O concurso World Challenge, uma parceria entre a rede BBC, a revista Newsweek e a petrolífera Shell foi criado há 3 anos para premiar projetos e empresas que ajudassem o desenvolvimento sustentável nos países pobres, fazendo a diferença nas suas comunidades.
Este ano são 12 os finalistas, entre os quais figuram dois projetos brasileiros. Em dezembor, os três melhores receberão um prêmio da Shell aqui em Haia, na Holanda. O primeiro colocado receberá US$ 20.000. Uma olhadela na descrição de cada um dá um alento de esperança ao mostrar que existem boas idéias para sair do buraco, e que estas boas idéias têm muito mais valor do que a política de caridade-bolsa-miséria adotada pelo governo.
Como no velho ditado chinês de que é melhor ensinar a pescar do que dar o peixe.
STEAMING AHEAD
The Masarang Palm Sugar Factory - INDONESIA
Extracting the sugar from sugar palm requires a good deal of heat. For the farmers of Tomohon, a mountainous region of Indonesia, timber was the obvious source. Seeing the damage being done to his beloved rainforest, conservation expert Dr Willie Smits hooked the palm farmers up with a local geothermal power project. He established a factory that uses waste steam from the power plant to heat the sugar palm sap. The resulting high-quality product is now being successfully exported – with all profits going direct to the farmers’ cooperative. Some 6285 poor farmers and their families are now benefiting from the project, and around 200,000 square metres of forest have been preserved. Dr Smits believes his business model could serve throughout Indonesia as a sustainable alternative to the destructive Palm Oil trade.
COOKING WITHOUT GAS
Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (FoST) - NEPAL
In 1995, Sanu Kaji Shrestha ran out of cooking gas. So too did nearly everyone else in Kathmandu, as a countrywide shortage set in. Demand was so great Sanu had to take three days off work to queue up for more fuel. This first-hand experience of his country’s dependence on external energy supplies set Sanu thinking. He began to look into sustainable energy technologies for the domestic market, researching existing designs and adapting them for the Nepalese market. In 2001 he retired from his day job to concentrate on bringing low-cost, high-efficiency energy technologies to Nepal’s rural and urban poor. Measures developed to date include simple yet ingenious solar cookers and briquette presses to make smokeless fuel from waste materials.
S.O.S: SAVE OUR SEAWEED
Ider Project - BRAZIL
The seaweed of Brazil’s North Eastern coast is much in demand by the country’s meat, dairy and cosmetics industries. For many decades, coastal communities were able to supply this demand by simply collecting the plants from the rocks. But in recent years, over-harvesting has led to the collapse of seaweed beds across long stretches of Brazil’s coastline. This has in turn led to a decline in fish stocks, leaving fishermen – as well as seaweed collectors – out of work. The project is working to repair the damage by encouraging traditional fishing communities to cultivate a sustainable supply of seaweed. Seaweed seeds are attached to anchored ropes. Within two months they have grown into full-size plants ready for harvesting. The seaweed is then dehydrated using solar-powered cleaning and drying machines. The villagers are now selling their product for a much higher price than they used to get for their unfarmed seaweed. And fishermen are reporting a heartening recovery in seaweed-dependent fish stocks.
TOP OF THE CROPS
Arghand - AFGHANISTAN
Despite the efforts of American and British forces to put the squeeze on Afghan opium production, the country remains by far the world’s largest source of heroin. Arghand Inc is approaching the problem from a different angle. By creating a market for crops such as almonds, apricots, pistachios and liquorice root, the company reduces opium production without depriving farmers of an income. The exotic crops are used in the manufacture of high-end soaps and skin-care products for the export market. These products might not have quite the same street-value as heroin, but because Arghand operates on a fair trade basis, its farmers end up with more cash than they’d get from growing opium. Arghand was set up in 2005 by journalist Sarah Chayes, whose first-hand experience of Southern Afghanistan inspired her to strike at the chains of poverty and violence that bind the region to the opium poppy.
LIMBS FROM LEFTOVERS
Mend - NEPAL
There’s little in the way of formal support for disabled people in Nepal. Ganga Rayamajh’s story is typical. Having lost both her legs as a baby, she had no option but to crawl to school, as her family could not afford to buy expensive imported prosthetics. But at the age of 17, thanks to New Zealand charity MEND, Ganga was finally fitted with artificial legs. Since then she has striven to improve the lives of other disabled people through local charity ASHA. In 2004, ASHA and MEND set out to develop a range of artificial limbs, tools and other mobility devices that would be within the price range of even the poorest Nepalese. They came up with an innovative cost-cutting solution – to use everyday wastes as their raw materials. Moulds for artificial legs, for example, are cast from aluminium cans, while the legs themselves are made, in part, from recycled plastics.
