Having achieved our first strategy of morphing from observers to actors, we were ready to elaborate a strategy to deal with our next priority: we would need, over time, to develop a source of income. We were significantly impacted by the 2009 economic crisis, having lost the bulk of our savings in the stock market and with the dramatic drop in real estate value of our home. As a result, we did not have the luxury to “retire”, but rather would need to combine our new Nicaragua-based nomadic lifestyle with an ability to earn income. One primordial criterion, though, was that we wanted to have social and environmental impact. After much investigation of a range of possibilities, we decided to try to develop an activity around bamboo.
Ben’s strategy background helped us leap past the minor reality that we, currently knew nothing about bamboo, other than the fact that it is an environmentally preferable alternative to wood for many products. We focused initially on WHAT we wanted to do, not yet HOW we would do it. Our vision evolved into the notion of creating a social enterprise that would create jobs in bamboo-rich communities, while addressing a market for bamboo products (and generating enough income to pay us a salary to keep the wheels on in our new home).
Over the next 4 years, we transformed this vision into a reality. We became actors in the bamboo value chain and started to develop tentacles into many aspects of Nicaraguan society that we would never have encountered by being “retired observers” on the sidelines. We quickly settled on a detailed plan anchored on the construction of bamboo houses to address a massive housing shortage in Nicaragua.
Our home became central headquarters for an quickly growing population of Nicaraguan associates. Our quaint idea of “having impact” morphed into a full-fledged business start up. Given the low cost of labor, we were able to form an initial core team – hiring young civil engineers, architects and forestry technicians; we started to collect rare bamboo seeds and distributed them for free to farming communities where we felt we could organize mini plantations.
After less than one year of working all the angles of our new bamboo ecosystem, we were awarded a contract to build 80 homes, provided we built a factory in the Mayagna community. With this caveat, we pursued and got funding from European philanthropy organizations. Within a few months, we built a factory – the largest bamboo processing facility in Central America. The organization we built started building prefabricated bamboo housing sold to NGOs and global institutions to provide eco-housing to victims of natural disasters.
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Wow. What a fascinating adventure. I find it highly commendable that you are able to follow your dreams of exploring the world while helping others. Keep up the good work.
I also say Wow! What a story. You two are a force of nature. I'm both impressed and moved by your story.
Alison
Thanks for the positive feedback Peter and Alison!
Hope you will both follow our blog for ongoing adventures. Alison, please email me and I will send you updates directly. You know we will meet one day!