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         Little Sun: A global organization that provides solar panels to communities.  
 
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         -Connections to a vast network of organizations and people
 
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Revision as of 13:12, 27 October 2020



OVERVIEW


Our business model is simple

Build a robust network of people, provide locals with our idea, and support their vision of implementation.


OBJECTIVES

After speaking with anthropologists Dr. Warren Wilson and Dr. Charles Mather, it became clear that many humanitarian initiatives fail even with the best intentions. With the expertise and experience of (insert people's/corporation's names here), we identified three key issues relevant to the Oviita design that we plan to address to avoid similar pitfalls.

1. Failing to address local issues adequately:


Sometimes, the best intentions create problems. In one example, a humanitarian group decided to build a fish pond for a village along the Amazon river. The villagers used the river as a source of food, so the initiative already lacked purpose. Even worse, the stagnant water provided a breeding ground for mosquitoes, bringing malaria to the villagers.

Addressing local issues:


Every step of our process is in conjunction with data. Before going to an area, we will first compile data from our partners and sources like The Demographic Health Survey Program. Also, with our Randle Cell Testing Device, we can then work alongside community health workers and policymakers to determine where Oviita can do the most good. Only when we have identified all of the facets affecting a community’s health can we begin work on implementation.

2. Unsustainable Aid:


A significant hurdle for providing aid to a large number of people is logistics. As soon as a supply chain experiences a break or funding becomes sporadic, a ripple effect travels until the end-user becomes affected. If the proposed solution requires more effort than the perceived value, there will be no motivation to maintain that solution.

Sustainable Aid:


Oviita’s entire model is designed around sustainability. Our network of partners alleviates the overhead costs of operation and implementation, Oviita is recultureable allowing continuous batches to be produced from the same source, the bioreactors are very simple and require little maintenance, and the use of microenterprises encourages locals to continue to consume and distribute our product.

3. To narrow a solution:


Often, a solution isn’t as straightforward as it seems. A group might solve one part of the problem and still fail because it was only one piece of the puzzle. For instance, nutrition deficiency isn’t just about nutrients; sometimes, parasites and other organisms can disrupt the gut microbiome to the point of ineffective micronutrient uptake.

A broad solution:


Oviita doesn’t just provide a source of vitamin A; it also produces an deworming compound. Also, by working with organizations that can provide clean drinking water, fermented food, solar panels, and workshops, we can ensure that we address all facets and the solutions tailored with the local’s best interests in mind—everything from health to hygiene, and resources to training.


EMPOWERMENT


figure# a social enterprise, Yogurt Mama's. An initutive by Western Heads East.



Through microenterprises

In many parts of the developing world, gender inequality pervades the environment to a harmful extent, and female oppression can have many detrimental effects on society. An initiative that we found inspiration comes from Western University called “Western Heads East.” One of their founders had this to say:

“We hypothesized that Societal change could occur if women received training on the production of probiotic fermented food as a means to allow them to generate income and financial independence, and provide nutritious, health-promoting food to their family and community.” (Reid, 2020, 2)

By providing the training, resources and a small wage, these women can use the monetary value of the yeast to start a self-sustainable microenterprise.

While creating positive societal change, and rather than developing a complex distribution network, these microenterprises can act as a means of distribution. Considering there is also monetary incentive to sell this yeast, it will also encourage populations to sustain the consumption of our project.


BIOREACTOR

Building a sustainable device

Since it is not economically feasible to provide the resources for a bioreactor to everyone individually and to ensure our product can reach as many people as possible, our bioreactor will have two implementation divisions.

The first division will be bioreactors that will be available for the women’s microenterprises.

The second division of bioreactors will be placed in schools and work alongside programs to feed children. The children can also act as a means of distribution by bringing it to their families.

We will present locals with design suggestions and requirements for the bioreactor and supply them with the capital to buy the resources. They will then be able to build it in a way they best see fit.


TRAINING


Figure# A CAWST led workshop teaching good health practices

Our HP contact Dr. Gregor Ried emphasized the training required for a project like this. With the help of materials given from CAWST, we hope to develop training programs that can teach locals about:
-Nutrition and Health
-How to assemble the bioreactors
-How to use the bioreactor
-How to run a microenterprise


PARTNERSHIP


Partnerships are an essential part of our project.
In this day and age, partnerships and outsourcing are critical for effective business models since it improves efficiency, reduces overhead costs, allows for better tailored and specialized service and more. Given our multifaceted approach to Vitamin A deficiency, providing Oviita, bioreactors, clean drinking water, fermented food, solar panels, and workshops, it would be easy for resources to be spread too thin and become ineffective.
Community Health Workers will be a vital part of our business model, as suggested by both Dr. Warren Wilson and Kelly James. They are the face of healthcare on the local level and invaluable in determining our bioreactor placement and bridging the gap between the locals and us. They also often have existing training workshops centred around health and nutrition, and our contacts have confirmed that we will likely be able to implement our training material into their current programs.
“There is robust evidence that [Community Health Workers] can undertake actions that lead to improved health outcomes, especially, but not exclusively, in the field of child health.” (World Health Organization, 2007)
When speaking with Kelly James from CAWST, she informed us that humanitarian projects often forget about disabled people. Therefore, we will also try to reach out to groups such as, The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, in addition to local self-help groups for constructing microenterprises.


Current Partners

CAWST: A global organization with a focus on Water, Sanitation and Health. Capable of bringing clean water to communities, introducing us to an extensive network of partners and clients and an immense amount of resources for training material, workshops, and general education.

Western Heads East: A group that used probiotic yogurt to empower locals through microenterprises.

West Nile Youth Empowerment Center: A youth-led, community level, non-profit in Uganda, willing to implement our training programs and bioreactor.


Potential Partners

Association of African Entrepreneurs: An African wide organization that supports the development and growth of local enterprises.
Little Sun: A global organization that provides solar panels to communities.


What can we gain from our partners?

-Connections to a vast network of organizations and people
-Expertise in all levels of implementation
-Direct funding, coordinated application to grants
-Distribution networks
-Training material
-On the ground support


Finances


A majority of our funding will come from sources such as:
-The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
-Vitamin Angels
-Humanitarian Grand Challenge
-Global Affairs Canada
-Sponsorships from our partners

These sources will fund most salaries and other large ticket items. In between those capital injections, we will rely on our crowdfunding platform


An example of a common expenditure:



Crowdfunding


Figure# An example homepage for this platform


One common complaint with charities is that people don’t know where their money goes, causing people to be hesitant to donate. To combat this, we will be creating a platform that will allow for complete transparency of funding and allow for microtransactions and targeted donations. By giving people the choice of where their money goes, visually showing what their money is doing, accepting smaller donations, and allowing public recognition, we hope to improve upon an archaic system.
Anything that requires funding requirements can be added to our organization’s website—things like air pumps, wages, shipping, etc. Then people can then choose how they wish to spend their money.
Some of our partners have offered to share our website through their social media to increase traffic in exchange for adding a product or service of theirs to our platform.
In the future, we would like to partner with a mobile game developer where the microtransaction built to enhance gameplay is attached to the funding of these things.


Non-Profit/Charity


As we searched for different grants, funding opportunities, and partnerships, we found that being a recognized organization was a standard requirement. To legally accept money through fundraising, we had to become a charity.


References


Reid, G. (2020). J Glob Health. Empowering women through probiotic fermented food in East Africa, 10(1), 1-5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7242885/

World Health Organization. (2007, January 01). Community health workers: What do we know about them? WHO. https://www.who.int/hrh/documents/community_health_workers.pdf