According to the Oxford Dictionary, a network is, by metaphor, a group of people, bodies or organizations that work together for a common goal. And here at Raízes, we believe that it is precisely because of the power of seeking this common goal that collective solutions are more resilient than individual ones. Therefore, we work with the creation and governance of networks.
Managing challenges together allows you to access other angles and see more creative and richer alternatives. Working in groups or networks also has the benefits of distributing tasks for a lighter construction and the possibility of achieving greater results. As the African proverb says ‘if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with someone.’
Mutual support can help, for example, small entrepreneurs get through adversity. Working in a network creates advantages such as collective purchases, joint customer acquisition, integrated communication, among other things. This is the case of Coletivo Casa do Frufru, from Periquito, in the countryside of Minas Gerais, which we helped to form. They are women upholsterers who are Individual Micro Entrepreneurs (MEI), but who unite to generate more competitiveness and reach the market as a single brand.
Benefits of collaboration in tourism
Collaborating is a matter of survival these days, it helps to empower the little ones, and there are many possible ways of doing it. It can be an associative format, a cooperative, a collective, an informal network, it can be a trade network (in the case of tourism); it can become an official governance instance, with state connectivity, among other possibilities.
Particularly in tourism, this is more important because cooperation will create competitiveness for the destination. We always tell entrepreneurs that they aren’t competitors, even if they have the same type of business. By cooperating, what they do is strengthen their destiny to compete with other destinations. This understanding makes the difference for a destination to be successful, competitive, able to attract more tourists and increase their stay.
At Raízes, we have already supported the creation and governance of networks, associations, cooperatives and collective businesses dozens of times. We also help with bureaucratic issues, but our strength is to co-create the pillars and agreements of this new organization with the people involved – with regard to governance. Each group has an identity and a purpose and the ways to organize and manage will be different for each reality.
