My time was well spent at a network meeting for Social entrepreneurs on the 12th of February if for no other reason than the excitement of hearing what kinds of projects were happening around the world. The creativity in this field makes the rest of the business world look very sad. First, here is a description of social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurship is a name that has been given to businesses that have as their first goal to make a positive difference in society while earning reasonable profits.
Secondly, there is a group of programs that are the venture capitalists behind social entrepreneurs. Ashoka searches and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. New projects can start at a place like The Hub, which is in seven countries and offers basic office space and services to new starts to work out their ideas and get a prototype made. A stock exchange started in England to help new started social enterprises with access to risk finance for expansion and growth.
Then, we have some examples of the projects themselves. My favorite was Peepoole, a short version of peeing,pooping people. The idea is to bring better sanitation to 2.6billion people who have none at this time. It is a relatively simple concept, which makes it all the more elegant. Take two biodegradable plastic bags, an inner and an outer. Line the inner bag with an enzyme, which combined with urea builds ammonia. The ammonia kills all bacteria and virus, rendering the contents safe enough after four days to sow the seeds of eatable plants. The product has been tested in Africa and the users are largely positive. Lower production costs and moving production to local areas is the next challenge, but the concept works. There are many effects of using these small personal toilets. Women seem to like them best. In a number of cultures, women only feel safe from attack and the view of others when going out at night to relieve themselves. Many drink only just before dark so that they only have to urinate after sunset. Having their own little bag, they can use it in their own home. It can lay there till morning, odor free. Even if it is just tossed on a trash heap, it will be safe within 4-6 days depending upon the weather. The damage caused on land and to waterways disappears, because the contents become fertilizer (with inherent costs savings) and does not just wash into the nearest stream, river or ocean. Proximity to water has traditionally been thought of as the best disposal place, the water washing away feces and diluting urine. However, we now know that diseases and water pollution are the result. These simple bags eliminate that.
Some other exciting initiatives are samples below:
Take a Palestine nerd and an Israeli nerd, add a little hotel called Everest located just on the border (surrounded by the wall) and a gathering of peace loving, computer savvy people, you have motivation and a place to discuss issues without guns.
An elderly man in Soweto, suburb of Johannesburg, saw a hill near his village where violence had taken place and now it was filled with trash. Slowly, the trash disappeared and some of the villagers got involved. The old man planted and created a monument to those who had died there. When the UN summit "Earth" was in Johannesburg in 2002, Kofi Annan came to the hill and made an elegant speech which acknowledged all those who had died on the hill and those who had “recycled” it. The hill remains a source of hope to those for whom hope is a long in coming.
A young woman in the UK wanted to make shoes out of recycled material. Her first attempts fell apart with the first rain. Shortly thereafter, she met a young fellow at a pub and it turned out that his father was a prominent shoe manufacturer. A little help from experts and she is now making her recycled shoes.
Feel inspired?
