In May 2013 , with 5 other students from IDEA program, I spent three months in the Philippine as an intern for the NGO Gawad Kalinga .

We shared the daily lives of people from

« Fiat », a small village very close to the city of Silay, well known as the small " Paris " of the Philippines.

 

Our mission was to design and develop a coffee shop at the entrance of the village to provide financial autonomy to its occupants. Silay being a former French colony with a

“ history ”, we developed a concept that promoted local heritage and know-how.

We build " Chez Tita ", a local café opposed to international chains (like Starbucks, McCafe) which are very present locally.

 

We succeeded in raising funds before going to Philippines. We could then focus on recruiting and training local workforce for construction and Cafe management. We also had to deal with construction work, gardening, recipes creation and Villagers training (cooking & customer services).

 

And aside from the Coffee Shop, we gave French lessons to the kids and we organized sport and creativity activities.

 

During summer 2014, other students took over and "Chez Tita" opened.

 

Team : Anna Aflalo, Gabrielle Narasson, Jean-Claude Gatali, Victor Lamarche.

 

https://www.facebook.com/GkFiat2013

 

+ Design thinking

+ Design research

+ Market survey

+ Business plan

+ Project management

+ Social innovation