HALF PRICE HYGIENE
Maka - UGANDA
The price of imported sanitary pads – around US$1 for a pack of ten – puts them beyond the reach of Uganda’s poorest families. Accordingly, many disadvantaged girls skip school during their periods, creating a vicious cycle in which the poorest fall furthest behind in their education. Noticing this trend in Kampala, Dr Musaazi Moses set himself the goal of producing sanitary pads that could be sold for no more than US fifty cents per pack. He was able to keep costs down by using locally sourced materials – elephant grass and paper – and manufacturing the pads on a cottage industry basis. The current rate of production stands at around 1,500 pads per day – and Dr Moses expects this to increase over time. Since its foundation in 2004, MAKA sanitary pads have benefited hundreds of girls in Kampala and beyond.
HERBAL HEALING
Sa Pa Essentials (SPE) - VIETNAM
The mountainous region of Sa Pa in northern Vietnam is an invaluable storehouse of medicinal plants – many of which have been used for centuries by the local population. Bridging the Gap was established to protect these species from the increasing threat of over-harvesting – while at the same time boosting incomes and improving lives within the community. Having identified active ingredients through traditional knowledge as well as scientific testing, Bridging the Gap encourages sustainable cultivation of the medicinal species. It then extracts, processes and markets essential oils from the plants, ensuring at every stage that the communities’ intellectual property rights are respected.
HIGH SWEET FASHION
Mitz - MEXICO
The brainchild of Montessori schoolteacher Judith Achar, Mitz Bags began in 2003 when a countrywide economic crisis plunged many of her pupils' parents into poverty. Judith came up with several income-generating schemes, and eventually hit upon the idea of weaving trendy bags and accessories from recycled sweet wrappers. The bags-hand-woven using ancient Nahua Indian techniques – have scored a hit in Mexican, US and European markets. Around 2000 products are sold under the 'Mitz' name – translation: "for you" – every month.
SCHOOL FOR SUCCESS
Ecole Paradis ded Indiens - HAITI
The Paradis des Indiens project began as a one-room school in the small fishing village of Les Abricots. Canadian expatriate Michaelle de Verteuil set up the school especially for children whose families couldn’t afford uniforms and shoes – without which they were unable to attend Haiti’s ordinary schools. More than 30 years later and Paradis de Indiens has expanded into a multi-faceted development programme. Poverty reduction activities include beekeeping, embroidery, woodworking and fruit-drying schemes. Environmental efforts are focused on reforestation – a key priority for tree-stripped Haiti. The project also runs a microfinance scheme to foster local businesses and lift individual families out of poverty. However, Paradis des Indiens has not neglected its ‘core business’ – ten small schools now run under its name, each with around 150 students.
PEACE WOODS
Maderas Para La Paz - COLOMBIA
The Peace Woods timber company was set up by eight ex-combatants to provide a decent living for themselves and others like them. By keeping former militiamen out of trouble; by offering a way out for those still involved in Colombia’s various militias; and by uniting one-time enemies under the same banner, the company can genuinely claim to be furthering the cause of peace in Colombia. Peace Woods specialises in kiln-dried timber and parts for wooden furniture. The wood is sustainably harvested in strict conformance with international Forest Stewardship Council environmental standards, making Peace Woods a force for environmental as well as social good.
POTATO GOLDMINE
T'ikapapa - PERU
The farmers of Peru’s high Andes are among the poorest in the country, with average incomes of under US $1 per day. Yet these farmers are sitting on something of a goldmine, for the region is home to some 3000 varieties of potato. These native strains bear little resemblance to the familiar staple of Western diets – many are brightly coloured (inside and out) and strangely shaped, as well as vitamin-packed and organically grown. T’ikapapa was set up to bridge the gap between the Andean farmers and the potato market, allowing them to see the benefit of their premium goods. The project’s ‘participatory market chain approach’ is now being applied to potato chips and other value-added products.
OUT OF THE FOREST
Brasmazon and Coopemaflima - BRAZIL
Marajo Island in the Amazon is totally surrounded by fresh water – the largest such island in the world. The 200,000 people who live there are blessed with abundant fish during the ‘dry season’. But during the other half of the year, when the fish migrate elsewhere, the population suffers. This same ‘rainy season’ is also the cue for the Andiroba tree to deposit its water-born seeds. Vast numbers of these seeds are carried downriver every year. Many fetch up on the beaches of Marajo. Until recently the seeds were seen as nothing more than an annoyance. But Brazilian company Brasmazon saw an opportunity to turn them into an alternative income source. They helped to establish a cooperative to collect the seeds and extract their oil for sale to the cosmetics industry. Brasmazon now buys around 500 tonnes of seeds from the cooperative every year, benefiting around 1000 islanders.
http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/
Este ano são 12 os finalistas, entre os quais figuram dois projetos brasileiros. Em dezembor, os três melhores receberão um prêmio da Shell aqui em Haia, na Holanda. O primeiro colocado receberá US$ 20.000. Uma olhadela na descrição de cada um dá um alento de esperança ao mostrar que existem boas idéias para sair do buraco, e que estas boas idéias têm muito mais valor do que a política de caridade-bolsa-miséria adotada pelo governo.
