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bizdev The Super-MoneyMaker Pump
i_energy
Fabio Rosa Solar power What Do STA and IDEAAS Do?
Fabio Rosa founded both a for-profit corporation -- Agroelectric System of Appropriate Technology (STA) -- and a not-for-profit organization -- the Institute for Development of Natural Energy and Sustainability (IDEAAS).
Through STA and IDEAAS, Rosa has been working to bring electricity and community development to rural Brazil since the early 1980s using a combination of non-profit and business approaches to reach the largest possible number of people, including the very poor. IDEAAS creates and demonstrates models of self-sustainable development for low-income rural populations by focusing on the use of high-efficiency and low-cost technologies in the fields of renewable energy and agricultural science. STA has been one of the leading companies in Brazil spreading the use of solar energy and managed grazing systems.
Rosa first floated the idea of renting solar equipment in a village in southern Brazil called Encruzilhada, a poor area where many of homes are so remote that they have little hope of being connected to the electric "grid" anytime in the foreseeable future. His biggest challenges weren't technical; they were overcoming people's beliefs that solar energy was unreliable and unaffordable, and then developing cost-effective systems to serve many customers who pay only tiny amounts each month for their electricity. Moving forward, Rosa now identifies leaders in each community to who help him convince people their neighbors that renting solar energy will benefit them, and will cost no more than they are already paying for candles, batteries and lamp oil.
At least 600 families in the region have joined his program. It is a slow process, but Rosa sees Encruzilhada as an essential first step toward his ultimate goal of demonstrating how to reach the 2 billion people worldwide who still live without electricity.
His mantra: "First Encruzilhada, then Brazil, then the world. But first Encruzilhada."
This guy's resume is perfect for 3D modeling that's similar to the SIMS.
Coupling social workers with hospital care was the only way to solve the children's health problems. Solved by Vera Cordeiro
While working as a pediatrician at one of Rio de Janeiro's leading
public hospitals, Vera Cordeiro discovered that the healing process for
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Photo by Claire Fallender
Vera Cordeiro
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children from poor families often stopped when they
left the hospital. "Children we'd treated kept coming back with
preventable diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis and dysentery," she
said. "Worse, the weaker ones with low immunity levels sometimes
succumbed to even minor infections."
Renascer
These attributes are common across all
information types. You should include these attributes where relevant.
However, you must include "title" for your bulk upload to process
correctly.
health personal or public improving eye care for the masses in India
Energy, electricity, rural brazil Rosa first came to the Brazilian state of Rio Grande Do Sol in the early 1980s, when much of the rural population lived without electricity because they could not afford the installation costs. He saw that by using a single wire system instead of the ususal three wire he could bring affordable electricity to most the people in the region and create a model for bringing it to all Brazilians and people of other countries.
education, marketing, consumer awareness  Photo: Red Hill Productions
Kailash Satyarthi
Projects: Global March Against Child Labor, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), Rugmark
Locations: New Delhi, India (headquarters), partners in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
job creation, drug rehabilition, education What Does the Delancey Street Foundation Do?
The Delancey Street Foundation is a residential education center where drug addicts, criminals and the homeless learn to lead productive, crime-free lives. It has been called the most successful rehabilitation project in the United States.
The foundation runs at no cost to the taxpayer or client. They earn revenue by operating more than 20 businesses, including the Delancey Street Restaurant and Café and the Delancey Street Moving Company. These "training schools" not only generate income, they teach residents marketable skills and inculcate in them habits of self-control and self-discipline.
Each resident spends up to four years at the facility and must pass equivalency exams to obtain a high school diploma in order to graduate. They also need to line up a job and a place to live. Silbert likes to see each of her students graduate with three marketable skills to ensure their job success.
education, job creation, health public Children's Town is a residential education and vocational training institution in the African village of Malambanyama, Zambia, designed to give some of these children basic life skills and hope for the future.
Each child goes through a five-year program in which they are taught life skills, responsibility, values and self-care. They graduate with vocational training in agriculture or crafts and business management, as well as a ninth-grade diploma.
Children's Town has trained more than 90 students in agriculture, 50 in business and 400 in agribusiness. They are socialized, taught academic subjects like reading and math, and given practical skills like running a farm and doing carpentry. Children also attend counseling sessions and steel band rehearsal and interact with the local community at least once a week.
public health, health, waste management, job creation, agriculture What Does Ciudad Saludable Do?
Ciudad Saludable develops efficient solid waste management systems that generate employment and contribute to better quality-of-life and cleaner cities.
Ruiz created the organization because government-run garbage collection in Peru had not been effective and illegal dumping was causing environmental deterioration and ground water contamination. The garbage crisis arose partly because municipalities failed to collect the funds necessary to maintain the infrastructure. Because the system wasn't working, people didn't pay their monthly fees, making the garbage problem worse. Ruiz set out to break that cycle.
In addition to taking care of the garbage problem, her micro-enterprise model provides self-employment opportunities to local residents in neighborhoods where unemployment rates are high. The businesses are often run by women who go door to door collecting garbage and fees, and educating people about respecting and protecting their environment. Some women have even built profitable businesses by creating products like organic fertilizer out of the trash they collect.
By generating income for local residents and involving them in the process of improving their neighborhood, Ruiz has succeeded in obtaining pay rates of up to 98 percent. The government collection pay rates sunk as low as 40 percent.
job creation, marketing, clothing What Does Coopa Roca Do?
Coopa-Roca's mission is to provide flexible employment opportunities to women from low-income families who live in Rocinha, particularly opportunities for single mothers to work from home.
The co-operative formed as an offshoot from a recycling project involving local children. The first group of women was organized to produce decorative craftwork made with textile remnants and using traditional Brazilian techniques such as drawstring appliqué, crochet, knot work and patchwork.
The co-op employs more than 150 women, most of whom are homemakers who had never worked before. Its office is still based in the middle of the favela. All decisions are made collectively and the women share the responsibilities of production, administration and publicity. Most women work from home, but they come to the office to bring their finished pieces and to get more fabric.
