Fairtrade ANZ: PSR Team meet producers from around the Pacific in...

Fairtrade ANZ: PSR Team meet producers from around the Pacific in...: It took a fair bit of organising but the Fairtrade ANZ Producer Support and Relations Team's first ever Fairtrade Meeting in the Pacific was...

From my Outbox: Confessions of an Optimistic Economist: Nui $1 A Day can change the world...

Good Evening Evriwan,

Trust you are all well.

I have just return from and extended but exciting trip to Vanuatu, working with cocoa growers on fulfilling shipments to Germany as well as the Pacific Growers ExportPartnership (PGEP) project on creating a low cost, multi-certification (Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance) platform for coconut/cocoa growers.  The latter being a world first. it is indeed a privilege to participate in the unfolding process and our hope is to register around 1000 cocoa and 1000 coconut growers in pilot project to prepare for certification.

In terms of my personal process, I have become aware that combining ‘ueber-ambitious’ with ‘under-capitalised’ will over time, most likely lead to positive innovation and negative cash flow.  The Nui $1 A day Organic LifeStyle product, of which all of you have/ intended to or are participating, is indeed born from both. 

I was set a mission by the Nui team to create a 5 minute video to explain functions and interactions of the concept within my Organic Economy model, especially the importance of “demand driven development”. The demand created/driven by you  for Pacific Island product and ingredients through the redemption of your $1 A Day credit.

Alas, like a true economist, my Nui 1 a Day briefing  took me 20 minutes to tell you the bigger picture, without much of the required detail.  Accordingly, I have attached  a copy for our Fair Trade for a Fair Go Charter and the Organic Economy model.  As much as my communication skills can still improve, I know I am writing to all of you as we share a similar vision; one of working towards making the world a better place through  more ethical, sustainable and fair trade.  I speak to many of you often and learn much from our discussions and the past year’s $1 A Day pilot has been an invaluable experience for me personally and for us as a team in AP/Nui to understand the correct functioning and process of the product.

I am aware, and extremely grateful that many of you have seen the $1 a Day fund as an investment in myself to get the project going.  Tony Snell, for putting down the first $1 to challenge us to just do it, …Gavin Pereira for trying to get his head around making it more sexy…Steve Sulis for his advice for communication to come from the heart, Karemie Williams for challenging to be No 100 to which we never got in the pilot…to Niran Jiang to keep our focus on simplicity and  economic leadership…Cameron Neil in understanding the Social Return on Investment of the model…Keith Walker highlighting transparency…Sherri-Lee & David Green  for endorsing the underlying principle of no-separation, ..the AP/Nui team for showing solidarity and community …and Jeff Watson for taking a random punt on us, but knowing well the difficulties of development in the Pacific and PNG.  I thank all of you for making $1 A Day a reality.

This reality is that the $1 A day Product, no matter what the definition, efficiency or outcome, still competes in the market for the charity $’s that we and millions of fellow aspirationals pay each day to charities and NGO around the world, to ensure a better outcome in our world.  Not all these millions are spent well, or economically efficient and I strongly believe that the Nui $1 a day program:

•  Is an important aspect in creating social competition for the charity $ and social infrastructure support.

• Has the three fundamentals required for sustainable trade development:  demand pull, trade facilitation and equity /saving for growers

• Has  strong commercial and business foundation that will inspire and enhance island commerce and entrepreneurship

• Has an extremely efficient administrative rate of 10%

• At 1000 participants guarantees AP/Nui as sustainable platform for commerce and social activism, bringing stability and continuity into the pacific region, a key ingredients for positive development outcomes.

• At 10 000 participants has the potential to change the world through empowering enough people to change the expectation of growers and the poor to what positive business and the healing power of profit can achieve.

There is still much for us to learn, but from small things big things grow.  There are many admin changes and David has credited each account with the 30% dividend of the payment total reached, so it should be much easier to redeem your credit.  Please remember that the drawing down of the credit catalyses the economic demand to a sustainable future.  I will be in touch with each of you in the next week or so to discuss this as well as the Equity savings so far, which amount $2,137.50 and the spending of the facilitation funds with Bula Organics in Fiji. 

We are also clear that as per the original modelling, the $1 a Day program is a product of the proposed AP Foundation for Social Equity, and African Pacific Pty Ltd will be administering the product only until such time as it takes to get the Foundation incorporated.

Although all of you showed interest, some never started, some stopped, many remain, I remain indebted to you all for your engagement.  This, like all Nui products, is not a hard sell, , but an offer to those of our demographic, to engage in an organic lifestyle.  To grow the idea, I would like to challenge all of you to sign up another.  If there is any resistance to this concept, please let me know, as it will give me an indication of where we are.  For those who never signed up…may I challenge you to do so…and for those who have questions or criticisms, I will be in touch, please let me know.

I am a strong believer in the mystical truth of no separation ; that the truth may set us free and in the principle of “defencelessness”, all of which I hope are entrench in the Organic Economy model. I believe that much anxiety is relieved through the building of community and I am eternally optimistic, encouraged and energised by the belief that 10 000 people paying a $1 a Day…can change the world for 3.5 billion people living on a $1 a Day.

I thank you again…look forward to speaking to soon, and for those of you in Sydney that wish to pop into the Organic Expo at Darling Harbour this weekend to say hi, look at new products, or discuss the Organic Economy, please do not hesitate to contact me on my mobile, 0412 611 877 and we have passes to ease you through the queue first.

Tankiu tru…lukim yu

Blessings

- - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - -

andreas b lombardozzi

economist & value chain architect

-------------------------------------------

Nui $1 A Day : Live Fair │ Nui Chef : Live Well │ Nui Spa : Live Beautiful │  

Nui Generation - Live Fair - www.nuigeneration.com     Facebook MySpace Twitter Blog

A division of African Pacific Pty Ltd

www.africanpacific.com

PO Box 377; 7/21 Tepko Road, Terrey Hills, NSW, 2084, Australia

(t) +61 2 9986 3444; +61 2 9986 3355

(f) +61 2 9986 1911

(text) +61412611877

(skype) drcoconut