Introduction
Located in the Western part of Egypt in a fertile depression is Siwa Oasis. Of course, it lies in the desert having an indigenous community as the inhabitants. They are often referred to as the Siwans. The place is described as unique due to its rich land which is well covered with palm vegetation with springs and salty water lakes. Over the past centuries, Siwa Oasis was not even recognized in the world. However, it came out of this isolation in 1995 when the president of a private Egyptian organization, Environmental Quality International (EQI), Mounir Neamatalla discovered the region (Class, 2007). Having expertise in the field of environmental management, Neamatalla was enthralled by this place and had a productive vision in his mind immediately. The fact that the place could be linked to the description of Herodotus many centuries ago was a big motivator. The place was a perfect location for EQI to exercise its mandate of enhancing sustainable environmental developments. The difference between Neamatalla’s visions from the rest of the world was that he saw productivity, rich culture, and heritage that had not been exploited for a long time as compared to poverty and isolation.
The Siwans trace their root to the Northern Africa Berbers called the Amazigh. Historian and geographers have considered the Amazinghs to be the “true Western Aboriginal people.” They roamed the places between Tunisia, Morocco, and majority settled along Siwa oasis. What makes the Siwans be unique from other Western oases inhabitants is that they have their cultures, rites, norms, decorations, and values. The remoteness of the place has been it invisible to the rest of the world and has made Siwans live in isolation, only being conversant with their way of life. However, recent developments steered by the Environmental Quality International in 1997 started to connect Siwa to the rest of Egypt as well as the entire world.
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#1
The Environmental Quality International is a consulting corporation aimed at offering services to the environment and natural resources, management, and business development. It has strived to incorporate the Siwan community into every project they undertake, for instance, the project identification, implementation, and action. One of the ways in which the company has conducted successful projects in the region is the analysis and consideration of the Critical Success Factors (CSFs). These activities are mandatory to ensure success in any enterprise venture. In understanding Critical Success Factors, any organization should keep in mind that failure to achieve the factors linked to the objectives might lead to a downfall. Therefore, the basic generics of CSFs such as the new product development, appropriate distribution, and effective advertising should be fundamental (Gates, 2010).
First, the initial success factor the company put into place was clearly defining the roles of the Siwa Development Initiative aimed at conserving the Siwa’s flora and fauna as well as the cultural heritage of the natives. The primary sole purpose for this proposal was to ensure that the natives have been empowered both socially and economically. The best way to achieve that is by enhancing and promoting the entrepreneurship spirit within the community (Nakhla, 2003). The firm had a sound business contract with the Business Development Services Support Project (BDSSP) and CIDA, who offered support to the upcoming businesses persons in the country; this is done by creating a holistic management in Siwa.
Furthermore, in 2005, EQI liaised with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist financially. Since the project required a good amount of money to realize success, finances contributed to one of the critical success factors. The money disbursed to run the project included a loan of $880,000 and $468,000 to endorse technical support during the expansions included in the initiative ( Gates, 2010). These four areas included eco-tourism (Shali Lodge and its extension Al Baben Shali), Siwan artisanship, modernizing agriculture to make it sustainable, and renewable energy. The contract terms between IFC and EQI stipulated the matching of finances given by IFC with an investment of a higher amount of $573,000 for all the four major ventures (Class, 2007). Using this particular example to the critical success factors, this was a reasonable contract because the IFC’s loan interests were at a market rate, with a guarantee of giving rebates if EQI realized the objectives and achieved their targets.
As a part of the critical success factor, the Siwa initiative considered one important factor, which is culture. Since the Siwan culture considered men to hold higher ranks then the women, the latter was not employed where the men worked. However, Neamatalla’s sister, Laila Neamatalla involved the women in the embroidery business. Most of the Siwan women were skilled in embroidery, and they had Laila to guide them since she was a jewellery designer. Not only were women included in the initiative, but also their cultural heritage was respected and maintained.
