Graham and Debbie Frith are the SIM UK missionaries who began the El Alfarero project. They have been working in Bolivia since 1995 (with a two-year break to go to All Nations Christian College from 1997-1999).  Graham and Debbie are the National Directors of the Alfarero project, which means they are still overseeing the running of the Sucre project, whilst preparing to open a new Alfarero project in Santa Cruz.

On a local level in Sucre, there is a Board of Directors made up of four mature Christians from different local churches, who guide the project and help it develop.

This short (8 minute) video will show 'How the cafe works' and you will meet some of the people who run the project. Have a look...

At the start of 2007, a leadership team took over the day-to-day running of the project, as the next step in the road towards the project becoming fully independent and self-financing. The team is made up of five mature Christian leaders from different churches in the city, and each one is responsible for a different area of the project. The project employs 12 Bolivian staff.

One of the most exciting parts of the Alfarero project is the volunteering aspect. In terms of  counselling, there are now around 15 Bolivian trained volunteer counsellors, to help people with their problems.

There are also 10 trained pregnancy crisis counsellors, working in the Pregnancy Crisis Centre, as well as two volunteer doctors and the physiotherapist.

For the running of the café each afternoon and evening, we depend on volunteers. These are usually students themselves, who come to help us because they enjoy it and because they like to help their fellow students. (Also, they get free food as a 'thank you' for their work).

Most, but not all, of these volunteers are Christian students from local churches. Each volunteer chooses their own timetable and committment, depending on the time they have available. Many  just show up when they have free time. On average, we have about 60 students working as volunteers each week.