CbclqBkER8FGFTL5GiJ-PGdFz6ifuE7Avn2ILughDCIYmjkhGy3nJuTFvPffy4lB48VqBsdQsR34W0ymJ500J9ob7v4Gk-Rqzmj_3YGw/s320/DSCN2673-1.JPG" /><br /><div>It took about 20 minutes until one of the boys yelled (in Spanish) “We have bait!” We all began jumping and cheering. It was like we had just caught a fish in America, but all we caught was our bait. Little did I know that catching the bait in Guatemala is much more difficult then catching the fish. These worms were not American McDonalds super-size either, but more like what I would imagine Chinese McDonalds super-size would be. They were white worms the size of one rice granule.<br /><br /></div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353588319386706930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbKK2vIWd8jYIUPtVfjzK6_6lnrQMPz0LZKPtOqtRtgoZx6zj6eGZJZ04zaYAu47Z3uuahcuoPVbsi1IuMZpvSr2KSB0v5BfsSKSEPqxY1lchjT8RrtxDavKw5SXLs-Mj_UHmtj-b02A/s320/DSCN2680-1.JPG" /><br /><div>We walked another 20 minutes back to the docks and began to fish. To fish in Guatemala you lay on the dock and wait until you see a fish swim by, and when that happens you drop your line.</div><div></div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353587922862890050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDBXylAMsjA4D_TPv11tDwipTXm6D30nW4Lk_IN4buNyJn_7QflSEBtTxUXHm-IEyhvKvMDBhRa18LW3xFVFBFC8NPqv_uZp3zMEbvntqpMoclrCZLf70fASOIrpdDAE50y0fDJWYnQ/s320/DSCN2671-1.JPG" /><br /><div>As a group we caught SIX FISH! Granted they were the size of Little Nemo, but we bagged them up. After we were finished one of the kids took the bag home. I would say he took them for pets, but they were all dead by the time we walked home.<br /></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 245px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353587587491090930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqbsE1zCWA4VQWuynGB-DrKxyydwkdyhY4odKPDrT5u5jA2lwJRDz9dmk7XJ8i0n2-HwRAWt5PHEmJeHQvKmgN4lp1OKEM0X2NIw7jecN3MzEESD59dVWAXYAiRh-6PUIuLmHbOsKzg/s320/DSCN2685-1.JPG" /></div><br /><div>Yes finding our bait took longer then the actual fishing. But that leads me to believe that the word fishing should be a flexible cultural definition. To my family fishing is talking. To Checha, from what I saw, fishing is time to play outside of the house, and time to compete with friends. My time fishing with these boys was priceless. I hadn’t had this kind of fun since capture the flag in fifth grade. Checha was so happy when we were at the lake. Later that night I took him and Jaun (Jaun is my neighbor) back to the docks and taught them how to skip rocks. Probably will not be my last time I go Guatemalan fishing.</div><div></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353587313699584322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQYx2KuthH256vEohtbZcdIMYDzuV6YmglDcJeAXN9lzF_KTA3BQR0LAnBBAT_rClkXWjziaTokbNQr4IfB9vAr28EMD1A6E1oLV8HgRdPFmpMXZ33D_ez1VjiEKvE532FlMyc2_Dig/s320/throwin+rocks.jpg" /></div></div></div>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-46897974725159130042009-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:002009-06-30T13:22:38.162-07:00The Weekend Fiesta: Cockfights, Bombs, and Sports OH MY!This past weekend I stayed in San Pedro, and I am pretty happy with that decision. This weekend was a festival celebrating the birthday of the town, and also the time in which they crown the Queen of the pueblo (Miss America, Guatemalan style). The festival ran all throughout the weekend with many activities. Below are three of the most memorable that I need to share with you.<br /><br /><strong>Parade</strong><br /><br />On Saturday everyone in the town takes to the streets for the parade put on by all the regions of Lake Atitlan (in Spanish parade is spelled desfile). Each school entered there band and a float into the parade. The floats consisted of a small display on the back of a pick-up truck. Usually that display was a little girl throwing candy into the crowd. One candy distribution ended in a brawl between little boys on the street. A policeman had to break it up. The video below speaks better than any words I could describe about this parade. The video is pretty long, but the most interesting part is with the fireworks. Fireworks are set off here like mail is delivered on a week day. Last night, fireworks were set of consistently the whole night. They are set off in the center of town, and since my house is directly at the center, I got no sleep. It would be one thing if the fireworks were the type they shoot off when Ken Griffey Jr. hits a homerun, but of course not. Guatemalan fireworks have no color, only sound. They do not call them fireworks; they call them “bombas,” bombs. Rightfully so as every night I go to bed I feel like I am at