Social Innovation

The social innovation model with which we currently work has evolved over the years, always looking for a deep economic, social and cultural transformation in the community. Today we focus on empowering the community of the Valles Region, consolidating their business models with economic sustainability and long-term viability, to raise their quality of life.

Based on this model, we work directly with entrepreneurs, artisans, small businessman, micro-producers, hospitality service providers and local inhabitants. We bring training and employability opportunities closer to them and their families through the alliances we forge with universities and organizations, we create spaces for development and education, we design and execute events that rescue and protect local traditions, but above all they put Tequila on the national and international touristic scene.

Training and Employability

We develop intrapersonal skills that include teamwork and leadership, which promote decision-making with creativity and innovation. We support finding ideas and solutions that add social value to the region and allow the preservation of the great cultural and historical heritage of the community and its surroundings.

One of the angular positions for this strategic line is that the beneficiaries of each program are involved with their own growth as much as possible, that they are aware of their own development. For us, it is essential to strengthen and follow up on the initiatives that arise from the community itself, which in the long run are the ones that they value and commit with the most, we are there to detect opportunities, provide guides and establish channels.

In addition to contributing to comprehensive and sustainable development, we want to promote the appropriation of essential values such as equality, justice, freedom and solidarity, to support the most vulnerable sector.

We work in co-creation to increase community empowerment and participation.

We seek social cohesion, improvement and the solution of problems that have an impact and social transformation, that are decisive in the consolidation of the Tequila Destination.

Strategic Alliances

The Beckmann Foundation, concerned with providing the Tequila community with projects and programs for sustainable development, It constantly seeks to create lasting alliances with different educational and social impact institutions, together we evaluate the needs of the community that require immediate action and that can only be solved in an interdisciplinary manner.

Opening of the Social Innovation Center (CIS)

The Tequila Social Innovation Center was inaugurated, a space that encompasses innovative and creative initiatives to meet social needs, that currently are not adequately covered by the public or private sector; and that seeks to produce the behavioral changes necessary to solve the great challenges of the Valles Region.

In this same space, the Beckmann Foundation, in alliance with the Tecnológico de Monterrey, opened the Virtual Learning Center (CVA), a training space for Tequila youth and their families, where they will have access to quality online education.

Design Proposals “Destination Tequila”

Under the supervision of Professor David Sánchez Ruano of the Tecnológico de Monterrey, from the Design Thinking area, students developed proposals that directly affect some of the community's problems and promote positive experiences, both for the visitor and for the inhabitants. There were 16 design projects developed by 46 students, for the improvement of a service within the municipality of Tequila.

(PAP) Design as a development factor in heritage settings

These Professional Application Projects (PAP) began in the fall of 2016 as an initiative for organizational and economic promotion for artisan communities in Tequila, in association with the Beckmann Foundation.

The aim is to promote the development of micro producers and artisans, so that they can consolidate their business models, so that they have economic sustainability and long-term viability. The goal is to solve problems, but also to emphasize self-sufficiency and results orientation in financial strategy.

In the edition of the PAP Report (RPAP) it is reported on the methodological processes, research and on the developments and products achieved in each of the scenarios.

In 2019, 6 additional scenarios were intervened, maintaining the collaboration that has been interdisciplinary for three years now, with the support of 18 students and 2 academics.

(PAP) Cycle paths in the agave landscape

Beckmann Foundation together with multidisciplinary teams of Iteso students, through their PAPs, continue to support producers, artisans and families in the Valles and Sierra Region, to innovate and find new opportunities and business models that allow them to raise their quality of life.

In this social project in which 6 students and an academic participated, the communities around the Tequila Volcano were benefited. Among the actions carried out, a meeting with the network of local leaders from the municipalities of Arenal, Amatitán and Tequila, ITESO students and the Beckmann Foundation was held at the Center for Interpretation and Chronicle of the Landscape Agavero "Ex hacienda La Calavera" in Arenal.

A mapping of non-rail accessibility routes between cities was carried out and the identification of lines, conflicting crossings, signs, concrete projects: inns, camping areas, medical services, bathrooms, niches of opportunity and problems.

(PAP) Sustainable Housing

On the subject of caring for the environment and the search for sustainability, we have worked for the past year to build a house with the Tequila-Agave value chain using: bagasse fiber for brick construction, recycled bottles from the tequila industry, barrels that are used for the rest or aging of tequila, therefore, together with the academy, a series of resistance tests and investigations has been carried out. For the development of this project, 14 students and an academic participated, which consisted of the edition and printing of the book "Sustainable housing" on the agave-tequila production chain, a collaborative work between the Beckmann Foundation and ITESO.

Some of the main actions were an interview with management and presentation of the operational plan for the construction of the model house, visit to the property to be remodeled, data collection, measurements and key information. The result was the diagnosis of viability..

Voices of Tequila

Alliance of Institutions

It is an initiative that seeks a model of integral and sustainable growth for the town of Tequila, Jalisco; , a través de la colaboración entre actores sociales, económicos y culturales.

