Every day, we look at everything that is going on in the Sandbox, searching for impactful projects, stories and ideas by Sandboxers. We then repost the most interesting, inspiring or brilliant stuff here on our blog.

Today Jonathan Kalan has selected four of his personal favorite shots from PuraVidaPhotos, representing the diversity of projects he is working on. PuraVida is the outlet for Jonathan’s photos from BoP Project, photojournalism at the base of the economic pyramid. For more updates, connect with Jonathan on Twitter and Facebook.

“I’ve just finished a feature article for Destination Magazine East Africa on Kenya’s vanishing wildlife. In 35 years, Kenya has lost 80% of it’s large wildlife as a result of explosive population growth, pressures on land, and increasing concentration of livestock grazing. Private-sector ‘conservancies’ are creating interesting conservation incentive structures for landowners, but it’s a long road ahead.

Kakuma, in Northwestern Kenya near the Sudanese boarder, is Kenya’s second largest refugee camp – yet refugees aren’t the only ones who need help. The host population of nomadic Turkana pastoralists, like the woman above, has skyrocketed from 7,000 in 1992 to nearly 87,000 now, and they are directly tied to the camp through a complex web of economic activities and aid. I’m currently working on a piece about the host population, and their dependancies on the refugee populations.

Vitalis Odhiambo – AKA “Diddy” – is simply a BOSS. He’s a young entrepreneur from the heart of Nairobi’s Kibera slums, and an excellent fixer for journalists. He makes a living washing cars, but is developing a business around slum tours and has a solid business plan for an internet/playstation cafe in Kibera in the coming year. All he needs? $1,000 USD.

Over the next year leading up to Kenya’s elections, I’ll be tracking graffiti as a form of social and political expression for youth across the city. Here, an homage to the late Kenyan Nobel Prize winner and environmental hero Wangari Maathai, on a bus shelter wall.”

If you are interested in more of Jonathan’s work, then check out his recent contributions to Huffington Post, Global Post and How We Made It In Africa.

Every day, we look at what is happening in the Sandbox, searching for impactful projects, stories and ideas by Sandboxers and we then repost the most interesting, inspiring or brilliant stuff here on our blog.

Today Kyra Choucroun shares with us her thoughts and impressions on the theme of sustainable growth, inspired by a recent trip to Ghana. Read the original story here and connect with Kyra on Twitter and Facebook.

GROWTH, MAD MEN AND ECONOMISTS: WHY WE NEED AN INTERGENERATIONAL AND INTERCONNECTED ECONOMY

Despite years of thinking about the traditional model of economic growth, it wasn’t until I drove through rural Ghana that it truly hit me just how spectacularly it has failed to deliver on the promise of global prosperity.

In my last blog I challenged the widely held belief that infinite growth is both necessary and viable. That piece generated a flood of responses, from howls of protest at one extreme to speaking invitations at the other. And it was one of those invitations that led me to Ghana in the first place, to share my views on how Africa can play a part in tackling the world’s most complex challenges at a youth-led conference in Kumasi.

As I travelled across the country, the scenes of debilitating deprivation and insecurity that I encountered only threw into sharper relief the optimism, intelligence and sheer ingenuity of the young Africans I met. Their commitment to get us out of a mess they didn’t get us into was humbling.

On the (many) occasions I heard the term “green economy” I found myself full of hope, not only for Africa’s future but also for our own, here in the West. It’s a familiar phrase to those of us working in the sustainability field, but – believe me – it sounds completely different when it is uttered by a villager speaking from the heart, rather than a CEO or politician reading from a script.

Everywhere I went, the same intergenerational theme became part of the discussion: Would our ancestors be proud of this decision? Will it make us good ancestors?

I met one particularly impressive young man from Dulugu, in the upper eastern region of Ghana. Godwin Yidana spoke first of family values. “We have been taken care of,” he stated with conviction, “why not repay the intergenerational debt?” Writ large, for me this underscores how we must approach building a new paradigm for growth: yes, we have inherited an imperfect world from our forebears, but what can we do to preserve and nurture what remains?