At first the co-op's biggest challenge was finding outlets for their products. As the project has grown, Tetê has been able to focus on training younger women as new leaders in the community. Although conditions in the favela are still difficult, the women say the co-op has given them a chance to improve their quality of life dramatically.
microfinance, microcredit  Photo: Stuart Productions
Muhammad Yunus
Project: Grameen Bank
Location: Bangladesh, other services under the "Grameen Family of Organizations" operate worldwide.
Muhammad Yunus has had phenomenal success helping people lift themselves out of poverty in rural Bangladesh by providing them with credit without requiring collateral. Yunus developed his revolutionary micro-credit system with the belief that it would be a cost effective and scalable weapon to fight poverty.
education, special needs, public health What Does The Baby Academy Do?
The Baby Academy is a chain of preschools for children three months to five years old. The school's child-centered philosophy is based on love, learning and play and its curriculum is tailored to children's developmental needs and designed to inspire children to achieve their potential.
Today the business is thriving with a remarkable 20 percent of its preschoolers children with special needs. Abdel Wahab recently opened a new branch in Cairo and plans to open two more schools in the next two years. Eventually she'd like to franchise the concept.
According to a United Nations report, less than four percent of Arab children have access to preschool education. The mission of The Baby Academy is to become a leader in early childhood education throughout Egypt and the Middle East.
education, train platform schools, What Does RSSO Do?
In response to the challenges faced by children who live in the slums of Bhubaneswar, India, Inderjit Khurana founded the Ruchika Social Service Organization (RSSO) in 1985. The program is dedicated to creating a society free of child labor, destitution and exploitation by advancing the opportunities of extremely underprivileged children through education.
Initially the program consisted of a single train platform school. Today the organization reaches out to more than 4,000 underprivileged children and their families. Remarkably, the train school program is inexpensive and cost effective.
Teachers gather the children together between the stops of the train for reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and history taught through song, puppetry and other teaching devices such as the train schedules themselves.
education, job training, sex trade, Sompop Jantraka
Project: Development and Education Program for Daughters & Community Center (DEPDC)
Location: Mae Sai,Thailand and Mekong sub-region (including Laos, Burma and the Yunnan Province of China)
Sompop Jantraka has put his life on the line to save young women sold into prostitution by poor farming families. He is also proving that these women can be far more valuable to Thailand as educated members of the work force than as sex slaves.
finance, barter Project Title: “Barter Trade & Community Development
Using Innovative
Telecommunications”
Budget: $654,000 (for 12 month effort)
NARRATIVE
I. Project Purpose(s): 1) To develop new, innovative telecommunications
and
information technologies providing public information as regards barter trade
in support
of rural community development and job creation in the U.S. and overseas. 2)
To better
inform charitable organizations regarding needs of the rural poor, worldwide.
II. Needs Addressed: 1) Poor rural areas of the U.S. often
lack sufficient job and
income opportunities for residents ---impoverished rural residents totaling
nearly
400,000 Americans (USDA data).
2) On a global basis, nearly 1 (one) billion poor rural
and tribal populations
live in relative social, economic, and political isolation from the nations
in which they
reside. Most of these people have cashless economies, and they generally use
barter trade
to obtain basic needs (United Nations and World Bank data).
education, communications
Title of Proposal: “Sudan Radio-Schools for Relief &
Community Development”
Budget : US $3.1 Million for 12-months
I. Executive Summary. Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI), a U.S.
based charity (NGO), has a staff with extensive experience in
planning, implementing, and managing, refugee relief and recovery
operations, as well as community development, in Third World
Nations having significant conflict. NPI’s current projects,
to include overseas homeland security efforts, may be seen its
website (www.needfulprovision.org). The goal(s) of this proposed
NPI project, for Sudan, is to provide safety, security, relief,
and self-help recovery information (in local languages) for
the thousands of impoverished refugees (IDPs) throughout Sudan.
Examples of subjects taught, by the Radio-Schools, include health,
water, food/ nutrition, agriculture, microenterprise & job
creation, shelter construction, self-help relief techniques,
gender equality, and means of self-defense. Simple, inexpensive
crystal radios (radios that only receive the Radio-Schools station)
will be distributed in refugee camps, and villages in critical
need of recovery information. In each refugee camp and village,
a number of local or area residents will be recruited and trained
(in secure areas) to help organize the Radio-Schools for which
they will be responsible. The Radio-Schools organization and
learning technique will be the focus of instruction, along with
demonstration the basic tools and techniques needed to achieve
the above stated goals.
This game is silly but it's a good demo of flash gaming with decent sound track and 2D graphics.
Resources to Find Out More:
Find the New Heroes on the Web
South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS)
Works to end forced child labor in South Asia.
Development Aid from People to People in Zambia (Children's Town)
Educates and integrates AIDS orphans in Africa.
Delancey Street Foundation
Criminal rehabilitation center in which residents run various business enterprises.
Aurolab
Hospital and manufacturer of medical devices serving poor people, mainly in India.
Appropriate Technology for Enterprise Creation (ApproTEC)
Manufactures and markets simple agricultural tools that aid in business development in Africa.
Agroelectric System of Appropriate Technology (STA) and The Institute for Development of Natural Energy and Sustainability (IDEAAS)
Distributes alternative energy sources in rural Brazil.
Grameen Bank
Grants small loans without requiring collateral.
Coopa Roca
Brazilian sewing cooperative.
Ciudad Saludable
Alternative waste management organization in Peru.
Baby Academy
Alternative preschool chain in Middle East.
Ruchika School Social Service Wing, Train Platform Schools
Educational opportunity for indigent children in India.
Development and Education Program for Daughters Community Center (DEPDC)
Education and socialization program for girls and women in Thailand who would otherwise be forced into prostitution.
Organizations that specialize in providing direct support to social entrepreneurs
Advances systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The foundation extends its mission through Social Edge, an online resource for the social entrepreneur community.
