Imagining Sustainability Seven visions on green IMAGINING and fair economies from SUSTAINABILITY the global South 1 Seven visions on green IMAGINING and fair economies from SUSTAINABILITY the global South Imagining Contents Sustainability page 6 Searching for the Good Life “Your Own Tomatoes page 8 Really Are Sweeter” page 64 The Miracle of Blue Skies Experiencing page 48 the Sanctity Unemployed of Life Youth Regain page 32 their Pride as City Farmers page 24 The Good Life page 56 Wanted: Brave “Seeds are the Very People Source of Life and page 40 Women are the Ones who Manage that Source” page 16 4 5 Imagining Sustainability Seven visions on green and fair economies from the global South Faced with an accumulation of Cordaid and Both ENDS work with crises, government leaders, intel- people who are able to bring their lectuals, journalists, and CEOs have visions of a green economy to life. embarked on a global search for We collected the visions and in- a green and inclusive economy. sights of seven visionaries located Simply realising that today’s domi- in various developing countries. nant models for economic growth Each one of them has a unique are the problem is not a solution. approach to transforming his or There is, simply put, no ultimate her dream into concrete, local solution, no blueprint for the future. initiatives that not only focus on This is all the more reason to stand inancial considerations but also aside and give visionaries, prophets on ecological values and basic hu- and searchers a shot at it. We could man rights. These visionaries show deinitely use a push at this time us that a green and just economy to help us escape from all of our is entirely within the realm of pos- acquired habits and ideas and that sibility. push will no doubt come from some This collection of remarkable vi- unexpected corners of the world. sions from unexpected corners of When we examine our daily lives, the world allows us to encourage we become inspired by those people those who are ready to be inspired who realise their innovative ideas in their search for a sustainable and actually manage to put them world. Anyone who would like to into practice. Ideas that combine work on these initiatives presented visions and a realistic estimate of here by our southern visionaries what the current chances of success and help in the development of actually are. These ideas combine these and other innovative initia- knowledge and experience, and are tives is invited to contact us. brimming with energy. It is these ideas that allow us to go on dream- ing of better ways to organise our lives, our time and our work. They stimulate new ideas about how we René Grotenhuis (Cordaid) and can make the world a nicer place. Daniëlle Hirsch (Both ENDS) 6 7 Images are the engines behind change. Maybe we currently don’t have enough images, and so we’re unable to progress towards the building of a more sustainable and just world. Attractive ideas abound, but we still lack the vision to set us in motion. Or is our view simply too narrow, too limited? How about the images of people from Searching for the other parts of the world, the very places where our raw materials and products come from, but Good Life too little inspiration? Do the thinkers and doers in other parts of the world have the visions that could help us think out of the box and, in turn, stimulate new ideas that can stir us to action? Hans van de Veen and Han van de Wiel photo Doug Wheller; Howard Lake; LamaZone; Step It Up 2007; Dave Sag; 6201135231_97a3ae6ed8_o; SEDACMaps; Oxfam International; Bread for the World; Rob Friesel; Oxfam International; Oxfam International; Fibonacci Blue photo - My Hourglass [Cloud] 8 9 Searching for the Good Life The dreams and visions of a diferent, better society, have always been a source of inspiration. “I have a dream”, declared Rev. the Cradle2Cradle principle, the African and Latin American prod- as Chee Yoke Ling from Malaysia, Martin Luther King in the 1960’s, a dream of a world without waste ucts are reaching our shores; their have been part of this process quotation that certainly ensured and framed within a perfect closed ideas and visions seldom reach us. for some twenty years or so. She him a place in the history books. cycle. Prior to that, new concepts Are we not open to them? Are they was one of the most prominent His dream of a United States free such as sustainable development, making too little effort to reach us? spokespersons of the – then still of racism, where everyone enjoys corporate social responsibility and, In any event, we are depriving our- so-called – ‘Third World’ during the equal opportunities, became the more recently, the Green Economy, selves of the visions that originate irst Earth Summit. All of the in- symbol of one of the largest eman- were also sources of inspiration. elsewhere, and with them, poten- terviewed visionaries have strong cipation movements ever. On the other hand, one observes tial out-of-the-box ideas from parts criticism for how free market The dreams and visions of that these visions have not actu- of the world we know less about. thinking and globalisation af- a different, better society, ally managed to mobilise crowds, We need to do something about fect their own societies and have always been a source of especially not in the West. We this situation. the world as a whole. This criti- inspiration. Visionaries have have grown increasingly sceptical, Therefore, prompted by Both ENDS cism is nothing new. But what moved the masses cynical even. Credulous individu- and Cordaid, we, two Dutch jour- does their ideal soci- throughout his- als have all too often been disap- nalists, started searching for new, ety look like? How tory. From Jesus pointed by self proclaimed leaders inspiring alternatives from the rest would things be of Nazareth who promised them paradise. We of the world. The following pages different if they to Karl Marx, seldom fall for this type of rheto- include numerous interviews with were in power? Mahatma ric. We also stopped believing in a prominent thinkers, doers and These are some of Gandhi society that can be transformed. analysts from the South. We would the questions we to Nelson The idea of a group of motivated like to make it clear from the start asked them. Mandela: people realising actual changes that we do not pretend them to be they’ve inspired has been portrayed as either naive in any way representative of the Dare to Dream people to take ac- or fanciful. That’s why we no long- entire spectrum of ideas regard- On YouTube there is an interesting tion and did this by coming up with er like talking about visions (let ing a green economy. We chose ilm about the Donella Meadows an attractive message: all efforts alone dreams); we prefer scenarios, from a list of names supplied to us Leadership Fellows (http://bit. are worthwhile because God’s which give us the room to produce by Both ENDS and Cordaid. This ly/uDyc8w), entitled Vision 2050. Kingdom, or a classless, nonviolent the best possible results. list includes their contacts, their Participants were asked to envi- and just society, is close at hand. There is also something else: colleagues in the South. They are sion the year 2050 and – this is Are we still dreaming these same concepts like Cradle2Cradle or people who are familiar with both even more dificult! – imagine the dreams today? Are there still vi- the Green Economy are Western actual practice and participating planet is all right, everything is go- sionaries around who can in- visions that originated in North in international conferences where ing well in 2050! “Now close your spire us? There is no single unani- America and Europe, and are they regularly meet one another eyes. What do you see?” The par- mous answer to this question. chiely Anglo-American capitalist- at venues around the world. They ticipants’ responses varied: “I see Visionaries appear regularly and based ideas. And so, where are the have all been active in the lead- solar panels on every rooftop.” “I present us with their appeal- analyses, experiences, and dreams up to the Rio+20 conference, as see people knowing each other’s ing and inspiring ideas. Think of of non-Western thinkers and do- members of one or more work- names.” “Older people who tell those people who came up with ers? While more and more Asian, ing groups. Some of them, such stories that others are listening to 10 11 Searching for the Good Life again.” “I see windmills lifestyle that is so appeal- ply: Which future? Who dares to and mini-power plants in ing that everyone wants dream of a better and more just the river so that children to adopt it. Then, you have world these days? And, to make it can study at night with to begin thinking about perfectly clear, it didn’t necessar- electric lights. The message how to realise this. But ily need to be a feasible vision of of the movie is clear: “You that’s a dynamic process, and this world or a world you were will- can’t make it happen if you can’t the outcomes are uncertain. So I ing to settle for, but the world you even imagine it!” will not speculate.” truly desire. Blue Skies This may be true, but daring to She is probably right.