It was as if Godwin were quoting directly from the Brundtland Report: Our Common Future: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Except that Godwin didn’t need a government sponsored report, or a global summit, or an MA to figure that out, because the sentiment seems to be embedded in his very DNA, and that of countless other Ghanaians I met. In Ghana, irrespective of your personal success, if you neglect your family, you are considered a failure.

Godwin described to me a tradition in his town, in which the elder member of the family holds a parcel of land in the name of his or her relatives, with the produce being commonly owned. This sort of arrangement ensures that, in seeking to secure the interests of your family, you are invariably securing your own. I couldn’t help wondering how different the world would be if we chose to see the planet as a whole in this way.

Imagine an economy where we work less, spend more time with our families, trade, rent and borrow rather than buy, encourage intergenerational responsibility and innovation, and actively foster social connections and community. Some countries have edged toward this vision already: consider the “Dutch miracle,” when in 1982 the Netherlands government instated policies encouraging people to work less and spend more time in their communities. Within a decade the average workweek fell from 30 to 27 hours and unemployment halved.

In the Ghanaian communities I visited, “prosperity” only takes on any sort of meaning when it is shared. I saw the seeds of a new kind of growth, one that values and indeed depends upon intergenerational equity and environmental sustainability. One in which the happiness of individuals is inextricably linked to that of those around them – in time as well as in space.

As I left Ghana, I found myself reflecting on the words of Kenneth Boulding: “Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” I couldn’t agree more: it’s time for us all to grow up.

Every day, we look at what is happening in the Sandbox, searching for impactful projects, stories and ideas by Sandboxers and we repost the most interesting, inspiring or brilliant stuff here on our blog.

Today Mark Kaigwa shares with us his talk from the InnoTown conference in Alesund, Norway. See the talk here and connect with Mark on Twitter and Facebook.

Here’s a short excerpt from Mark’s talk:

“For Africa, the proponent of change, the currency of today and the economy of tomorrow in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and more recently in Egypt and Tunisia, beyond social media and the internet, it’s the mobile phone.

So if you ask me what’s the one thing I’d like you to remember the next time you think of Africa? Think mobile. Want another word? Think innovation.”

There full transcript of the talk is available here.

In addition to giving the talk, Mark managed to get his experience at the conference covered by Norwegian national television. See the clip here. Mark also took some awesome sketchnotes from other talks at the conference.

Meet Sandboxer John Roberts! Following his motto “Individually we can do little. Together we can heal the world.” John is the Founder of Heal the World, an organization aiming to improve the educational structures of developing countries. Currently he’s launching The Open University of West Africa to solve the region’s most pressing teaching challenges. Find John on Facebook and Twitter.

1.Tell us the story of your latest project / occupation.

I am working overtime to launch the Open University of West Africa: a university crafted from open educational resources, backed by a volunteer network of professors/mentors, supplemented with intensive face-to-face meetings and fueled by incentivized volunteerism and sweat equity.

2. What are you doing and how did you get there?

I am building a system of education and investment for countries that are failing to meet sufficient enrollment and income rate levels. I got here through a series of small decisions and commitments that led to a lifelong calling – it all started by buying a homeless man a hamburger.

3. Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?

What would have been my biggest failure, is becoming my greatest potential. This was made possible through the generosity, patience, and understanding of a lot of things. Long story short, the charity that I started 5 years ago, is transforming into a social enterprise. Our focus is to deliver high quality and low cost education with employment opportunities as an integral end game. The struggles of trying to do everything based on donations almost led to the failure of the whole initiative. Engaging the entrepreneurial spirit of our students with the help of many guiding hands is our path to sustainability and thus success.

4. What do you want to achieve in

a) the next week: I am currently in Burkina Faso with an architect working on school designs that are exclusively based on regionally available resources and materials. To walk away with enough information to yield designs that fall at the intersection of scalability, cost and sustainability would be very satisfying.

b) the next year: Launch the university…sorry to be redundant, but I have a bit of positive tunnel vision at the moment.

c) the next 10 years: Create a private education system in Africa at a similar scale to the public one. Since only 50% of children receive a primary school education from the public sector our mission is to match it to create employment opportunities and make full use of the skilled individuals we work with.