Editor's Note: PBS's editorial standards typically prohibit the inclusion of a funder on a resources page. However, we are making a special exception in this case since the funder, in our editorial judgment, is a related resource of potential educational interest to visitors.
Enables individuals and companies to find and support social and economic development projects around the world.
Develops the profession of social entrepreneurship around the world by investing in people.
Supports social entrepreneurship as a key element to advance societies and address social problems.
Sparks social change by identifying, providing startup grants, supporting, and connecting social entrepreneurs and their organizations.
Supports entrepreneurial approaches to solving global poverty by providing a blueprint for building financially sustainable and scalable organizations that deliver affordable, critical goods and services to the poor.
Helps people create wide-reaching social change by providing funding and business mentoring to individuals and their non-profit organizations.
Improves economic welfare and academic achievement of children in low-income families by promoting entrepreneurship-friendly policies and research in technology and education.
Organizations that offer research tools for finding and supporting innovative social organizations
Evaluates financial health of America's largest charities in order to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace.
Connects volunteers and donors with international Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs).
General Resources for Research on Social Change Organizations
Online media gateway designed to inform about human rights and sustainable development worldwide.
Print and online newspaper covering the world of nonprofits.
Inspires change by providing resources in an online community that competes to find the best solutions to social problems, then collaborates to refine, enrich and implement them.
Helps members and supporters find practical solutions to social and environmental problems by connecting people, organizations and resources.
Research Organizations based in Universities
Promotes the advancement of social entrepreneurship worldwide.
Educates leaders by integrating social enterprise-related research, teaching and activities.
Promotes solutions through interdisciplinary research, teaching beyond the classroom and efforts to engage with those who lead social change.
Explores adapting business concepts, tools and skills to the social sector in appropriate, practical and effective ways, increasing awareness on a local, national and international level.
Empowers students to achieve social benefit through business practices.
grameen phone 
Interview: Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank Interview: Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank March 7, 2005 In 2004, Grameen Bank-Village Phone was chosen from a fie
Train Platform Schools
Project Contact
Mrs Inderjit Khurana,
Secretary, Ruchika Social Service Organisation
G-6 Ganga Nagar
Unit-VI Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar, Orissa 751001
India
91-674-2532611
Design that Matters
http://www.designthatmatters.org/
Design that Matters (DtM) is building a worldwide system that enables the citizen sector, university students, and businesses to jointly innovate for social change.
DtM acts as bridge to bring problems identified by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and members of underserved communities into the classroom for university engineering and business students to tackle in their courses and research. DtM works with NGOs, corporate partners and local entrepreneurs to ensure that promising design innovations result in products and services for communities in need.
Since its launch at MIT in 2001, DtM has worked with hundreds of university engineering and business students on four continents to develop dozens of prototypes that promise to improve thousands of lives. Design that Matters incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in June 2003. Design that Matters works within the educational system to engender enthusiasm and commitment to working with underserved communities among university students in engineering and business.
Its strategy to achieve this is to capitalize on recent changes to the accreditation requirements for university engineering programs that directly impact 2,500 U.S. programs and influence programs around the world.
EcoSystems - Energy and Transport Solutions in Nepal
http://www.ecosystemsnepal.com/index.html
EcoSystems was started in 1996 by Bay Area expatriates David and Haydi Sowerwine. The company works to improve the welfare of Nepal's rural people by offering transport and energy systems that are safe, efficient, inexpensive,
and environmentally sound. To date, EcoSystems has successfully installed 21 WireBridges throughout Nepal, and is nearing completion of the WireRoad, an innovative transportation system that utilizes banana farm cableway technology to transport people and cargo. EcoSystems does not have a factory. The company prefers to subcontract fabricating work such as welding and galvanizing to local shops. The quality of the work is excellent, and EcoSystems supports small business whenever possible.
Notable Feature(s): Design and construction details for the WireBridge; photos of sites throughout Nepal.
Contact Information:
Email: sowerwine@wlink.com.np
Fabio Rosa, President
IDEAAS
Rua Leopoldo Fróes 23 – Floresta
Porto Alegre, RS
90220-090
Brazil
+55 51 3346 8166
e-mail - ideaas@plug-in.com.br
Global Ideas Bank
http://www.globalideasbank.org/
http://www.DoBe.org
The Global Ideas Bank hosts imaginative and feasible ideas and projects for improving the quality of life, more than 2719 schemes from different sources and publications organized in lists by category. The Ideas Bank is accessed over a million times a year at present and already contains several thousand best ideas submitted by members of the public worldwide. Readers can vote on the ideas. The Global Ideas Bank offers a total of 1,000 pounds (UK Sterling) in awards (annually, with a deadline of June 1st) for the best non-technological ideas or projects sent in. The Global Ideas Bank is an initiative of the Institute for Social Inventions.
Contact Information:
Institute for Social Inventions
6 Blackstock Mews
Blackstock Road
LONDON N4 2BT
UK
Telephone: + 020 7359 8391
Fax: + 020 7354 3831
Email: ideas@alberyfoundation.org
Research and development of the Lifeline radio has been fully funded thanks to the following donors generosity: Anglo American Corporation Ashden Awards for Renewable Energy M
Innovative Lives: UV Waterworks: Ashok Gadgil - by Martha Davidson
http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/ilives/uvwater.html
Every hour, more than four hundred children in the developing world die from water-borne diseases. Now there is hope that many children's lives will be saved and the health of other children improved with the introduction of an innovative water disinfection device developed by Dr. Ashok Gadgil of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. UV Waterworks is a portable, low-cost, low-maintenance, energy-efficient water purifier that utilizes ultra-violet light to render viruses and bacteria harmless. It is also an outstanding example of an invention created in response to an urgent environmental health problem by a concerned and dedicated scientist.
Notable Feature(s): Additional links on Gadgil's work: Forbes magazine; Invention at Play.
