Archive | May, 2012

Lovings of the week: Wise words

31 May
  • When we think about social change, we focus on the moments of victory. But such victories are the product of many small acts and efforts, often set back, mostly defeated. I take heart. The arc of history is long. Chris Blattman
  • Avoiding burnout isn’t about getting three square meals or eight hours of sleep. It’s not even necessarily about getting time at home. I have a theory that burnout is about resentment. And you beat it by knowing what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful. I tell people: Find your rhythm. Your rhythm is what matters to you so much that when you miss it you’re resentful of your work. Marissa Mayer
  • I think the most important thing I took away from all that time with my nose in happiness research and behavioral econ is that we overestimate the value of what we already have and so underestimate the upside of taking a chance, leaving something behind, and making a big change. Most of us end up where we are through a sort of drift. Will Wilkinson

 

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Leadership: If we don’t do something about it, who will?

28 May

Microfinance in Nepal

Leadership to me is all about a choice.

The choice to take responsibility for the world in which we live.

It is about doing something (as Margaret Thatcher would say) to make the world a better place – taking a stand, being indignant, and sometimes being difficult:

Every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

I am working here in Nepal with Nirdhan Utthan Bank Limited, the largest microfinance organisation in the country – with 108,000 loan clients and 168,000 members at last count. An inspiring man named Dr Pant started the organisation after visiting the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

How many countless others have gone to visit the Grameen Bank and have done nothing?

I remember in Australia my experiences working in the green building industry with the Green Building Council of Australia. There were those who put in countless hours to make the organisation better, more effective.

And then there were those who spent countless hours complaining about it.

There are those who complain “there is no market for my product”. And then there are those who are “entrepreneurs of will – even without a market or economically viable business (they) would have grown (their) businesses through will alone.”

I am working on an energy access project in India and my friend Jamie recently put together a pitch for the project. In the reasons why he listed this first: there are 280 million people in India who lack access to electricity.

If we don’t do something about it, who will?

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Lovings of the week: Getting involved in Rio+20, Kiva’s Annual Report and “good things from elsewhere”

24 May
Rio+20

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development will happen in Rio mid June.

  • Have your say at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. For the next week or so, you can vote at the Rio Dialogues page on the most important issues. The recommendations that receive most support as part of the dialogues will be transferred to a public site for voting by the general public. Under the “Sustainable Energy for All” group you can vote for standard initiatives such as an incentive for energy efficient buildings or go for one of the more interesting ones, like “strive for carbon neutrality in Antartica”. “The Brundtland Report identified the challenge of ensuring “that Antarctica is managed in the interests of all humankind, in a manner that conserves its unique environment, preserves it value for scientific research, and retains its character as a demilitarized, non-nuclear zone of peace” as key to sustainable development. At Rio+20, we can build on this success.”
  • Kiva recently released its 2011 Annual Report. (Kiva are an online lending portal who allow people to loan money directly to clients of MFIs. My organisation, Good Return operates a similar model.) I love it’s interactive feel. Having met a few failed Kiva MFIs, I was interested to read that Kiva had to write of $5o0,000 in loans with the MFI Microfinance Togo. Also, I was surprised to learn the top lending city was not in the US, where Kiva is based. It’s Brussels. In light of the recent negative press around microfinance here is David Roodman’s take on Kiva as a consumer baramoter.  “I’ve been asked many times whether all the bad press around microfinance in the last few years has affected perceptions among the public in general and funders in particular. Usually in response to this question, I’ve shrugged and pointed out that Kiva seems to be doing fine.” This annual report would seem to verify that.
  • I recently found “The Lonliest Island Outpost” because it included a quote of mine from a previous post. The blog is a daily (or so) “collection of good things from elsewhere” , similar to my Lovings of the week series. I enjoyed these posts:
    • “In Australia: A crime is a crime against the State. The State, not the victim, prosecutes the accused person. The victim is a witness for the prosecution.”
    • “Pair [a two-person social-network app, currently only for the stupid iPhone] also offers ‘thumbkissing’: Pressing one’s thumb on the screen, aligned with the image of the other’s, causes both phones to vibrate.
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Voices from Nepal pre a constitution

21 May

Protests in Nepal

The country is in indefinite “strike” or lock down mode. Political parties have called the strike, to protest aspects of the proposed constitution due in 14 days. (The country is currently operating under an interim constitution).  Where I am car and buses are not allowed to drive, shops and banks are not allowed to open and schools are closed to students. Last week I saw a long line of cars waiting for petrol – many of the other petrol stations had closed down due to lack of fuel. I have been called by my organisation back to Kathmandu.