5. What was your most inspring moment during the last two weeks?

Working with our students on campus designs, so good to see them dream!

6. How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them.

I need one thing: money. All donations will go directly to give the first group of students at The Open University West Africa scholarships and access to the internet. This will be the first and last time I will ever ask you for money without a physical return. The second year, the students will be running satellite campuses, essentially internet cafés. This will allow them to earn money to sustain their activities as well as provide a wider basis for us to accomodate students. I can’t offer you more than satisfaction. If you have other return schemes in mind, contact me.

7. John’s favorite:

-book: hard to say.
-movie: Amazing Grace
-place on earth: The quiet before the storm
-travel destination during last year: Home
-food: Hummous
-drink: Darjeeling & IPA
-quote: “ The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the next best time is now.” – African proverb

Every day, our community manager, Noor Bin Ladin, reads through her feed of all Sandboxers’ blog posts. Every week, she chooses the most inspiring, funny or brilliant ones and reposts them on this blog. This post was written by Sandboxer Brock LeMieux, who joined Sebastian Lindstrom and the WTYSL Team on their quest for Camel Cheese.

What does the film crew of the 21st century look like? It’s rogue, under the radar and it’s asking: “What took you so long to join them?” Supported by a global network of passion-driven individuals who become part of their “skeleton crew”, the What Took You So Long Foundation is blazing entirely new trails.

Alicia Sully and Sebastian Lindstrom, founders of the creative and cultural movement, are turning the documentary film industry upside down and they’re taking you with them, playfully documenting “unsung issues and untold stories” around the world.

Camel milk, or the “new oil”, as filmmaker Alicia Sully calls it, contains three times the amount of vitamin C found in cow’s milk. Rich in iron, vitamin B, and unsaturated fatty acids, it is believed to be beneficial for people suffering from HIV-Aids. In Central Asia, Mongolia, and Somaliland, it is given to patients recovering from various maladies. From anemia to tuberculosis, the milk most closely related to human’s is even said to ease symptoms of autism.

Camel milk is commonly referred to as “liquid gold” for tens of millions of people across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The story of the camel and groundbreaking research on its milk and cheese has sent the team on a five-month trek through 15 different countries. With “Respect the Camel” as the initial title for the documentary, the team aims to raise awareness of the rapid decline of camel populations and lack of research regarding the milk’s valuable medicinal properties.

“This is an unbiased research trip” Lindstrom elaborates. “We’re not pushing anything here. It’s easy to say this is the solution but we’re simply asking for more research in the field.” What they are seeing is clear. Nomads that have herded for hundreds of years are falling into the trap of convenience; it’s far easier to care for other livestock. Meanwhile, traditional pastoral communities are losing sight of the versatile properties of a creature that symbolizes food, medicine, art, literature, and transportation in over 100 countries. There is a certain passion between man and the camel that goes almost unexplained. A bond must be created between the camel and herder. Without it, camels can become unhappy which translates directly to a substantial decrease in their milk production.

Lindstrom recounts an experience he had in Mongolia where the team aired a short on Mongolian National Television. “I’d often heard of farmers playing music to their animals but this was something different.” He goes on to explain traditional knowledge earned from a local elder, “The mother will not produce milk without the presence of her calf”. If a mother rejects her calf at birth, Mongolian lore has it that if you play the ‘hoos’ (traditional music) on a horsehair violin you will make the mother cry, feel compassion and accept the calf.

Not to be forgotten is the cheese this delicious milk can create. Watch a clip of the making of Mongolian camel cheese from Matador TV here. Camel herders claim it was man’s first cheese; an accidental discovery made when milk was stored in the stomach of a camel, the heat and churning movement of walking through the desert, naturally curdling the fresh milk. Camel cheese may be notoriously difficult to make but new technologies are changing this and the team hopes to create a network of camel researchers and investors ready to make cheese a marketable reality for pastoralists all over the world. ‘Respect the Camel’ is an attempt to further build awareness around this unsung superfood. “It’s unclear how sustainable, or awesome, (as Lindstrom prefers to say) this byproduct actually is.” With three more months left of their journey, rest-assured, the team will leave their audience with, not just a novel product to try but, a damn good story around them.

