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vJACARANDA FINAL REPORT
ACTIVITIES DONE
At Jacaranda Workshop, we involved ourselves in various activities not just handwork but we
also got time to socialize and learn more from the people who were working at the site.
Jacaranda Workshop is associated with the Jacaranda School for the Mentally Disabled in
Nairobi, Kenya. As a group we primarily made jewelry, a skill that they learned at the workshop.
The jewelry is entirely handcrafted from brass and hand-made beads, most of which are ceramic
and are glazed and fired at the workshop. We got to learn the techniques that they use to make
different types of bracelets, necklaces and also earrings. The more jewelry making techniques we
learnt, it enabled us to create even more complicated jewelry pieces. Towards the end of the
community service we were given a chance to make our own ornaments that were put up for sale
at the workshop.
In addition to the above, we also designed and produced our own jewelry making kits, bead
jewelry pattern. Jewelry making kits and beading patterns can be profitable especially if one’s
2. jewelry designs are very time consuming or laborious in producing the final product. We were
given the opportunity to go and sell them to other people outside the workshop and this was a
way of promoting the work that was done at the workshop. Giving a hand in ensuring good
maintenance of the area was also part of what we did most of the time inclusive of buying more
tools. This was a way of boosting the continuity of good work at the Jacaranda workshop.
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
While working at Jacaranda there is a lot that I managed to gather on the positive aspect that
enabled me have a different look of life. These are just normal human beings like anybody else
the only difference is that they just have a special condition. Though this does not mean that they
are to be undermined in the society or looked down upon in any way.
Besides learning how to make ornaments at the institution it helped me acquire knowledge of
strategies on how to take care of the mentally challenged persons by taking time to interact with
the artisans and staff on a day to day basis. These include;
After doing a little bit of research with people who live the mentally handicapped condition and
also the staff within the workshop area, I learnt that, one can gain as much knowledge as possible
regarding your loved one's particular mental handicap. Set up information-gathering sessions
with health professionals who specialize in your area of concern. Get more information from
reputable medical journals you can access through university libraries if possible. Make sure to
have professionals clarify anything you don't understand.
According to the way of living as some of artisans at Jacaranda Workshop are married, others
very old and the rest young adults, it is also good to determine the best living situation for a
loved one. There are many considerations to look into, including age, degree of handicap, wishes
of the person and financial concerns. Take time and seek the advice of mental health
professionals, family and close friends. One should not feel obligated to make the decision on
your own. In case of housing a loved one outside of the home, as much time as possible should
be spent in the environment in consideration to get a clear picture of what his life will be like
there.
3. In relation to the work that they engage in, one is to prepare the living environment of the
mentally handicapped so as to aid in their success. Removal of any objects they may be unable to
safely handle if a major prerequisite. Allow the individual to make decisions regarding whatever
it is they feel comfortable with to the extent possible, this allows stress reduction. Just as the
artisans at Jacaranda are given the chance to work in a contented surrounding, it boosts their self-
determination and also they tend to have more fun, appreciating the type of work they are doing.
Lastly in relation to how the staff is able to keep the artisans at Jacaranda under control, they
note patterns of behavior exhibited by the mentally challenged in order to take away any
frustrations as much as possible. One should remove a loved one from an environment that vexes
them, particularly when they are learning a new task. Being on the watch for significant patterns
in mood this is for example, they might become easily irritated, excited or exhibit distress at a
particular point in the day. One can often help them to cope with these feelings and behaviors
when they see them coming.
INCIDENTS
While working at the workshop there were not many negative incidents witnessed occurring
between the artisans and the staff. Most of the time there was complete order and discipline
during working schedules. The only problem was though that, the artisans tend to use very
vulgar language at each other. Most of the time there was the act of throwing of insults back and
forth between themselves and also engaging in a little bit of unnecessary fight in a situation
where there occurred a misunderstanding. These misunderstandings were as a result of one
artisan disturbing the other like this particular one named Steve; he was constantly on the verge
of giving the other students a hard time. In other scenarios it was when an artisan took another’s
tool without permission thus causing fracas that was later resolved. Besides this Jacaranda
Workshop was an incident free and safe environment.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STREGNTHS
Good environment
4. The situation of the workshop and the surrounding is very good it makes it easy for one to locate
the area. It is constantly kept clean and it is not a noisy environment where the artisans could be
at constant distress. It is also a very suitable position for a business like that since there is room
for expansion in case there is increase in demand supply for the type of work that goes on within
the place. You can put more working tools within the area and also creates space it many people
are to work in a period of time.