#2
The Siwa Sustainable Development project had some advantages. Forts, it was a major source of employment for the Siwans. Taking the Shali Lodge as an example, it started by employing twenty people from the community. The future extension program of the eco-lodge was also a job opportunity for fifteen more Siwans ( Class, 2007). It has been estimated that over fifty Siwans will be employed in this Lodge. This is not only limited to the Shali Lodge. Engagement in organic agriculture and agro-culinary production were also sources of employment. Moreover, the artisanship started by Laila was a form of employment to the Siwa women. They were able to sharpen their skill in embroidery, and most of their works were evident in offshore countries such as Italy. The renewable energy programs acted as methods to preserve the environment (Class, 2007). Also, some of the project EQI engaged that were beneficial to the environment included the two-spring restoration, Cleopatra’s Bath and Fatnas, plastic bag substitution, and solid waste management.
As a strategy for organizational readiness, EQI established the Siwa city consultations that merged the agents of all enterprises within the neighbourhood to identify and tackle serious problems arising from Siwa’s development. These consultations were ways to steer, maintain the on-going activities, and come up with better plans in the future. Secondly, there liaison with Canada Fund for Local Initiative offered the special funds to finance small enterprise initiatives within the local communities in Egypt (Nakhla, 2003). For instance, the EQI was responsible the identification and the assessment of different projects. Working with Non-Governmental Organizations allowed them to evaluate and assess their potential risks thereby enabling them to handle them.
#3
In any project management, there will always be risks. In the case study, some of the project risk recommendations based on the criteria one and two include having a comparison of projects and tenders taking place in Siwa. Since some of the projects will prove successful than others, EQI should take on those that are less risky and more advantageous ( Hillson, 2002). Secondly, the company should set aside money used to cover for unforeseen risks that crop up during the project. It will allow them to receive more rebates from their donors. Thirdly, the firm can have a set of skilful consultants and experts who are competent in different fields. Since the desert is a special region with unique physical features, EQI should consider hiring people who are competent to tackle different environmental conditions they might face.
#4
Based on the Risk Breakdown Structure using the Risk checklist of Hillson (2002), the level one includes the external aspect and level two includes the natural environment, economic and the culture. The economic risks included the financial unpredictability because the oasis was inaccessible during the initial stages. Additionally, the company was faced with unforeseen risk during the construction of Adrere Amelal oasis lodge. Termites infested the palm blocks used in the construction after a while. The consequence was to bring the entire structure and come up with ways to preserve the blocks. Of course, these processes brought economic risk to the whole project because money had to be saved for the new project disrupting the budget.
Additionally, the number of unskilled labour during the construction of eco-lodges required the firm to conduct basic training to the natives. It means that EQI was at a high risk of delivering poor buildings if the Siwa men were not well trained. Secondly, the initiative was a social risk because preserving Siwa’s cultural legacy was difficult. Dealing with diverse groups who were not part of Siwa’s unique culture such as the tourists, stakeholders, and NGO officials proved to be challenging. There was mistrust brewing among the natives because they thought their culture would be eroded. Without their cooperation, the whole project would have become be unsuccessful. Thirdly, depending on the oasis as a source of water was risky for the project more so the environment ( Nakhla, 2003). Being a natural resource, it would easily dry or reduce causing water shortage. Besides, the other water bodies available within the desert are many kilometres away. As people competed to plant feddans, they began to dig up boreholes threatening the natural resources. The need and pressure to maintain the cultural heritage of the Siwans had EQI build most of their structures using olive barks, mud, and palm trees (Nakhla, 2003). It meant that the more buildings they used the more of these natural resources they used. Therefore, this was a risk factor to the environment, as natural resources would be easily depleted.
References
Class, E., & Local, S. M. E,. (2007). Siwa Sustainable Development Initiative Retrieved on 19 July 2016 from http://www.jica.go.jp/project/egypt/004/news/ku57pq00001vt6ru- att/Egypt_Siwa_2008.pdf
Gates, L. P. (2010). Strategic planning with critical success factors and future scenarios: An integrated strategic planning framework (No. CMU/SEI-2010-TR-037): Carnegie- Mellon Univ Pittsburgh Pa Software Engineering Inst.
Hillson, D. (2002, October). Use a risk breakdown structure (RBS) to understand your risks: In Proceedings of the project management institute annual seminars & symposium (Vol. 10). San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Nakhla, M. (2003).Environmental Quality Services, Cairo: The Role of the private sector in local development, the Siwa experience. Retrieved on 19 July 2016 from http://www.euromedina.org/bibliotheque_fichiers/DeadSea_MounirNakhla2.pdf