WTYSL has been traveling through Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, and Mauritania. Next stops will be Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, India, Israel, Kenya, Somalia. Know a nearby camel opportunity? Get in touch! sebastian@whattookyousolong.org

Patrick Boström is 24 years old and was born and raised in Sweden. He is currently studying in Hong Kong. Besides beeing responsible for coordinating a volunteer project with Light for Children he and his team just won the Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Challenge competition.
Patrick on facebook and twitter.

Tell us the story of your latest project / occupation.

The latest project I was working on was a volunteer project with Light for Children, being personally responsible for the coordination and execution of the project. The project was an educational initiative with the objectives to create awareness, reduce stigma, enable a dialogue and help children in the ages 10-19 to protect themselves against and prevent Sexual Assault. Throughout a 10 day travel in Accra and Kumasi in Ghana our group was able to teach at 7 different schools and reach out to around 1300 students.

What are you doing and how did you get there?

Currently I am involved in many projects related to Social Business in Hong Kong. Studying in Hong Kong as an International student and demonstrating my passion towards developing others and doing good in society has led me to the path I am currently on. Sharing your passion with others and taking action on ideas will get you a long way!

Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?

The biggest success in my life so far is going abroad to study full-time. The experiences and personal growth gained from it, far exceeds what I anticipated before going to Hong Kong. Living on your own having to take care of yourself, while adapting to a new environment and managing school work is very different from living back home. What I have learned is that we have to take responsibility for our feelings, actions and every result we get. I´m sure that once I finish undergraduate studies and can focus all my efforts towards Social Business I will experience more successes. I have not experienced any major failures, however there are always room for improvement when it comes to effectiveness and healthy living habits. We can all improve in many ways, we just have to put some effort into changing our bad, old habits.

What do you want to achieve in the next week, the next year, the next 10 years?

Next week: Win a Social Entrepreneur Competition in Hong Kong with ICE (Intercultural Education Centre), an initiative started by myself and Freddy Law Wai Hung.
Next month: Establish Young Drucker Undergraduate (A Social Entrepreneur Development Program) in Hong Kong, that continuously educates and develops students into future Social Entrepreneurs.
Next 10 years: Be the leader of the Social Business movement in Asia.

What was your most inspiring moment during the last two weeks?

The most inspiring moment during the last two weeks was going around to schools in Kumasi, Ghana, talking to principals and teachers about the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program. They were so supportive and grateful for our work, it touched me how valuable they thought our efforts were. We got asked to come back to help training teachers to be able to teach about this topic in school. After the first two days of teaching at schools, the Light for Children helpline received 5 calls from children asking to meet with staff to help them deal with assaults they have experienced. That is a good indicator of the impact that the Light for Children volunteers made.

How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them.

Light for Children are always looking for passionate volunteers that can give a helping hand at orphanages for HIV/AIDS affected children, teach about Sexual Assault Prevention in schools and to help out at hospitals in Kumasi. We accept volunteers from all over the world, throughout the year, as long as you are passionate and want to make an impact! People in Ghana are very friendly and you will have a great time living there with a host family, learning the local language Twi and eating the local cuisine. Ghana is a peaceful and beautiful country. The experience of giving as a volunteer is something that I recommend whole heartedly. Let´s get going!

Patrick’s favourites:

Book- The lost symbol
Food- anything spicy
Drink- fresh milk
Quote- “To predict the future you have to create it” – Peter Drucker

Humphry is originally from Cameroon but right now living in Kristianstad/Sweden. He is a computer science student, activist in the non-profit sector and prospective entrepreneur. He believes that given the appropriate tools in life each individual can maximize his/her full potential. Hence he is determined to make use of his full potential and see others achieve the same. We interviewed him by email to learn more about his latest projects.

