This post is dedicated to our first Bam project. I'm so excited about this. I have been planning, researching, working and praying for this for many months. There is another, smaller project in the works as well. If this is your first visit to this blog...bienvenidos!
Below is a brief synopsis of our first BAM project and the couple asking for a micro loan. Before I introduce you to them I want to explain something. This small business venture was not my idea. It was theirs. Why is this important? Because it means that it is far more likely to succeed. To work to make your own ideas and dreams come true is always better than trying to make someone else's ideas come true. All I did was bring some wisdom and experience gained from my many years of self employment to the venture and help bring you and them together. So, I want to make sure that the credit goes to these folks, for their intuitiveness in searching for a business that suits them and for being willing to accept my small role in this and agreeing to the requirements we ask of them wholeheartedly. Allan and Nicole, may God richly bless you and those who lend to you in this new venture.
I first met Allan and Nicole a little over a year ago. Oddly enough, if my memory serves me correctly, it was over a carton of eggs. But let's start at the beginning.
Allan
Allan is Honduran, born in a small village somewhere in the mountains on the North Coast. One of nine children abandoned by their parents, he was raised by his older siblings. Allan graduated from the 3rd grade and never returned to school. Instead, he and a friend decided several years later to head for the US. They were fourteen years old. They walked and hitchhiked their way north, working when they could, begging for food when they couldn't. Several months later they crossed the Rio Grande and were picked up by INS. Kept in a detention center for six months, Allan was eventually united with family members who lived in Dallas and was able to remain in the US legally because of them. He taught himself English and improved his reading all the while working as a house painter.
At some point he began attending church, eventually ending up in the church Tony Evans pastors in Dallas. Under Evans' teaching and God's leadership, Allan developed a real heart for missions and evangelism. In 2010, Allan failed to renew his paperwork with INS and was told he had to return to Honduras. He returned with enough money to buy a small, adobe house on a large lot in one of the small aldeas outside of Siguatepeque. He has done a wonderful job remodeling the house. It is cozy, quaint and very comfortable. Allan is a pastor and an evangelist at heart. He's not sure that he will ever see himself as the pastor of a church with a buildings and all, but he has several families in the aldea that he cares for and who faithfully meet in his house every Sunday.
Allan is one of the friendliest guys you'll ever meet. He is also one of the most talented too. There is no doubt in my mind that he is made for self employment. As we have talked about BAM philosophy...he gets it. Already he is thinking of ways that he can help the people in his home church through this business. He's inventive, intelligent and has previous experience raising chickens.
Nicole
Nicole is from Texas. She loves children and has worked in camps and an orphanage often over the years. That's what brought her to Honduras. While studying Spanish in Siguatepeque, she met Allan. She loves Allan, their baby daughter, Honduras and Jesus, not necessarily in that order. One of the things she dreams of doing is becoming a mid wife, a very useful thing to be in a country where many women still have their children at home. She and Allan work together and share the privilege of loving the people in their church family.
The Venture
Allan wants to start a small chicken farm. He believes that 150 hens are a good number to start with. He has raised chickens in the past, but with only a few and when you're dealing in eggs, volume is what makes the difference. He already has the coop, the outside area is fenced in and he is building the feeders and beds. He has invested a fair amount of his own time and money preparing for the hens. He already has a client who has agreed to take 30 cartons of eggs a week. Eggs are much used here and the market for selling them is good.
One of the unique things about this venture is that Allan wants to buy Rhode Island Reds. They produce brown eggs which are preferred and which sell for slightly more and are not as common around Siguat. (This meets one of my strong suggestions, that of seeking a niche market or having something different than the majority.) He will also make much of his own feed with corn that he will begin growing, mixing that with several other ingredients that are cost effective and readily available.
Requested Loan Amount
These RI Reds cost more initially than the usual white hens and have to be brought all the way from Copán. The hens are nearly ready to begin laying and have all their shots. The cost per bird is 200 L or about $10. 150 birds is $1500 USD. Allan would also like to borrow $125 USD to buy a feed grinder/mixer. Total loan amount that he is asking for is $1625 USD. He has agreed to a repayment schedule of 1 year with a payment of $137.42 USD per month.
My Analysis
I have reviewed with Allan the cost to produce an egg, the cost of the feed and the market. I believe that the market will support this business and that the profit margin as well as growth potential is what it should be. There is plenty of room to grow, not only up, but sideways too, i.e meat birds and chicks. Although the loan amount is more than the $1000 range I prefer for a micro loan, to buy fewer hens would not be wise and could lead to failure. The fact that he has a sizable order each month already in place adds to the probability of success and therefore receives my recommendation.
Allan is a born salesman, understands the Principles of Good Business and asked, before we even got to the subject, that I would hold him accountable for the way he operates his business and his relationship through that to others. He understands that the hens will remain as collateral until the loan is paid. The fact that he has also invested a sizable amount of his own money in the project is a plus. I believe that Allan will succeed in this and that he will bless others as he is blessed.
How to Lend
If you would like to lend to this project, please email me at mwolfe.ent@gmail.com with the amount you would like to lend. Also, please go to our website, to the Economics page, read through the information, especially the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. At this point in time, I understand that most of you who will lend to this project know me personally. For those of you who don't, you may want to just follow along through this blog for awhile. I would if I were in your shoes!
If you are in the US, please make your checks payable to:
Michael Wolfe, BAM Acct.
P. O. Box 101,
East Wilton, ME 04234.
If you are in Honduras, email me or call me at 3216-3287 and we'll figure out some way to meet up.
