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>View discussions about this entry Country: Peru
Organization: Nutri Pro Salud & Quantum Solutions
Field of Work - Water
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2003
Project URL: http://biodetergent.propoor.info/
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Reduce the pollution of the marine and fresh waters caused by synthetic cleaning products and help to alleviate poverty in a sustainable way.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Our project enables small scale farmers, grassroot entrepreneurs and SMEs to be value chain actors through the production of natural cleaning products, made of Boliche (Sapindus saponaria sp.), a native plant from South America, for local and global markets. We design and develop new products including packaging, marketing and sales. All the others business activities will be outsourced to local SMEs. Project is designed to:
- Improve profitability, market access, environmental sustainability and business relationships for clusters of farmers and processors. - Offer products to satisfy the green market needs for consumers in Peru and the World. This is a new approach because we support the sustainable production of green products to guarantee financial and environmental sustainability. At the same time, we support the development of sustainable agriculture systems. It means to empower poor segment to protect their enviroment and recover their traditional knowledge. Our products are characterized by being non-toxics, 100% biodegradables, and no contains phosphates, artificial fragrances or dyes. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - The organization made a set of studies including feasibility, benchmarking and consumer behavior.
The project will be conducted in three phases: (A) 1st year: pilot phase in 1 regions (B) 2nd year: scale-up phase in 4 regions and (C) replication phase. We have a clear vision of the appropriate scale of intervention, although it started with a pilot phase, it aimed from the beginning to eventually provide a business environment for the incorporation of the poor in the value chain. How do you plan to expand your innovation? - The first phase was implemented by our organization. The next two phases will be implemented by working groups and we are looking for additional founding sources. This project plan works as follows:
- Green Market Working Group lead by our organization will work on value chains for highly differentiated products as: detergent for baby clothes and shampoo for people with sensitive skin. - Small Processors and Farming Working Group lead by community representatives will help small processors and farmers expand, upgrade, or build new facilities in order to expand diversified farming opportunities and infrastructure in the regions. In the Project, our organization cooperates in each selected value chain as a “Core Group” and facilitates the activities of the chain. We will provide methodological support to others regions involved in a process of institutional articulation, coordination and exchange of experiences. We will conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of our strategies on the diffusion and adoption of sustainable agriculture principles. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - What type of partnerships to do need? Our local partner is Quantum Solutions (business incubator). It promotes entrepreneurship in rural communities. Our organization have developed strong links with communities leaders during 3 years (we worked together in previous projects even the feasibility study). To assure the commitment of the community, they are in charge of one working group which allow us to systematize, evaluate and disseminate the experience gained. It would be essential to undertake the scale-up phase and integrate more beneficiaries. We will systematize the lessons learned in order to derive principles and methods applicable in other zones and wider groups. This experience could be deployed in Andean countries because we share a set of characteristics as the socio-cultural profile, the agricultural base, biodiversity, political framework and trade policies.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - Our project will have a considerable impact on reducing water pollution and will help to incorporate the poor segment into sustainable value chains.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - From the scale-up phase:
- Recover traditional knowledge about native plants as Boliche. - 40 new enterprises in emerging sectors of Peru will be incorporate in the value chain. - 4 clusters of farmers who are active in sustainable agriculture. These first results will have an impact on poverty reduction and social inclusion. - The cumulative invoicing of the successfully incorporated enterprises will at least amount to US$1,200,000 by the end of the scale-up phase. - We will prepare case studies to help understand how the project accelerated the incorporation of informal actors into sustainable value chains. - Capacity building, trainings, organization development (paid hours spent on training and education). It will have an impact on technical feasibility and risks. - Satisfaction of green market demand (impact on upgrading in the chain and scaling-up/growth). - Reduce the pollution of the marine and fresh waters.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - - Comparison between the baseline and final outcome. It helps to document baseline data showing community conditions at the start of the process.
- Project performance monitoring report. This midterm evaluation will be performed at least 40% of the funding have been disbursed. - Project completion report. This final evaluation will be performed once 95% of the funding have been disbursed. It will help to start the replicate phase and generate financial and technical support. - Environment and Social performance report.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - - Farmers and grassroot entrepreneurs from South America.
- Socially responsible consumer concerned about the environment. How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - We are looking for additional funding to start and launch the scale-up phase. The value chain actors will be able to accumulate capital and enabling their business environment; they would sponsor and support others SMEs for reaching and surpassing the point of equilibrium, allowing them to continue their mission within the project. Before the scale-up period ends, a sustainability meeting will be organized with representatives from microfinancial institutions, public agencies and others to evaluate actions needed to assure the continuity of project once the initial funding is exhausted.