WAR! They will slow down when the festival ends, but they will not stop. Anyway, in my video you will see a man walk out into the middle of the parade standing proud with his bomba. He is about ready to light off this bomb, but the location he has selected for this bomb to shoot up into the air is right where I would call telephone pole central. If he set this off at this location it would be like the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; they escape through the window tower, but not without breaking the glass. Finally, all the women in the crowd start whistling (signal for something bad) and yelling at him to move. He finally moves the location. I follow him in the video for a while. Safe to say that in the end Charlie gets the factory and all the chocolate safely. (Internet kept cutting out where I am to upload the video, so I put a picture of the parade for now. You can see in this picture the telephone pole wires I am talking about).<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352897227174314498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrDkFXs8MPipLF3sgZ2kEaelQlahBJ2SsB66wJg82fFHh43ng6R3byfm2fnxXyOJhXlm4DjNHxQciYJg5iD_9oCz7hZmodSXOmvqYO7mw21K6faryWVtnEedZ4ic4JLza6UDZZTLsgg/s320/parade+pic.jpg" /><br /><br /><strong>Cockfight</strong><br /><br />Somebody back in the United States please call Michael Vick and tell him I found a sport that he can play, and it’s legal. Saturday afternoon two of the older boys in my family took me to a cockfight. The event was held in the same place that the kids play indoor soccer. Admission was $1 to sit in the stands, and 2$ to sit around the ring. I bought courtside tickets.<br /><br /><div><div><div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352875360196643426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT674tSHhUv85FjOX8lh0-C9di0gKOTzBQPGmnEwOiDR7RpZnggah4lgfCzBBIRAikZ83oHulhwABG-9WKRLV505MwlNTgNH79-4SW0UtQmCkw9_xR-USKlxorq_284-_jdgHVSGHQBQ/s320/cockfight.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">The event was sponsored by the leading Guatemalan beer producer, Gallo, which in Spanish means rooster. There were ten fights, the same amount of races at horse race with about 15 minutes of preparation before post. Preparation includes “the weigh-in.” The roosters strip down to their underwear and are placed onto scales to make sure that there is not outright advantage (see picture below).</div><br /><br /><div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352875656501535698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzaBxBuVtxq9v1sr1x6Hjsnamdkb88pg2qNiZbrApuxOjWwDPFu0SSLz1hdmPZdyGmD-NQDJNuQhR9k0ffxEuImx_3BPoj0heXIZpcDGIpQ-btMeCmmwi3EefKVbfe7OSn-NKu2Q5kw/s320/Cockfight+weighin.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">After the weigh-in, the manager puts on its gloves. By gloves I mean gives the rooster its weapon. The owner will strap on a Swiss army size knife to the right leg of the rooster. From my experience the rooster does not know how to use the knife, but I guess the owner is hoping that the knife will act like Aladdin’s magic carpet and fly. As they bring the birds into the ring people begin to stand and cheer for their “team.” Before the first bell the referee brings out the heater. The heater is a rooster that comes out to warm up the each cock. They let the bird get some punches in, and they also hold it while the heater takes some pecks at the bird, to get him angry. Each fight goes three rounds, and if one bird is struggling you will not see Kramer jump into the ring and throw in the white flag to protect “Little Yerry Seinfield” (if you have seen that episode). Directly after the end of each fight, the owners approach and exchange money to the winner. I have left out the gore and action, but if you are into that part of Guatemalan culture, please email me.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352891443146265490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyk0nKMiF115PoVB71XJ9_P0W7rZRnYyD7dgRRRKeCESkXryBbvB96laFlWKGxuae52zrqy4KU3rei-Cl00-W_Ho6jrBh_7MeFqFvzCQY-GIuJREO8gD_UvcaMYQLZuicfFKPRttF_Dw/s320/cockfighters+attack.jpg" /><br /></div><br /><strong>Basketball</strong><br /><br />That night we went to the basketball game to see San Pedro play Guatemala City. It is hard for me to explain exactly what this league is, but it is basically the Lakers of my city. The San Pedro team was had yellow uniforms and was sponsored by Banrural, the Development Bank of San Pedro. Not one player looked to be over six feet tall, and they were much younger then the other team. The Guatemala City team, wearing green jerseys, are sponsored by And1 and have players over 6’5’’ tall. They also had a few guys that looked over the age of 40 and a few guys that were not even Guatemalan. </div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 258px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352876037046939698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zyjfPuEaJp1f1a_ojQx8T4gx8kK2Xos013g9yYQmYEVQvbWLa82VA57syaSUQaFKWv8kdmKFEaaxRcvMsNz4ehVvUWA-EpqWgVkSq5zjzAWZIC01jJhG0cUXqPQ34cgH6-9mcSjnnQ/s320/basketball.