I’ve been collecting a little of the word from the street over the last week or so.

  • “Nepal is on strike for 15 days out of every month, that is why we are so poor” 15 year old student
  • “Actually no one knows who called the bandha (strike). Just the shops are afraid so they do not open.” Businessman
  • “The banda is for the poor people. The rich people can get the plane or the tourist bus” Tour operator
  • “We are tired of staying home all the time, we want to go to school” 9 and 13 year old students
  • “The school is afraid, that is why they close. No other reason.” Father of 2
  • At the sight of a bus of protestors: “They have no work to do, that is why they are protesting”  Professional
  • “This office is not open to the public so no one knows that work continues during the strike” Office building owner
  • “I saw the bomb explode in Janakpur. Right in front of me. People died. Now I cannot go back there” Businessman
  • “We had to stop our collections because the protestors came and told us we would be punished if we collected” Microfinance professional
  • “The country is in transition and everyone wants their part in it. But the problem is that if you give to one group, you are automatically taking from another.” Engineers
  • “I have to walk 2.5 days to attend a government job entrance exam because there vehicles are not allowed to take to the streets” Professional and Masters recipient
  • “We cannot take you to the airport because cars are not allowed to drive today” Hotel Receptionist
  • “Nepal is like a doll. Everyone is just playing with it”  Tour guide

Just like everywhere, I think people want to be left alone to do what they want without being bothered by a state in turmoil.

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Lovings of the week – Nepali food

17 May

Of all the things I love about Nepal, the food (and the tea) have got to be right near the top.

The food is always delicious, it is vegetarian based with meat options (rather than the other way round) and the combination of rice, beans and vegetables seems agree with my body much more than other cuisines. Which means I am often bounding off the walls with energy here.

This post is a collection of a few photos I’ve picked up along the way.

Nepali Spice Rack

Freshly ground fennel seed seems to make it’s way into most dishes.

Gundruk or dried spinach – considered the Nepali national food

“Mountain soup”, made with Gundruk

Veg Thali – a combination of daal (lentil soup), curry, vegetables, pickle and a mountain of rice. We eat this every day, twice a day, and always it contains different vegetables, curries and pickles. If I ate Veg Thali every day for the rest of my life I would be happy.

Cooking gas producer, hard at work (Yes, I am working with biogas here in Nepal)

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Bridging Worlds

14 May

Escalator which bridges 5 blocks in Hong Kong

Just 6 months ago I wrote this post about how transitions between locations almost sent me over the edge.

Now I watch myself barely flinch at Chanel bags and $20 cocktails one week, and 18 hours of blackouts and shoeless street kids the next.

I speak to one friend in Australia who just lost a job and ‘hates the job market’, and in the same day, another in Nepal who has been out of work 6 months. One who wishes there was a job market.

In Hong Kong I ride an escalator which bridges 5 blocks, in Nepal I am preparing to walk 18 hours to visit a community with no access to roads.

Recently I spent a day balancing my budget – I am $500 out over 6 months. I barely give it a second glance.

I work with women who take a loan of $350 over a year, which requires 2 visits to the branch office and the signature of a legal guardian.

I speak to my parents who complain about the difficulties of hiring a car overseas.

I look outside to see evidence of the indefinite strike here in Nepal – which in theory includes the closing of all roads for transport – over the lack of a constitution after 2 years of work.

I watch videos of the recent floods in Pokhara, and wonder whether I should change my plans to holiday there. Only to learn that one of my colleagues watched a woman out the back of his house drown in floods when he was 8 years old. She was washing her clothes. He was the one that pulled her out of the river, dead.

I am still affected by these contradictions. The world still feels like an unfair place.

But I can feel myself moving to a place of some acceptance – where the emotion subsides to a place where I am not paralysed by it and I am able to continue functioning.

I feel like I am on a bridge between worlds. I can get off the bridge in either world. But for very different reasons I don’t feel comfortable on either side.

For some reason the place I feel most comfortable is the middle – and I think I’m just starting to getting used to this bridge’s natural vibrations.

