Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love | Video on TED.com

If you're interested, here's a link to a cool TED talk by the co-founder of Kiva:

Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love | Video on TED.com

Kiva

We want to introduce all of you to an awesome organization that we have really enjoyed over the past year.  Kiva.org, is an online peer-to-peer lending site to support microfinance and microentrepreneurs all over the world.

Here's how it works.  You create an account, put money on it, browse the site for someone you want to loan money to (in $25 increments), click a button that transfers the funds, wait a couple of months and the money is returned to you.  At that point you can either have it transfered back into your bank account, or you can lend it out again.  Kiva has a 99% repayment rate and has facilitated 170 million dollars of loans to date.

Mandy and I have used this site multiple times.  We've invested in people living in towns we've lived in or traveled to.  Our current loan is to this group from Jinja, Uganda (A town we would travel to for delicious food located on the headwaters of the Nile).

It's really easy, lots of fun, and a great way to make a significant impact.  The best part is that you can do it over, and over, and over.  At least 99% of the time :)

Puppies!

The school has a new set of puppies.  Mandy spent hours with them yesterday.  Their names are Chopper, Osito (little bear), and Hornito (little oven, because he sleeps in the oven).

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I don't know what to say. I think I'm glad I read it. It's about a Baptist preacher who moves to the Congo with his wife and four daughters. It is kind-of like Little Women, except the sisters hate each other. Though it is long at times, it gives an important perspective on colonial Africa, which still has so much to do with Africa today.



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Writing & Graphic Design Project

So, in some of our spare time, Tay and I have created another blog that we plan to update every Monday.  I want to do more writing and Tay wants to do more graphic design.  A blog seemed like a good idea.  It was originally going to only showcase Nobel Peace Prize winners (hence the name) ... but it has evolved to be about anyone who has done things to make the world a better, more peaceful place--through education, health, business, etc. 

Anyway, we won't send you weekly updates or anything, but if you'd like to look around on it, feel free.  Also, let us know if you have any suggestions for people to spotlight or ideas to improve the site. 

Blog Address: iprizepeace.blogspot.com

Off to Kenya

By now, you are all wondering what in the world we are doing with our lives.  First we spent a summer in Uganda, then I graduated with a degree in accounting and turned down all of my opportunities to work with the national accounting firms, then we moved to India, then to Paraguay, and now to Kenya.

So, either we are crazy or..... crazy.  Let me explain what it is I am trying to do.  Uganda changed our lives in a way we can never really articulate.  It was the catalyst for over a year and a half of reading, networking, and learning about international development and social entrepreneurship.  I went do a bunch of conferences, took classes, read tons of books, and met amazing individuals in the industry and found a passion in what they were doing.   I am so excited about the opportunity to solve social problems through markets.

We spent a few months in India working with some amazing social businesses, and now have spent a month in Paraguay with another internationally acclaimed social enterprise.  All of these opportunities have given us great experience in this international social business space.  Next stop Kenya.

We'll be working for the Asante Foundation (Formally the Pope Foundation).  It is the umbrella organization that owns and operates Yehu Microfinance, Coast Coconut Farms,  Basa Body, and Bonvi.  All of which are social business start-ups.

We'll be living on the beach with the CEO and his wife.  Louis Pope (CEO), is an LDS business owner who recently moved from Springville to Kenya.  He founded US Synthetic, a artificial industrial diamond company.  It has been rated as the best company in Utah to work for, and at one point was the fasted growing company in the United States.  Louis is a very experienced social entrepreneur.   We are really excited to learn from him and work in the industry.

The plan for now is to live in Kenya for at least a year.  My hope is to continue getting international social business work experience for a couple of years and then return to the States to pursue an MBA with an emphasis in social business.

We feel really good about where our life is heading and feel blessed to have so many awesome opportunities.  We are sad to be away from family for so long.  We miss everyone terribly, but feel that this is what we are supposed to be doing at this stage in our lives.  

One of Tay's Designs

This is an example of the type of stickers that Tay's been working on.  As part of their marketing campaign, we think it's important for them to let people know what makes their products unique.  One thing they want to start stressing is that their products are 100% organic.  Hence, the new label. 

By the way, you should check out this recent documentary on food in America.  Tay and I just watched it last week.  It was really well done--an Academy Aware nominee.  It talks about the corn industry, the meat industry, giant seed companies, organic farms, etc.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I wonder if any of the farmers in Goodland have had similar experiences with huge farming companies.  You can watch a trailer and learn more on their website @  http://www.foodincmovie.com/. 

La Queseria

Last week, Escuela Agricola San Francisco began selling their products in a high-end shop in Asuncion called La Queseria.  (FYI: "La Queseria" means "the cheese shop" in Spanish.)  Our new friend Julia, invited us to check out the new venue with her.  Armed with our camera, Taylor and I took the bus to Asuncion for the second time.  Unlike last time, which was a little confusing, we went with full details of how to get where we needed to go.  About two hours after leaving home, we arrived at the Marisca Lopez Shopping Mall.  Excellent.  We met Julia and Manuel, who drove us over to the new shop.  It was exciting to see Cerrito (the school's brand) products on display.

That trip to Cerrito has opened up a few more doors for things we can work on here at the school.  We are now working to create a marketing plan for the school, which will include some advertising work as well.  Stay tuned because Taylor has been working on some labels that are looking amazing.  We'll post a few in the next week.

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I just finished reading this inspiring biography. In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life's calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the life saving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Tracy Kidder's magnificent account shows how one person can make a difference in solving global health problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease. Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes people's minds through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity".



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Mandy Saves the Day

We were out taking pictures this morning and found that the door to one of the pig pens was broken . One of the new piglets had gotten out. We cornered it around the side of the barn and Mandy grabbed it. But, not before Chicle (the farm dog) lightly placed his teeth on the piglet's neck! The piglet was squealing in terror.... so was Mandy.

In the end, we secured the piglet and returned it to its hippo-sized mother. Close save.

Double Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Mumz and Grandpa!  We love you!

General Conference

It's amazing that we can watch general conference on a laptop from a remote farm/school in Paraguay.  Except for a power outage that lasted all Sunday morning, which prevented us from seeing that session, we were able to watch conference streaming live from Utah with no problems.

One of our favorite talks was Elder Richard C. Edgly's talk on choosing faith over doubt, fear, the unknown, the unseen, and pessimism.  Taylor thought Elder M. Russell Ballard's fly fishing analogy was good.  We also liked President Uchtdorf's address on simplifying our lives, though this week we have probably taken his counsel a little further than he would advise.  It's been...a slow around here.

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Taylor and I both loved this book.  It's a fascinating and enlightening read by a woman I have come to really respect.  Novogratz has spent her whole life trying to improve the lives of people in developing countries.  She has great insights on what works and what doesn't.  I especially admire the way she is able to balance hard business skills with compassion.  This book will make you laugh, it will make you cringe, it will make you cry.  You don't have to be into social business or development to enjoy it.  I highly recommend The Blue Sweater to everyone.



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Fundacion Paraguaya

For those of you who haven't seen this awesome video about the organization we are working for click on the link below. (I'd just post it here on the blog, but youtube is blocked here at the school) It was created by the Skoll Foundation. They are a fascinating organization created by one of the worlds greatest philanthrocapitalists, Jeff Skoll.

Movie Link