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div>The game was played on the one court in the town, which is outdoors. It had just rained, of course, and the court was wet. It was a pretty sad sighting for San Pedro. They got dominated down low. Both teams ran a 2X3 zone, and the wetness of the court seemed to add another defender. There were about 500 people in attendance that all stood around the sides of the court. The announcer talked during the whole game and half of the time was not even talking about the actual game. The half-time show was a band that played much louder music then they needed to be. And you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it, but when the second half began the band kept playing. I stayed for about eight minutes into the second half, and because the band did not stop I left. Overall the game was quite a show. The most amusing part was the few times when a homeless dog from the town ran out onto the court and not one person even flinched. They just kept playing and within a minute or two the dog went back into the locker room I guess. </div></div>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-3755532265751344872009-06-24T07:40:00.000-07:002009-06-24T07:44:12.112-07:00The Commute + Observations<div>Escúchame…The people I have met in the third world are poor. But by whose standards I ask? They never classified themselves as being “third world” regions, but it was by the standards of the first world. Through this process we have made them, in MY opinion, even poorer. Many of them have never been to the first world, but by the way we have structured the methodology we have constructed an interpretation in there minds that we live in a heaven. Through the economic theory of relativity people in the first world are happy based on a relative basis where my car is nicer then yours and my camera has more functions then yours. But let me start by saying in the third world I feel poor in a sense when I pull out my camera. For the 30-75 years we have on this planet it is not necessarily an increase in technology that people need, but equal rights and opportunities.<br />Before calling me a communist please listen to an average day at my work. I leave the house at 7:00am and arrive at the office at around 8:00am, more or less. Now, in the U.S. this hour commute would consist of what the average person would consider…hell. Hoping on the same ugly freeway each morning driving 40 mph less then what it allows because of the traffic of people doing the exact same thing. In Guatemala my hour is a bit different. I walk ten minutes from my house to the boat launch. The boat is about 30 ft. long and it takes about 40 minutes to get from San Pedro to Panajachel. This 40 minutes right here is one of the most beautiful 40 minutes you will ever experience. As you can see from my pictures the lake is a pure site of Natural beauty. How many other people in this world get to drive by three volcanoes on there way to work? Back in Sammamish, WA, our town rests on the side of Lake Sammamish. Another beautiful lake, but on that lake I am tossed by the waves created from the hundred speed boats and interrupted by the jet skis riding up the ass of my boat. I assure you the only waves on this lake are created by the wind. No Traffic! Oh yeah, and it only costs $2. </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350904675221543122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2n4YdXtN244PfwEKtwEF0QDoXfvY1wSbiOVWxPRo540NSsG-xauWPngzbEEa3S_naOwm0tMidQ3R_mbx9fismF8SDx7TVVAaIkviN4PksUBG4oE6nisu755tLVMZo8isSB8mOPnMAA/s320/boat+volcanoe.jpg" /><br />Sometimes when I am around nature I think about dinosaurs. I try to picture what it was like for a brontosaurus or triceratops to be roaming around the same ground as me. Lately in America it has been very difficult to do this. The past three days I have seen quite a bit of dinosaurs. After arriving on the dock I walk another 10 minutes. Happiness to me is being in shape. How much healthier are you when your car takes you from your parking garage to the parking space directly in front of your office? On my way to the office I may pick up a mango, a pitaya, and fruits you have probably never seen or tasted. When I arrive at my office I sit in a chair that does not swivel or have leather padding at a desk that is made of a wood not mahogany. But if I want to work outside, I just take two steps. Sitting outside right now writing this post looking at the side of a mountain with a waterfall right in front of me I cannot help but say that although I do not receive a salary my fringe benefits are nice enough. Hasta Luego.