Como no velho ditado chinês de que é melhor ensinar a pescar do que dar o peixe.
STEAMING AHEAD
The Masarang Palm Sugar Factory - INDONESIA
Extracting the sugar from sugar palm requires a good deal of heat. For the farmers of Tomohon, a mountainous region of Indonesia, timber was the obvious source. Seeing the damage being done to his beloved rainforest, conservation expert Dr Willie Smits hooked the palm farmers up with a local geothermal power project. He established a factory that uses waste steam from the power plant to heat the sugar palm sap. The resulting high-quality product is now being successfully exported – with all profits going direct to the farmers’ cooperative. Some 6285 poor farmers and their families are now benefiting from the project, and around 200,000 square metres of forest have been preserved. Dr Smits believes his business model could serve throughout Indonesia as a sustainable alternative to the destructive Palm Oil trade.
COOKING WITHOUT GAS
Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (FoST) - NEPAL
In 1995, Sanu Kaji Shrestha ran out of cooking gas. So too did nearly everyone else in Kathmandu, as a countrywide shortage set in. Demand was so great Sanu had to take three days off work to queue up for more fuel. This first-hand experience of his country’s dependence on external energy supplies set Sanu thinking. He began to look into sustainable energy technologies for the domestic market, researching existing designs and adapting them for the Nepalese market. In 2001 he retired from his day job to concentrate on bringing low-cost, high-efficiency energy technologies to Nepal’s rural and urban poor. Measures developed to date include simple yet ingenious solar cookers and briquette presses to make smokeless fuel from waste materials.
S.O.S: SAVE OUR SEAWEED
Ider Project - BRAZIL
The seaweed of Brazil’s North Eastern coast is much in demand by the country’s meat, dairy and cosmetics industries. For many decades, coastal communities were able to supply this demand by simply collecting the plants from the rocks. But in recent years, over-harvesting has led to the collapse of seaweed beds across long stretches of Brazil’s coastline. This has in turn led to a decline in fish stocks, leaving fishermen – as well as seaweed collectors – out of work. The project is working to repair the damage by encouraging traditional fishing communities to cultivate a sustainable supply of seaweed. Seaweed seeds are attached to anchored ropes. Within two months they have grown into full-size plants ready for harvesting. The seaweed is then dehydrated using solar-powered cleaning and drying machines. The villagers are now selling their product for a much higher price than they used to get for their unfarmed seaweed. And fishermen are reporting a heartening recovery in seaweed-dependent fish stocks.
TOP OF THE CROPS
Arghand - AFGHANISTAN
Despite the efforts of American and British forces to put the squeeze on Afghan opium production, the country remains by far the world’s largest source of heroin. Arghand Inc is approaching the problem from a different angle. By creating a market for crops such as almonds, apricots, pistachios and liquorice root, the company reduces opium production without depriving farmers of an income. The exotic crops are used in the manufacture of high-end soaps and skin-care products for the export market. These products might not have quite the same street-value as heroin, but because Arghand operates on a fair trade basis, its farmers end up with more cash than they’d get from growing opium. Arghand was set up in 2005 by journalist Sarah Chayes, whose first-hand experience of Southern Afghanistan inspired her to strike at the chains of poverty and violence that bind the region to the opium poppy.
LIMBS FROM LEFTOVERS
Mend - NEPAL
There’s little in the way of formal support for disabled people in Nepal. Ganga Rayamajh’s story is typical. Having lost both her legs as a baby, she had no option but to crawl to school, as her family could not afford to buy expensive imported prosthetics. But at the age of 17, thanks to New Zealand charity MEND, Ganga was finally fitted with artificial legs. Since then she has striven to improve the lives of other disabled people through local charity ASHA. In 2004, ASHA and MEND set out to develop a range of artificial limbs, tools and other mobility devices that would be within the price range of even the poorest Nepalese. They came up with an innovative cost-cutting solution – to use everyday wastes as their raw materials. Moulds for artificial legs, for example, are cast from aluminium cans, while the legs themselves are made, in part, from recycled plastics.