Adequate space
There is adequate space to accommodate the work that goes on within the Workshop. During our
community service we never had a problem with doing our work freely as there was ample
space. This was also good for the visitors who came to look at the site while we were there since
the place was not overcrowded causing to lack of parking space or rather, having a difficult time
when coming for visitations in relation to viewing of displayed products or knowing more about
the area and what goes on in the workshop.
Warming Reception
Once into Jacaranda compound it would be very hard to know that you are going to deal with
mentally handicapped people since the reception you get is very good. There is no
disorganization and chaos within the environment and this can be seen as a positive attribute.
Both the staff and the artisans welcome you to the workshop just like most of us did you tend to
get confused on differentiating between the knowledge of who is who. The employees take time
to show one around, give you proper explanation to what is required and the activities that go on
within the workshop.
Proper Feeding
There is food in adequacy for the employees. They are given meals every day and this is a form
of motivation. It is very hard for work to take place within an environment where one stays
hungry. Besides them eating ugali daily except Fridays, they seem content with what they are
provided for.
Proper Assistance
5. If one is new at the Jacaranda workshop, chances are very minimal that tendency of feeling
neglected and lost will occur. The artisans, manager and employee tend to take a lot of time in
engaging one with the work activities that are undertaken within and outside the workshop.
There is proper time management and also in addition to this provision of tools, and
requirements that one would need in order to do make the ornaments to satisfaction. It took me
and most of my colleagues a day to adapt the system
WEAKNESSES
Poor organization structure
Jacaranda Workshop has a poor organizational structure in the sense that;
a) Slow Decision Making
The slow decisions made at Jacaranda workshop hamper sales opportunities and innovation.
There is no direct decision making authority to the appropriate persons or artisans, and decisions
pass through multiple layers of management before a result is rendered, there should be some
changes administered.
b) Lines of Communication are Unclear
Employees routinely by pass the standard chain of command in the workshop and this shows a
sign of poor organizational design. Employees have various complaints like low wages and no
proper suggestions made. There is poor feedback to their manager which tends to occur
occasionally. Under this business the employees do not feel like their voices are heard through
the standard management path.
Lack of supervision
Though they have staff around there is lack of constant supervision of the artisans and this as a
result causes them to lunge around a lot and also disturb the students working in the Workshop.
The staff tends to at most times attend to other areas outside the workshop causing slow progress
of work.
No account records to keep track of sales
6. There is one person handling accounts, there is one person as the manager of the area and this is
a poor method of running the workshop. We were made to sell some of the ornaments though in
return we never got to see any record of accounts put into place to show how much has been
accomplished. It is worse because the staff was making inquiry on how much we have sold
showing that there is very poor communication made in the surrounding and this may lead to
corruption and fall of the business.
Poor spending and wages
At the workshop, the artisans and the staff tend to complain mostly about the amount of money
they are paid in regards to the work they do there. There is so much end result seen in production
but the amount of money and looking into the basic needs of the employees is very minimal.
Most of the money is spent on unnecessary things like buying of little requirement like camera,
while a lot could be done in the area of maintenance and trying to better the stay of the
employees.
No transport
The employees at Jacaranda and the artisans are offered no transport to the workshop and this
makes it very difficult for them to come to work on time and also leave in time. There is also no
means of transport that could be used in making fast and efficient delivery of the goods and this
increases the possibility of losing customers and also clientele. The fact that also most these
mentally handicapped artisans take public means to the workshop is very risky as it may cause
misunderstanding in confusing them with a normal person.
No qualified personnel
All the staff at this workshop is not qualified personnel none of them has undergone further
studies in learning how to take care of this mentally handicapped artisans and most of the time
they cannot really tell when the artisan is in some kind of problem or is undergoing distress. As a
result of this in most of the time they tend to find it very difficult to put the artisans at a calm
state when the start acting in distress. They are not also able to take care of then when a medical
condition arises which is a negative aspect as one’s life could be in danger at the particular
moment.
