DM 2003 Project Implementation PROGRESS REPORT [16/11/2004]

Transcription

1 DM 2003 Project Implementation PROGRESS REPORT [16/11/2004] I. Background Information DM Project Number and Title Locally made paper and crafts to preserve the rainforests Report Author s Name Kei Otsuki (if different from Team Leader) Total Award US$ 200,000 Amount Disbursed to Date US$ 170,000 (85 % of the Total Award) II. Progress Against Milestones i) List the milestone objectives in the first column as expressed in the Project Agreement. The second column should indicate the current status of each milestone objective. In the third column, please provide quantitative data and qualitative information describing the status of the project against that particular milestone. Milestone Objectives (Copy from the Agreement) products per month per community Status Descriptive Information on the Status (Completed/ In Progress) Completed As it was mentioned in the last report, four (4) groups are now organised to the project for the fabirication of the products (paper and subproducts): craftmakers,papermakers, carpenters, and seed polishers families in total are beneficiaries of craft making trainings Completed The production goal (100 products per month per community) was achieved. The current production capacity in involved communities are: - 8 papermakes in Belém produce 6,000 sheets of paper (98cmx64cm) per month; - 15 craftmakers in Abaetetuba produce 2,000 objects per month; - 7 carpenters in Abaetetuba who supply the bases and structure of lampshades and folding screens (interior decorations) produce 200 pieces per month; - 4 seed polishers in Abaetetuba produce 1,000 pieces per month; - 6 craftmakers in Belém have a capacity of producing more than 200 products, and they were specialized in prototype creation for Amazon Paper products. Craft making trainings benefited 50 families along the production chain of Amazon Paper: - Small rural producers (10) as mentioned in the last report, are receiving permanent technical assistance for the cultivation and 1

2 3- Sales volume for new products doubled In Progress processing of the principal ingredient of the Amazon Paper, curauá. This training was given through the partnership with the Cooperative POEMACOOP, which supports other 27 producers in Moju than these 10 directly related to Amazon Paper. They all are the members of the producers cooperative COOPED. In this way, the project also supports the rural cooperative. The training will allow Amazon Paper to have the guaranteed supply of raw material and consolidate the production chain by the second semester of The papermakers received papermaking training by the paper making master from Japan called Mr. Junpei Kanazashi, an expert of the Japan Internacional Cooperation Agency - JICA,(8-11 November 2004). They have also received the training on craftsmaking, for example, bookbinding using the Amazon Paper. The training enables these papermakers to switch to craftmaking when the demand for the subproducts of paper overcome the production capacity of craftmakers in Abaetetuba. - The craftmakers in Abaetetuba and Belém also have received intensive training for the fabrication of new products. The training was important since some machines acquired during this reporting period improved the products quality as well as increased the production capacity. They are continuously receiving the technical assistance every week. - Carpenters and seed polishers were able to improve their production capacity and quality with the acquisition of necessary equipments. The training was carried out especially for the proper use and maintenance of these equipments. The new products (lampshades and folding screens), which were developed in the previous Milstone, were tested in this reporting period such as: 5 lampshades received the approval of the resistance tests to heat and durability. Aftter these tests and improvement of the products, trainings and preparation of the promotional materials, the sales volume 2

3 4-3 community groups are institutionally organized 5-5 fixed business partners are secured In Progress Completed increased either in a form of sales contract realized or in progress. The promotional activities accompanied by increasing sales contract intensified in a last few months, accompanying the increasing market demand for Christmas and the New Year s products. In October, the sales volume recorded 32,000 reales (about USD 11,000) in Belém, which is three times larger than previous three months. The website improvement both in Portuguese and English helped this tendency where the products are well presented and effectively visualized. The sales volume will be larger in the next months. However, the current sales level does not reach the increased production capacity, which shows the necessity for continuous effort to open up new markets principally in the southern Brazil, Europe, and the US accompanying an aggressive strategy of marketing, which would consolidate the project s commercial sustainability. The sales process and promotional activities were improved since we introduced an internal management system called SIG - Sistema Integrado de Gerenciamento (Integrated Management System), which established the workflow in Amazon Paper production unit in Belém, starting with orders from clients and monitors up to the receipt of payment. The craftmakers in Abaetetuba have organised themselves as an Association of Articraftmakers in Abaetetuba, and the group of carpenters as a micro-enterprise. Together with the group of seed-polishers, they started their production activities in their own space in Abaetetuba provided by the Pará State Government. This enabled the groups to consolidate their institutional independency.. At the same time, the institutionalization of the proper Amazon Paper project has been discussed in order to transform the project into a legal entity (enterprise or cooperative) with social responsibilities. Finally, the COOPED, cooperative of rural producers in Moju has also been organised through the project as mentioned above. In this reporting time, we have made contracts with 1 representative of Amazon Paper products in São Paulo, 1 representative in 3

