One of the things that will remain in my mind is the milky mushroom production we have seen during our stay at the Tamil Nadu Agriculture university (TNAU) in Coimbatore. The TNAU focuses on Agricultural Education and Research and supports the State Agricultural Department by delivering research products. When we arrived at the university our…
Category: social impact
Twoandahalfweeks in India – field visit to MGR Nagar, Karamadei and housing project
One of our field visits has taken place on 9th April 2014 at MGR Nagar, Tholampalayam. Here, in the very rural areas in Tamil Nadu just a very few years ago the families were unorganized and lived in Purambokku land which belongs to the government. They lived in thatched huts – with very little hope…
Twoandahalfweeks in India – Peermade Development Society is a leader in organic farming
Since its inception in 1980, Peermade Development Society (PDS), has worked with the marginalized, the weak and the needy. The special programs of PDS – more than 50 (!) – aim to help the small and marginal farmers of the district by leading them to organic farming. The programs are supported partly by the German…
Twoandahalfweeks in India – Staying with tribal farmers in Sishvad
Two days spending in a rural tribal family in the mountains of Maharashtra is a journey back to the past, even in India. Sishvad – that’s the village’s name – is a location somewhere in the mountains at 1400 meters of altitude. it appears after leaving ordinary streets and passing bumpy paths in the middle…
Next month you will do better, won’t you?
Do you know this? Thinking of what is happening with your health, your relationships, your business, your surroundings, your private life – you know the challenges and you know where change is needed. There is so much we can do better: care for our partners, work in a more strategic way, start to implement long…
Social and business – the two worlds are still there. We need the big vision!
The two worlds are still there. Business thinks business and social is social. Simply said. But what about the huge trend, this trendy movement becoming big and bigger which is called “Social entrepreneurship”? Yes, that’s interesting to both organization types. People like it. Just the idea to fulfill society’s needs and to combine it with…
Which story does your enterprise tell to fight the witch?
You probably know the German “Once upon a time …” story, the story where Hansel and Gretel , brother and sister, together need to give their best to win a huge challenge against the bad witch. The family had no money to grow the children and they brought them into the dark woods… where they…
Why knowing the marshmallow test is important for creating social impact
Do you know the marshmallow test? The original “marshmallow test” was conducted by Stanford psychology professor Walter Mischel in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The test was meant to measure which children could delay gratification. Follow-up studies showed that children who could postpone eating a marshmallow at age 4 outpaced their peers in many…
From traditional marketing to social change activities – a huge challenge!
Whenever it comes to social change, the main question from marketers is: if we change our thinking, if we make social the driving element, how can we measure the impact? How can we measure the outcome? Where is the profit? Show me numbers. Indeed, the direct connection to business growth is difficult to demonstrate. At…
Changing the world: start a social enterprise or empower them
Starting an own social enterprise is one of many possibilities on how to change the world. Another one is to build a network and environment that empowers social enterprises. Which is your way? What’s happening in many parts of the world, is that there are many social entrepreneurs engaging in various critical areas: education, environment,…
Go India, go future! 