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CARE offers people tools for their own development
April 17, 1996; Canadian FundRaiser

Spring in Canada signals the resurrection of dusty garden trowels, rusty hammers for treehouse construction, and the inevitable promise of a wholesale cleanup of sheds, basements and garages. This year, as you prepare to divest yourself of accumulated tool-time assets, CARE Canada wants you to consider giving them to one of the micro-entrepreneurs in Peru or Costa Rica who are involved in its Tools for Development program.
Since its creation in 1987, Tools for Development has distributed used equipment to more than 5,000 projects in Peru. In a more recently implemented program, more than 600 groups in Costa Rica now have tools needed to conduct business. People donate everything from small hand tools like hammers and files, to metalworking machinery, textile machinery and car assembly structures. Individuals, groups, and corporations make up the donor database of more than 8,000 names.
Charitable tax receipts are available for all donations. Program organizers do not buy new tools, but rely solely on previously used materials or the donation of new tools from individuals or companies. Cash donations fund the costs of shipping machinery to Peru and Costa Rica. These costs are also covered by donations from Canadian groups, such as service clubs, which often sponsor an entire shipment.
Giving tools, not grants
Because the CARE program does not want to offer band-aid solutions to the challenges of development, tools are not given away, but are sold to the micro-entrepreneur. According to Mirium Castaneda of CARE Canada, the price of equipment is based on the condition of the machine, its market availability and local market conditions. As she explains, "often there is more than one group seeking the same piece of equipment. Decisions are based on their need and their ability to implement their business plan successfully." Money raised from the sale of equipment goes into a revolving fund for other capital projects in the community.
One of the important aspects of the Tools for Development program is its insistence that micro-entrepreneurs follow a strict business plan. Groups must submit a comprehensive plan to one of the associations distributing tools in their area before they receive any equipment. This plan helps to ensure that the business has been well thought out, and will be able to sustain itself and contribute to the revolving fund.
An entrepreneur who buys machinery to make shoes, makes payments which are put into the revolving fund. This money can then be borrowed by someone who needs to buy local wool to start a textile company. The money is paid back continually, and the community fund continues to develop, both directly and indirectly, with the donation of machinery. In operation for the past three years, the revolving fund in Peru now has $450,000 available for loans to community groups.
Building the community with tools
Criticism of many development projects is levelled at the high-handed approach sometimes taken in distributing goods by the donor country or organization. The Tools for Development project, however, places the majority of decisions within the community itself. Local associations are set up to distribute the machinery, monitor payments, and coordinate the revolving fund.
In Lima, CARE works with five local associations and offers tools to significant portions of the city's 6.8 million residents. The smaller population of Costa Rica allows for national coverage and distribution. In both cases though, decisions about who gets what equipment are made on an individual basis.
Successful candidates are not always the ones who have money to buy the equipment outright. As Castaneda explains, "If we have a group with money that needs the piece, and a group without money, but who will benefit more from having the equipment, the latter will usually get it." Local decision-making associations make it easier to assess the needs and accommodate them.
With the successful start-up and continued operation of micro-entrepreneurial ventures in Peru and Costa Rica, plans are taking shape to begin new programs in other Latin American countries. Guatemalan groups will begin receiving tools early next year, and two African countries - Ghana and Zimbabwe - are targetted for future development, with donations of machinery from Europe. Throughout the year, CARE Canada's Tools for Development program ensures that your spring cleaning gives people the tools to help themselves.
For more information, contact Dario Tamayo (416) 585-5050, 1-800-567-6271.