Tell us the story of your latest project / occupation:

It all started out of the passion of us two young minds (Humphry and Samuel) back in 2006 that we thought of a way to make impact in our society. Having brainstormed on some of the things needed by our society for economic improvement, this led us to set the ground work for the formation of our organization “City Of Light” Foundation which embodies the amelioration of IT in Cameroon, ensure food security by investing and improving in the use of modern agricultural techniques, improve health situation in Cameroon as well as improve the educational sector and social status of orphans. In December of 2006 our application which had been submitted was approved giving us the go ahead to operate.

What are you doing and how did you get there?

Given the fact that the organization involves different areas in its mission, we are determined to first take one thing at a time and top of our priority is working on setting up an IT training centre and to help schools to implement a virtual desk top system in schools to help students access their information on any desktop provided they are connected to the internet. What motivated this initiative is through the help of Paul Gleger a fellow Sandboxer who suggested G.ho.st Inc could be of help to us.

Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?

Initially failure in management was our point of failure and this made us not to be a able to comply with the demands of the opportunity given to us by Digital Links for the supply of computers in 2008 and this was because we were zealous to operate everything at a go. However we have learnt that success is in stages hence we have decided to prioritize our objectives and achieve one thing at a time. As successes I will say us being registered was an initial point of success and followed by it has been that we have been able initiate dialogue with some school principals on the use of the G.ho.st Inc. virtual desk top in education for students.

What do you want to achieve in the next week, the next year, the next 10 years?

As objective for the next two weeks and the next year I hope that the initiative of implementing the facilities offered by G.ho.st Inc be implemented in the education sector. In the next ten years and beyond I expect we must have been able to build credible and sustainable partnerships with likeminds over the world , make a nationwide impact in regards to our missions (i.e. provide quality IT training, education, health, improve social standards for the underprivileged) and be and NGO of model where we can be able to be self sustaining and not relying solely on donor organizations.

What was your most inspring moment during the last two weeks?

The most inspiring moments I have got recently was when I took time off listening to TED Talks from Andrew Mwenda and Chimamanda Adichie which I am still enjoying so much.

Sebastian Lindstrom -originally from Sweden- is the founder of the “What Took You So Long Foundation” that shares skills, experiences and knowledge in support of grass-roots NGOs. Last summer Sebastian crossed Africa using only public transportation together with other young travelers; in search of people who are making a difference to young people in need. At the moment he is participating at the COP15 Conference on Climate Change. Sebastian on Twitter and Facebook.

Tell us the story of your latest project / occupation:

Right now I am off to COP15 to fight climate change, then documenting grass root progress in Papua New Guinea and then finally in Jan-Feb back in Hong Kong to finish our Documentary about the Unsung Heroes of Africa!

What are you doing and how did you get there?

Hours of discussions with people around the world. How to create change? How do you arrange non-profit organic growth? How to best spread best practice ? After discussions in L.A. 2 years ago about a possible Motorbike trip through India we have come far. Finally we decided to cross Africa by public transport; in search of people who are making a difference. The power of ‘giving’ enabled us to cross Africa with basically no-budgets. All our money was spent on VISAs. We lived free and most of the time we ate for free.

Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?

Biggest success: Managed to get 2nd in my Military Battalions’ orientation competition. (I cant even read a map; hehe – it was a miracle!)

Failure; Launched a semi-serious denim Brand at the age of 17; average jeans cost of Jeans via Yahoo stores at 250 USD. Sold 0 pants.

What do you want to achieve in a) the next week, b) the next year, c) the next 10 years?

a. Get a lot of people to ‘pledge’ cash/money to support us at Kickstarter (You will get a DVD of our odyssey sent to your place plus more!)

b. I will then be graduated. Hmm. I should probably have some kind of money generating job. Running NGOs is not sustainable as I don’t take out a salary. If anyone know someone that wants to employ me after June (Graduation) please email me at Sebastian@whattootyousolong.org

c. 10 years. I plan 1 day at a time. This is not fair! 2-3 Kids. One wife. A dog?! Location; must be somewhere in Africa. Or central Asia? Kazakhstan has always been the perfect Utopia for me.

