Stake holder, allies and resources

Team members on this project included: my 3 sisters, a friend named Dima, and a Permie friend, Ted, who was the connection between us and one of our clients
Clients and translation agreements included:
- friends in Egypt seeking to establish an intentional community asked us for an Arabic version of the book “creating a life together”
- A British group named Red Salamander was planning to crowd-fund an Arabic version of Bill Mollison’s Designer’s Manual, however translation rights were not awarded to them so we chose another book “The Farmer’s Handbook” by Chris Evans.
- Our team was introduced through a Permie friend to a UK-based publication company named Acamedia Global http://www.acamediaglobal.org/index.html who contracted us for translating two books: Science set free & Evolution as Religion

Key learnings and outcomes

Out of 4 books that were the subject of this project, 3 were completed and delivered to clients.
The team gained valuable experiences related to managing translation contracts including time management, assessment of workload and setting up timeframes.
The books’ content was very informative and educating: Creating a Life Together was particularly interesting since it provides an in-depth look into the experience of forming intentional communities. Reading this book was like a journey into that impressive world where the reader can visit each of the communities described and listen to the hearts and minds and people who established it. A real inspiration!
The project had a good impact on my sisters’ lives. It provided funds that enabled them to move outside the besieged town they were living in, then my youngest sister got a job as an editor.

Critical evaluation

What went well

What was challenging

Unreliable partners, namely Red Salamander which contracted us for “The Farmer’s Handbook” then left without warning, and my friend who started up the contract with Acemedia
Global then vanished into thin air!
Unforeseen difficulties mainly related to the war conditions, including long power cuts during the project time, the siege imposed over the town where my parents and sisters live for about a year, and the atmosphere of fear and tension that the war was creating.
In addition to the above challenges, having no prior experience in this kind of work made it difficult for us to give accurate estimates on expected times for completion of translation batches. However, we were able to negotiate deadlines with our clients.

CAP-OP5 Capstone year assessment

CAP-OP5: Projects Review 3