About this page
This page briefly discusses Peace Villages, a unique type of grass-roots charity. The publication of a manual expanding on all of the points brought up here is currently
being planned. For more information please don´t hesitate to contact us.
What makes Peace Villages unique?
The most fundamental point to the Peace Villages Concept is that it is a Non-Profit Franchise
financed by a Rotational Credit. Until 2006 Peace Villages
International was financed primarily from the personal life-savings of its
founder Manfred Mönnighoff.
This was paid out in the form of a rotational credit and complemented by a small monthly donation from "local private sector donors". Since 2005 the first PVF location in Santa Elena,
Venezuela, legally registered as the NGO Fundación Aldeas de Paz (ADP), has received international
volunteers who now run and finance its programs. ADP Santa Elena is now
self-sustainable, and part of the initial credit will rotate and go toward the creation of a second PVF location, and so on, indefinitely (i.e. once one location is
developed and able to pay off all program and volunteers costs, the initial investments
can be gradually invested in the creation of a new PVF location
elsewhere in the world). This idea is based on the success of micro credit programs, which are able to give out loans to new
borrowers using the profit generated through collecting interest from original small loans. Such programs can often become fully self-sustainable mediums of community development.
Also crucial to the success of such an organization is that it be very malleable, serving the interests of both the community in which it exists and the volunteers who help to form and run it.
Peace Villages has tried to stick to a fairly horizontal management structure and has focused on transparency. This is to say anyone who comes to volunteer has a right to propose new programs,
look into the financial records/data of the Foundation, and help inform the overall direction of Peace Villages. PVF is therefore not affiliated with any religious, governmental, corporate or
other outside structures which would force it into providing less space for the creative input of volunteers.
The idea of a Non-Profit Franchise like Peace Villages, although still not commonly practiced, is one with great potential for promoting volunteerism, humanitarian service, and cross-cultural
exchanges all over the world.
The future of Peace Villages
The next step in the overall plan of Peace Villages
International is to slowly mobilize the start-up investments and to use these to produce a new PVF location_small.jpg)
in another country. Theoretically this process could be repeated over and over,
as long as each new location is built up slowly and carefully responding to the
local situation and the interests of volunteers. One of the keys for the PVF
Concept to continue to function and grow will be finding committed and highly
motivated volunteer staff. These individuals work full-time for Peace Villages
receiving nothing more than a monthly stipend, room, and board. PVF volunteer
staff can be attracted by a number of factors, including the advantage of
grassroots development, creative freedom, the desire to put professional skills
to work in the Non-Profit sector, and an interest in helping to promote
a "Culture of Peace".
More
about us
│ Peace
Villages Verifications &
Testimonies
│ Our History
PVF locations must be careful to only work on a very manageable scale in local programs which do not require large amounts of capital to run. PVF depends on people who are open to organizational
change and fairly horizontal leadership. Individuals must be committed to the concept of Peace Villages and willing to invest themselves completely in their work. If these people can continue to be found,
it is entirely possible that Peace Villages sites could spring up all over the world.
Does the concept interest you? - Contact Us!
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