What is a Brigade?

Brigades Def'n. Groups of passionate volunteers who mobilize toward positive social change.

“A transformative experience -- change lives, change your perspective.”
Catherine Markman, Co-Founder

Social Enterprise Consulting

A seven-ten day business brigade to Panama provides volunteers with the opportunity to make a tangible impact on communities while gaining real life experience in the field of sustainable development. Prior to travel, clubs choose their microenterprise based on thorough project outlines that include an assessment of its current challenges. Once in Panama, the first days are spent receiving GBB’s microenterprise consulting training, best practices from previous related projects, and an overview of any political, economic or cultural sensitivity. The rest of the week is spent in the field with the microenterprise stakeholders in a setting for mutual knowledge exchange. Specifically, volunteers break up into groups to achieve a deeper understanding of the business processes, conduct SWOT analysis, deliver empowering financial workshops and ultimately identify the use of their capital investment.

A few current micro-enterprise projects include:

• - A natural honey farm co-op in the remote hills of El Bale, Veraguas
  • - Promoting a community ethno-tourism business in Puerto Lara, Darien
  • - A communitarian bakery in Isla Tigre, Comarca San Blas

   

  • 1. The initial brigade
    
  • The initial brigade is your campus’ first step into the brigade experience. On this one-week trip, you and your club members start out by getting to know the micro-enterpreneurs and the community they are working in. Next, you will conduct a business analysis to gain in-depth knowledge about the micro-enterprise. During the business analyis you will map out the strength and weaknesses and design a business solution that will take your micro-entperise to the next level of development. Finally, the implementation of your solution immediately starts on your first brigade as you are consulting the micro-enterpreneurs, capacitate them through educative workshops and conduct your capital investment of USD100 per brigade member.  
  • 2. The follow-up brigade
    
  • The follow-up brigade is not just one brigade - it’s a series of brigades where you and your club members continue to implement the business solution developed on the first brigade. You will see if and how your Community Investment helped and deliver the further parts of your solution to the micro-enterprise. Learn what you did not know on the first trip and gain an even deeper understanding of the business and its challenges. Deliver essential training and support sustainable infrastructure with the Community Investment Fund. You continue to train, build and develop both the chosen micro-business and the surrounding community and make a unique, long-term difference.

   

  One important feature of the brigade is the ability to leave behind both tangible and intangible benefits. After each brigade, you can leave knowing your left both intangible support (by way of workshops and training) and tangible support (the stove, truck or whatever you decided to invest in with the Community Investment Fund)