BRINQ

The play goes on - Projeto BIRA (Brazil)

Patrick@BRINQ — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:15:32 +0000

A few years ago - when I was getting started with BRINQ - I was thrilled to come across the work of Renata Meirelles and David Reeks, a Brazilian American couple that was working hard to document and share the toys and games of the Brazilian Amazon. Their stories of what they discovered and shared were truly inspirational and I had hoped to meet up with them on one of their trips back to the U.S. Unfortunately the timing didn’t work out and I have since moved on to other projects, leaving my task of building a global toy chest sadly neglected. However a recent discussion on the Omidyar Network about recycled crafts and toys sent me looking for David and Renata’s work and I was delighted to see what they’ve been doing in all this time.

Linking Into the BoP

Patrick@BRINQ — Tue, 22 May 2007 16:42:33 +0000

...I decided to go poking around my Linked In network which now consisted of 97 1st degree connections, 5400 2nd degree connections, and close to half a million people within six degrees of reach. It wasn’t long before I started looking for other people who also worked in the Base of the Pyramid. About 65 connections came up, interestingly enough most of them at 2 least degrees away or more: meaning I have few direct connections working in my own field.

However, I was thrilled to find so many interesting people working in the BoP. Five year ago when I started working on projects in the BoP it was hard to find anyone that knew anything about, but now there are numerous consulting organizations, start-ups, corporations and universities employing people to focus on the BoP. I even found a life coach!

BoP Conference - Business with Four Billion

Patrick@BRINQ — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:23:49 +0000

Ted London just sent me the latest conference announcement for the UMich/Cornell BoP conference in September. You can see more below, as well as a link to the latest Conference Announcement (PDF). Please pass the announcement on to people who may be interested in attending. Space is limited. Patrick www.bop2007.org BUSINESS WITH FOUR BILLION Creating Mutual Value at [...]

BoP Book Discussions

Patrick@BRINQ — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:35:23 +0000

“All learning integrates thinking and doing. All learning is about how we interact in the world and the types of capacities that develop from our interactions.” - Presence, Peter Senge et al

This new section here at BRINQ is to discuss that thinking/doing interaction: interesting books and what implications and lessons they offer for someone working on-the-ground at this particular intersection of business, poverty, and innovation. Most of the time the discussion will be about books read recently, but sometimes it will be about books read long ago that new experiences in the BoP brought back to light. On the surface, not all of the books that will be discussed offer obvious connections to the BoP - and some of the books are old to the world but new to me - but these books and articles have demonstrated their relevance during several years of work with companies and communities in the BoP.

Preserving the local soil - Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice

Patrick@BRINQ — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:32:18 +0000

“Silver bullets rarely work like we expect them to and often kill off the sheep in lieu of the wolf…”

A discussion of Mark Plotkin's "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice" and its lessons for work in the BoP

The old caboclo woman stopped abruptly in her explanation of the plant in her hand and stared to the back of our group, at the tall, sun-browned, shirtless man who had just stepped into her garden. “Ele é índio?” the old midwife asked excitedly, “ele entende muito de plantas, ervas, remédios?!” The newcomer had been just about to snap a photo but the force of old woman’s reaction startled him into almost dropping his camera. He turned to my girlfriend Amber and I with a confused look, “What did she just say?”

I chuckled out loud and translated for him while Amber explained to the old woman that no, our friend Kenny was neither a “native” nor from the jungle, that he was originally from Hong Kong and - as an energy trader on Wall Street – Kenny’s particular knowledge of stocks and plants probably wasn’t quite what the old woman was hoping for...

Re-imagining BRINQ

Patrick@BRINQ — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:36:21 +0000

Well, after yet another long, long absence finally an update. Old friends of BRINQ may have already noticed that there have been a few changes around here. BRINQ.com is now sporting an updated look. There’s an updated front page, a new Photo Gallery, content tags for articles on the BRINQ Bloq, as well as updated content on the information pages: the About BRINQ and What is the BoP? pages in particular.

The About BRINQ page describes what may have been obvious for some time now, BRINQ’s change in focus...

BoP Interview at WDI

Patrick@BRINQ — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 23:36:39 +0000

About a year ago Ted London, Director of the Base of the Pyramid research initiative at the William Davidson Institute (WDI), kindly asked me to come out to the University of Michigan Business School to do a guest lecture in his MBA class Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid. Ted was previously a professor and Director of the BoP Learning Lab at UNC while I was a student there and we had worked together on project to explore innovative business models for renewable energy technologies in the BoP. During my visit to Michigan - which also included a guest lecture for Mike Gordon’s Social Enterprise: Innovation in the Information Society course - Ted also interviewed me about my experiences working in the BoP and with the BoP Protocol in Kenya.

Belated Postcards from India and Brazil

Patrick@BRINQ — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:56:34 +0000

Everyone knows what it’s like… you’ve got stack of postcards, a head full of great experiences and even with all your best intentions, you just get too caught up in what you’re doing to write it all down and pop them in the mail. Well writing posts can be the same way, so here’s a belated summary of the last six months in India and Brazil.

Exceptional Lives - Pilgrimages about People

Patrick@BRINQ — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:47:01 +0000

I’ve often said that one of the greatest joys of my work is the exceptional people that I get to meet and to develop friendships with. Whether or not it’s Salim Mohamed and Sammy Gitau in Kenya, Murali Ramisetti in India, or Theresa Williamson in Brazil, I have been blessed to know so many people who are busy painting their visions of a better world into reality. So I’ve often wondered, “What it would be like to just go on a pilgramige to find and learn from such people?” Well Exceptional Lives, the blog of Dublin, Ireland’s Clare Mulvany, is chronicling such a journey.

I’m a CatComm Champion - Join my pledge!

Patrick@BRINQ — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 18:30:34 +0000

Here’s an opportunity to help me support an incredible organization that we’re working with here in Rio, one that is helping local communities throughout the world solve their own problems. I have agreed to become a CatComm Champion, pledging $500 to support Catalytic Communities’ unique work with community leaders around the world, but only if I can inspire at least 50 of my friends and colleagues to each contribute $50 or more to match my pledge (for a total of at least $3000).