I was talking to my mom this morning on Skype (or at least trying to – the internet connection here is pretty brutal) and mentioned that for the wet season, it really hasn’t been that wet – maybe a shower here and there for ten minutes in the evening, but not at all the monsoon season I expected (I haven’t even busted out my rain coat yet). This morning was even burning hot, with the sun finally out, and my ride in Malang’s public transportation (a rickety, blue-painted minibus called an angkot) was practically a sauna. Mother nature decided to prove me wrong this afternoon with a torrential downpour coming out of no where, flooding the streets and deafening us with thunder. I hope my laundry dries in time for our road trip this weekend! But more on that later.
I quickly explained what it is I’m doing here, but if you’re wondering what exactly was so enticing to bring me half way across the world, without any pay cheques for four months... here's a little run down on the project so far.
I’m working on a PBoX (project based on exchange... AIESEC is full of wonderfully confusing acronyms), coordinated by a group of AIESECers and executed by a group of interns like me, who came from around the world to lend a hand, pool our skills, and make a difference here in Malang. It sounds all very idealistic, and I’m trying to explain it without sounding like a tool, all “we’re going to save the world”... but it’s amazing how motivated and genuinely excited everyone is to make an impact and we all have really high expectations for both the project and ourselves.
We kicked off my first week on the project with a crash course on local SMEs (small/medium-sized enterprises), where we had a chance to visit a handful of local businesses and chat with the owners about everything from marketing and accounting (or lack of accounting) to HR and management structure. The differences between the way these small business owners think in comparison to things back in Canada was frustrating to me at first. There are so many recommendations that we could offer but to be honest, the majority of owners seemed perfectly happy meeting their current demand, using very little in the way of marketing or promotions, and living life as is.
Of course, money is a huge barrier to expansion for SMEs here. Both the government and banks provide little, if any, type of funding or loans unless your profits are high, regardless of potential, and it seemed all of the businesses were only pulling in a few hundred to a thousand dollars per month in revenues. Even with the extremely low cost of living, it still makes the business tough to grow when combined with a lack of entrepreneurial thinking.
Although frustrating, it was extremely interesting to see and to compare things like employee benefits, for example. We spoke with a woman who owns a hand-painted textiles business and since she employs mostly teenage girls who don’t have a very high level of education, and although she has a really hard time with employee turnover as most of the girls quit after they get married, she still brings in an Imam to teach them about religion and how to be good wives. Another woman, the owner of a woodcrafts business, pays not only a daily salary but also provides a monthly allowance for the worker’s family to cover things like elementary school or check-ups. She has a handful of male employees and said they stay 10-15 years with the company.
The second part of the project is what I’m the most excited for: drawing up business recommendations and a marketing plan for Mr. Yunos, the most adorable little Indonesian man I’ve ever seen. His business is incredibly progressive for the area, making goods like backpacks, bags and flip flops from recycled materials. So far he’s been doing this on the side but he wants to really boost sales and awareness of his products and so we’ve been enlisted to help. We’ll be presenting the plan at an AIESEC-organized gala dinner at the end of the month.
The next step of the project will start in March, when we'll start working with an NGO and kids living in less-than-ideal conditions who are either from very poor families, living on the streets or in the rooms at the NGO. Our goal is to introduce them to the idea of entrepreneurship and work with Mr. Yunos to teach them skills to make their own goods from recycled materials, and ultimately either start or at least write a plan for a gallery where they can display and sell their products. It's a huge goal to achieve in the short month we'll have but we had a chance to meet the kids on Wednesday and their energy level was insane. They'll be a lot of fun to work with and we all stand to gain so much.
This project would really be nothing without my lovely team of interns and AIESECers who I’ve been working with on the project: Margit (Netherlands), Mia, Sarah and Elivs (Team China), Matej (Slovakia), Laisa (Brazil), and of course Vira, Cinthya, Arin, Ragil, Hadi, and everyone else who’s been working hard and fighting off the stress.
