Name of the project:

PROVE - Promover e Vender

Characteristics:

There are strong constraints to marketing of products produced by microentrepreneurs in different economic areas (such as food processing, agricultural, wine production), as well as in third sector organisations. High costs associated with the distribution, promotion and transportation of those products contribute to position these producers in a fragile situation in competition with large distributors and within the international commercial chains. If the small producers organize themselves, they may achieve important costs savings and share resources, thus improving their business position. Methods for crafts production are synonymous of a cultural identity and traditional taste preservation. However they face disappearence, as poor quality but highly competitive and cheap products are increasingly integrated in the business chain. There is an urgent demand to interven in order to stimulate local products as desirable and competitive. A way of fighting the uniformity and improving the diversity, promoting, simultaneously the economic and social potential of rural communities. Beyond the traditional production there are several informal activities, thus facing wide marketing constraints which might damage their development potential. It is important to promote a new enterpreneur spirit, facilitating their organization and enabling the emergence of new marketing methods. Most arts and crafts and informal produts are the responsibility of women that are however still excluded from decision processes. There is demand for work around the promotion of their economic and social activities, overcoming constraints that prevent them from aauming a wider role as enterpreneurs, and community learders. Consumers are not aware of the advantages of buying products produced with quality and proximity - short distribution chain. Therefore there is the need to stimulate their interest for the quality of traditional productions, enabling them to develop new relationships with the local rural producers. We identify the need of oriented/specific training for 1)professionals engaged in the project (professionals from the local and national associations/organisations and officials from municipalities) in order to allow them to acquire skills to complement their functions within local/community development; 2)direct beneficiaries of the project (microenterpreneurs – young people, women, men) in management, marketing, and quality technics.