We were able to meet with Ian in Guatemala at the La Casa office and he explained to us more about their relationship with the artisans and advice about how to facilitate the survey process with Max and the women from the workshops. Because the surveys were completed, we went to San Pedro to meet up with Max and begin the evaluation process. Each survey takes about an hour to complete - quite the challenge due to the language barriers and the effort to make the women feel comfortable while still maintaining professionalism and getting valuable answers.
Before we started the survey, we read a prepared speech to the women that explained why we were administering the evaluations, made sure they understand the mission and services of Nest, thanked them for their time, and provided them with an environment and space to share any questions or doubts they had with us. They were also to sign a release form, allowing Nest to use their stories, information, and pictures for things like marketing, administrative, or website purposes. I've learned a great deal from administering these surveys. I'm able to help Nest realize how effective or not the survey is as a tool to assess their impact on the lives of the artisans. We realized that the survey is structured a bit too formally, and also that sometimes the women don't recognize exactly how Nest has affected their lives. All of the interviews I've conducted have been with artisans that have received market access from Nest through association orders; only one or two have gone through Nest's business curriculum and none of them have received a loan.
The majority appreciate having a stable workplace to come to where they know they will be treated well and work in acceptable conditions. One of the women participated in a couple sessions of the curriculum. What she had learned she mentioned teaching to her children and applying in her home. Tomorrow I have a Skype conference with Rebecca and Kathleen to discuss more of the survey results, plan work for my remaining days, and figure out how to progress with the three groups we'd visited. There are more groups to be surveyed at the lake, and I need to finish up with Max's workshops (we've complete 9 interviews but there are over 10 more that need to be surveyed).
Marie left today :( It's been so nice having somebody to work with. We got along so well, especially considering we simply started living and working together without having known each other beforehand. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other, think of new methods or ways that Nests' tools could be used, and travel together.
I can't believe I leave in under 2 weeks! There is still plenty of surveys to get done and I still need to complete a couple grant write-ups. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the lake for a few days this week and meet up with a couple other fellows based there. I plan on being back in Antigua this coming weekend as I move hostels again on July 2nd. I've loved getting the chance to be stable in this city, expand my network of friends, and learn plenty through traveling, working with Marie, and connecting with the artisans. Will be very strange to go back to Vermont and then school to interact with people who have no idea how different this world is.
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