7. OPPORTUNITIES
Better and Broad Business
With the change in administration and better marketing strategies, I totally believe that Jacaranda
is bound to develop more and also expound. There is very little that is being done within the
sales department and also awareness of the Workshop. The Jacaranda website too has also very
minimal information that would attract more clientele or an everyday normal business man into
working or purchasing goods at the workshop. There needs to be change and division in the sales
sector and the ad ministerial sector. The help of professionals to help promote the business is
very effective within this area. In relation to the above, they can implement on days to make
display of their goods by indulging in activities like a small fair to attract more clientele.
Expansion of the workshop
Jacaranda workshop has adequate spacing that is not really being put to use. They can fund the
uprising of another small building to enable in the more production of goods within the
environment. It enables the development of the organization. It provides a further motivation for
the organization that do well in all areas. In return there is great possibility of increase in the
level of productivity. It also provides more options for the workshop in terms of other particular
work to do. Lastly, another important aspect of business expansion at Jacaranda would be
efficiency in use of resources.
THREATS
Stock control
There is poor stock control at Jacaranda which eventually leads to overstocking of the products.
There are poor sales strategies and lack of transportation and this as a result causes the ornaments
to pile up within the vicinity.
Medical Failure-no hospital or health center
The vicinity lacks medical or professional personnel within the vicinity who could assist in
taking care of the needs that the employees could not possibly handle. There are a lot of
dangerous tools within the workshop and this at any time would cause an accident. Also in the
8. situation where one of the artisans would fall ill, something that happened from time to time, it
would force them to undertake a very long process in order to be able to give assistance or
administer the problem. This then tends to be a health threat to the surrounding.
Slow payment
Unfortunately for Jacaranda they are at the mercy of customers, clients and suppliers and late
payment problems are only expected to get worse as the downturn continues. This as a result
causes the employees and the artisans to become less interested in the work that they are doing as
the money problems tend to become more of a problem within the organization. It is even worse
off because at the end of the day they are not paid as much money to be able to sustain their day
to day needs. There are very minimal chances in the improvement of getting paid on time as a
result of the economic downturn.
Collapse of Workshop
This could occur due to putting the business fast and marketing second. In addition, bad
administration at the workshop there is only one lady in charge of everything and she is aged.
There is very little emphasis put on the marketing of the goods. At my stay in Jacaranda I never
saw any progress undertaken in trying to recreate their website or try to find means in which the
final products can be displayed. Rather we were making too much and most of the end products
were kept back inside a hidden room where not many would know what goes on within the
surrounding. Most of these products as a result of being made in a rush ended up being of very
poor quality.
In relation to administration, there is no good channel of communication between the employees,
artisans and the head of the department as a result of this you find that it is hard to maintain good
partnership that would help in the improvement of the business at Jacaranda. Most of the work is
handled at very poor levels.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The organizational structure should be trimmed down or rather departmental decision-making
process may be needed to foster an innovative spirit in the company. The employees should not
9. be denied the need to go directly to the members of board to express concerns or
recommendations.
Having good stock management that will enable the lowering of costs, improve efficiency and
ensure production can meet fluctuations in customer demand. It will give the workshop a
competitive advantage as more efficient production can nourish through to lower prices and also
customers will always be satisfied as products will be available on demand
At the administration offices in Jacaranda, putting in place a good payment chasing process
starting off with a polite request for payment would be very beneficial. This will enable getting
steadily more assertive until payment in forthcoming. By having an accountant instead of having
one heat doing all the work, it helps in keeping an eye on the customers’ payment trends. This
will help in spotting potential problems before they develop into something more damaging. If
customers are becoming increasingly hard to contact, or payment means are suspiciously
delayed, it may be beneficial to investigate further.
Good communication matters within Jacaranda because the organization is made up of people.
There are a lot of benefits gained through marketing communications that would enable survival
of a particular business. The board of directors at Jacaranda can take the advantage of the wide
variety of media available to let the public know about the products made at this workshop. They
can use business communications to establish your company the company in a far much better
way than it is as per now. Also, through good communication, it can help foster cooperation
between members of management and the employees. Such consideration helps to promote
understanding and build trust between one and the employees.
At least one professional personnel within the health sector should be employed as they are in a
more likely position to recognize and manage this disorder. The ability to communicate with
people whose speech is limited by mental deficiency is actually something that can be much
more effectively taken care of in any circumstance.
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