Eco Oro is introducing a sustainable social responsibility model for the community surrounding Angostura. The model provides a framework for:
A key element of the model is the Soto Norte Foundation, a non-profit group funded by Eco Oro with the mandate to encourage development in the Soto Norte district where the Angostura project is located. The foundation supports several programs including:
The Virtual Classroom The Virtual Classroom in the village of California gives residents of the Soto Norte district free access to computer training. The curriculum includes four levels: introduction to Windows; management of Microsoft Office tools; surfing the Internet; and online courses offered by SENA, the national learning service. Classes are available to anyone in the district, including adults, youth and children.
"For six months I have been using the virtual classroom. I did not know how to surf the Internet before; I learned that here. I have also learned basic applications, as I did not know any of their functions." -- Juan Gabriel Vanega
Skills Development: Jewellery, Carpentry, Crafts & Communications
Jewellery Making One of the most popular programs sponsored by the Soto Norte Foundation is jewellery making, offered by San Antonio College in California. Students are trained in jewellery design, the properties of metals, chemical preparation, assembly and finishing. They graduate with a Bench Jewellery Technician certificate and several are now working with leading jewellers in the nearby city of Bucaramanga. The Foundation provides most of the equipment for the program and has established a retail outlet in California where students can sell their work.
Carpentry A 2,000-hour carpentry program teaches machinery, grinding and assembly of wooden furniture and crafts. By the end of the program, apprentices have the skills to make wooden products ranging from night tables to wardrobes which they can use for their own homes or sell on the market.
"I work for the mayor’s office of California. The carpentry course caught my attention and I have attended classes for the past three months. I learned to make doors and shelves. I will make drawers for my kitchen and I'm also finishing the doors. I want to continue training in order to launch a shop with the members of my course, as we already have a business idea." -- Carmen Jiménez Gélvez
Crafts In addition to the trades of jewellery-making and carpentry, local residents can participate in craft workshops. Participants learn to make items such as pillows and Christmas ornaments for their homes or for sale.
Communications In order to improve skills in oral and written communication, local youth are taught how to develop content for radio and print. As a result of these workshops, several students have gone on to contribute to the radio stations in Vetas and California. The students also develop the skills necessary to write and edit for print and social media.
The Revolving Fund The Foundation provides seed capital to community members who launch their own businesses. Beneficiaries must first complete a business training program including accounting, operations, business management, and the “how to do’s” of a successful business. The Foundation committee chooses which initiatives to support based on a business plan developed during the training program.
"In 2010 I applied for a loan of three million pesos for my project through the revolving fund. I am very grateful to the Foundation for how it helped my business. I have done very well and invested the three million in merchandise." -- Marta Isabel Bautista Pedraza
Agricultural Initiatives Working with Enlace, an alliance of low-wage worker centres and community organizations, the Foundation is sponsoring a program to establish sustainable economic strategies within organizations in the Soto Norte district. So far, several groups have benefited from the training opportunities including the Santander Association of Meat and Dairy and Proalpec, an animal food processor.
The Foundation also supports the Cattlemen’s Association’s breeding program which aims to improve artificial insemination and breeding for livestock as well as provide occasional veterinary services. Consultation on nutrition, pasture improvement, stable and facilities construction, and cattle health is also available.
Finally, the Foundation provides funding to promote organic farming in home gardens. This program supplies seeds, constructs greenhouses, and trains community members in organic farming practices. At a working farm just outside of California managed by Eco Oro staff, children and youth learn about raising animals and cultivating fruit and vegetables in a sustainable manner.
"Animal food processor Proalpec is an animal food processing plant, and thanks to the Enlace Corporation and the Foundation, our business has developed and is in good standing. I believe this partnership and the support programs for small and medium enterprises are vital to the region. They provide a positive image of the province.” -- Proalpec, Municipality of Matanza
Parenting, Family Relations and Nutrition Eco Oro employees and other community members have access to counselling in parenting and family relations through group workshops and individual consultations with psychologists and social workers. Workshop topics include human development, childrearing and preventing family violence. The programs foster dialogue and healthy living in the homes in and around California, Matanza, Charta and Suratá. They have reached hundreds of children, adolescents and parents in the region.
The Foundation also provides nutritional support for school canteens and homecare. Most of the food supplied, including milk, fruit, meat and fish, comes from the Foundation’s San Francisco farming operation.
"The program taught us many values, including how to interact with others and lead a good life” -- María del Pilar García
Youth Music & Dance Funding from the Foundation extends to arts and culture. The School of String Instruments, for example, teaches the basics of playing guitar and local instruments such as the tipple and fife, as well as music theory and rythym. The Dance and Drumming program teaches Colombian dances such as the cumbia, the contra-dance and the currulao to children and youth in Vetas and California.
“I have been attending this program the past year-and-a-half. I am learning to play the fife because I really like the music of our region. I belong to a group called Los Fiesteritos which includes students from San Antonio College." -- Kevin Arley Gélve
Education and Training A primary mandate for the Foundation is to co-ordinate education and training both for the primary (core activities) and secondary (support activities) businesses. In addition, there is education and training required for staffing the Foundation.
Small Business Initiative The Small Business Initiative has been established to provide capacity in the Soto Norte district for rendering services to Eco Oro and other mining companies in the area. Examples include transport of personnel to mine site, catering and general services, road maintenance, topographic survey, plant nursery and environmental restauration services, eco and other forms of tourism, administration of protected areas, among others.
The business model requires capital investment in equipment and infrastructure and human capacity building. It begins with these services being internalised and evolved to be externalised, or externalised but with company oversight until the capacity is there to operate independently. The business model does not come at additional cost to the company. Rather, it provides an alternative for costs that would in any event be incurred in doing business.