Plan Costura was started in 2015 in Guatemala, buying large weaving looms for “cortes” (the indigenous traditional dresses) and investing in training for the women. Each loom and training costs £1,300 ($ 2,000). The materials are currently sold locally.
A small sewing business was started for teenage single mothers in 2019 by purchasing sewing machines and providing training. It produced hundreds of facemasks, which Phoenix funded, to give to the elderly and high-risk population at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Plan Moo was introduced in Guatemala in 2013. By purchasing a cow it provides a micro-business and income for many of our families for, amongst others costs, secondary school, college and University for their children as well as income for the schools (local teachers’ salaries, daily food and fruit, materials etc). Each cow costs £750 ($ 1,000).
Sustainable employment is critical. We have started Plan Negocio (business) by providing seed capital to families and our graduating students for them to invest in their own business ideas; similar to micro-loans though with the money from interest being paid back into the running costs of the schools and also a fund to provide further seed capital in the future.
Plan Pollo. We invest in a certain quantity of chickens, feed and infrastructure and the income from egg sales and meat is shared between the families and the school costs each month. This was started in 2014 in Guatemala.
We have planted hundreds of thousands of trees as part of our Plan Reforestation which not only helps to reverse the impact of decades-long deforestation though also helps to offset the carbon footprint of The Phoenix Projects.