Thanks to all of you who give, pray and believe in this project. May God bless each of you for your generosity.
Mike
 |
| Allan and Nicole |
Below is a brief synopsis of our first BAM project and the couple asking for a micro loan. Before I introduce you to them I want to explain something. This small business venture was not my idea. It was theirs. Why is this important? Because it means that it is far more likely to succeed. To work to make your own ideas and dreams come true is always better than trying to make someone else's ideas come true. All I did was bring some wisdom and experience gained from my many years of self employment to the venture and help bring you and them together. So, I want to make sure that the credit goes to these folks, for their intuitiveness in searching for a business that suits them and for being willing to accept my small role in this and agreeing to the requirements we ask of them wholeheartedly. Allan and Nicole, may God richly bless you and those who lend to you in this new venture.
I first met Allan and Nicole a little over a year ago. Oddly enough, if my memory serves me correctly, it was over a carton of eggs. But let's start at the beginning.
Allan
Allan is Honduran, born in a small village somewhere in the mountains on the North Coast. One of nine children abandoned by their parents, he was raised by his older siblings. Allan graduated from the 3rd grade and never returned to school. Instead, he and a friend decided several years later to head for the US. They were fourteen years old. They walked and hitchhiked their way north, working when they could, begging for food when they couldn't. Several months later they crossed the Rio Grande and were picked up by INS. Kept in a detention center for six months, Allan was eventually united with family members who lived in Dallas and was able to remain in the US legally because of them. He taught himself English and improved his reading all the while working as a house painter.
At some point he began attending church, eventually ending up in the church Tony Evans pastors in Dallas. Under Evans' teaching and God's leadership, Allan developed a real heart for missions and evangelism. In 2010, Allan failed to renew his paperwork with INS and was told he had to return to Honduras. He returned with enough money to buy a small, adobe house on a large lot in one of the small aldeas outside of Siguatepeque. He has done a wonderful job remodeling the house. It is cozy, quaint and very comfortable. Allan is a pastor and an evangelist at heart. He's not sure that he will ever see himself as the pastor of a church with a buildings and all, but he has several families in the aldea that he cares for and who faithfully meet in his house every Sunday.
Allan is one of the friendliest guys you'll ever meet. He is also one of the most talented too. There is no doubt in my mind that he is made for self employment. As we have talked about BAM philosophy...he gets it. Already he is thinking of ways that he can help the people in his home church through this business. He's inventive, intelligent and has previous experience raising chickens.
Nicole
Nicole is from Texas. She loves children and has worked in camps and an orphanage often over the years. That's what brought her to Honduras. While studying Spanish in Siguatepeque, she met Allan. She loves Allan, their baby daughter, Honduras and Jesus, not necessarily in that order. One of the things she dreams of doing is becoming a mid wife, a very useful thing to be in a country where many women still have their children at home. She and Allan work together and share the privilege of loving the people in their church family.
The Venture
 |
| Allan built this building to be a shop or store. It may hbe the nicest coop ever. |
One of the unique things about this venture is that Allan wants to buy Rhode Island Reds. They produce brown eggs which are preferred and which sell for slightly more and are not as common around Siguat. (This meets one of my strong suggestions, that of seeking a niche market or having something different than the majority.) He will also make much of his own feed with corn that he will begin growing, mixing that with several other ingredients that are cost effective and readily available.
Requested Loan Amount
These RI Reds cost more initially than the usual white hens and have to be brought all the way from Copán. The hens are nearly ready to begin laying and have all their shots. The cost per bird is 200 L or about $10. 150 birds is $1500 USD. Allan would also like to borrow $125 USD to buy a feed grinder/mixer. Total loan amount that he is asking for is $1625 USD. He has agreed to a repayment schedule of 1 year with a payment of $137.42 USD per month.
My Analysis
I have reviewed with Allan the cost to produce an egg, the cost of the feed and the market. I believe that the market will support this business and that the profit margin as well as growth potential is what it should be. There is plenty of room to grow, not only up, but sideways too, i.e meat birds and chicks. Although the loan amount is more than the $1000 range I prefer for a micro loan, to buy fewer hens would not be wise and could lead to failure. The fact that he has a sizable order each month already in place adds to the probability of success and therefore receives my recommendation.
Allan is a born salesman, understands the Principles of Good Business and asked, before we even got to the subject, that I would hold him accountable for the way he operates his business and his relationship through that to others. He understands that the hens will remain as collateral until the loan is paid. The fact that he has also invested a sizable amount of his own money in the project is a plus. I believe that Allan will succeed in this and that he will bless others as he is blessed.
How to Lend
If you would like to lend to this project, please email me at mwolfe.ent@gmail.com with the amount you would like to lend. Also, please go to our website, to the Economics page, read through the information, especially the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. At this point in time, I understand that most of you who will lend to this project know me personally. For those of you who don't, you may want to just follow along through this blog for awhile. I would if I were in your shoes!
If you are in the US, please make your checks payable to:
Michael Wolfe, BAM Acct.
P. O. Box 101,
East Wilton, ME 04234.
If you are in Honduras, email me or call me at 3216-3287 and we'll figure out some way to meet up.
Thanks to all of you who give, pray and believe in this project. May God bless each of you for your generosity.
Mike
great idea! I have rhode Island reds too. perfect eggs. think shells. very interesting plan. I wish them luck. Love and miss you all. love Amy
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my chickens I had Rhode Island Reds and couldn't have been happier with them. Less than 5% mortality over two years with just under 40 birds. Best of luck with this project. Jim G.
ReplyDeleteEverybody seems to love the Rhode Island Reds
Delete