POST WEEK 1

It has become more apparent that working with the organisation the tendency of the management team is to still rely on external funding quite heavily. At the moment we are working with them to make them see that the facilities they have with regards to their eco-reserve and tourist lodges provide a massive potential to generate revenue for the long-term. It can be quite tiring to keep reverting back to convincing them that the most sustainable way forward is to be self-sufficient, especially with the resources at their disposal. That this short-term view of gifted money as a solution would come up was something we expected. One factor that distorts these efforts to develop a long-term solution is the belief within the organisation that across the EU there are 1000′s of funds and grants available which are ‘easily accessible and at the moment are given to crooks who do not deserve the money’. The long-term potential negative effects of accessing these funds and the strings attached to these grants are something which is not apparent from a local view.

We are entering the final stage of workshops now and after this week aim to have supported the organisation in their marketing efforts to attract more tourists and increase the revenue they can generate themselves.