THE AFRICAN MARKETPLACE PROJECT (grades 3 &4)

The Marketplace Project is a 16 week residency program that pairs the study of art and culture in the developing world with lessons about financial literacy, global economic inequality, and social responsibility. The pilot residencies in the 2008-2009 school year served third grade students in two NYC public schools, PS 307 in Brooklyn and PS 340 in the Bronx. Both of these schools are in high need and under served communities making them fertile ground for lessons in financial literacy. Due to budget cuts in 2009-2010 we were only able to stage the project in PS 340 in the Bronx.  Now in our third year, the Marketplace Project is taking place in the first half of the school year at PS 307 thanks to generous funding from JPMorgan Chase and a private donor, Mr. Ken Greiner.  Marquis Studios is in the process of seeking funds to bring the project to other schools throughout the five boroughs.

The centerpiece of the Marketplace Project residency is students’ participation as lenders in Kiva, an online lending platform which allows individuals to make micro-loans to small businesses in the developing world. Students are introduced to the concept of responsible debt through “One Hen,” a children’s book based on the true story of a young Ghanaian entrepreneur. After discussing “One Hen,” each class is given $100 to invest in a real Kiva entrepreneur in an African Country of their choosing. By becoming lenders themselves, students learn firsthand how micro-finance can help improve lives in the developing world.

Meanwhile, the location of the Kiva loan students chose to fund provides the point of departure for the teaching artist, who acquaints students with the economic, environmental, and cultural conditions of the community in which the Kiva entrepreneur lives and works. These complementary learning experiences in finance and art create relationships of care and concern between American students and the individuals and communities that benefit from their Kiva micro-loans.

Parallel to this study each team of students  develops a business plan around what craft items they will create and sell at the school’s culminating “Marketplace Fair” where each group of student entrepreneurs sells the items they have made to raise money for a local charity of their choosing. Students build a direct experience of thinking out a plan, manufacturing a product and selling it to the public which mirrors the small business they have helped finance through their Kiva micro-loan.  The event also provides parents with an opportunity to meet representatives of community-based non-profit organizations that sponsor financial literacy, debt consolidation, and other financial empowerment and education programs for families. We are in the process of developing our follow-on component where we will return to each school in the following year and offer workshops to parents and students to re-visit the lessons we have learned as well as offer families financial counseling through city and private agencies.

Following the Fair, Marquis Studios holds an awards ceremony at the school where each child receives a certificate of completion and the students present the classic “cardboard check” from their earnings at the Marketplace Fair to a representative from  the recipient organization they have selected.  By offering engaging, accessible financial education at an early age, Marquis Studios hopes to help pave the way to brighter and more financially secure futures for our schools’ families.

This program involves a commitment of 16 weeks from the school as well as two (2 hour long) after-school meetings for which the classroom teachers will be paid by Marquis Studios. The total program cost is $12,000 but we are looking to identify funding partners who will pay half of that cost for the school making the cost to the school in line with a “regular” Marquis Studios program.