What was your most inspiring moment during the last two weeks?

Today when Andreas B. Brenner wrote:
I donated this morning and I hope others will follow. I think this is one of the greatest projects I have come across with some of the most energetic people on this planet behind the scenes.And then>

Sandbox:
@Andreas we couldn’t agree more!

People are so nice. I just feel like I want to take 2 years off and give me to all those who have helped me.

How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them?

Yeah yeah! They can please ‘pledge’ 20 usd to receive the African Expedition doc that we are putting together! Also they can spread the word to friends and family to do the same! We can be the change!

Sebastian’s favourites:

Book- Mountains beyond Mountains; the story of Dr. Farmer!
Movie- Pray the Devil Back to Hell (Liberian Women movement doc’!)
Place on earth- Mauritania’s dessert
Quote-  ‘Don’t get frustrated with limitations, work with them ‘ Eric Coomans (Old NGO friend from Northern Ghana!)

A 15+ strong mix of Sandbox and WTYSL related talents joined forces on the 21st of June during a night long dinner event with discussions ranging from grass root brainstorming to heat problems in Rome.

Inaugurated by a photo-session at Trafalgar Square, some Sandbox members and WTYSL-adventurers manifested the new cooperation around great food and smooth wine at London’s Obika Mozarella Bar.

Sebastian inspired us by his plans to make WTYSL a global movement, and indeed some Sandboxers already mentioned their interest in joining for one of the next trips. The outstanding talents WTYSL will recommend to Sandbox during their trip through local communities in Africa will complement the global member base of Sandbox, and will enable Africa’s next generation of leaders to be recognized on a global scale. We wish WTYSL all the best of luck and energy for their exciting project!

We are very proud to present you our newest partner, the What Took You So Long Foundation. Co-founded by Sebastien Lindstrom (25), a swedish Sandbox member based in Hong Kong and by Hong Kong Brit Evan Fowler (29), the movement aims to help grass roots NGOs by giving them publicity and access to a global network of volunteers. By traveling to Africa, WTYSLF will also contribute to spread the Sandbox word further, connecting us with the most extraordinary talents that they will meet on their way.

The WTYSL Foundation wants to inspire young people by example, beginning with a 14,200 kilometre trip from Marrakesh to Johannesburg down the west side of Africa leaving on 23 June. In the spirit of true international co-operation, Lindstrom and Fowler will travel with five young colleagues, all aged 25 or under, from Japan, the USA and Hong Kong. They will be using public transport like the locals and visiting 20 small NGOs en route.

We have all heard of the “butterfly effect” – that a wing beat on one side of the world can eventually cause a tornado on the other. Small actions often have huge consequences. Yet people feel disempowered and hopeless in the face of ‘big’ issues like poverty or war or social injustice. “What difference can I make?” they say. “I’m just one person, nothing I do will change anything.” But the actions of a few can change the world. One small stone kicked down the mountain of inertia can start an avalanche of hope. Fowler and Lindstrom firmly believe in the power of “just doing it”.

They aim to celebrate unsung heroes, the people whose efforts make a huge difference to the locals but who are unknown outside their own small circle. I met an amazing Dutch guy called Eric when I took a group of Hong Kong students to Ghana recently, says Fowler. He is virtually a one-man band, living and working in a tribal community on the border with Burkina Faso. He has set up a small charity to help kids who’ve been abandoned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. I asked him if he had applied for any funding and he told me that the paperwork would take up too much time which could be spent with the people he needs to help. And they probably wouldn’t give him funding anyway. It’s people like Eric that we want to tell the international community about.

We are going to share positive, hopeful stories, adds Lindstrom. We are not going to dwell on the stereotyped clichés of misery and hopelessness, because Africa isn’t like that. It’s full of positive, enthusiastic individuals who are striving to achieve their hopes and dreams. We can learn from them as much as they can from us.