Gaining Ground Book Review on Peace Corps Worldwide
A really nice review of Mano a Mano’s book ‘Gaining Ground: A Blueprint to Community-Based International Development’ was recently posted on Peace Corps Worldwide. Here is an excerpt from the review:
“This is an awesome “how to” book, not a novel with only love and excitement . . . but a beautiful and exciting manual on how to create and develop a non-profit agency in Bolivia from Mendota Heights, Minnesota, a distance of 4,623 miles.”
Gaining Ground: A Blueprint for Community-Based International Development
Mano a Mano published a book in 2014; the book won first place in the Inspirational Book category at the Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MIPA) Midwest Book Awards in May 2015.

Gaining Ground Available in Ebook and Hard Copy
Mano a Mano’s book, Gaining Ground: A Blueprint for Community-Based International Development, is now available as an ebook! It’s available via a variety of ebook formats, priced at $9.99, and is listed below with the links included. Paperback copies are $24.95.
- Amazon Kindle
- Barnes & Noble Nook
- Kobo
- Apple ibooks (go to Itunes and search “Gaining Ground” by Joan Velasquez)
- And if you would like a hard copy, they are available via Itasca Books
Why Did We Write a Book?
Over our nearly 20 years in existence, we have been approached by many people asking for advice on how they could start similar programs in other countries throughout the world. While we would never argue that everything we have done in Bolivia is replicable in any other country or situation, we feel that many of our core principles and philosophies illustrated in the book will be beneficial information for aspiring philanthropists; staff in government, nonprofit, and development organizations; people who donate or volunteer internationally; and people interested in global issues.
Also, this book is a chance for Mano a Mano to explain its partnership model that emphasizes participation and direct management from the communities themselves, which we feel is not as prevalent for many nonprofits or development organizations as it should be. Gaining Ground is a chance to share our model with more people and also to (hopefully) raise funds for our projects – all proceeds from the book go directly to Mano a Mano.