Our studies showed that there is a potential to replicate it in Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador because of biodiversity, distribution channels, local needs and trade policies are similars. Provide information on your finances and organization: - Current Annual budget (2007 fiscal year)?
Annual budget for the past 1-2 years (2006 and 2005)? Annual revenue generated? What are your current sources and/or streams of revenue? Do you currently have sources of earned income (examples?); If not, why? Our funding sources are: Individual donors, public development agencies and International NGOs. Budget 2007 = $30,000 What is the potential demand for your innovation? - How do you estimate this demand?
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers): The global green market is growing rapidly. In 2011, it is estimated that sales of green cleaning products will be $1.11 billion, an increase of 70 percent from 2006 in the US and Europe markets. Our goal is to differentiate our products and brands through rigorous adherence to authenticity. As part of this process, we will be using packaging and other marketing elements to emphasize their quality, purity and sustainability. What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - - Integration with global markets.
- Fair trade conditions and better prices. What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - This project was initiated in 2003 as a result of the research of an alternative to diminish the pollution of the marine and fresh waters caused by cleaning products. It affects the water sources of the developing countries as Peru, where the wastewaters are spilt to the sea and rivers.
This project is an initiative of Nutri Pro Salud and Quantum Solutions. Nutri Pro Salud is a Peruvian nonprofit entity that assists vulnerable groups in Peru, primarily in underprivileged areas, through health, nutrition and social entrepreneurship activities. Quantum Solutions is a Peruvian business incubator. It promotes entrepreneurship in rural communities by developing and providing solutions for starting and growing enterprises. Its products and services range from appropriate technologies and technical training to microfinancial services. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - I graduated from the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM, Peru) with a Major in Food Industry. I was awarded by the ALBAN scholarship to pursue graduate education in Europe. I joined a “grande école” of engineers Institut Superieur d’agriculture Rhone-Alpes (ISARA-Lyon, France) in order to improve my career prospects; and gained an Engineer’s degree (Master’s degree) in Agriculture.
Contact Information:
Paola Lira
Project Manager Nutri Pro Salud & Quantum Solutions (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
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Our work has been cited in "Florida Ethnobotany" (pag 602,603) by Daniel F. Austin, P. Narodny Honychurch.
ISBN:0849323320
"Florida Ethnobotany provides a cross-cultural examination of how the state's native plants have been used by its various peoples. This compilation includes common names of plants in their historical sequence, weaving together what was formerly esoteric information about each species into a full reference."
A newspaper article about our project.
A newspaper article about our project.
A growning number of contaminants are entering water supplies from human activity. New ideas to decontaminate waters from source to point of use are needed without stressing the environment. This is a solid proposal and involves a major project.
The needs of the green consumers are increasingly being met by large scale producers, processors and retailers of organic goods. Apart from a small minority of exceptionally committed green consumers, the mass of the market does not want green products if it means paying more. In order to supply this market being a low cost producer is very important. Moreover, retailer preference for the favorable returns of high margin or high volume lines creates distribution problems for green newcomers.
I believe that the ability to make further improvements in product performance is a critical factor in market success. Most consumers demand products which are not only green, but which work as well as conventional brands. Even, the confusion consumers face in understanding the environmental benefits of a range of products labeled “green” may also be an issue in generating consumer disinterest.
Our project is based on effective brand positioning strategies. However, a sustainable financial approach is needed initially to kick-start innovation and generates customer demand. For customers, it can remove uncertainty and make environmental benefits clear. For us, it provides a real incentive to run a business in the eco market segment. All being well, free market forces might be expected to come to fore subsequently to fuel further product refinements and improve price-performance ratios.
Sudhirendar Sharma
Changemakers Featured Commentator
Given the growing markets for green products and the concurrent problem of water pollution, use of traditional materials as shampoo and soap is indeed worthwhile. Most societies in the past, and even today in many places, have been using such materials to good use. In India, there has been a long tradition of such materials. I have known of small projects like yours which started making shampoo from Grewia optiva (a local tree whose twigs yield soapy stuff upon treatment and has been used by communities ever since) but lost out in the race as it couldn't create `market space' amidst so-called `green products'. However, in addition to the challenges you mention in your `project' such knowledge (about bio-products and processes) has been appropriated by the industry in inventing new products which all claim to be `green'. And given the market push, the attractively bottled water gets easily replaced by the traditional soap nuts. Perhaps, the only option for initiatives like yours is either to confront the market or be part of the market. How do you intend reconciling this inevitability?
Great project, agriculture and water the best proposal.