As a great end to the week, I’m heading to Yogya and Borobudur with Hadi, Mia, Sarah, Margit and Matej for a weekend roadtrip. More when I get back. Bon weekend!
P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos in this blog - there are so many I want to share but the internet connection today is making it impossible.
I quickly explained what it is I’m doing here, but if you’re wondering what exactly was so enticing to bring me half way across the world, without any pay cheques for four months... here's a little run down on the project so far.
I’m working on a PBoX (project based on exchange... AIESEC is full of wonderfully confusing acronyms), coordinated by a group of AIESECers and executed by a group of interns like me, who came from around the world to lend a hand, pool our skills, and make a difference here in Malang. It sounds all very idealistic, and I’m trying to explain it without sounding like a tool, all “we’re going to save the world”... but it’s amazing how motivated and genuinely excited everyone is to make an impact and we all have really high expectations for both the project and ourselves.
We kicked off my first week on the project with a crash course on local SMEs (small/medium-sized enterprises), where we had a chance to visit a handful of local businesses and chat with the owners about everything from marketing and accounting (or lack of accounting) to HR and management structure. The differences between the way these small business owners think in comparison to things back in Canada was frustrating to me at first. There are so many recommendations that we could offer but to be honest, the majority of owners seemed perfectly happy meeting their current demand, using very little in the way of marketing or promotions, and living life as is.
Of course, money is a huge barrier to expansion for SMEs here. Both the government and banks provide little, if any, type of funding or loans unless your profits are high, regardless of potential, and it seemed all of the businesses were only pulling in a few hundred to a thousand dollars per month in revenues. Even with the extremely low cost of living, it still makes the business tough to grow when combined with a lack of entrepreneurial thinking.
Although frustrating, it was extremely interesting to see and to compare things like employee benefits, for example. We spoke with a woman who owns a hand-painted textiles business and since she employs mostly teenage girls who don’t have a very high level of education, and although she has a really hard time with employee turnover as most of the girls quit after they get married, she still brings in an Imam to teach them about religion and how to be good wives. Another woman, the owner of a woodcrafts business, pays not only a daily salary but also provides a monthly allowance for the worker’s family to cover things like elementary school or check-ups. She has a handful of male employees and said they stay 10-15 years with the company.
The second part of the project is what I’m the most excited for: drawing up business recommendations and a marketing plan for Mr. Yunos, the most adorable little Indonesian man I’ve ever seen. His business is incredibly progressive for the area, making goods like backpacks, bags and flip flops from recycled materials. So far he’s been doing this on the side but he wants to really boost sales and awareness of his products and so we’ve been enlisted to help. We’ll be presenting the plan at an AIESEC-organized gala dinner at the end of the month.
The next step of the project will start in March, when we'll start working with an NGO and kids living in less-than-ideal conditions who are either from very poor families, living on the streets or in the rooms at the NGO. Our goal is to introduce them to the idea of entrepreneurship and work with Mr. Yunos to teach them skills to make their own goods from recycled materials, and ultimately either start or at least write a plan for a gallery where they can display and sell their products. It's a huge goal to achieve in the short month we'll have but we had a chance to meet the kids on Wednesday and their energy level was insane. They'll be a lot of fun to work with and we all stand to gain so much.
This project would really be nothing without my lovely team of interns and AIESECers who I’ve been working with on the project: Margit (Netherlands), Mia, Sarah and Elivs (Team China), Matej (Slovakia), Laisa (Brazil), and of course Vira, Cinthya, Arin, Ragil, Hadi, and everyone else who’s been working hard and fighting off the stress.
As a great end to the week, I’m heading to Yogya and Borobudur with Hadi, Mia, Sarah, Margit and Matej for a weekend roadtrip. More when I get back. Bon weekend!
P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos in this blog - there are so many I want to share but the internet connection today is making it impossible.
Wow! You're project sounds sooooo cool. You will do a great job...makes me wish I was with you working on this! :)
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