HALF PRICE HYGIENE
Maka - UGANDA
The price of imported sanitary pads – around US$1 for a pack of ten – puts them beyond the reach of Uganda’s poorest families. Accordingly, many disadvantaged girls skip school during their periods, creating a vicious cycle in which the poorest fall furthest behind in their education. Noticing this trend in Kampala, Dr Musaazi Moses set himself the goal of producing sanitary pads that could be sold for no more than US fifty cents per pack. He was able to keep costs down by using locally sourced materials – elephant grass and paper – and manufacturing the pads on a cottage industry basis. The current rate of production stands at around 1,500 pads per day – and Dr Moses expects this to increase over time. Since its foundation in 2004, MAKA sanitary pads have benefited hundreds of girls in Kampala and beyond.
HERBAL HEALING
Sa Pa Essentials (SPE) - VIETNAM
The mountainous region of Sa Pa in northern Vietnam is an invaluable storehouse of medicinal plants – many of which have been used for centuries by the local population. Bridging the Gap was established to protect these species from the increasing threat of over-harvesting – while at the same time boosting incomes and improving lives within the community. Having identified active ingredients through traditional knowledge as well as scientific testing, Bridging the Gap encourages sustainable cultivation of the medicinal species. It then extracts, processes and markets essential oils from the plants, ensuring at every stage that the communities’ intellectual property rights are respected.
HIGH SWEET FASHION
Mitz - MEXICO
The brainchild of Montessori schoolteacher Judith Achar, Mitz Bags began in 2003 when a countrywide economic crisis plunged many of her pupils' parents into poverty. Judith came up with several income-generating schemes, and eventually hit upon the idea of weaving trendy bags and accessories from recycled sweet wrappers. The bags-hand-woven using ancient Nahua Indian techniques – have scored a hit in Mexican, US and European markets. Around 2000 products are sold under the 'Mitz' name – translation: "for you" – every month.
SCHOOL FOR SUCCESS
Ecole Paradis ded Indiens - HAITI
The Paradis des Indiens project began as a one-room school in the small fishing village of Les Abricots. Canadian expatriate Michaelle de Verteuil set up the school especially for children whose families couldn’t afford uniforms and shoes – without which they were unable to attend Haiti’s ordinary schools. More than 30 years later and Paradis de Indiens has expanded into a multi-faceted development programme. Poverty reduction activities include beekeeping, embroidery, woodworking and fruit-drying schemes. Environmental efforts are focused on reforestation – a key priority for tree-stripped Haiti. The project also runs a microfinance scheme to foster local businesses and lift individual families out of poverty. However, Paradis des Indiens has not neglected its ‘core business’ – ten small schools now run under its name, each with around 150 students.
PEACE WOODS
Maderas Para La Paz - COLOMBIA
The Peace Woods timber company was set up by eight ex-combatants to provide a decent living for themselves and others like them. By keeping former militiamen out of trouble; by offering a way out for those still involved in Colombia’s various militias; and by uniting one-time enemies under the same banner, the company can genuinely claim to be furthering the cause of peace in Colombia. Peace Woods specialises in kiln-dried timber and parts for wooden furniture. The wood is sustainably harvested in strict conformance with international Forest Stewardship Council environmental standards, making Peace Woods a force for environmental as well as social good.
POTATO GOLDMINE
T'ikapapa - PERU
The farmers of Peru’s high Andes are among the poorest in the country, with average incomes of under US $1 per day. Yet these farmers are sitting on something of a goldmine, for the region is home to some 3000 varieties of potato. These native strains bear little resemblance to the familiar staple of Western diets – many are brightly coloured (inside and out) and strangely shaped, as well as vitamin-packed and organically grown. T’ikapapa was set up to bridge the gap between the Andean farmers and the potato market, allowing them to see the benefit of their premium goods. The project’s ‘participatory market chain approach’ is now being applied to potato chips and other value-added products.
OUT OF THE FOREST
Brasmazon and Coopemaflima - BRAZIL
Marajo Island in the Amazon is totally surrounded by fresh water – the largest such island in the world. The 200,000 people who live there are blessed with abundant fish during the ‘dry season’. But during the other half of the year, when the fish migrate elsewhere, the population suffers. This same ‘rainy season’ is also the cue for the Andiroba tree to deposit its water-born seeds. Vast numbers of these seeds are carried downriver every year. Many fetch up on the beaches of Marajo. Until recently the seeds were seen as nothing more than an annoyance. But Brazilian company Brasmazon saw an opportunity to turn them into an alternative income source. They helped to establish a cooperative to collect the seeds and extract their oil for sale to the cosmetics industry. Brasmazon now buys around 500 tonnes of seeds from the cooperative every year, benefiting around 1000 islanders.
http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/
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