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El Motete Marketplace

Empowering emerging producers through a market and grassroots supply chain in Panama.

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El Motete Marketplace

El Motete Marketplace

El Motete Marketplace

El Motete Marketplace

El Motete Marketplace

Empowering emerging producers through a market and grassroots supply chain in Panama.

Empowering emerging producers through a market and grassroots supply chain in Panama.

Empowering emerging producers through a market and grassroots supply chain in Panama.

Empowering emerging producers through a market and grassroots supply chain in Panama.

William Ridlehoover
William Ridlehoover
William Ridlehoover
William Ridlehoover
1 Campaign |
Panama, Panama
$20,587 USD 170 backers
45% of $45,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

As Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama, we lived alongside rural agricultural producers, working to better plan their farms and develop their businesses.  We saw some positive changes, but as our service came to an end, we asked ourselves and our local counterparts how we could truly make a positive impact in their communities. The answer resonated loud and clear:  access to retail markets.  So, rather than spin our wheels and hunt for small ins, we are opening our own marketplace in the capital, Panama City,  to showcase a truly inclusive, transparent supply chain--a place to connect small, rural producers with the consumers in the city that yearn to support them.

El Motete Marketplace

El Motete Marketplace is a retail store in Panama City aiming to bridge the gap between rural and urban Panama.  With an emphasis on community, culture and food, our's is a space to empower small producers to grow their businesses and strengthen agricultural communities. Through personal relationships with our producers, we use a grassroots supply chain to stock the highest quality produce, staple foods, specialty goods, body care and more.  El Motete Marketplace is our first step and financial engine towards supporting a more inclusive, transparent local food scene in Panama.  To foster a model that truly benefits the campesino farmers with whom we worked in the Peace Corps, we will dedicate a percentage of our profits to programs and trainings to help our producers scale their businesses, and grow their market share.

             

Will Ridlehoover worked for two years alongside coffee farmers in the Province of Veraguas implementing agribusiness trainings and teaching biology and chemistry in the local high school. He also worked in Los Santos in support of sustainable cattle ranching projects through the Smithsonian's Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative. Before Panama, Will worked extensively in agriculture and education at the Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society (PEAS), The Watershed Education Network, and the Outward Bound School. Deeply committed to creating an inclusive agricultural supply chain, he lives for his passion: empowering farmers and producers to protect the biosphere, preserve their rich traditional lifestyles, and make a buck doing it. Will holds a degree from the University of Montana in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Food Systems and Agroecology. He resides in Panama City, Panama.

Megan Vose spent the last two years working along side cacao farmers in the region of Bocas del Toro, Panama where she supported disease prevention, farm management and agribusiness assistance. She also led a fundraising project to build a traditional birthing center, with a group of Midwives in her community. Before living in Panamá, among other things, Megan was as a produce buyer for Whole Foods Market where she spent nearly 8 years. She has extensive experience in Latin American and India in commodity agriculture, value added products and supply chain creation. Megan works with California Farm Link as a Loan Analyst and Farmer Advisor, and is finishing a Masters in International Environmental Policy with a focus on Business, Sustainability and Development at the Middlebury Insititute of International Studies. She is taking advantage of opportunities at MIIS to refine El Motete’s model of social impact, but can’t wait to get back to the Isthmus in May 2016.

We need your help to transform our vision into a reality--to remodel our store and stock our shelves. On top of the financial support, we want to share our passion for empowering small producers with our friends, family, and the world! Indiegogo  is our chance to involve a greater network of people invested in refining our vision, and creating a truly positive social and economic impact for campesino farmers.

What You Get

Our perks represent the spirit of business, agriculture, and craftsmanship we support at El Motete Marketplace.  These products are hand-made, from communities that we know well from our time in the Peace Corps and in developing our supply chain for the store.  We hope you get a taste of the amazing products coming from all over Panama.

       

      

           

   

El Motete Marketplace is our first step and financial engine to cultivate a more sustainable, resilient and locally engaging food supply chain in Panama. Through our retail space we will support small hold farmers and producers in Panama in gaining market share in the growing high end and specialty food market in Panama City.  As we scale up, we will gear our growth towards systems that will best benefit local producers, and encourage co-growth. While our long term impact plans are dynamic, we will contribute a percentage of our profits to programs and trainings aimed at building farmer, producer and consumer buy in and capacity.

Our model is inclusive, and our goal is to give every link in the supply chain a voice, a share and stake in El Motete Marketplace. 

We realize that starting a business comes with great risks. With that, we feel confident that the network of both business owners and producers that we have built within Panama will support us as we overcome hurdles, and fine tune our business model towards profitability and a positive social impact.  We have a long ways to go in refining what El Motete Marketplace is and what it stands to be in the future, but are proud of our small first step towards this shift in the food system. By avoiding high initial overhead and a large store, we create opportunities for strategic growth with truly positive social impacts.

 We know that money can be challenging (trust us, we lived as Peace Corps volunteers!)  But there are other ways you can help:

By sharing our Indiegogo campaign via Facebook, Instagram, email, twitter, or giant blimp….you us to spread our message and build our network.  Here are some tips on best ways to maximize our exposure:

By “sharing” our campaign on facebook, instead of copying the link into your status, this helps to connect a chain of people who are all sharing the same things, and bumping us higher on people's feeds.  So when you see our post with our Indiegogo campaign off of our El Motete Marketplace page, click share!