Solar Household Energy, Inc. (SHE)
http://www.she-inc.org
The mission of SHE, Inc. is to harness free enterprise for the
introduction of solar cooking where it can add quality to life and relieve stress on the environment. SHE Inc. identifies and supports promising entrepreneurs in geographically suitable areas of the developing world interested in distributing solar ovens. The experience of SHE Inc.'s founders is that the most effective means of propagating solar cooking technology is via the private sector, using local small enterprises. This strategy works on two levels: - The profit motive is the strongest and most enduring inducement to sustained promotion and distribution from the “supply” side;
-
When individual consumers are required to pay a price (even a relatively modest price) for a product, they are much more likely to value and make use of it.
Notable Feature(s): Solar energy cooking product development and information, e.g., the HotPot, useful for developing and displaced communities and people; media reports on solar cooking initiatives and developments around the world; collection of dispatches and other articles about successful grassroots solar projects and resources.
Contact Information:
Solar Household Energy, Inc.
P.O. Box 15063
Chevy Chase, MD
20825-0063
USA
Email: inquiries@SHE-Inc.org
LED lighting Stanford University Social Entrepreneurship Startup: Business Plan and Recommendations
http://ses.stanford.edu/reports/global.pdf
http://www.lutw.org/
An estimated 2 billion people do not have access to even the most inefficient electric lighting systems.
The majority of these people are still using fuel-based lighting in the form of kerosene or propane lamps,
candles, or wood. These fuel-based systems are over 500 times less energy efficient than emerging
electrical lighting systems (based on useful light output per $) and have a wide range of adverse social
and environmental impacts ranging from cancer-inducing smoke inhalation to deaths from accidental
fires.
Traditional incandescent lighting systems have had limited success in replacing fuel-based lighting
because of the lack of consistent access to the electrical grid, reliability issues and other factors. Current
electrical lighting solutions therefore have relied on battery-powered systems that are much more
expensive to purchase compared to fuel-based alternatives.
This 2003 report looks at Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that offer
efficient lighting at relatively low power, thereby reducing battery powered operating costs to a level that
is competitive with current fuel based lighting. LED lighting is fast becoming a most efficient technology able to provide sufficient illumination
for common tasks such as reading with less than 1 Watt of electrical power.
This ‘global' business plan primarily focuses on the opportunity presented by LED lighting and the role
that Light up the World (LUTW) foundation and other entrepreneurs could play in making LED lighting a widespread
reality. Detailed strategies and implementation plans are presented in three individual, stand-alone
business plans for China, India and Mexico.
Notable Feature(s): Technical Research and Design Report; China Business Plan and Recommendations; India Business Plan; Mexico Business Plan.
Contact Information:
Ken Robertson, Executive Director
Light Up the World Foundation
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Univ. Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta
T2N 1N4
Canada
Telephone: 403.220.4230
Fax: 403.282.6855
Email: info@lutw.org
Water Pyramid
http://www.geocities.com/waterpyramid/history1.htm
http://www.geocities.com/waterpyramid/index.htm
The supply of water, clean water in particular, is a serious problem in many parts of the world. Ground water levels sink, severe droughts occur, landscapes dry up and desert spreads. Other places have plenty of water, but it is highly polluted and not potable. Coastal areas don't have enough fresh water. All of these problems lead to disease and disaster among both people and animals.
During the string of natural disasters hitting the African continent in the early 1990's, the Norwegian inventor, Per Krumsvik, set out to find a practical remedy to address this acute need. He visualized the creation of water from air without the need of an external power source.
He was inspired by the amazing capabilities of the desert flowers. They have built-in mechanisms that enable them to survive in the harshest climates. At night they open and absorb humidity from the air and during the day they close up, retaining the life-giving water.
In 1996, a 12' experimental water pyramid was installed in the Middle East. This pyramid, loaded with instrumentation, collected data necessary for evaluating construction and design, choice of materials, fiber composition and density as well as the impact of varying atmospheric conditions. The results were very encouraging.
In 1998, an improved water pyramid was sent to the Gobabeb Desert Research Institute in Namibia. The tests conducted here proved that even under the most extreme conditions, the pyramid produced water. Research was also conducted using the water pyramid to convert seawater and polluted groundwater to clean, potable water.
The water pyramid was created conceptually to produce clean water from high air humidity. Through the evolution of the concept and experimentations, however, its use and potential for desalinization and purification became clear.
Notable Feature(s): Technical information on construction and operation of a water pyramid.
Contact Information:
Email: waterpyramid@home.com
communication, education, learning by satellite World Space Foundation
http://www.worldspace.org/default.htm
Working with international, national, and non-governmental organizations, the WorldSpace Foundation has a unique capability to provide access to education and information programs to large audiences in remote areas, using new communication technologies. Its mission is to help improve the lives of disadvantaged persons in developing regions of the world by providing access to education and other information broadcast directly to radios from satellites.
In Africa, WorldSpace Foundation helps bridge the digital divide by partnering with African education and development groups to deliver distance education and social development information via the Africa Learning Channel. The AfriStar™ satellite has three beams that cover the entire continent of Africa and the Middle East. In addition, the foundation has channel capacity on two additional WorldSpace satellites: AsiaStar™, which will serve Asia Pacific, and AmeriStar™, which will cover Latin America and the Caribbean. AsiaStar™was launched on March 21, 2000 and launch of AmeriStar™ is scheduled for early to mid 2001.
Notable Feature(s): Articles on using communication technology for social development.
Contact Information:
WorldSpace Foundation
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, DC
20037
USA
Telephone: 202.861.2261
Fax: 202.861.6407
Email: gmhillman@worldspace.org
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Heifer |
Product Code: |
600791051 |
| | Give a healthy heifer that offers families four gallons of milk per day! | | | What would be the better gift for someone you love — another present that gathers dust on a shelf? Or a heifer and training purchased in honor of your special someone that brings health and hope to people in need?
Better still, your gift multiplies, as the first female calf from your cow is passed on to another family in need — then they also agree to pass on an animal of equal value, and so on. Now that's quite a gift. A good dairy cow can produce four gallons of milk per day — enough for a family to drink and share with neighbors, and still have enough left over to sell.