4 Paris, and 1 representative in the US (Miami). They have all recently started the work. In São Paulo, there are two fixed buyers Redoma Graphic Industry ( and Nick Shot Papers. In this period, 25 sales were realized in the Brazilian national market, 1 sale in Europe, and 1 in the US. As it was mentioned in the last Progress Report, IFC s Grassroots Business Organization Initiative (GBO) decided to support Amazon Paper for its strategic marketing and sales improvement including market studies to identify new national and international markets after their visit to Belém in this November (8-10). ii) If you did not achieve some of your stated milestone objectives, please explain the reasons. iii) Has your project s overall accomplishments to date exceeded the original plan? x Yes No If Yes, describe your achievements: The production capacity largely surpassed the previouly projected one (100). This was the result of the intensive training and improvement in production organization. III. Overall Project Progress i) What have been the main challenges of your project to date? What, if any, adjustments have you made to your original business plan in order to overcome the challenges and meet your objectives? Challenges: The principal challenge continues to be: securing and establishing solid business partnership with private sectors that treat handmade paper and crafts as well as other decorative products in order to be commercially and financially self-sustainable.. Adjustments: Commercial partners are starting their activities: - In France, the representantive of Amazon Paper started the market identification to preliminary define 30 possible buyers to whom the promotional samples were sent with the project introduction in French. - In the US, a company called Universal Taste in Miami is starting the market identification in the US and promoting Amazon Paper in its website ( - As mentioned above, in 8-10 of this November, the project received a group of IFC-GBO staff members and the advisor 4

5 including: Harold Rosen, Rawong Rojvanit, René Sergio Pereira, Alan Patricof, and Ana Lucia Horta. At their visit to Amazon Paper, the group discussed with Amazon Paper team and decided to support, in a short term, the market identification and definition of a marketing strategy for principal products of Amazon Paper. ii) Have any of your objectives changed or have you added new objectives since you signed your Project Agreement? If Yes, explain the changes. Yes x No iii) Do you have any concerns about meeting your next milestone objectives? Yes x No If Yes, what are the concerns and how do you plan on addressing those challenges? iv) Although this is an interim report, are there any development outcomes or results of your activities to date that you would like to call attention to? Amazon Paper continued to participate in various events in this reporting period with the esibiting booth stand. In São Paulo, Amazon Paper participated in the Feira Escolar - International Fair of Products for School, Stationary, Office, and Information (31 August - 03 Setember 2004), the largest trade fair of stationary and office goods in Latin America. In Manaus, it participated the International Fair of the Amazon (15-18 September 2004) promoted by SUFRAMA - Superintendency of Free Zone of Manaus. At the International Workshop Bolsa Amazônia- Markets for Sustainable Business promoted by POEMAR/NOVIB with the support from ACTO- Amazon Cooperation Organization Treaty (19-20 October 2004, in Belém), the Amazon Paper participated in the exhibition of Amazon sustainable products, with its exclusive session of products (the exhibition was October). In this December, Amazon Paper will participate in the Sixth Meeting of IFAT (International Federation of Alternative Trade) Latin America in Rio de Janeiro. Parallel to this Meeting, from 29 November to 5 December, Amazon Paper will be at the Feira de Providência in Rio de Janeiro. From December, in Belém, Amazon Paper will also participate in the Feira do Empreendedor (Enterpreneurs' Fair) of SEBRAE- Brazilian National Service for Small Enterprises of Pará Note that the preliminary agreement with IFC-GBO also gave a chance for Amazon Paper to participate in their Educational Shop in Washington DC where the products will be sold. In Belém, Show Room Amazon Paper will open in Belém temporarily for the Christmas products sale. iv) Reminder: In accordance with Paragraph of the Project Agreement, each project team is required to submit a statement of account showing the use of the funds within three months after the last disbursement. As a part of periodical expenditure review exercise, please provide an annex with un-audited summary of expenses during this reporting period. 5