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-51924502172039445062009-06-22T16:20:00.000-07:002009-06-22T16:46:28.452-07:00First Week!<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">The past few weeks have flown by faster than the rain that floods the streets of my new home San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala...and that's fast! I am still in the immersion phase, but the family I am staying with in San Pedro La Laguna is making me feel as comfortable as if they were my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>San Pedro La Laguna is a small village on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Atitlan</st1:placename></st1:place>, which is approximately four hours West of Guatemala City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Atitlan</st1:placename></st1:place> (see picture) is absolutely beautiful as it is surrounded by three volcanoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Its daily dose of rain makes it the greenest place I have ever been in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Think… “<st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Great</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Valley</st1:placetype></st1:place>” in the movie Land Before Time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350298135329579698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLF6OomwmjTkO_9Hsurwb71CJorE0fc191olAbwEGXU0lmAdYDivuCwtLEESD9lvIDFOu7pOgyYLQgEaIxZVVVVMs94Vf7Tt8bArwB86_p3SmLbvs5eQaIY6-r3y20HxTvUqiONNlxA/s320/San+Pedro,+Guatemala.jpg" /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>My office is in Panajachel, which is another village across the lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I take a small boat to work each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My Spanish is not perfect, but my family is taking the time to help me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My family has four children of all ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were very excited by the gifts I brought; coloring books, crayons, yo-yo, paddle with the ball attached, and their favorite which is the silly putty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This past Friday I hung out with the children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We played basketball in the village center, and I was like Yao Ming to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After that I brought out my guitar and played some songs for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I even began to teach one of the kids how to play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350297559342153922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12Pi7Es6TV4Dj8UUqCekbqFrwy6TcYqC7mCrp2sFJ7rhgu4-gAQFrBMf0bJ0GJ1hbV_53qgysCR7GtzE2TenLKU4GQMGMWEq9oge_tkXktdxaKPPP9NKWdcpntg6wiJMzctdQz-qC-Q/s320/Lake+Atitlan.jpg" /></p><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">This past weekend I went to Antigua, a tourist village three hours from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Atitlan</st1:placename></st1:place> with another volunteer named Meggie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There were many attractions to see, but the top of them all was the hike up Volcano Pacaya, pun intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The tour book said not to go up if it is raining, but we did not listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We took a bus to 6,000ft and hiked up to the peak at 10,000ft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It took a couple hours to summit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As we got closer to the top we began to smell the sulfur and feel the heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At the peak we saw LAVA!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was hot and on the move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But it was raining so hard that you could only pick your head up to see it for a couple seconds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After that we began to retrace our steps down the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Unlike in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Central American tour guides are less concerned about the safety of the group or the liabilities involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our whole group got separated and Meggie and I were left alone to find our way back down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We could not see a football field’s length in front of us and the lava rocks were acting as quicksand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At one point of the volcano I was getting about two steps per minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I started thinking “I didn’t sign up for this,” but then I remembered I didn’t sign anything because for these tours you are not forced to sign a waiver!