The protein in milk can transform sick, malnourished children into healthy boys and girls. The sale of surplus milk earns money for school fees, medicine, clothing and home improvements.
And because a healthy cow can have a calf every year, your gift of a heifer could eventually help an entire community move from poverty to self-reliance. And that's a present that's impossible to top! | | | | |
food, agriculture, child nutrition 
The IRC helped GISDG establish a guinea pig project in Kabare Health Zone. Guinea pigs are an excellent source of protein and breed rapidly. GISDG built a coop, purchased a small quantity of guinea pigs, and sold them cheaply to displaced families for food and further breeding. Joseph, the project veterinarian, ensures that the guinea pigs are healthy.
(Photo: Kate Holt for the IRC)
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As part of local NGO GISDG's feeding project and food security work, displaced families with vulnerable or malnourished children farm this field, growing corn and soybeans and other legumes. Half of what is grown, the families keep. Of the other half, a portion is distributed to the host community and a portion is reharvested. The project also teaches good cultivation techniques with seeds.
(Photo: Kate Holt for the IRC) |
In the first years, COOPA-ROCA focussed its activities on the organisation and skills of the group of artisans generating a small production structure.
One of its various community action aspects has been to develop quality-control workshops for the artisans with a view to improving production in order to compete in an ever increasingly demanding market. The workshops are monitored by members specialised in their respective craft techniques.
COOPA-ROCA promotes activities aimed at strengthening the technical skills of the sub-groups and the integration of artisans into the co-operative. These dynamics and fortnightly activities are supported by the Association Sector of Sebrae, Rio de Janeiro.
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| This print is made from www.humana.org |
Children’s Town Malambanyama ZambiaChildren’s Town is a school project designed to address the plight of street children and other vulnerable children in giving them a chance to get off the streets, to get an education and turn their lives around into productive citizens.
The project provides a supportive environment and basic education to former street children and orphans from major cities and towns in Zambia and the surrounding villages. |
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Ciudad Saludable
Who we are
We are an organization of people committed to sustainable development. Our main focus lies in the field of social and environmental management. The people in our organization possess significant experience and skills in the design, management, implementation and evaluation of projects in this field of work. We consider ourselves as a learning organization as we are striving for continuous innovation and skills growth. We work together with basic social organizations, public entities and private enterprises; at the local, regional and national level. Our
main ideology is to contribute to a better quality of life of the population, by the means of an efficient solid waste management system. An efficient solid waste management system facilitates cleaner cities and generates employment.
Our activities can be divided over three Areas: Healthy Cities, Consulting and Training. |
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DEPDC
is a community-based organisation offering
education and full-time accommodation
for children to prevent them from being
trafficked into the sex industry or other
exploitative child-labour situations.
DEPDC
is recognised locally, nationally and
internationally. Its director Sompop Jantraka,
an Ashoka Fellow, is a member of several
associations and regularly participates
in conferences related to child trafficking
and the sex industry. Mr. Jantraka was
nominated as one of 25 Asian Heroes by
TIME Magazine in April 2002. | | | | | |
Mimi Silbert
The Delancey Street Restaurant and Café is an example of one of the many "training schools" that generate income and teach residents marketable skills.
Photo: Actual Films
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Light Up The World Foundation (LUTW) is the
first humanitarian organization to utilize renewable energy
and solid-state lighting technologies to bring affordable,
safe, healthy, efficient, and environmentally responsible illumination
to people who do not have access to power for adequate lighting. LUTW
remains the world’s leader in this endeavour: globally
active and setting standards in the field. | |
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Tsunami Refugees
LUTW was the first organization to respond to the Tsunami disaster,
providing 2,000 solar powered WLED lighting systems to Tsunami
refugee camps in Sri Lanka.
View Project |
Light Comparison Table
Lamp Type |
Homemade Kerosene |
Incandescent |
Compact Fluorescent |
WLED |
Efficiency
(Lumens/watt) |
0.03 |
5 - 18 |
30 - 79 |
25 - 50 |
Rated Life (Hours) |
Supply of Kerosene |
1000 |
6500 - 15,000 |
50,000 |
Durability |
Fragile & Dangerous |
Very Fragile |
Very Fragile |
Durable |
Power Consumption |
0.04 - 0.06 liters/hour |
5W |
4W |
1W |
CCT °K |
~ 1800° |
2652° |
4200° |
5000° |
CRI |
~ 80 |
98 |
62 |
82 |
$ After 50,000 hours |
1251 |
175 |
75 |
20 |
INFORMATION Welcome to the pico hydro network, the first network specialising in very small hydro systems, up to 5 kW. The network is being established because there is a very larg
Pico-Hydro - Viet Nam
- November 2004 -
Indigenous communities in rural Viet Nam, such as the Muong, often lack any form of power generation. This provides them with little opportunity to undertake practical and income-generating activities after nightfall. Recently, however, the Muong have adopted a form of hydropower, known as pico-hydro – the smallest scale of hydropower system. The kinetic power of moving water is transformed into electrical power by a turbine and generator. This gives the community valuable light in the evening and the ability to explore new technological avenues.
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| "Unlike
other ultraviolet-based water purifiers, UV Waterworks does
not require pressurized water-delivery systems and electrical
outlets," stated Ashok Gadgil, inventor of the device and
scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division.
It works either on its own or with a pump or prefilter. |
PicoTurbine Educational Windmill Kit
Thousands have been built! Used by school districts for renewable energy education, and used by major Universities for youth programs!
The orginal PicoTurbine has been improved yet again! This all-new version of PicoTurbine
produces more voltage (2.0 to 2.5 volts) so it can directly drive more
devices. The new kit is 100% complete, (requiring only common tools like scissors, a screw driver, pliers, and glue), and uses
a cool bicolor LED to show the power produced. The LED flashes red
and green in succession as PicoTurbine's alternating current pulses
in different directions.