The general objective is to position Tequila as an important heritage city, through strategies to disseminate the cultural and natural wealth of the region, as well as promoting the local economy and strengthening the community based on community cultural experiences.

Through this project, the Beckmann Foundation favors the creation of a platform that allows collaborative work and the construction of a communication strategy in alliance with other relevant actors in the territory.

The main lines of action are the production of events, the digital platform and the communication strategy. It is an alliance of institutions with community efforts:

www.vocesdetequila.org

United for Inclusion, Civil Association

Civil association concerned with young people and adults with disabilities, which seeks to improve the labor and social inclusion of people with disabilities, to assert their rights. In conjunction with the Voices of Tequila Committee and the Beckmann Foundation, in 2019 different actions were carried out to advance the common goals:

Events

Thanks to the alliance of more than 18 members and through the activities of Voices of Tequila, we design and organize a common agenda that allows the conservation, dissemination and enrichment of the intangible heritage of our people.

To achieve this, we establish an annual calendar of activities and strategic events, which are disseminated through a communication platform, generating quality information that is distributed through various media, social networks, and print media. Topics presented in these key events are natural and cultural heritage, gastronomy, promotion of producers and local initiatives.

These events are aimed at the general public of Tequila, Jalisco and to the creative, national and international tourism. The themes revolve around the different axes of work that we have established:

Plum and Mango Festival

It is a festival promoted by Voices of Tequila, focused on the dissemination and preservation of the gastronomic and natural heritage of the Tequila region, starring in the yellow plum and locally produced mango from the canyon.

In 2019 this celebration was held on June 8 and 9, having as its headquarters the main plaza of Tequila, two days of activities and exhibition of local products and derivatives that gave tourists and tenants access to the products. In parallel, there was a series of host restaurants, who incorporated these fruits in their different preparations, dishes and drinks

Tequila Mushroom Fest

Tequila dressed up in blue for two days, to celebrate the II Tequila Mushroom Fest, on the 17th and 18th of August, in order to spread and celebrate the importance of wild mushrooms that grow as part of the natural wealth that the Tequila Volcano offers. It is a celebration of the different varieties of wild mushrooms present in the Tequila region, having the Lactarius indigo blue mushroom as a special guest.

Among scientific, cultural and gastronomic activities, it is shared with the community and visitors, the great relevance of fungi for the development of the main ecosystem of the region: the Tequila Volcano.

This event is part of the actions taken by Voices of Tequila to achieve the commitment between actors. We celebrate the bio-cultural heritage of the region through exhibitions, cooking classes, tastings, talks, collections on the volcano and music.

Through this celebration, we want to raise awareness regarding the vulnerability and deterioration that the Tequila Volcano is suffering. This is part of one of the most important natural areas in the state that currently does not have the necessary regulations for its adequate protection and conservation.

By connecting scientific and traditional knowledge, gastronomy and cultural experiences, we seek to create awareness among the community and visitors regarding the natural richness of the volcano.

The II Tequila Mushroom Fest is possible thanks to the collaboration with the Department of Mycology of the University Center of Biological and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Guadalajara, where they have researched in the Tequila Volcano region for over 25 years.

What makes us different is our experiential learning methodology, aimed at training people to be capable of creating, leading and making decisions within the hospitality, gastronomy, entrepreneurship and social innovation industries, as well as contributing to the improvement of the quality of services. Our educational offer is focused on developing the necessary skills for leaders of the present and the future in the agave landscape region.

The Social Innovation Center or Tequila opened in 2019, since then, we have registered the following results:

Virtual Learning Center (Cva) Tec De Monterrey

Our alliance with Tec de Monterrey continues to bear positive fruit for Tequila and brings us closer to our goals every day. The Virtual Learning Center is now a reality. Through this platform, the demand for training in the community can be met immediately, where 4 diploma and online courses are already offered.

Children's Conversation Club

Recently created, the children's conversation club provides a space for children to practice the english they study in other institutions, in a fun and trustworthy environment. We have the backup of qualified teachers to support the group to strengthen their reading, writing and pronunciation skills.

Project Incubation Room

The Women of Glass project is currently housed in the Center for Social Innovation, to help them in the marketing strategy of their products. This group was created with the support of the Beckmann Foundation in 2018 and in 2019 they were offered new opportunities for training and growth through the CIS.

It is intended that in the near future other entrepreneurs and local projects can access the professionalization and consulting facilities provided by the Beckmann Foundation and the important institutions we have alliances with.

Awareness Trips

At the Beckmann Foundation, concerned with imitating the best practices of social innovation in other parts of the country and the world, We have a program in which we carry out awareness trips for collaborators, with the purpose of training, participating in training talks and exchanging experiences with other organizations, to achieve the goals in which we concur.

Intercambio de experiencias con Fundación Harp Helú

In 2019 we had the opportunity to visit the facilities of the Harp Helú Foundation in Oaxaca, a Mexican institute that has successful programs in the fields of education, culture and sport.

According to their communication, since 2000 they have been grouped into three foundations that have in common love for Mexico and its people. This has made us turn to see their actions and get to know their work closer, through its director of public relations Edu Nieto.