Projects Overview – Self Reliance in Action

A Common Focus

Interweave fulfills its mission through projects in communities throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia. Every project advances Interweave’s core program focus - to generate self reliance by interweaving strengths of three life priorities - business, home and community. Through common components shared by all projects - cutting edge curriculum, participatory methods, regular classes, individual business coaching/tracking, peer mentoring, microfinance loans and community dialogue and action - participants work individually and collectively to create, implement and regularly renew three plans:

1. A business/employment plan to grow income
2. An individual or family plan to improve home life
3. A group action plan established with neighbors to solve community problems

Two Forms of Interweave Intervention

While every project follows this core model, Interweave implements the effort through two distinct formats:

1. Full-scale Projects – (Interweave runs the program.) Working through church or community-based networks, Interweave hires, trains and supervises in-country coaches who organize and implement the local program. Their efforts involve the full range of program components, including development of independent neighborhood associations and an Interweave-directed micro-business loan program. With an initial 18-month Interweave-directed start-up phase, these neighborhood and village associations continue to initiate community improvement projects as well as business training and loan management on a locally self-sustaining basis. With projects initiated within a church network, participant business loans are funded through internet contributors to sainttosaint.org.

2. Partner Projects – (Interweave helps local partner organization run the program) Independent in-country partner organizations - micro-finance or nongovernmental organizations – use Interweave methods, materials and training to implement the self reliance program within their existing local program networks. With Interweave training and direction, the partner organizations run the loan program and supervise their own staff. Rather than creating new community-associations, Interweave leverages results by training and revitalizing existing neighborhood-action groups already in place within the partner program, such as village banks, solidarity groups and local associations.

Other - Social Businesses – Interweave supports some of its projects through the earnings of local Interweave-run “triple-bottom line” businesses. These businesses earn a profit, hire employees, and provide social and environmental benefits (such as clean water in Uganda and a school in Zimbabwe).