PicoTurbine is the only kit of its kind: a complete, electricity-producing
wind turbine you can build yourself. And the new add-on PicoTurbine
DC Experiments Kit allows you to learn all about AC to DC conversion
techniques too! This kit has been used by major universities, government agencies, and thousands of students and hobbyists worldwide to learn about wind power. Perfect for science fairs, science reports, and just plain fun!
 SHE, Inc. developed the HotPot to meet the need for a revolutionary, low-cost, easy-to-use solar oven. The HotPot is durable, efficient, and portable; it is now mass-produced in Mexico for less than $30.
The Hotpot evolved from the simple “panel” oven designed by Dr. Roger Bernard, refined by Solar Cookers International, and perfected by engineers at the Florida Solar Energy Center and by Energy Laboratories Inc.
Solar ovens can become the principal means of cooking in some climates. Elsewhere, they can be a major addition. Documented frequency of use has varied between 37% and 86%. Nowhere, of course, can solar ovens be the exclusive means of cooking. The sun sets.
The Game Proposal, Part One: The Basics
Basic Elements of a Game Proposal
At its most basic; the elements of a game proposal are:
- Your game idea
- The plan for its implementation
- And, most importantly, the reason to develop the game
You must know who will most likely buy your game and include the reasons
they might buy your game over the competition. Remember "will it
sell", "to whom", and "why" are among the questions
the publishers will be asking you.
The most important fact to realize about your game proposal - and the
most often overlooked or unknown fact - is that the publisher wants to
know how they can make money selling your game, not how "cool"
it is. It is your job to make the publisher desire your game. This does
not mean telling them how great your game is or how well it will sell,
it means showing them with a demo, marketing research, and other materials
and information.
Yes, you do need the best possible, most refined, functioning demo. That
is paramount. And yes, it must be cool. But the written portion of the
proposal is what will convince the publisher that you can make the game
and that it will sell. The reason for this is that for every thousand
submissions, the publisher may see a handful of technical achievements,
artistic masterpieces, even design accomplishments...but seldom do they
see a proposal that makes them feel like they are holding the next million
unit seller in their hands and the developer can actually pull off the
job of developing the title.
In order to be successful your proposal must do the following:
- Define the market for the game and the reason and proof that the market
will buy it. This section cannot be based on your opinion or personal
opinions like, "Well, they bought Quake 2 in numbers." This
has to be a well thought out and researched marketing piece.
- It must describe the game both in general and detail. In the Treatment
or Cover Letter you will describe the game in selling language (general)
and in the Design Document you will detail the game. This is not necessarily
a long and boring document, you want the game to sound exciting, but
your focus will be on the details of the game here.
- It must show that you are qualified and capable of developing the
game.
Some Tips For A Good Proposal
Your cover letter will be the first document to orient the reader (the
publisher) to you and the game. But what comes next depends on what your
strengths and weaknesses are. If you or your team is something special
(hit game producers, celebrities, or have demonstrable and superior skill)
than lead with that. If your title is really on the brink of opening up
an untapped and huge market and your marketing report is top notch, then
that should be the primary focus of your proposal.
Even if your game idea itself is truly something great, you still have
to convince the publisher it will sell to an audience and that you can
develop it. Leading with the game design document is almost never done.
It is always the market as that is the of primary importance to the publisher.
If there is no market then why publish the title?
Brevity
Despite popular opinion, the "longer the better" game proposal
is not the best. In fact a bloated wordy proposal will do more harm than
good. There is a time for detail and time for concise selling language,
never a time for pompous word spewing.
The sizzle language is contained in the cover letters, presentations
(phone and face to face interviews), web sites, game proposals and press
materials. These documents are not full of exaggerations or grand promises,
but sales language. These documents can contain facts and proof, but they
are concise and designed to grab attention and generate the demand for
more.
The detailed documents are informational; Design of the title, schedules,
budgets and sometimes negotiation terms. The detailed documents are usually
looked at in more depth after the selling documents have peaked interest
and once that happens the publisher will want to see the longer, more
detailed documents. But remember that if a game design document needs
ten pages than use ten pages - if it needs 500 pages use 500 pages.
Writing
As you may have guessed buy now, there is an awful lot of writing in
a game proposal - and even more rewriting. If you are not a writer or
don't like the process of writing, this can be a hard part of the proposal
and you may need to get help. You may be tempted to gloss over these portions
or try and hand them off to other individuals, but you cannot do this.
While writing may be a chore for you, only you and the individuals intimate
with the game market and the proposed title are the ones who can detail
the proposal properly before letting a writer or consultant try and edit
or rewrite for you. Usually it will only be you and the team that can
explain the game adequately before significant materials have been developed
to present it so others can understand it through story boards, demos,
and documentation. Perhaps the greatest benefit to this process will be
that you will clarify the game in your mind and improve upon your ability
to make a solid presentation.
Opening Lines
While we are talking about the importance of writing it must be said
that proposing a game is not a personality contest; it is a business proposition.
Your game proposal will be judged primarily on content (marketability,
the demo, your team) and not writing style. Of course you should have
your materials proofread and they should read well and be grammatically
sound, but you cannot sell a game on writing style alone.
It is often a temptation when trying to sell your game idea to let your
enthusiasm shine through, to feel desperate enough to beg, or to try and
get attention in a negative way. Here are some actual examples of some
good and lots of bad opening lines you may want to be aware of.
Good opening lines, taking strengths into consideration:
"From the team that brought you (insert hit game title here)"
In this case you should name and detail what the members of your proposal
team did on the hit game named. It would be a good idea to clarify your
position up front and make sure any claim you make is absolutely true
and does not lead to disappointment in the publisher's eyes, or worse,
give them the feeling that you are not an honest person.
"Everyone has said that (insert hot movie title here) would make
a great game. We got the license and the team to do it."
It would help a great deal in this situation - finding yourself the holder
of the rights to a hot movie - to understand exactly what those rights
entitle you to do (this is the realm of a lawyer specialized in this area).
It would also be of benefit to you to realize two things; not all hit
movies translate easily into computer games and that having the license
to a hit movie will not guarantee a hit game.