Tagging El Motete Marketplace also helps to maximize our exposure.  Whether it be via instagram or facebook, this allows people to click on our page and also brings us to the top of peoples feeds.

Remember to explain why you find our campaign valuable.  People value the opinions of their family, friends and colleagues, so by sharing why its important to you, could help others see the value in our campaign as well.

The more our friends and family can share with their network, the greater opportunities we have to build our own contacts, and to receive support from those truly interested in our mission.


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Choose your Perk

Infinite Gratitute

$5 USD
You will help contribute to making El Motete a reality, and we can't thank you enough. Look for a shoutout on our website!
Estimated Shipping
February 2016
8 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Help Reforest Panamá

$20 USD
Help support a local cattle ranching group in their efforts to reforest the Azuero Peninsula. With this contribution a tree will be planted by the Asociación de Productores Pecuarios y Agrosilvopastoriles de Pedasí (APASPE). Oh, and look for a shoutout on our website, too!
21 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Plant a tree; Get stickers!

$30 USD
We'll plant a tree in your name with APASPE, and send you two an awesome El Motete stickers. Show your love for El Motete by throwing a sticker on your car/nalgene/computer/forehead. Oh, and look for a shoutout on our website!
Estimated Shipping
March 2016
14 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Ngäbe-Buglé Wine Bottle Cover

$50 USD
In the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, indigenous women wear beautifully hand-crafted dresses called Naguas. We had miniature Naguas made by a women's artisan group in Las Trancas, Panama. Use them as bottle covers or just beautiful decoration for your home. Each one includes a picture of and note from the woman who made it. We'll also plant a tree with APASPE, and you'll get an awesome El Motete sticker. Oh, and a shoutout on our website!
Estimated Shipping
May 2016
9 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Hand-Crafted Chacara Bag

$100 USD
Crafted the same way for centuries--from harvest to weave--these bags are steeped in tradition and pride. We sourced our chacaras directly from a local indigenous artisan group in Calovébora, Panamá, and this contribution helps support the art, culture and the economy of that incredible rural community. We will also plant a tree with APASPE and send you an awesome sticker. Oh, and look for a shoutout on our website!
Estimated Shipping
May 2016
3 claimed
Ships worldwide.

A Book and A Nagua

$100 USD
The Ngäbe people of Panama are a story telling people. These beautifully illustrated books—written in English, Spanish and Ngäbe—bring their tales to life with the stories behind their religion, medicine and traditions. Bring your coffee table to life with native culture, but act fast—we only have 15! This perk gets a mini-Nagua, too. And stickers. And a shout out! Yahoo!
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
7 out of 20 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Tote Bag

$150 USD
Carry your groceries home in style, and show your love for El Motete! We all know that plastic bags are the devil, so don’t use them. We’re planning on selling these bad boys in the shop, so you’ll be one one of the first to get your hands on one! We’ll also plant a tree, get you some stickers and a shoutout online.
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
7 out of 100 of claimed

A Tote and A Book

$200 USD
Double down and get a book and tote! We really do appreciate your support, and to show it, we’ll put your name on our supporters list that will go up in the store. And you’ll get stickers. And a shout out! Yahoo!
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
2 out of 20 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Geisha and Cacao in a Chacara

$250 USD
Panamá is famous for top quality world class coffee and cacao. Known as the "Best Coffee in the World", Geisha is grown exclusively in the highlands of the province of Chiriquí and harvested, dried, washed and toasted by hand with love. We sourced incredible cacao directly from the famous cacao region of Bocas del Toro. This contribution fills your chacara, and gets you a Nagua and stickers. And yes, a shoutout on our website.
Estimated Shipping
May 2016
3 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Sponsor an AgBusiness Training

$500 USD
This contribution helps us facilitate a business management training with a group of small farmers. We will work alongside Peace Corps Volunteers in rural communities to promote better land-use and business practices with coffee farmers in the region of Santa Fe, Panamá (and beyond). We'll send you pictures and a thank you note signed by all the participants. And of course, look for a shoutout on our website!
Estimated Shipping
June 2016
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Wine Country Weekend Getaway

$1,000 USD
Spend a weekend at a beautiful Santa Ynez, California wine country house. Enjoy beautiful views, nearby vineyards, and an incredible infinity pool. The house sleeps 6-10, has a wonderful brand new kitchen, and is ready to go for your wine drinkin' pleasure. Act fast, we can only give away three weekends! Transportation not included.
Estimated Shipping
September 2016
1 out of 3 of claimed

Training and Everything Else!

$1,000 USD
This perk gets you the chacara, the nagua, the tree planting, the sticker, annnnd we will run an AgBusiness training in your name. Additionally, we'll recognize your huge support for El Motete by putting your name up in our shop as a supporter and patron of local food!
Estimated Shipping
June 2016
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Trip to Panama for Two

$5,000 USD
Live in the States? Want to come down and meet some producers for yourself? Want to find yourself on an incredible tropical beach and exploring beautiful Panama City? This is the perk for you. We have arranged a tour of Panama for you! Travel not included, email for details.
Estimated Shipping
April 2016
0 claimed

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