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This blog is a global conversation among young people on poverty and other development-related issues. It's maintained by the World Bank's Youthink! team

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Paradise Farms, Conflict-Resolution Tea, Carbon-Free Condoms and Other Important Matters

Submitted by Saadia Iqbal on November 16, 2009 - 21:42

Worldview ImpactAs I mentioned in earlier blog posts, at the Young Commonwealth Climate Change Summit I discovered many inspiring people and organizations working toward tackling climate change. One of them was a social enterprise called Worldview Impact that works on mitigating climate change and reducing poverty by creating green jobs in poor communities.  Bremley Lyngdoh

After watching a dynamic presentation by founder Bremley Lyngdoh, I asked if he’d have time to give the Youthink! audience a little more background and insight into his organization. When I arrived for our meeting at Worldview headquarters, Bremley first treated me to some “conflict resolution tea” (lemongrass, in case you’re interested, and delicious).

Curious? I was. It’s thus named, Bremley informed me, because it was grown on Paradise Farm.

Even more curious? It turns out Paradise Farm is one of Worldview Impact’s projects—a farm in Sri Lanka where both Tamil and Sinhalese women work together to produce organic food. For those of you who’ve been living on Mars for the past few decades (or ok, are out of touch with Sri Lankan politics), the Tamils and Singhalese were opposing factions in a decades-long civil war that took place in the country.)  “Farming releases the negative energy in people,” Bremley tells me. “You can’t fight over there.” From what it sounds like, the people who work on Paradise Farm are probably too busy to think about fighting. They not only grow crops like tea, cocoa and cashew nuts; they also grow rubber trees which they then harvest to make a host of products—yes, including carbon-free condoms. 
Sri Lanka

Climate Smart Entrepreneurs’ Alliance

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on August 24, 2009 - 15:48

Last year, Maria and I went to the IWF World Leadership Conference. It was a very interesting event where we had a number of stimulating discussions. One of them was about the need to have a Youth Foundation which would impart entrepreneurship training and be instrumental in creating social entrepreneurs. I was already working in this field and decided to form the Climate Smart Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (CSEA) as a stepping stone to the Youth Foundation.

Beyond “teaching a man how to fish…”

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on August 6, 2009 - 11:50

My first brush with business was at the age 11, when I started selling stickers/posters in school. It was a great experience, although short-lived, and I regard it a milestone as I realized what I wanted to be when I “grow up!”

At the age of 15, I started working on environmental projects in Kolkata. This was another great experience, the summary of which can be found here, where we had to come up with revenue-generating projects to support our numerous activities.

I realized that entrepreneurship was probably the best solution to address most of our social concerns. Personally, I am not attracted to NGOs as most of them are unsustainable (lack of funds, inefficient) in the long run and hence have a high mortality rate.

Hate thy neighbor?

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on May 6, 2009 - 09:58

It is no secret that some South Asian countries are hostile towards each other. Political leaders repeatedly exploit this issue for rallying their nation in order to achieve their vested interests. It is an inevitable issue in every Indian election, and undoubtedly, the situation is the same across the border. Several other forces also fuel this feeling of hatred and hence three generations have grown up with a feeling of ill-will towards ALL citizens of the neighboring country! Needless to say, this is not unique to South Asia.

Double Whammy

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on May 5, 2009 - 11:57

This incident of September 2007 was one of the worst and most apparent cases of discrimination one could think of: Mrs. Dhanwanti Devi Meghwal is Pradhan, or leader, of a block in India’s Jodhpur district. She had been elected as representative at the block level for Scheduled Caste Women. At an inaugural ceremony of a cattle fair, she was about to raise the flag, when a member of the local assembly, Mr. Babu Singh Rathore suddenly stepped forward to stop her from raising the flag. More details on page 22 of this UN End Poverty 2015 Report (pdf).

His reasons? She belonged to the group known as Dalits—one of the lowest castes in India—and she was a woman. What happened was not merely a simple case of discrimination against women. It was, in fact, a classic example of the challenge that Dalit women in the Rajasthan state of India have faced since the caste system was put in place. It was a double whammy—class discrimination and gender discrimination.

We should have the right score sheet!

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on April 13, 2009 - 11:02

In India, we are proud of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. We have been boasting a high growth rate for several years now and the results are visible on the streets of our metropolitan cities. We have glittering shopping plazas, restaurants, multiplexes and a section of the Indian kids love to hang out at the McDonalds and KFCs that are mushrooming across the cities. However, there is another section of Indian kids whom you will find working as daily wage earners in the small stalls near the same McDonalds and KFCs!

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness!

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on March 30, 2009 - 09:29

In the first week of March, I attended the 6th International Biofuels Conference in New Delhi. In this conference I learned of an entrepreneurial venture by a tiny village in India that left me amazed. The village is producing its own electricity to meet all its energy requirements!  

The Indian IT success story is known across the globe. In urban India, we pride ourselves in using the latest technology and most urban teenagers are gadget freaks. On the other hand, hundreds of villages do not even have electricity in my country. 

Slumdog Millionaires!

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on March 13, 2009 - 14:41

Indiscriminate littering of plastic bags clogs up Kolkata’s street drains which results in water-logging in several areas of the city. During monsoons, the city almost comes to a standstill! Some city environmentalists are petitioning the municipal authorities to ban the widespread use of plastic bags in the city, also because the toxic material remains in the soil for years. However, plastic bags have become an indispensable part of our daily life. They have several advantages, including being cost effective, and hence a “ban” on plastic bags is not working. The consumers and shopkeepers alike want plastic bags.

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