The power of possibility

From the seed of an idea, to a project with a targeted completion within a few months:

Once upon a time there was an AMIGOS DR community with an interest in practicing Taino sculpture. Youth within this community had found Taino (a Caribbean indigenous culture) art pieces within the nearby mountains and taught themselves how to sculpt pieces in a similar style.

Some youth within the community had one of those "pie in the sky" ideas - "Wouldn't it be great if we had materials to host a formal workshop to not only practice and improve our art, but also to pass along the knowledge to the younger children in the community?" I heard about this idea when discussing possible grant opportunities with PLAN. From what I understood, the youth in this community had already begun soliciting funding for this project, and that the main components were sculpture tools and machinery, as well as organizational assistence and mentorship.

After discussing the idea with PLAN contacts in more detail, we decided to move forward toward crafting a proposal for AMIGOS. Going out to the community of El Capa, it soon became clear that while there was much passion for this project, there had not been much, if any, planning for this particular project. The project proposal, with detailed project objectives and justifications, was missing. Additionally, there was no location for the taller yet. Given the tight timeline that AMIGOS works under during the summer, this seemed like a challenge to accomplish within little more than a month.

PLAN, however, latched onto the vision of the workshop. Not only is it an excellent microenterprise opportunity (strengthening the financial opportunities within this rural community), but it is focused on cultural preservation as well as upon youth leadership. The teenaged and young adult leaders of the Neo-Taino Artesan Group would lead this workshop, gaining valuable experience managing a small organization/business, as well as experience in teaching other young people about Taino culture and art.

PLAN led the process of guiding the youth through the visioning process for the taller, from that "pie in the sky" idea all the way down to the number of nails needed for constructing a building capable of holding this dual-fold workshop (artist workshop as well as training workshop).

After several long days of this planning and detailing, I submitted the grant application, and a period of waiting on the judgement, the grant was approved! While there is little time left with AMIGOS volunteers in the community, PLAN has taken ownership of this project and all levels of the organization within the DR are committed to seeing this project to completion. Within a few months, there should be a working edifice for practicing the art. For the next year, the youth in charge of the project will have training on organization management, managing funds.
For the next years, this community will be empowered to make a name for itself as leaders in contemporary Taino sculpture and as preserving a key part of the Dominican Taino culture.

And I'm off tomorrow to see the ground-breaking ceremony for this project.