Happy #GivingTuesday amigos! If you follow our Facebook page, you’ve seen the updates – We’re building a new surf shop at WAVES Lobitos to strengthen entrepreneurship programming in Peru!
And now, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Our new surf shop will be the focal point where we can safely share ideas, cultures, our mission, & existence of rad local initiatives as well as offer services, like surf board rental, repair, and classes, that will help to fund our community programs and services.
An impact surf shop will allow WAVES not only to rent and repair surf equipment, sell surf classes, spread the word about its program and activities, but also sell woven recycled bag handicraft manufactured by local Lobitos women and be the meeting point for the walking tour ‘Lobitos Desde su Gente’, two initiatives promoted by the WAVES team to support the people from Lobitos.
It will also serve as a training platform for selected young locals of Lobitos on how to manage a surf shop, including but not limited to customer service, sales guidance, stock and inventory.
A grant was secured earlier this year to cover materials. Now the next phase of construction has begun. More funds are needed to cover labor, operation costs into next year and further developing a strong network for continued growth.
DONATE HERE!
The Plans
Plans have been drawn up and approved by our WAVES team. We will work with local vendors and friends to create a sustainable design using bamboo construction.
Breakdown of Our Surf Shop Budget
Over half the funds needed for the surf shop will cover the following:
– Construction site and project manager
– Hiring specialized labor
– Landscaping and gardener
– Investing in our future
Other expenses will be needed to cover…
Water supply: approximately 16.000 liters of water will be needed for construction purposes and the organic garden. One thousand liters of water cost 45 Soles, totaling 720 Soles, which is approximately 225$.
Overhead expenses: the garden will require 3m3 of soil (300 Soles), transportation of the soil is also factored in the amount budgeted in the overhead expenses (100 soles), as is the purchase of knitted netting (Raschel mesh, 12 soles per meter x approx. 20 m) to replace the one currently on site, which is torn and has holes in it. We will then enlist volunteer help to paint the WAVES logo on the new netting as that is the first thing people see when approaching WAVES land.
Contribution to the salary of the surf shop manager: the current lack of infrastructure has had a dramatic effect on local revenue generation. We believe that with a functional surf shop, sales and rentals can pick up and become a steady income over time. A contribution of 200$ per month during the first six months will support WAVES while it reaches that steady flow of customers once more.
DONATE HERE!
Future Steps
We’ve already demo’d the old shed and prepared the site for the new building process. The construction itself should start shortly and continue to improve in attractivess and revenue generation as investment funds come in.
Our next goal as an organization is to continue to build infrastructure on WAVESLAND, including a cultural center where we will be able to host Community Outreach programing but also workshops in other areas (bioconstruction for instance) to complement the existing education program. Additionally, we’d love to run the operation on energy generated from renewable sources including an impressive solar installation.
We also hope that this surf shop, as well as WAVESLAND, will act as a model for future impact surf education centers are the world.
