A Discussion with Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Medina, Owner of Panadería Doña Rosa and Participant in the Servicio Social Program, Ciudad Sandino, Managua, Nicaragua
With: Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Medina Berkley Center Profile
August 6, 2014
Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Fellowship, in August 2014 undergraduate student Gianna Maita interviewed Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Medina, owner of Panadería Doña Rosa and a participant in the Social Service program (Servicio Social) in Ciudad Sandino, Managua, Nicaragua, run by Central American University (Universidad Centroamericana, UCA). In this interview he discusses the assistance he has received from students involved in the program and the importance of building relationships between businesses and university students.
Would you like to introduce yourself?
My name is Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Medina, and I own a family business. My wife, my daughter, and I work with four workers. Sixty percent of our production is sold outside of the shop and forty percent is sold from our shop. We have been operating for four years—yes, we are new.
…The university has helped us gain more control over [the business]. We realized that we were not working in an organized manner, and now everything is in order. Now we know what products were not making us money and what products we could raise the price of to increase our income. The group [of students] that they have assigned me to have been helpful. They can review [the business] and what they teach me is effective. They have been involved in the production as well.
We are an artisan bakery, but we are missing some things. We are still artisan, and we have an artisanal brick oven, but now we are thinking about the future and considering getting an industrial oven.
What are some challenges you have encountered with Social Service?
It is a process; I have gotten accustomed to [working with] them. I think that sometimes in small businesses, we are not interested in working with others. Not in my case, but with other businesses, [the students] have not helped. But we have not had problems.
What motivates you to work with these students?
I am interested in knowing how my business is doing economically… They have helped me very much in my financial organization, and they have explained what they know about finance to me. I have learned very much, and they have served me.
What do you think the social responsibility of the university is?
It is important to strengthen it because students are integral to this. A business also handles the theory; the students learn more and criticize. The students know the relation between the bread and [their work].
…[The Accounting Department of the UCA] also had a fair where the students and businesses were involved. It was a big fair to exhibit what we sell. It took place in a street near a market.
Is there anything else that you would like to tell me that I am not asking about?
In this country, small businesses are sacrificed because we have to put ourselves on the level of the population. For example, where I live [in Ciudad Sandino] is very poor and the industry is poor, so we have to make bread that is a popular product that the people will buy. Maybe the product can cost 15 córdobas in this part of the market, but in Managua it would cost 20 córdobas.
…[Social Service] is a reciprocal project for the students and for me: the students…learn something, and when students visit poorer populations they learn more… The adviser of the program came [to my bakery] for the first time this morning. He had never come before.
How is your relationship with the students?
In a short time—because they have not been with me for a long time—our relationship has been friendly. They were very clear about their goals, and they explained how I can help with what they are learning. It has been a short time, but I would say that we are friends. [It is a relationship] of solidarity.
What can the UCA do more effectively?
It could create a program to teach technical skills to small industries and offer programs for technical assistance.
In the case of the students [doing service-learning], it seems to me that the person in charge does not supervise them. Until today, I had not met anybody [from the program]. There should be more supervision on the part of the university to improve the relationship between the superiors, the students, and the businesses.
My name is Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Medina, and I own a family business. My wife, my daughter, and I work with four workers. Sixty percent of our production is sold outside of the shop and forty percent is sold from our shop. We have been operating for four years—yes, we are new.
…The university has helped us gain more control over [the business]. We realized that we were not working in an organized manner, and now everything is in order. Now we know what products were not making us money and what products we could raise the price of to increase our income. The group [of students] that they have assigned me to have been helpful. They can review [the business] and what they teach me is effective. They have been involved in the production as well.
We are an artisan bakery, but we are missing some things. We are still artisan, and we have an artisanal brick oven, but now we are thinking about the future and considering getting an industrial oven.
What are some challenges you have encountered with Social Service?
It is a process; I have gotten accustomed to [working with] them. I think that sometimes in small businesses, we are not interested in working with others. Not in my case, but with other businesses, [the students] have not helped. But we have not had problems.
What motivates you to work with these students?
I am interested in knowing how my business is doing economically… They have helped me very much in my financial organization, and they have explained what they know about finance to me. I have learned very much, and they have served me.
What do you think the social responsibility of the university is?
It is important to strengthen it because students are integral to this. A business also handles the theory; the students learn more and criticize. The students know the relation between the bread and [their work].
…[The Accounting Department of the UCA] also had a fair where the students and businesses were involved. It was a big fair to exhibit what we sell. It took place in a street near a market.
Is there anything else that you would like to tell me that I am not asking about?
In this country, small businesses are sacrificed because we have to put ourselves on the level of the population. For example, where I live [in Ciudad Sandino] is very poor and the industry is poor, so we have to make bread that is a popular product that the people will buy. Maybe the product can cost 15 córdobas in this part of the market, but in Managua it would cost 20 córdobas.
…[Social Service] is a reciprocal project for the students and for me: the students…learn something, and when students visit poorer populations they learn more… The adviser of the program came [to my bakery] for the first time this morning. He had never come before.
How is your relationship with the students?
In a short time—because they have not been with me for a long time—our relationship has been friendly. They were very clear about their goals, and they explained how I can help with what they are learning. It has been a short time, but I would say that we are friends. [It is a relationship] of solidarity.
What can the UCA do more effectively?
It could create a program to teach technical skills to small industries and offer programs for technical assistance.
In the case of the students [doing service-learning], it seems to me that the person in charge does not supervise them. Until today, I had not met anybody [from the program]. There should be more supervision on the part of the university to improve the relationship between the superiors, the students, and the businesses.
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