Confecciones La Montaña: A Social Business for Peace Building

Confecciones La Montaña (CLM), a social business founded by former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) combatants in rural Colombia, emerged out of the peace deal signed between FARC and the Colombian government in 2016. The business was part of the effort of former combatants to rejoin civilian life and help alleviate poverty in conflict-affected areas, thereby nurturing appropriate conditions to sustain peace in the country. However, the workshop had a limited productive capacity, which hindered its ability to grow, and, in 2021, the general manager had to determine the best way to increase capacity and ensure the sustainability of the business. Should CLM outsource some of its manufacturing to others in the area, or should it support the development of other clothing workshops created by former combatants across the country?

This case presents contextual information about the conflict and its economic consequences for the country and its people and about the peace building process, including the socio-economic reincorporation of former combatants up to early 2021. It then focuses on CLM’s limited productive capacity and describes two alternatives being considered by CLM’s management to increase productive capacity. In this way, the case allows students to hone the analytical and decision-making skills they need to solve real business problems, while considering the post-conflict and social business specificities of this context. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify various ways in which internal armed conflicts increase poverty among a country’s population.</li><li>Explain how local social businesses can help alleviate poverty in the aftermath of internal conflicts.</li><li>Compare conventional and social businesses that manufacture clothing and other textile products, and analyze their similarities and differences.</li><li>Apply best practices from other social businesses to inform decision-making.</li><li>Evaluate strategic alternatives for a social business—considering both social business criteria such as organizational principles and values and more conventional criteria such as financial and operational viability—and recommend an appropriate strategy to meet the business’s needs.</li></ul>

• social business
• armed conflict
• peace building