 SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions), a US Not for Profit 501 (c) (3), is a social entrepreneurship innovation incubator and implementation mechanism. CE Solutions creates access where there was none and jobs where there were none. We empower self-sufficient business and educational entrepreneurs to create sustainable impact in developing world communities. We work with our local constituents in Guatemala and Ecuador (currently expanding to Nicaragua) to both identify long-standing, economic, health and educational needs and design and execute innovative solutions. CE Solutions changes "obstacles into opportunities" by converting traditional relief solutions into high-impact and locally owned and managed social enterprises and institutions. We work from the ground up creating engines of development that continually raise peoples' standards of living.
Our MicroConsignment Model: Making a Profound Impact in Rural Guatemala |
We are overhauling our website but would like to share the following in the meantime…
As of September 2009, through the combined support and efforts of CE Solutions, our sister organization Social Entrepreneur Corps (www.socialentrepreneurcorps.com), and Soluciones Comunitarias (www.solucionescomunitarias.com) , the local social enterprise we created that is owned and managed by Guatemalan leadership, we have trained over 175 local entrepreneurs who have executed approximately 1,800 village marketing and sales campaigns and sold over 35,000 products. After subtracting the purchase price and using conservative assumptions about savings—for example, $12 per month with a wood-burning stove, $16 per month with a water-purification bucket—we project a total savings (equity/economic impact) for rural villagers in excess of $1,000,000. Although this may be off by some percentage, it nonetheless represents a whole lot more money in the pockets of rural villagers to spend on health care, education, food, and developing their own businesses than they ever had before. And they saved this money through the purchase of product solutions that truly help them improve their lives!
 Gross revenues for Soluciones Comunitarias from the entrepreneurs sales of the solutions total approximately $330,000. The entrepreneurs have earned profits of approximately $60,000. Using the official Guatemalan daily minimum wage of $6.75—although most people, women in particular, cannot earn anything close to this in rural areas—these earnings equate to approximately 8,888 days of work for women who had no previous work opportunities. There are presently 65 women and 10 organizations that work as entrepreneurs.. Some women dropped out after a month of “test driving,” while others have been working as entrepreneurs for up to five years and are now regional leaders. Soluciones Comunitarias now earns revenues of approximately $6,200 per month and has a team of 11 staff members who in aggregate earn $2,400 per month. The company presently has losses of approximately $1,500 per month after reserving for the cost of goods sold. It is not yet financially self-sustainable but we are working our way there! This loss is subsidized by CE Solutions.
 We have been able to achieve this with a relatively small donor base. CE Solutions’ total donations, including those targeted for the Nebaj tourism initiatives and Centro Explorativo education center, were approximately $35,000 in 2004 and have never exceeded $135,000 in any one year. We achieve a tremendous amount with the resources our supporters provide to us! Please support us and join us in this effort and make a profound impact!
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The Centro Explorativo: A Unique Opportunity for Village Children and Youth |
 In 2009 CE Solutions moved the primary location for the Centro Explorativo to La Pista in order to get closer to those in need and achieve greater impact for every dollar of donations. This is a small community consisting of 450 families (2300 people) including roughly 800 youth. In February of 2009, a full service education and resource center was opened with eight computers and 1180 books, while a Centro Explorativo library remained in Nebaj with 1160 books.The Centro Explorativo continuously teaches 85 children and youth computer literacy and internet research skills. Through more than 975 hours of class, the youth of La Pista have learned word processing skills including typing and the formatting documents, tables, and graphs. Furthermore, students have learned how to efficiently and effectively use the internet for research purposes. Most had never touched computers before.
 The 25 young children of La Pista enrolled in the Centro’s free afterschool reinforcement classes have received 540 hours of instruction after their regular school day! Children are learning basic skills such as determining the time and the date, basic English, and, more importantly, they are utilizing and expanding their math and reading skills.
Three local teachers are employed to carry out this work and earn salaries higher than their peers in nearby schools.
This is all achieved on a budget of $1,600 per month that CE Solutions provides through donations. This is IMPACT!
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