The Economic Development (EcoDev) Program at SKIP works with families living in poverty to offer financial opportunities to stabilise their income and improve living conditions. The department helps SKIP families create sustainable sources of income and provides them with opportunities to develop their artisanal and business skills to pursue their goals.

Its current project portfolio includes:

  • micro-credit program – this issues small loans and business consulting to current or potential business owners
  • construction program – small loans to improve the living situations of families
  • health-related loan program- small loans for health related emergencies
  • artisanal workshops, including jewelry-making, sewing, and weaving
  • business education workshops, one-on-one consulting

 

The Position

Under supervision of the EcoDev Coordinator, you will be responsible for a specific project within the department. However, because of the modest size of our team, volunteers contribute to aspects of all the projects within EcoDev.

Additionally, volunteers will assist in the children’s programme at SKIP twice a week by volunteering a morning/afternoon to work at the school as we feel this helps give additional perspective on the community.

While we ultimately desire our EcoDev Volunteers to speak some level of Spanish, we currently offer a limited amount of spaces for those who do not speak Spanish. However, priority will be given to those who are able to stay longer and are committed to improving their language abilities.

 

Responsibilities

  • Participate in the microcredit loans programme through office hours and visit houses in the community of El Porvenir
  • Manage a development portfolio of families/borrowers and be open to understanding their situation and providing solutions
  • Work with the mothers in the artisanal workshops and keep up with inventory sold in the local cafes and shops
  • Report to the EcoDev coordinator on a regular and consistent basis
  • Independently research, organise and manage an EcoDev project that will improve the living conditions of families in El Porvenir. In some cases, the project will need to be continued from a past volunteer rather than independently researched and organised