A business centring culture and sustainability
At Teach A Man To Fish, we get to see a lot of different amazing school businesses taking part in our School Enterprise Challenge. In celebration of International Day of Cultural Diversity we want to highlight one in particular: Guatefolio.
The team of young entrepreneurs at the Liceo Canadiense Bosques de Nicolas in Guatemala are uniting business and Guatemalan culture. They create and sell beautiful artisanal bags, such as briefcases and laptop covers. Their idea was to distinguish themselves from their competitors by using recycled materials and traditional fabrics with unique regional designs.
It is truly exciting to see young people using their school business to highlight their national roots and culture! This enterprise demonstrates the impressive results obtained from the combination of tradition, creativity and innovation in a youth-led business.
A business that cares for the environment
The Guatefolio business was born with the idea to carry out the production and commercialization of typical portfolios elaborated in their majority with recycled materials. This is what distinguishes them from other companies who might sell the same product. Their business protects the environment as it only uses recycled materials such as cardboard which take less than a year to degrade and everything is handmade.
These young students are putting recycling at the front of their business and it is truly admirable to see how the respect of the environment fits into their business plan and how they can help raise awareness with their customers.
The use of social media to sell their product
The 34 students running the business have created a strong online presence and brand identity which exceeded expectations. Indeed, they harnessed the power of social media by promoting their product and making sales through their Facebook and Instagram pages! Their resourcefulness to make profit is truly admirable. These young entrepreneurs are also showing great generosity in their community by using part of their profits to support a local care home.
Guatefolio is an amazing example of the kind of business that has a positive impact on the environment and the community, which our organisation is proud to support! Especially on this International Day of Cultural Diversity, it is so inspiring to see young people highlighting the beauty of their national culture in innovative ways!
