Sinal do Vale Project

1. Sinal do Vale Project Group 3 Tia Panuelo, TanyaRaycroft, Zachary Shrover, Matthew Socha, Daniel Stephan, ReynelleTalford, Charles Trottier

2. Background Info on Sinal • According to their website, “SINAL do Vale has approximately 60 acres of land equipped with infrastructure that allows it to be a hub where volunteers, community leaders, students, social entrepreneurs develop and apply new social and environmental initiatives that can ultimately improve quality of life and the environment.” • Sinal do Vale has a large plot of land located in a beautiful tropical woodland area with local flora and fauna, and mountain views located outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Sinal has an organic farm, a house, a meeting center, a soccer field, and other things on their grounds, all of which can be used to promote their business.

3. Group 3 Task – Project Description and Target Market Social Business Incubator: As you will see later in this memo, the foundation is quite interested in helping the “Bottom of the Pyramid.” There are two ways you can look at this: 1. You can try to help existing small business entrepreneurs in the Rio area to develop their business skills and their networks. 2. You can train children and young adults to give them the entrepreneurial skills to develop their own businesses. Target Market: 1. local small business entrepreneurs and 2. children and young adults in the Rio area and outskirts.

4. Helping Small Business Entrepreneurs • Use the facilities as a corporate retreat for business, large or small from all over Brazil and internationally • Hold business training classes for small business entrepreneurs with guest speakers from businesses in Rio (and from people who come in for corporate retreats). This could also bring in revenue depending on how Sinal handles this. • Link up with small business entrepreneurs to promote and host activities, events, sales, etc. at Sinaldo Vale.

5. Training children and young adults to give them the entrepreneurial skills to develop their own businesses. • Use local labor to volunteer at the farm and work at the retreat house. Teach locals business and life skills. • Hold trainings and educational classes for locals who are poor and/or under-educated. Teach them how to start their own business, etc. • Bring in at-risk and undereducated youth from the slums of Rio to learn life skills

6. How does this fit into the Zeitz Foundations 4 C’s? To become a “Long Run Destination”, Sinal needs to also comply with the following: • Conservation • Community • Culture • Commerce • What does this mean for Sinal and how can they do it?

7. How does this fit into the Zeitz Foundations 4 C’s? Conservation – What must Sinal do? 1. Biodiversity Conservation: What steps have you taken to conserve and enhance the biodiversity in the area under your management and/or influence? 2. Best environmental Management Practices: What measures have you taken to mitigate the environmental impact of your destination with regard to energy, water, waste and carbon? How to do it: • Help promote and teach locals and others about the importance of conservation through educational classes and preserving the land on which Sinal do Vale rests. • Promote development of other organic farms along with helping to cultivate their own

8. How does this fit into the Zeitz Foundations 4 C’s? Community – What must Sinal do? • Community Relations and Communication: What steps have you taken to create good community relations? • Local Economic and Social Benefits: What steps have you taken to contribute to the livelihoods and wellbeing of your community • Fair Working Conditions: What steps have you taken to ensure fair working conditions for your staff? How to do it: • Provide educational classes and work (paid and volunteer) to locals and to those (maybe students?) in the Rio area. • Use the land for community outreach programs for at-risk/undereducated kids from Rio’s slums

9. How does this fit into the Zeitz Foundations 4 C’s? Culture: What must Sinal do? • Cultural Expression: What steps have you taken to develop and support traditional and contemporary practices and cultural artifacts at your destination? • Cultural Exchange and Interaction: How do you promote intercultural respect and understanding among cultures?  How to do it: • Promote interaction and cultural exchange between the local community and those who visit Sinal for activities (especially effective for international businesses that come to Sinal)

10. How does this fit into the Zeitz Foundations 4 C’s? Commerce: What must Sinal do? • Sustainable Commerce: What steps have you taken to ensure that the commercial activities of our destination are sustainable and that these commercial activities support and complement activities undertaken under the other 3C’s? • Best Business Practice: How do you ensure that your business follows and promotes best business practice and is in accordance with all legal requirements of our country? How to do it: • Sell organic produce from the farm • Sinalcan use their facilities for many things: Corporate and group retreats, school field trips, various activities (all of which would bring in revenue)