Street talk

Carvajal Empaques is a family-owned packaging, paper and technology business. In 1961, its founder, Manuel Carvajal, launched the Carvajal Foundation to leverage his company’s financial success, expertise and partnerships to support local communities.

"A healthy company cannot prosper in a sick environment, because sooner or later that will affect the company," said the member of the third generation, explaining his motivation for launching the Foundation. "Therefore, responsible entrepreneurs must engage in solving social problems."

Today, the Carvajal Foundation is an integral part of the business, acting on its desire to build trusting and lasting relationships, and help shape a better society. The Foundation supports vulnerable people throughout the Colombian city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca department.

With millions throughout Colombia living in extreme poverty, addressing the region's societal challenges is no easy task. "It's often the case that families need to choose who gets to eat today," explained Pedro Carvajal, CEO of Carvajal Empaques.

To truly make a difference, Pedro and his team knew they needed to connect directly with the local community: "We needed be out on the street, listening to and learning from people. We don't use intermediaries – we want people to tell us what they need."

Even that proved challenging: "You can't imagine the anger the community felt for us in those first meetings. They didn't even look us in the eye. They saw us as corporate devils."

The COVID-19 pandemic also hindered progress: "People were in very stressful situations. Some had lost family members, others, their jobs. They couldn't pay their bills or buy food for their families. But we weren't listening carefully enough to them. We just didn't know what people were going through in their lives."

For Pedro, listening to and working with people – not dictating solutions – was the key to building trust. Who better to help create solutions than those who will eventually benefit from them?

The Carvajal Foundation held workshops, meetings and focus groups with communities. The first step was to explain what the foundation is – and what it isn't: "We said we're not the government and we can't replace it. We're a foundation that just wants to help create a better society – and you're the best people to tell us how to do that. From that moment, we started earning people's trust and confidence."

Pedro and his team are already seeing the success of this approach – right on the streets of Cali: "People welcome us. They see the opportunities for their futures. Only recently, I walked for about four hours around one of Cali's toughest neighbourhoods. People are impressed that we're taking the time to meet and talk with them."

With trust firmly established, the Foundation works closely with communities, discussing and surveying their thoughts on solutions. From there, the team creates and implements a plan of action. The Foundation also collaborates with public bodies, helping expand the impact of projects. For example, based on one of the Foundation's programs to support local businesses, the Colombian government launched a 'National Plan for the Development of Micro-enterprises'.