Amazon Ecology partners with Penn State Social Entrepreneur class

July 13, 2021

Amazon Ecology partners with Penn State Social Entrepreneur class

In the spring semester of 2021, Amazon Ecology worked with Prof. Eric Foley, Director of the Center for the Business of Sustainability in the Penn State University Smeal College of Business who invited our non-profit group to be the sole client for a senior class he teaches on Social Entrepreneurship.  We began by sharing the goals, activities and context of our work with the full class which was then divided into seven four-person teams which each spent two months focusing on a specific theme developed by Prof. Foley, Amazon Ecology Executive Director Campbell Plowden and Kieran Holland who is the Executive Director of Ten Thousand Villages State College and an AE board member.

A cluster of three teams each developed marketing plans for woven baskets, decorations, and guitar straps.  The other teams developed strategies to expand our outreach to wholesale clients, ideas for forming strategic partnerships, ways we could measure and display our impact, and outline of a five-year financial plan for Amazon Ecology and our affiliate groups in Peru. 

The teams have given us a lot of valuable information and recommendations for ways to improve our website, work with influencers and social media, better frame our goals and achievements for the public and funders, and begin to understand the level of staffing and financial resources we will need to become a sustainable organization.  We will share specific ideas generated from this class with board members helping us develop our marketing, communications and financial plans.  Many thanks to Prof. Foley for giving us the opportunity to work with him and his class and introduce us to other people from the Penn State community and beyond interested in fair trade.




Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in News

Puca Urquillo artisans cooperate to build a bird's nest to withstand an impending flood
Strengthening artisan organizations in Puca Urquillo

November 26, 2023

"While concepts like punctuality, mutual respect, no put downs of self or others, and listening when someone else is speaking may seem like obvious guidelines to form a positive community, a commitment to actually practice and hold each other accountable to observe these agreements is profound in a culture where showing up late, malicious gossip, and interrupting a speaker are painfully common."

Continue Reading

Artisan group with green darner dragonflies made at artisan facilitator training
Artisan Facilitator Training with Bluebirds and Dragonflies

November 26, 2023

"Artisan facilitators should of course share what they know, but beginning and experienced artisans all benefit by remaining humble, enthusiastic about learning, and committed to encourage and affirm their fellow artisans.  So many artisans said that the thing they most wanted to bring back to their communities was this spirit of working in a mutually supportive environment."

Continue Reading

A Traditional Bora Dance and Craft Display
A Traditional Bora Dance and Craft Display

November 25, 2023

"Both men and women wore garb made with bleached llanchama tree bark painted with graphic figures from Bora clans.  Several wore headdresses made with the feathers from macaws and parrots.  They discussed the importance of nature and craft-making in their culture and then launched into a lively dance where the men chanted and pounded sticks into the ground to the rhythm of moving around in a circle.  Visitors joined the undulating lines to share the vibrant energy."

Continue Reading