Health and development through raising Red Worms

The product that we plan to generate is an organic fertilizer. It generates profit by helping to recover earth damaged by the erosion or because of operations. It mproves exhausted ground main vital characteristics. The organic fertilizer is friendly with the atmosphere, unlike chemical based fertilizers. It increases the ability of the ground to resist erosion. First, it allows the ground to retain more water and gives the effect to promote granulation and therefore to maintain great pores through which the water penetrates and leaks downwards. It is a very demanded product in the world wide industry because its benefits are so big and the price is much lower than de chemical fertilizers. there is also a trend to go organic that makes our product more demanded.

I will produce this organic fertilizer by feeding organic residues to red worms in special pools or cribs. The worms do all the decomposing work since they eat the residues and their excrement is what we call the best organic fertilizer.

the labour needed is people (enabled) to feed the worms the organic remainders and some water, each week. After 5 months, the cribs are filled with pure organic fertilizer so people is needed to package. Our target market are all the national producers of organic products or plants. Therefore, our target group will be flower raisers and coffe farms (since they have more culture and knowledge about our products profits). So, on the supply chain, all we need are organic remainders from the general activity of any company, farm, comunity. It will always be available since everyday we throw away organic trashes that are not reused and pollute the environment. Our suppliers for this materials are farms, municipalities, and most important community residents.

Our potential customers will buy our organic fertilizer because they know the benefits of using organic products versus the chemical based fertilizers. They are aware of the global tendency of organic products and its increase in demand. We pretend to reach our customers with a well marketing structured plan that includes (product, price, distribution, and comunication or promotion). Since the results that are obtained by using our product are so big, we plan to give free samples over products and compare the inmediate results from using other type of fertilizers. We will reach them by contacting them, visiting them in their workplace, giving them information (to increase the culture of our product), and givig some samples to prove our benefits. To promote we will build a web page, we will have banners on organic trend magazines, and others available (as soon as we have more capital to invest).

Our competitors are all those other products that in a way substitute organic fertilizers, chemically based fertilizers, or other mixes. We have the advantage of having low costs (because of availability of raw material and worms). Our competition has very high prices, almost 50% over our price and its effects are lower.

What is unique es that our product is a reflection of pure honest work of people who want to surpass their capacities, Therefore, its a social business that seeks to protect the worlds natural environment. We want to change the world with positive actions.

I am a Business with speciality in Tourism & hotel management student, just about to end the career, here in Guatemala. Ive learned so many usefull skills to create, manage and support a business in about any place of the world. Also, im very fond of the ZERI philosophy, wich is the base of my developing business.

I have an almost everyday contact with people from the rural area and also travel monthly to a property my family owns in the rural area (south coast) in which I help and participate.

In the last three months ive started the business of organic fertilzers thanks to a price I won on a national competition from Technoserve Incorporated. Therefore, I have many investigations on the Biotecnology of Red Worms and its social and environmental impact.

In the first years of operation we will be helping and employing 5 to 6 direct employments. and about 250 families could be benefited as indirect employment since they will be the providers of our raw material to convert into ogranic fertilizer.

These people will have education in order for them to be able to collaborate with our business and attend customers professionally. Their local income will be supported since this business will be generating income for them. As the business develops the income will be increasing.

Also, importantly, the quality of living standards will improve alot since their comunities wont have raw materials atracting animals, and rodents that can affect children and parents health, bad smells, and genral contamination. Their whole community standard will be raised since their income will be higher and their environment will be protected and clean.