Wednesday, January 12, 2011

How to Change the World


It's hard to imagine that one quarter of the world's population or one and one half billion people still have no electricity. Bihar, India's poorest state, has over 60 million such disadvantaged people.

Now an enterprising young company, Husk Power Systems, has "created a system to turn rice husks into electricity that is reliable, eco-friendly and affordable for families that can spend only $2 a month for power. The company has 65 power units that serve a total of 30,000 households and is currently installing new systems at the rate of two to three per week."

David Bornstein's essay about this encouraging endeavor entitled 'A Light in India' was published in the NYT.

He has also written the book How to Change the World. "What business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are the driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up–and remake the world for the better."

Bornstein is also founder of dowser.org 'who's solving what and how.'

It's interesting to think about how social entrepreneurs can help to facilitate positive social change.

Link provided by Good.is