Integrate insights from at least five different valid sources for your chosen social enterprise and provide those citations in your blog. 

The company that I will be creating a business model canvas for is the Envirofit International.

Key Partners- Colorado State University’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, Shell Foundation, and people in the country that they are selling to.

Key Activities- Making clean cookstoves distributed to over 45 countries.

Key Resources- FMO financing and Shell Foundation.

Value Propositions- Giving people affordable and efficient clean cookware, this improves peoples livelihoods.

Customer Relationships- They are a sought after product in many countries that don’t currently have a good way to cook cleanly.

Channels- The innovation it took to make this cookware is not comparable on the current marketplace.

Customer Segments- People who do not have access to clean sustainable cookware.  Also, for people who are not able to afford more expensive cookware.

Cost Structure- The fixed cost is the salaries of the people working for Envirofit and the places where they make the stoves.  The variable costs are the number of stoves needed and how much transportation it takes to get the stoves to the customers.

Revenue Streams- The revenue comes from the assets sale of the stoves and also a new “Pay-as-you-Cook” model for the SmartGas.

 

 

Sources: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTENERGY/Resources/335544-1232567547944/5755469-1239633250635/Ron_Bills.pdf

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https://www.fmo.nl/project-detail/54741

 

List five take-aways from Guy Kawasaki’s talk and explain exactly how you will integrate that concept/construct/strategy into your project. Make it compelling. Don’t write generic forgettable text.

My first take-away is to have the right intentions when creating a project.  It is important to think about what is the reason for the project and is it something that will benefit humanity or is it just a way to make money.  I think our project is geared directly to improving the lives of the women in the co-op and is not just a way to make money, but rather a way to improve the lives of the women.  Another take-away was to not have MBAs be the investors in your project because they are concerned about making money and not making a difference.  Try to create a product that is unique so that there is not as much competition.  Make sure your product is marketable and has a demand in the market.  These two concepts are necessary to create a working business model that can create a project that can make a difference.  It is not necessary to be an expert in the complete area that you are working in, but it is important to show an enthusiasm and confidence that you can get the job done.

 

1. List ten non-obvious assumptions about your target customers (or organizations) that you need to validate.

We need people to realize that our products are helping the environment.  They need to know that recycled does not mean lesser quality.  Single use plastics are bad for the environment.  Women also deserve fulfilling jobs.  Our products are good or better than single use plastic.  Their single use plastic is the material used to make our products.  It is worth making the investment to buy our product.  Our artisanal products are one of a kind.  Our artisanal products are made from the creative minds and hands of the women in the co-op.  We need to support the small businesses in our communities.

2. List ten hypotheses about your project that you need to test during fieldwork.

What can we make with our products?  Can we also make artisanal products?  Where is our supply from?  Who are we selling to?  Do people want to buy our products?  Are the products too expensive?  What is the quality of the products made?  How will the products make it to market?  How many products need to be made to sell?  What other products are people interested in?  How good are the women in the co-op at making the products?  Are the women enthusiastic about making the products?

3. What do you think you bring to your team? How has your perception of your own strengths and weaknesses changed over the course of the class? Please be specific.

I think I bring optimism to the group.  A lot of the time there is not clear direction on what we are supposed to be doing for the project, but it is important to just keep moving forward and learning more that can help us.  My perception of my own strengths is that having diversity in every aspect can be a big strength.  I also learned it can be a weakness. It is important to be aware of what makes the group diverse and how the team can use it to their advantage.

 

Identify ten things to strengthen next presentation.

The sustainable development group was not responsible for the presenting portion but we did create the ecosystem map for the women’s co-op.  To strengthen this in the next presentation, we will have more concrete resources within our map which we have already started to improve on.   We will also try and make the ecosystem map look more professional.  With the line of communication between us an Paradise Village increasing we will be able to exponentially improve the ecosystem map so that it is more accurate and useful.

Does your work require IRB approvals?

The sustainable development group is not responsible for IRB approvals, but if any human research is done within the traveling group there must be an IRB approval.

If yes, articulate your detailed IRB strategy.

Institutional Review Board is responsible for research with human subjects.  They make sure that the study is ethical and if it has scientific validity and how that changes the ethics.  The study must involved research, involve human subjects, and is the research exempt.  Our IRB strategy will involve a systematic approach with a widely accepted approach.

 

Based on your life experience, skills and interests, what would a design process that is both uniquely yours and effective look like?

My design process would be a combination of indigenous knowledge and cradle to cradle design.  My indigenous knowledge that I have gained from my years of life would impact any decisions that I will make in my own design process, and cradle to cradle design would allow for the most sustainable process that would mimic nature and reduce waste as much as possible.

How will you validate your project concept, technology, usability, operational / business model?

I would validate my business model with the results and efficiency of my design.  I believe that if you can prove how effective your model is with the results that you can produce.  If you need to validate your project before results can be achieved I think it is important to have a fully developed idea that is ready to be implemented.  All possibilities should be thought through and varies different methods should be ready to use if your first one fails.

Articulate your philosophy of engagement with communities, partners, and markets.

If the community sees your believe and enthusiasm in your project concept they will also become engaged.  Most importantly if you have good intentions for your project you will keep that engagement.

