Social enterpreneurship - source Shop Talk written interview

History Smokey Tours on social enterpreneurship

(used originally as a preparation for a television program)

• In January 2011, a photo tour was organized in Smokey Mountain. This ‘photo walk’ portrayed the way children live and play in the area of Tondo, specifically Baranggay 105 Sitio Damayan. Twenty local photographers volunteered and donated their photographs. In the meantime, local talents from Baranggay 105 were discovers who told stories about their neighborhoods with passion, pride and dignity. The idea of a special tour was born.
• Juliette Kwee started recruiting and coaching potential tour leaders. To professionally develop the tours at international standards, Smokey Tours tapped Chris way – founder of (Reality Tours & Travel), an outfit that was already offering slum tours in India, who readily and graciously flew over and lent a much needed helping hand. We have started World Experience Philippines, Corporation officially in January 2014

Coming up with the brand name

• Our Tours & Training Desk, under World Experience Philippines, is branded as Smokey Tours. The original Slum Tour for Smokey Tours was in Smokey Mountain. We had the name Smokey Mountain Tours before, but we changed it into Smokey Tours. Check our logo, you can see that the word tours has been erased. It is an experience. Since Smokey Mountain is closed, we changed the area of our tour, so Smokey Tours is a better name, it captures all our tours.
• The Smokey Mountain Tour was the first and only tour of its kind offered in the entire South East Asian Region when it began. Smokey Mountain was Smokey Tours signature tour. The guests were mainly part of a network of acquaintances while the arrangements and planning were largely improvised. Since the start, all the profits made through the tours were donated to local NGOs in Barangay 105, where Smokey Mountain (an urban dumpsite) was located.
• Smokey Tours now offers five different tours and keeps seeking improvement and growth opportunities. Smokey Mountain has since closed down ad Smokey Tours has now created new Slum Tour in one of the most impoverished areas of Manila.

Mission of the business

• We want to empower, educate and train people from underprivileged communities in Metro Manila by running eye-opening tours, as well other knowledge and cultural exchanges services. Through these services, we raise awareness about social issues, inspire individuals to bring about social change, and bridge the gap between people from different backgrounds.

Initial investment

• None, we have always been working with volunteers and get help from experts. My brother is a branding specialist, he made the logo and gives advices. In a way, I also strongly believe in good quality of tour and mouth-to-mouth advertising.

Who composes your team?

• At this very moment, we are into “Talent Development” and the plan is to open a Job Center in Baseco, to help people find jobs. Our tour leaders get coaching with getting a job after the tour leading that matches their capabilities and talents. We aim for the highest, their dream job. So, at this moment, we have 2 interns, 2 volunteers, 6 tour leaders, executive director, one manager, one bookkeeper/community program manager and me. We are more like a place where people can learn, make mistakes and develop and take the skills.

Target Market

• Our target market are the people who are open to see the other side of manila. People that are willing to learn and change and help make the world a better place. We hope that doing one of our tours follow into action and change. Most of our guests are Japanese, Dutch, Australian, American and Filipino.

How do you reach your customers?

• Most through friends, mouth-to-mouth, partners, TripAdvisor, and web search.

Business strategy

• They key is to have motivated people around you, who understand how it is to be with a social enterprise and find the qualities and expertise around you, to do the best business you can do. So you have to be open to know your strengths and weaknesses.

What other tour company educates people from the slums?

• We are educating a team of tour leaders, give them self-esteem, teach them English, guidance to face their difficulties and help them most ideally, and perceive their long term dream job.

Are there any help from the government that reaches your beneficiaries?

• The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission is active in the area. We just signed a MOA with them.

Tips

• Hold on. Stay calm. Breath. Investigate, share thoughts with others. Make sure you don’t feel alone.

For you, what makes a good social entrepreneur?

• Being able to attend to needs, to provide goods and fast service and to stay close to yourself and your social goals. Be authentic.