Jaibon Banana Project
We invite you to be involved in a self sufficiency project at the Jaibon orphanage. Orphanage director La Tia has initiated a banana project to enable the orphanage to become more financially self sufficient. The project can potentially generate $40,000 U.S dollars per year profit by growing bananas on 15 acres at the orphanage. This is the highest priority project Tia has for the orphanage.
We are looking for 40 individuals, families, or groups willing to donate or raise the needed $40,000 first year investment. Each "investor" of $1000 or more will receive a "banana certificate" showing their percentage of the banana
project sponsorship - 2.5% for each $1000 donated - great to frame and
hang on the wall! Each donor will also receive a quarterly update from
Outreach360 describing the progress of the banana project. This is a fun, hands-on way to fund a specific sustainability project at the Jaibon orphanage.
Bananas are the second most important agricultural export of the Dominican Republic. Annual banana revenue for the Dominican Republic is approximately 200 million dollars. Most of the bananas are exported to Europe, but also to the United States. There is a mature banana
industry infrastructure in place in the Jaibon area - a truck will come
directly to the orphanage to pick up the packaged bananas for delivery
to the port in Manzanillo.
La Tia has assembled a team of advisers for the banana
project at the orphanage including a government agricultural
specialist, a number of fathers of children in the school who grow
bananas as their business, and a business person who is also on the
orphanage board of directors. They are committed to making sure the orphanage is successful in this business.
The orphanage plan is to install the irrigation/sprinkler equipment in February, and then plant the trees. The plants will begin producing banana bunches by October. Each plant produces one bunch of bananas. After the bunch is harvested, that stock is cut down. Meanwhile, a new shoot has already begun growing at the foot of the initial stock. This process of one stock producing a bunch, getting cut, and a new shoot replacing it can continue for 20 years.
The estimated start up costs include:
- $15,000 - Irrigation Pump/Tubing/Sprinklers
- $ 2,000 - Dam for the Pond on Property/Back-up Water Supply
- $ 1,000 - Banana Plants
- $10,000 - Cleaning Station for the Bananas
- $ 2,000 - Fertilizer
- $ 1,000 - Pesticide
- $ 7,000 - Labor/Supervision
- $ 2,000 - Pump Maintenance and Fuel
- $40,000 - Total
The annual projected revenue is:
100 Tareas (15 Acres) X 104 Boxes/Tarea/Year X $6/Box = $62,400 Annual Revenue
The annual projected expenses are:
- $ 4,400 - Fertilizer
- $ 3,200 - Insecticide
- $ 9,800 - Labor/Supervision
- $ 4,500 - Maintenance/Fuel
- $21,900 - Annual Expenses
Annual Projected Profit = $62,400 - $21,900 = $40,500
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