Again we are talking about the market. How do you know if the audience
that made a certain movie a smash hit even plays computer games? If they
own computers you still need to know who they are and what type of game
they would most likely play. You cannot expect a hit movie license to
automatically generate a hit game. The license is mostly an awesome tool
for the marketing of the eventual title - it can create interest in the
title. Secondarily, it can be the source of things such as good content,
story lines, and characters. But a terrible game based on a hit license
usually results in low sales, high returns, and an all around well-known
flop.
"Finally a 3D game that appeals to the masses! (Insert very detailed
and credible marketing report here.)"
And of course you should have the awesome marketing report. Many create
marketing reports that are simply exaggerated opinion and it is apparently
hard to understand that making the marketing report more credible doesn't
mean making it more emphatic! "More credible" means that the
report is backed up with material from sources such as NPD, credible polls,
and even interviews with industry leaders and quotes from high profile
articles and reviews.
"5,000 polygon limit, we can render 50,000 on the same machine.
See if you can tell how we do it."
And of course your demo should really deliver the promised technology.
Remember, technology alone will not get you a game development deal but
a significant technological breakthrough will get you noticed. If the
technology is significant enough your game proposal may actually lead
you into a job, a pairing up with another developer whose art and design
shines but technology lacks, or other great possibilities.
Bad Lines
Yes, there a lot more bad lines than good. These are all real lines that
appear over and over in proposals.
"This is your next big hit!"
Making this claim makes the writer look like an amateur. This line, like
many of the others, is used a great deal and says nothing to the reader.
If what you are trying to say here is based on marketing research, use
a line or fact from the research.
For example; "Joe Publisher, president of Big Hit Game Publishers,
said in a recent interview that anyone who could design a game that would
run on all systems equally well would have a hit on their hands."
We feel we have designed that game and have enclosed a demo in this package.
"This is a guaranteed hit!"
That is a foolish claim. Remember to show and not just tell. You should
lead with the implied hit status of your title based on your research,
innovative design, or talent - whatever you posses that is most credible.
"I don't expect you to understand or be able to play my game
at first."
This line tells the publisher that the writer thinks he is stupid or
that the game is not playable - or both. If you don't think the publisher
will be able to understand or play your game than you have to address
that problem before you send it to them.
Is the game not playable or are you assuming that publishers don't know
their own industry? Maybe this line is used out of fear, the fear that
the person getting the package may not be a hard-core gamer and the game
demo was designed for hard-core gamers. If this is your fear then realize
that game publishers can either play the games they publish or hire people
to do it for them in the form of outside contractors, freelancers, or
an internal review department.
"To whom it may concern"
This tells the publisher that the writer is too lazy and unprofessional
to bother getting the right name on the package. Using a proper name helps
the recipient feel as if the package is for them, whereas "to whom
it may concern" is a label for junk mail.
"I am familiar with the titles you publish and can see where
you are going wrong."
This line is the most unbelievable of them all and surprisingly opening
lines and language like this is used quite frequently. Even if the writer
has a great title and marketing to back it up, they may just bury it with
this opening line.
If what the writer is attempting to do with this line is to explain an
untapped market to the publisher than that is what should be said.
"I have played games for (x number) of years."
This is like a form letter it is so common an opening. While it may seem
like the writer is building credibility, using this reasoning for being
able to develop a game, this is so overused that it is a detriment to
use as an opening line. Now the sentiment behind this line can actually
be of great help later (much later in your biography), but not as an opening
line on your cover letter.
Playing games is not making them. In your biography you should go into
a fair amount of detail, especially if you have no industry experience,
about the games you played and give a quick summary of the good and bad
of those games, to demonstrate your knowledge.
"Please sign the enclosed NDA." Or worse, "Only
after you have signed the enclosed NDA will I show you my game proposal."
Publishers and developers have more ideas than you can imagine. If the
writer really has some world-shattering design, then they need to send
a query letter first that explains it and request an NDA politely.
Setting up a demo under NDA conditions is difficult with publishers and
you will need to show them something initially that really entices them
to want to do this. The reason being is that publishers see so many game
ideas, and so few are actually unique, that they would run the risk of
getting sued by everyone they ever signed an NDA with every time they
published a title.
If you really possess a license, artwork, or technology that you believe
is world shattering than you can get legal protection before going in
and not worry about an NDA. Simply make sure you document your presentation
and mail a copy to your attorney by certified mail and ask him not to
open it. Of course consult an attorney first if you find yourself in this
situation.
"I have never played a computer game, but..."
How can someone expect a game publisher to read this and take him or
her seriously? Certainly a lot of game developers don't play many games.
Some admit to not playing games at all. But playing games is usually a
perquisite for knowing how to develop them and certainly for designing
them. Yes, it has been said that playing games is not making them, so
don't overplay the fact that you play games, but to declare that you have
never played a computer game tells the reader that you don't understand
them.
An opening line is a first impression and this line is a bad first impression.
"I play games so much I can't hold a real job."
Getting two million dollars of the publisher's money for a two-year development
cycle is as real as it gets. Game development is a real job. This line
only serves to put in the mind of the publisher the image of the developer
they just funded picking up and leaving after a few weeks when they realize
that they have yet another pesky real job. Maybe the writer was trying
to be witty or illustrate how saturated he is in games, but again, this
is not a personality contest.
"I know if you give me a chance..."
The writer is too personal. Remember it is not about you but about making
money. The publisher, by definition, is already giving the writer a chance
by reading the proposal. What the publisher gets out of this statement
is, "Please make an insane gamble of 2 million dollars on me, even
though I can't prove to you that it will be worth your while."
"Dear (wrong name here)"
This is a no-no, but is sometimes overlooked. Just make sure in your
packaging frenzy you are careful to put the right letter in the right
envelope. At the worst this makes the recipient feel like they were sent
a piece of bulk mail.
"I have a game that I believe . . ."
The writer risks possibly loosing the attention of the publisher with
this, even if they follow up with a great letter because deep down the
publisher may be thinking, "I don't care what you believe and I am
tired of hearing personal opinion. Prove it! What's the market? Have you
researched this? Can this title sell?"
