A neighborhood empowerment initiative

Creating a sense of recognition and belonging - fundamental components of community engagement.

 

Vecinos Platicando is a neighborhood empowerment effort designed to build a stronger community in Los Laureles, Tijuana. Working with a team of social impact designers, we developed a framework for building resilient communities. The framework allows organizations to enhance their effort creating long-lasting engagements with a deep sense of belonging.

At the core of resilient communities are people uncovering opportunities to improve their livelihoods. The framework builds on this premise to give communities tools to:

  • Foster relationships- helping people to connect
  • Share information and practices that create positive impact
  • Realize the benefits of saving for the future
  • Recognize their self-worth
 
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Challenge

We developed a project proposal to help Alter Terra & Project Concern International to scale a community based social enterprise in Tijuana. The request was to develop a strategy to strengthen the business model and scale a permeable pavers cooperative, also, to design a communication strategy to illustrate the impact of the business to potential funders.

During three months we managed a multi-stakeholder project to assess the current business model, evaluate how it aligns with the community partner's objectives, and to engage with the community to understand current challenges and co-create opportunities for growth.

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Process

Although the initial objective was to help scale a local business, working with the community and local stakeholders, we quickly realized that building a strong community was fundamental to the creation of any business initiative. The team decided to reframe the initial challenge to find ways to bolster participation, commitment and a sense of belonging - the first step towards building a stable community-based business.

Using design-thinking methods, we conducted research, which included in-depth interviews and other ethnographic research tools, to learn from community members in slums in Tijuana, Mexico.

I lead various workshops and problem-solving sessions to gain insight and co-create with the community the strategy to scale the social enterprise and create a solid community engagement strategy.

We identified a pattern; lasting initiatives emerged from the community, and all of them involved working together. Residents of Los Laureles valued the moments they spent together. The driver for participation was particularly surprising. Los Laureles is a neighborhood in an illegal settlement mainly inhabited by migrants on their way to the U.S. They reside in Tijuana as the result of a failed attempt to cross the border or as a temporary stop on their way to North America. They never intended to live there hence their hopes and dreams are elsewhere. They do not have an incentive to build a permanent social net until they realize the only thing they have is each other.

To celebrate the community and reflect back what we learned we designed an event with the purpose of delivering an empowering experience to the community. We shared the community engagement framework, that resulted from the research, and presented the residents of Los Laureles as co-creators.

In addition to the work with the community, we designed and facilitated business strategy sessions to understand the current business model and align our partner's vision with the social enterprise growth strategy.

Value

“Your team left its mark in the community of Los Laureles and all of you should be proud on how much better the residents feel about themselves, there is a new sense of convergence that is opening the door for improved cooperation among neighbors." Oscar Romo, Founder of Alter Terra - 08/23/2013

We used storytelling to foster community relationships and spread practices. Hosted a community event where 30 community members, local government officials, not-for-profits from both sides of the border and community partners attended to learn about the project and to build relationships with the community.

Through this project, we created opportunities for individuals to recognize self-worth and fostered relationships among community members.

The team developed leadership potential in community members and gave our community partners a new approach to engaging with the communities they serve.

Outcome

 

/// Contact me if you are interested in obtaining additional information or viewing materials developed for this project.  

 

Project developed in collaboration with:

Payal Patel, Mariana Quiroga and Isaac Buwembo.

 

The team was obtained the IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Award by the Center for Art and Public Life and was awarded with a $10,000 grant to implement the project.