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We finally hit the tree line and I was able to use my “Man vs. Wild” skills (following horse manure and the water trails) back to base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But not before getting a little bloody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While stuck in the quicksand of lava rocks a basketball sized rock skidded down the volcano crashing into my leg leaving an ugly but manageable gash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was quite the experience and if this was any indication to the next three months then <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Guatemala</st1:place></st1:country-region> is going to be quite the excursion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Check out this video...</span></p><span style="font-size:0;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxFLl55P5v4fyHbThcKMvQVc7gBPpFSsX4zltvqUmPi_ZjYDU2UvuToDhlWiLApiD-6PfRuC6hlMCvJLqUh3A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></span><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"></p>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-84739406078603780092009-06-22T12:04:00.000-07:002009-06-22T12:27:15.156-07:00My House in San Pedro La Laguna<p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyIp9diYvPyqR_NSfVOUnNwWGEfR3Kekbbom8I64NVI3rQQSPNth_c3IdP99OxoO1s9RMVXU_YBMzxAz8-ZZg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Walking around the village of San Pedro La Laguna in Guatemala I cannot help but feel very lucky for the room and family I have been blessed with. The day before I arrived the father spent the whole day painting my room and decorating it for me. So sweet! Although I did have a tough time sleeping the first night with the fumes. The patio outside my room (see video below) looks over the main square in the village. It is usually very active with lots of people and stands selling food, crafts, and just about anything you could need. To the left of the church is a basketball court. The first day the two sons in the family took me to the court to play three on three. Guatemalans are typically very short in height, so I had a field day on the post. More videos to come later. Hasta Luego</p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzmUwsZkbBMkzuwI-v87I0S4mzdkr4t1K49j6soowH-ThRsN2s0R8wlsOrshW3mMUUJQYBQlV0j8vrijVEUXA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-59349208959920205102009-06-17T16:08:00.000-07:002009-06-17T16:25:27.338-07:00Me Voy a PanajachelToday is the big day! I leave for the airport in a half hour and thought I would give a little update on thoughts and feelings. I also wanted to apologize for not posting in a few weeks, but finishing up college has been exhausting, overwhelming, but overall a blast. <div><br /></div><div>I graduated this past Saturday and four days later I am flying down South. Saying my goodbyes has been hard, but I am motivated to start. I could have used another month in the States, but the reason I am having to go so soon is the need to get this microbank off the ground. Mercado Global has already been taking first steps in planning and investment, and they need me down there asap to get started on some of the budgets and to develop the credit methodology. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will know so much more about my role with the bank in 24 hours, and I presume that my next post will be ten times more interesting then this one, but I can say right now that I am nervous, a little scared, but sitting above all these is a feeling of excitement. I recently found out that I will be joining another intern, Meggie, who is a senior from University of North Carolina. I will be living in the same homestay as her, and we have already been skyping about all the fun activities we want to do: horseback riding in Santiago, visit a coffee plantation, hike the volcanoes, travel to Antigua, Guatemala, and so much more. Who knows what will come of the next 24 hours, but you will hopefully be hearing of me from me new desk soon. </div><div><br /></div><div>By the way, all my friends and I are currently sitting in my room estimating the weight of my luggage. The consensus seems to be 70 lbs. uh oh! Here we go!