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Lovings of the week: Margaret Thatcher, and innovations in financing small scale renewables

10 May
  • I watched “The Iron Lady” – a film about Margaret Thatcher’s life. What an amazing woman. Upon finishing I decided that I also think “One’s life must matter. More than the kitchen and the children”. I also liked her version of The Secret:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

  • I’ve spoken here before about the difficulties surrounding micro-energy and carbon credits. It was interesting this week to read about Citi Microfinance – who have “agreed to purchase 1.17 million metric tonnes of carbon credits over the next seven years from Seattle-based social enterprise MicroEnergy Credits. This deal also combines microloans in Mongolia with the sale of carbon credits on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).”
  • Finally, my most recent article in a series on the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All is here. I wrote about some innovative financing models which I’ve learnt about since moving into the small scale renenwable energy space. One of my favourite is Fabio Rosa in Brazil. They’ve moved on from a  loan for products – instead charging for services rendered.  Rosa’s company operates on a pay-for-service model for solar home systems. He doesn’t believe people should pay up front, or even own their energy systems. “Who buys food for the next 25 years? You buy food for the next week or month. It should be the same with electricity,” Rosa says.
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Image: Some rights reserved by daveograve@

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On why I don’t have a plan for children and other difficult questions

6 May

Planting your own garden

“I really admire you. How can you make so many difficult sacrifices in your life?”

I am not making any sacrifices.

I am totally free.

I actually chose this life.

Any unhappiness it causes me is completely of my own choosing - “anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”.

“You are always on the move. Don’t you get lonely?”

Sometimes. But no more lonely than I was in Sydney.

“How can you keep going?”

Sometimes I can’t keep going. So I have to stop. But it always passes.

“What does your family think of your life?”

When I left Sydney, my mother said, “I can’t believe it’s taken you so long to go.”

“Aren’t you afraid of not having anywhere to live?”

I feel like I’ve been a nomad my whole life in one way or another. I am much more afraid of other things. Like not having an impact in my life. Or working in a stressful job and becoming ill again.

“Why are you not religious?”

Occam’s razor. The most simple explanation is usually the correct one.

Also, if there is a god, I have not heard a justification I can believe for all the suffering s/he has caused in the world.

“Why do you not have a plan to have a family?”

I take the philosophy of a good friend: “If a family happens as part of the normal progression of my life, then I will be happy. If it doesn’t, then I will also be happy.”

On just while we’re on it, I believe that you must “plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”

“What happens if I can’t be your everything?”

Well, that’s OK. Because I can’t be your everything either.

I just want you to be you. And I want you to want me to be me.

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Image: Some rights reserved by pasma

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<3 of the week: Finding routine while travelling, the aid slap and why careers aren’t fulfilling

3 May

Routine

  • Last week I met a man who made 64 business trips in 1 year. He told me he didn’t like sightseeing anymore. When he had a day off he just wanted to stay home. I am in Nepal today on my day off and rather than see the town I am in, all I want to do is stay in my room and not talk to anyone. So of course this blog from Penelope Trunk on Business Travel struck home. “If you travel once a year, sightseeing is exciting. If you travel enough to wonder if your home is really your home, then you need to keep a semblance of routine so you feel like you do have some sort of life outside of work.” I am grateful to my running shoes and to chocolate and coca cola for making it to all corners of the world :)
  • From some poignant writing from a man working on a water filter project in Haiti. He describes the “aid bi**hslap”, the moment when you “cross from idealism to realism”: “I came to Haiti very much guilty of believing good intentions were enough, and I certainly had the rose-colored glasses. I knew a bit about the idea of the white savior industrial complex, but didn’t know enough to realize I was playing right into it. I believed people inherently do want to improve their lot, and will work hard to see that happen. I also believed myself to be a fairly altruistic person. I’m not so sure about that any more. And while I never came here thinking I could “save Haiti” (an incredibly egotistical idea to begin with), I also didn’t realize the importance of allowing yourself to truly appreciate the small things before the big things break you down.” via Shotgun Shack.
  • And finally a shout out to my brilliant friend/new dad Richard who has a blog called “The Pointy End: A discussion on sustainable design in Africa’s cities”. This week he writes an answer to the question - ”Why are so few people fulfilled by what they do for a living?”. My answer would be that most people tend to overestimate how difficult it would be to change, and the benefits they would receive from doing so, and therefore don’t.

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Image: Some rights reserved by bayat

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