As Faro as the Eye Can See

I'm not sure how it happened, but the whole staff at my hostel now calls me "Danielito." I also met many of the other guests during last night's search for the missing Emma, so this morning the lobby was a veritable town hall with travel guides, e-mail addresses and itineraries switching hands.

When I first arrived at the Casa Sol, I was admittedly underwhelmed by the size of and lack of light in my room, but I've come to like it very much. If I return in February to continue working with Grupo FARO, I'll probably stay there again. It doesn't hurt that there are a dozen Internet cafes named after fruits and TV shows in the neighborhood.

It occurs to me that I may be better suited to help organizations when they're just getting started--when what they need is less a specialist and more someone with what you could call either "a diverse skill set" or "a lack of focus." That may be one reason I was very comfortable volunteering with the Kerry campaign last November. I'll ramble now about all this for a bit, so I encourage you to skip ahead to the paragraph where I explain what Grupo FARO is.

At CASIO, I wasn't really one of the technical folks. I worked with a team to come up with product ideas, liaisoned (sometimes in spectacularly unsuccessful ways) with our Japanese colleagues, avoided tutoring Mr. Kashio's grandson in English, and even helped outfit a creativity room with toys and a tent. However, I didn't deal with the web site, and my only contribution to office IT was to suggest that we install one of those then-newfangled 802.11b wireless networks. The installation itself was mysterious to me; all I knew was that one day everyone was suddenly checking their e-mail during meetings, to BJ's understandable dismay. (I was also getting my laptop stolen during a meeting, but that's another story.)

By contrast, at Grupo FARO, I found myself falling into the role of the computer guy. Suddenly I'm explaining acronyms like DNS and pontificating on the impact of file-sharing on the music industry; I'm cleaning PCs of spamware, debating the pros and cons of different broadband providers and setting up online survey forms. At DemiDec I depend on Tina for her wonderful artwork, but at FARO I find myself struggling with Ellie on Illustrator to integrate a lighthouse into their company logo. I'm also offering my haphazard feedback on fundraising strategies, telephone bills and project planning--and, of course, lobbying for Faro to acquire a puppy for a mascot. (In the meantime, I've loaned them an alpaca, whom Ellie named "Sassy," and they already have a magical shoe and a turtle with a bobbing head.)

I'm very happy with this kind of role. I wish I didn't have to write a detailed academic thesis on a single aspect of FARO for the Kennedy School, when I'm most content just helping out in lots of different ways. It reminds me a little of my early days with VentureNova, when we were looking for an office, hiring an executive director, negotiating with CASIO, designing a logo, writing presentations and eating lots of bagels with avocado and cream cheese. I really like that slightly chaotic start-up feeling.

Once at VentureNova, Craig Janick, the director whom we hired, and also a founder of Simple Devices, noted that Sasha was our lawyer, BJ our innovator, Robert our young businessman, and so forth. He got to me, realized he had no idea what I was, and asked me to proof a letter he was writing.

Enough on me, though. By this point, you may be wondering what FARO actually does. FARO stands for "Foundation for the Advance of Reform and Opportunity." It aspires to help Ecuador achieve a more universal and effective system of education, more empowered municipalities, a less corrupt government, and a more competitive environment for local and international businesses. So far, it has secured grant money from UNICEF for an education project, held workshops for women and for municipal leaders, and begun various consultancies in the above-mentioned areas. I admire their intentions and am hopeful for their success. When Orazio runs for president of Ecuador, I may not be able to vote for him--barring change of citizenship--but I'll definitely volunteer for his campaign.