"This is the third time I have sent this proposal."
This line sounds confrontational and accusatory. There is a reason the
first and second proposal was not acknowledged. Did the writer determine
why or just keep mailing the proposals thinking the publisher is acting
wrongly and must respond?
Remember, it is your job to figure out why your proposal, calls, or emails
are not responded to and fix the problem. This line also tells the publisher
that he already rejected your proposal sometime in the past, so no use
looking at it again.
The list of bad lines is really long. Most of the errors stem from the
simple fact that the writer has taken his focus off the publisher and
placed it on him or herself. What will make the publisher want to see
more? Showing them how your proposed title can sell. Do not focus on what
you want personally; focus on giving the publisher reason to have the
game developed.
Show, Don't Tell
In a proposal the visual words "see" or "show" are
used even when we are dealing with written documents, the difference being
illustrated as follows:
- You can tell the publisher, "I am the most qualified level designer
for the proposed game expansion."
- Or show them by saying, "I ranked number one in the level design
contests on (game site) and my levels have been featured at (source).
I also maintain the largest fan site for this game on the Internet and
have written several tutorials. Please see my site description under
my biography for links and industry quotes."
That was a basic orientation of what the game proposal is meant to accomplish.
In part two of this article, we will look at the actual parts of the game
proposal which include such documents as the cover letter, game treatment,
design document, and more.
There are a wide variety of opportunities to partner with Linden Lab. Within the past year,
various companies have used Second Life as a Platform to enhance various aspects of their businesses.
Some have built large-scale games
around their brand
while others are in the process of integrating Second Life into their operations as a communication and collaboration tool.
Educators are also adopting Second Life as a way of enhancing their course materials and reaching
a broader audience in new ways.
Please fill out the Proposal Form if you are interested in working with Linden Lab to:
-
Build a large-scale project using Second Life's platform
-
Provide enhanced distribution for Second Life
-
Extend an existing brand into the virtual world
-
Introduce an existing community to Second Life
-
Do something ambitious not listed above
If you have a website that gets hundreds of visits a day, you should join our Affiliate Program.
Cell Phone Banking and the BOP: Wizzit
Submitted by Rob Katz on June 19, 2006 - 10:34.
 Driving to Wolftrap this past Friday, a story on NPR’s Marketplace prompted me to turn up the volume – the national business media was covering WIZZIT, a South African cell phone banking firm that NextBillion has covered extensively in the past. For the uninitiated, WIZZIT is a 1-year-old start-up changing the face of South African banking. Their low-cost cell phone debit service, which comes with a funky Maestro debit card, has quickly developed what the Mail and Guardian calls a “cult status” in poor townships. Marketplace’s Gretchen Wilson describes how it works: “[A customer] can make deposits at a bank or at any post office. They scan his debit card, take the cash, and then immediately credit his account. He gets a text message to prove it. Then he uses commands on his cell phone to check his balance, transfer money - even pay his electricity bill. He uses his debit card to buy things or to withdraw cash.” According to WIZZIT CEO Brian Richardson, there are 16 million unbanked people in South Africa – a challenge to development, sure, but also a potentially huge untapped market. WIZZIT isn’t the only firm to recognize the latent potential of the BOP financial services market: banking majors Standard and FSB, as well as cell phone giant MTN, actively vie for BOP customers.  What seems to set WIZZIT apart from its competition is a combination of low fees (there are no minimum balances and per-transfer charges are cheap) and excellent customer service. Since we posted the WIZZIT activity capsule in January, customers have come to NextBillion to rave about their service: “I phoned your service centre today [and] I was bowled over by the exceptional and friendly service; hope more companies will learn from you.” – Paddy
“[WIZZIT’s] service was unreal and so I gave the product a try. I can pay all my bills at extremely low costs! I can transfer money to anyone in the world! This product changed my perceptions of banking.” – Roger The business model makes sense – Marketplace reports that 35 percent of the 16 million unbanked (5.6 million people) own their own cell phone. Critics might argue that poor people are ill-suited to use debit cards, and having credit might bury some in debt. Economists tell a different story: better access to phones spurs economic growth, while access to financial services unlocks “dead capital.” There are, of course, issues. Adding customers is difficult in a highly-competitive environment, and there's no guarantee that each customer will complete enough transactions for WIZZIT to break-even. Furthermore, CGAP documents a myriad of barriers preventing BOP customers from getting cash into the electronic system. Despite these challenges, hearing WIZZIT on the radio was music to my ears – it proves that entrepreneurs can succeed by targeting the BOP market. Marketplace has the full text as well as the audio online – check it out. As for the concert that evening, all I’ll say is that Motown is alive and kicking in Washington.
First encounter with the Gates Foundation Opening the Gates
Hopkins senior Vivek Baluja thought that establishing a community
computer center would be a worthy cause. How to bring it about?
How else? Via a barrage of e-mail messages to the household of
Bill Gates, uber-rich founder of Microsoft.
"I didn't think there'd be any other way to reach Gates other
than e-mail," says Baluja. "I asked around and got his wife's
e-mail address and sent her e-mail for two to three months, about
40 or 50 times a week. Her reaction was: `I'm impressed by your
persistence, but you don't need to e-mail me this much,'" Baluja
recalls, "so she referred me to the Gates Foundation and said
she would talk to Mr. Gates."
Baluja, a computer science major, convinced Gates to donate
$40,000, plus $60,000 in Microsoft software, to the Greenmount
Recreation Center near Homewood. Area residents can now take
classes on 18 new computers. Additional contributions came from
the Abell Foundation and other community groups. Says Edward
Banks, the center's director, "We've got the best computer lab in
Baltimore City." --JPC
Written by Joanne P. Cavanaugh and Melissa Hendricks.
I work as a mentor with an amazing nonprofit, BUILD, to provide an education in entrepreneurship to underprivileged high school students. My team, the Young Sprouts, is made up of five 14-year-olds and a co-mentor from Google
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