How can innovative ideas help the poorest.: LiveSimplicity discussion forum

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How can innovative ideas help the poorest.

I remember the drinking straw that was developed which made muddy water perfectly good for drinking. Can't simple cheaps appliances be developed for this category of people?And it would not be in the form of charity. They could buy this kind of stuff by using for example micro credit.

View A

How would these appliances reach the people? Would it be easier to eliminate the cause of the poverty than to make them into a population of 'assisted' people?

View B

Instead of making complicated plans on how to completely eradicate poverty, these simple solutions could be used to gradually diminish it. One example of an appliances is a micro-fridge which would use Solar Power.

4 comment(s) so far

chrisek thinks: It isn't hard to ship a water pump to Africa to ensure a village has clean drinking water. It isn't difficult to teach people and give them basic tools to help them survive and thrive. Those that are less fortunate need to be taught to care for their own, not just given the things they need. They need to be able to sustain themselves rather than rely on outsiders for survival.

JBonnin thinks: The straw mentioned above is just one of those perfect revolutionary ideas: cheap, simple, able to benefit big populations.

However ideas like this one are fruit of deliberate research directed to the problem of poverty. Poverty can only be faught through a strong political will combining both immediate assistance and long term programs.

Simpler thinks: check out this wood burning stove. it eliminates the cooking smoke that kills many poor people, while allowing more cooking to be done with less fuel - thus reducing CO2 emissions. it can even be produced locally. I think this is a nice example of how technology can help the poor... check it out:

Thorsteinn thinks: http://www.aidmarket.org</p>

AidMarket's mission is to provide a marketplace for foreign aid and philanthropic work. An open source market for individuals and organizations to propose small-scale projects that promise positive development given piecemeal improvements. AidMarket enhances the impact of aid on poverty reduction by enabling donors to get more involved in the development effort. AidMarket is apolitical and will maintain account transparency. Our long term goal is to improve the quality and availability of educational material to the poor.

I AM part of the solution. How are You involved?

The world is full of miserable places. One way of living comfortably is not to think about them or, when you do, to donate money to some large fund that has a particular mission. AidMarket is set on providing another way for donors to get involved.

To get involved, institutions, agencies, companies, groups, and individuals must, at no cost, register as an agent. When you register as an agent on AidMarket.org, you become an "I AM". Agents can contribute anywhere from a few dollars to thousands of dollars to the project(s) they find most worthy. Agents can assume responsibility for particular necessities or cost particular expenditures. AidMarket enables donors, in a sense, to 'shop' for the means of their contribution.

Not all I AM agents must assume responsibility for particular necessities. However, for sustainable development, someone must be responsible for the integral parts of any given project. Those who wish to limit their involvement to the contribution of funds can either contribute to a project fund or choose to cost something on the work order that doesn't require any future responsibilities.

The "I" is assigned to agents to increase their sense of individual accountability. The transparent bookkeeping of AidMarket enables agents to monitor the effect of their involvement. It gives donors the opportunity to observe the benefits of their contribution, as opposed to seeing it drowned in the total sums of international agencies. Agents will have the right to rate the cost/ben analysis of particular projects so that the projects that are most needed will surface and are made more visible. Similarly, the I AM agents can rate the overall performance of double I AM agents (II AMs).

When the time comes, AidMarket will establish a prestigious award for those I AM and II AM agents whose effort and achievements stand out. This award, in combination with individual accountability and the visibility of progress, will increase the weight of pride in one‘s work as well as the incentive one has for reaching positive outcomes. I AM part of the solution. How are you involved?

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