</div>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-24818909173443928912009-04-26T01:16:00.000-07:002009-04-26T01:28:35.225-07:00"Banker to the Poor" - the Belcher ModelIt is with great excitement to say that starting July first, I will be living out this passion of mine. I have accepted a position with a Mercado Global, a non-profit in Guatemala (headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut) that specializes in artisan exports and fair trade. Santa Clara helped me find Mercado with the mutual feeling that my passion and business ideas for ar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LZds50S082c/SfQZEUgefPI/AAAAAAAAAOU/Vy3rMlZx8zk/s1600-h/yunus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 208px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LZds50S082c/SfQZEUgefPI/AAAAAAAAAOU/Vy3rMlZx8zk/s320/yunus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328911821101235442" border="0" /></a>tisans would fit with Mercado’s model. Mercado was created by Ruth Degolia, who founded the organization from her thesis at Yale University. I spoke with Mercado last week, and they informed me that given my strong background in business that they have another program they would like me to work on. They asked me if I would be interested in setting up a micro bank in Panajachel, Guatemala (see picture below) for their network of cooperatives. I told them that it would be a privilege, and a dream-come-true. Although I have been reading about microfinance for some time now, after this phone call I began to research microfinance in a new form. Studying the models of Dr. Yunus’ Grameen Bank, among other successful MFI’s (micro-finance institutions) such as Namaste, Accion and Opportunity International, my thought is to take that which I like from each, and form my own model; a model that works for the people of Panajachel. Recently I have received many questions as how I am going to create this bank. In my next post I will give these details!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mk_VXKi7WJykjWmdAr7zQSs7na4swt8CR57k2rlwfa6NLUeBHO1uJoDQknHHW8lhoWBtWn9hkTaA1-dtT6f8FU8kEFgjNbgf1jr_B4VaQTiagtUs7ZGN40P2yisNpIEzxhoc4xHr1g/s1600-h/panajachel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mk_VXKi7WJykjWmdAr7zQSs7na4swt8CR57k2rlwfa6NLUeBHO1uJoDQknHHW8lhoWBtWn9hkTaA1-dtT6f8FU8kEFgjNbgf1jr_B4VaQTiagtUs7ZGN40P2yisNpIEzxhoc4xHr1g/s320/panajachel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328911939169802786" border="0" /></a>I have a strong passion for micro-finance. Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor. I have seen how microcredit is a proven poverty reduction tool, providing the necessary capital for individuals at the BOP to become entrepreneurs, think innovatively, and create wealth for themselves. I now have a sense of belief for providing aid from the bottom up, and not as much focusing on dumping money from the top down. With this tool we may provide that step-stool that will allow these nations to reach the bottom of the ladder, and hopefully begin to climb up the rungs on their own. Another way of looking, microfinance is not providing hand-outs, but providing a hand-up.<br />Access to credit allows poor people to take advantage of economic opportunities. While increased earnings are by no means automatic, clients have overwhelmingly demonstrated that reliable sources of credit provide a fundamental basis for planning and expanding business activities.<br />By reducing vulnerability and increasing earnings and savings, financial services allow poor households to make the transformation from "every-day survival" to "planning for the future." Households are able to send more children to school for longer periods and to make greater investments in their children's education. Increased earnings from financial services lead to better nutrition and better living conditions, which translates into a lower incidence of illness. Increased earnings also mean that clients may seek out and pay for health care services when needed, rather than go without or wait until their health seriously deteriorates.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-56556942313824051692009-04-22T00:49:00.001-07:002009-04-22T00:54:07.133-07:00Santa Clara Social Innovators (SCSI)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwuiAwU0rGMDWwF74M-XaJpqyejzZRP_cWd1aVDBAm05UZnwGKLHhtJMy0tzcFNMw6R2ncpRyYpPjPPe1IP20fUI8gtMeTX6OB1TCOk_bhhcj3N0xir3p3ma6Fnn5xm_Re590jhpwjA/s1600-h/chamber+of+commerce.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwuiAwU0rGMDWwF74M-XaJpqyejzZRP_cWd1aVDBAm05UZnwGKLHhtJMy0tzcFNMw6R2ncpRyYpPjPPe1IP20fUI8gtMeTX6OB1TCOk_bhhcj3N0xir3p3ma6Fnn5xm_Re590jhpwjA/s200/chamber+of+commerce.