1. Give three examples of how you can use nature as a model / mentor / measure for your own designs (and life).

Nature is the perfect example of balance.  If even a small part of an ecosystem is off balance the whole system can collapse. This concept can be applied to life. If one part of one’s life is unbalanced, this can cause chaos in other parts of their life. You can use natures balance of ecosystems as a guide to keeping balance of these aspects of life. Work must be balanced with leisure in life, or unnecessary stress will follow. Another way nature can be used as an example is the order of everything in the environment. All parts of an environment have a purpose and affect other aspects of the ecosystem. This pertains to your own designs in that, you want each part to have a purpose that positively affects another. Finally, nature is delicate. If not taken care of, the environment can easily be ruined. This can relate to life and designs because one must put careful attention into aspects of their life so that they are not put into disarray.

2. Pick one of Life’s Principles. Explain how you might apply it to your work and life (could be unrelated to your GSIF projects).

The principle of optimization rather than maximization can be applied to the plastic project. This applies to the plastic project by in that making our products better quality before trying to make a bigger quantity is beneficial in the long run. In the beginning stages of the project it will be very hard to mass produce the products we are making, but if the women’s co-op can gain the reputation of good quality products, it can gain further support and therefore the ability to grow.

3. How do you envision integrating the Cradle to Cradle Design concept into your project (and life)? Give one compelling example.

The Cradle to Cradle Design concept can be integrated into by modeling our project on organic life processes. The plastic project is similar to a life cycle. An organic model lives and once it dies, it returns to the earth and can be used as nutrients for something else. This is like the recycling we are doing with the project. We are taking something and reprocessing it to become something else that is beneficial. One example is the Ford Model U car design that was made from Cradle to Cradle materials.

4. Give three examples of something very interesting you learned from a friend that was a completely alien concept to you.

Something interesting I have learned from a friend that was an alien concept to me, was how our actions are propagated through the brain into different parts of the body. One example is when the signal is received by receptors in a certain part of the body and then travels to the brain. The brain then sends out a signal in order to illicit the correct response. Another example is how there are different signals based on the neurons and their receptors. This is how different responses are created. One last example are the different parts of the brain that occur while the brain is developing, such as the telencephalon and the mesencephalon.

Describe the five major stakeholders for your project and their motivations.

This Plastic Project is very new, so it is still gathering its major stakeholders.  This being said, there are still some major players that are invested into our project that could lift the project to being a success.  One major stakeholder is the women’s co-op.  These are the women that will be utilizing the finished product of our project.  They will also be the main benefactors in the economic success of the project.  With micro-funding they might also be financially involved.  Other stakeholders would be the suppliers to the women’s co-op.  Whether that be wholesale retailers or supplies in another form that still need to be found so that they can be purchased in Paradise Village.  Their motivation for being involved would be the economic benefit about having another place to sell their products.  The University of the Philippines, who is partnering with Lehigh on this project, would also be stakeholder.  With that logic Lehigh would also be a major stakeholder.  Both of their motivations for being part of the project could be for philanthropy sake and also for educational purposes.  The bishops council of the Philippines, Children’s International and Likahn are also stakeholders with a philanthropic motivation.

Describe three ways in which you will validate your project and enhance your credibility over the course of the semester.

Being new to this project I think a lot of preliminary research is necessary to make me a more credible resource to contribute to the project.  After I have a general knowledge on the topic of plastic recycling and the ecosystem of Paradise Village, I think that to enhance our credibility would be a matter of working with the women in the co-op and having that connection that can take this project to the next level.  I think it is very important to see every idea to fruition, in the sense that if we do not see it all the way through and just hand this idea to the women’s co-op there could be a failure in our idea that we did not foresee because we didn’t think of every possibility with the idea.

Why did you enroll in this course?

The summer of my freshman year I went to Costa Rica for the sustainability class.  The experience allowed me to realize how interested I am in seeing the benefits in of sustainable practices especially in developing countries.  My family is from Honduras and seeing the contrast between two geographically similar countries take two vastly different approaches to develop made it very clear that sustainability is something we need to prioritize in the world.  The overall feel of Costa Rica was that they took care of the planet that they lived on and even if they were to introduce tourism it would be in a way that they could still preserve the beauty and functionality of the land.

The first semester of my sophomore year I took the first Sustainable Development class with Professor Morris, this class was a great supplement to my civil engineering classes showing me the real impacts of industrializing with no concern for the health of the Earth.

I was very excited about getting my minor in Sustainable Development and decided to continue with the next course in the series to get the minor.  I am excited to look at a real case study that I can impact.

How do you envision this course making you a better Civil Engineer?

I am very interested in becoming a green associate, meaning that I will have a general working knowledge of LEED.  While studying for the US Green Building Council exams I think that as much exposure to sustainable practices and the impact that they make will be useful.

Civil Engineers in general need to be aware of the impact that they are making on the environment and for the people who need the land and resources that they are using.  As a requirement for our major we also have to take Intro to Environmental Engineering.  This class shows us the facts on how to protect the environment.  In contrast, this class shows us the real-world impact that those facts make.

What solution do you propose for the issue of eyeglasses in Kenya?

I think this issue is very serious, as I view healthcare as a right that every human should have access to no matter where they live or how much money they make.  Sight for someone in the working class can be a minimum requirement to get a job.  So without being able to see an optometrist someone could be left jobless and unable to provide for themselves or if they have a family provide for their family.  If they trained people in Kenya that had at least a high school degree to just be able to give a quick eye exam, then there could be a way for more people in Kenya to get a prescription for glasses.  They also should use glasses that have durable frames, but can be manufactured at a cheap cost so that they can be the most accessible to the most people.

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