6 IV. Ancillary Achievements i) Have you or has your organization received any awards/recognitions or media attention as a result of your DM-funded project during this period? x Yes No If Yes, please specify the sources and identify the names. Local: National: International: Award /Recognition Media e.g. International: BBC News on Dec. 3-4, 2003 x Local: newspapers and online news: Diário do Pará, 30 Sep. 2004, pg. 2; 18 Oct. 2004, pg. 3; O Liberal, 10 Oct. 2004, Troppo pg.19; 12 Oct. 2004, pg. 9; 11 Nov. 2004, pg. 3. Portal ORM - 14 Oct ( Reporter Diário 09 Nov ( x National: Online news: Friends of the Earth-Brazil, 22 Oct.,2004 ( Floresta News 22 Oct, 2004; Ambiente Brasil 25 Oct, 2004 ( Gazeta Mercantil São Paulo 25 Oct Horizonte Geográfico Nov International: Explain the Award/Recognition or the Media content: The Article of Diario do Pará in September is titled "Vocational School in Abaetetuba signed an agreement with POEMA"(The same news was reported in the online version of Amazônia Jornal - In October, O Liberal (the largest newspaper in the Amazon Region) as well as Diário do Pará reported the future JICA cooperation with Amazon Paper. Portal ORM is the most influential information site in Pará State, and it reported the new product line (mainly lampshades) of Amazon Paper. The online news of Friends of the Earth, Forest News, and an NGO called "Ambiente Brasil (Brazil Envrionment) reported the Amazon Paper as an example of "sustainable products" exhibited in the International Workshop of Bolsa Amazonia Program. Gazeta Mercantil is the naitonal economic newspaper, and it reported the "Program stimulates the sales of sustainable products", which mentioned POEMAR and Amazon Paper products. Reporter Diário is an online version of local newspaper Diário do Pará (Pará Daily News), which covers news of the Amazon Region. The article talked about the new Christmas Card models of Amazon Paper. Horizonte Geográfico is a national geografic magazine - it introduced Amazon Paper as "Paper of Natural Fibers". Attach web links/news clips, if available:

7 ii) Has your organization made any new partnerships as a result of this project during this reporting period? x Yes No If Yes, specify type of the organization from the list below and describe nature of the partnership: Local Government: The Pará State Government signed the agreement to provide a free space for community groups institutionalized by Amazon Paper as mentioned above, for two years in Abaetetuba. They agreed upon covering the running cost including water and energy. x National Government: Brazil Bank Foundation is approving the Amazon Paper Project for more involvement and training of rural producers. The support will especially given for the better preprocessing of curauá fiber. If everything goes well, the project will start in next January with the Foundation. x NGO: NOVIB Oxfam Netherlands is signing a contract with POEMAR- the contract gives Euros, and the major part of the resources will be invested to the promotion of Amazon Paper products. At the same time, the Regional Program of POEMAR Bolsa Amazonia Program, is supporting the promotion of Amazon Paper products (For example, 3-4 November, Bolsa Amazonia participated in the event "Amazonia na Argentina," and promoted Amazon Paper products at the event). Bilateral Development Agency: JICA has approved support for necessary equipments and machines, up to USD , which will be purchased in March JICA also will support the training of papermakers and craftmakers of Amazon Paper in Japan, and will occasionally send some experts to Amazon Paper upon our request. x Multilateral Development Agency: IFC/GBO as explained above, will support Amazon Paper in 2005, principally in the area of market study (in Brazil and the US) and consolidation of business structure. Private Corporations: Other: iii) Sustainability and scalability after completion of the DM fund are top of the DM Team s priorities. Has your organization leveraged new funding or secured future funding during this reporting period? x Yes No If Yes, provide the following information. For training, capacity building, and consulting as well as other necessary materials, the financial support will be provided from Brazil Bank Foundation as mentioned above (300,000 reals- about USD100,000). For equipments and trainning, Amazon Ppaper is having the support from JICA (USD 75,000). For marketing and promotional activities, the support will come from IFC-GBO and NOVIB Oxfam Netherlands. V. Requests to the DM i) Do you have any comments on the overall process and support provided by the DM Team or Project Liaison? 7

8 ii) If your contact information has changed, please provide us with the new information. VI. Confidential Report Please provide, if any, sensitive comments or requests in the box below. Information provided in this section will be handled as confidential and will not be publicly posted on the DM website. VII. Next Steps Send this Progress Report to your Project Liaison via cc to the DM team The Project Liaison will review the Report and will either a) approve the Report and authorize disbursement via with cc to ; or b) does not approve (or does not authorize disbursement) but responds with comments, questions, requests for team to address with cc to (in this case, the team would address PLs concern to move to approval) Once approved, team send signed Request for Payment to DM Team via fax or scanned document via to Upon receipt of the following, the DM Team can process disbursement: a) Progress Report & Expense Addendum in Annex I b) Signed Request for Payment c) Project Liaison s approval of report and authorization of payment 8

9 Annex I. Project Expenses for this Reporting Period Items Sub-Totals (USD) 1 Personnel ,66 2 Materials and Equipment ,60 3 Training 7.491,11 4 Travel 3.577,03 5 Evaluation/Information Dissemination 6.651,39 6 General Administration/Overhead 7.407,77 7 Other 9.985,44 Total Expenses ,00 9