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327420207812466306" /></a><br />As social entrepreneurs may have great ideas, ideas need resources, ideas need support, and ideas need direction. I have many ideas that are focused on lifting the poor out of poverty. But it is not important this early in my journey to begin to discuss with you about these ideas. What is important is to explain the steps necessary in making these solutions reality. Although I will be graduating, and becoming alumni of SCU in two months, I do not intend to leave the opportunities and resources that are within the classrooms and currently at my fingertips. <br /><br />I have recently founded an on-campus organization titled Santa Clara Social Innovators (SCSI). The organization’s mission is “to find, support, and encourage social entrepreneurship within the Santa Clara community through an environment that fosters ideas of social justice.” SCSI will encourage students to use their educational abilities and resources “to create a more humane and just world”. I put the phrase of this sentence in quotes because of a realization I had the other day. I was drinking a water bottle in class that I had purchased from the cafeteria. As I looked on the back of the water bottle I found a message: “…this Jesuit University is dedicated to academic excellence and strives to foster among its students, faculty, staff AND ALUMNI a commitment to service and leadership in promoting a more humane and just world.” <br /><br />I have spoken with many students from many different majors who are very interested in getting involved with SCSI. The goal that Ryan Amante, my right hand man, and I set out for SCSI is to use my business model built for artisan fair trade as a case study for the club in better seeing how students may use the resources of the University. Being said, as I am creating my organization for artisan fair trade, it is my objective to build two headquarters, one in Central America, and the other in the United States at Santa Clara University (I will go into this more in later posts). <br /><br />Finally, I want to touch on the fact that although this club operates on the participation of students and their ideas, the club however, would not exist without the resources. This is why before our first informational meeting in finding student members, Ryan and I are creating an Advisory Board (AB). The AB that we are in the process of securing will be composed of faculty, social entrepreneurs from Google and Kiva, and some of the brightest minds on campus with experience I areas ranging across the board including Management, Development Economics, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Modern Languages, International Business, Food and Agribusiness, Sustainability and the Environment (just to cover some of our Advisors that have expressed interest).<br /><br />I want to leave you with a fact I read today. It is inevitable that the world population (currently at 6.7 billion) will continue its historical trend and reach 9 billion by the year 2050. The fact is that 90% of this population increase will occur in the developing countries. We must begin to prepare solutions for the problems that these 3 billion people will be born into.Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119093756777733545.post-89597930613790689612009-04-13T21:35:00.001-07:002009-04-13T21:41:20.442-07:00Welcome to My Journey<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ-QUkCUeZoDP-5nehySCWZVRs-5MxPR5osOBFYWznSE8_2FK-lbmY_vL12jGg70HrBE4rhMtn549Hct4D5ByfCVB3xnDn5AQ0K1l0DjHZ3vLh_TA5sdMuyok9bFzXdhxHsFv-BdMSA/s1600-h/teacher+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ-QUkCUeZoDP-5nehySCWZVRs-5MxPR5osOBFYWznSE8_2FK-lbmY_vL12jGg70HrBE4rhMtn549Hct4D5ByfCVB3xnDn5AQ0K1l0DjHZ3vLh_TA5sdMuyok9bFzXdhxHsFv-BdMSA/s320/teacher+2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324402539495527730" /></a><br />To set a foundation for the content of The Social Capitalista, I recently returned from a Business Immersion trip in El Salvador. I had the experience of a lifetime. I got to understand the problems that I have been reading about in textbooks for the past four years. It was the perfect culmination to an amazing education I have had at Santa Clara University. Recently I have developed a few business models that are geared towards helping artisans and youth create jobs, and put food on the table. After graduation I will be moving down to Central America and working with non-profit organizations to get my ideas off the ground. The following blog is a summary of my ideas, thoughts, questions, concerns, and experiences to come!</p><p class="MsoNormal">"The Journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step."<br /></p>Brian Belcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11200166395583342025noreply@blogger.com5