Papayo Centro

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Water
  • Business

Overview

Papayo Centro is located in the biodiverse region of West Panama and celebrated its transition with Global Brigades in 2021. Community members in Papayo Centro are primarily dedicated to agriculture, the sale of artisanal crafts, and crop production that is used as food and income source. Papayo Centro has access to a community bank that offers credit to the community members and the possibility to access a savings account, however, they have expressed the need to implement an income model that could work and adapt to their needs. Global Brigades is currently working in Papayo Centro and the community is on the wait-list for eventual Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Panama.

Municipality: Muna
Province: Comarca Ngobe Bugle

Homes : 35
Population : 200
Water System : Not Started
Community Bank : Not Started
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Not Started
% of Homes with Latrines : 171
Education in the Community : Up to middle school
Distance from Lodging Facility : 170 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Papayo Centro but has not yet begun with the Medical Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, mobile clinics and Community Health Workers’ training will start as soon as feasible.

Distance from Nearest Health Center : 5 km
Community Health Workers : Not Started
Common Illnesses in Children : Diarrhea, Respiratory Infections
Common Illnesses in Adults : Hypertension, Respiratory Infections

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Papayo Centro but has not yet begun with the Dental Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, mobile clinics will start as soon as feasible.

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Papayo Centro but has not yet begun with the Water Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, the construction and installation of water systems will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of Water System : Gravity aqueduct
% of Homes with Access to water : 100
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

PAPAYO CENTRO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Papayo Centro’s community members lack access to financial resources within the community. The majority of community members do not have bank accounts and there are only limited informal forms of credit available. Usually, larger financial institutions, do not approve loans to community members without a fixed income, making it difficult for local micro-enterprises to grow and thrive. Furthermore, these financial institutions require members to pay monthly fees that are usually high.

PAPAYO CENTRO’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The goal of the Business Program is to stimulate the local economy by organizing community volunteers around a community bank, or “Caja rural”, which is entirely owned and operated by its members. The Business Program provides training and support to help strengthen these community banks. In order to pool their limited funds together, increase the capital available to the community bank, and expand the impact of its financial services, each member contributes a capitalization fee for which they receive a proportional amount of the bank’s dividends at the end of its fiscal year. Upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the community bank begins giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

The Community Bank in Papayo Centro helps the community members by providing them with accessible savings and credit accounts to help them invest in agribusiness and other small business ideas. The community bank was established in 2021.

Local Businesses : Kiosk
Economic Activities : Agriculture, artisan goods, skilled labor
Community Bank : Yes
Number of Members : 9

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

  • Feature