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 By: Marcelle Ellene
Business with a goal to help the community is what .....
Que Pequeno es el Mundo Bookstore is all about
“It is a small world” is the translation of the stores name. Owners Sonja Gee and Jose Luis are the example of that as Sonja is an Asian from Texas now living in Mexico and Jose Luis is Mexican.
Mundo Bookstore carries new and used books in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch but there is much more to them than the fact they are the biggest bookstore in Playa. This bookstore was created with a vision of supporting the local population.
Sonja says, “I have lived in many other cities that are much more developed but where workers had very little skills on their part and earned very low wages. It is time to help change that here. We feel education is the way to support the local community to bring them to the point where they are qualified and can achieve the higher positions and higher pay.”
Their goal was to create not only a general book store that would benefit both locals and tourists where books are available in many languages but offer textbooks for school too. They want to provide textbooks for school at a reasonable cost that you do not have to go to Cancun for.
Sonja continues, “People can donate used books. With that we subsidize other books and in the future we will have a scholarship program. We wanted to find a way that our business could not only be a business but be something productive for this thriving community. In the future we will offer a scholarship program for locals and students going to public school. Many kids are making it through middle school but fewer are graduating high school often due to lack of money. We want kids to feel there are opportunities for them even if they are not financially able. Jose Luis feels very fortunate; his parents were always able to find a way to provide for his education.”
What are their recommendations for starting a business here? Consider the big picture. The viability and how the business will affect the community. That they themselves have done this becomes obvious with the bookstores philosophy of finding ways to help the community.
Mundo Bookstore has just started a new program Story hour for kids. It is currently in Spanish and on Saturdays from 4 – 4:30 and 4:30 to 5 for different age groups.
The Que Pequeno es el Mundo Bookstore is located at 1 south between 20 and 25th ave. in Playa del Carmen. You can call them at (984) 879-3004. They are open 9am to 8pm Monday to Sat.
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