The database of mentors

The learning contract

The log sheet (to keep a record of your meetings)

The non disclosure contract (to cover you if you have to share sensitive commercial information as part of your mentoring)

To whet your whistles…we have a fantastic bank of mentors waiting for you and are very excited about working with you all.

All the info you need to set up your mentoring is in this section of the blog, so have a look and see you shortly.

How’s it going with your business ideas? Why not post a message to tell us what you’re up to? Or add your profile in the

People found James’ in-put inspiring and informative, so here’s some notes of his presentation for those who couldn’t be there.

The idea grew when James and Amanda read that 1.2 billion people don’t have access to clean water – as he said, it’s a difficult thing to get your head round. It’s been a two year journey of learning and exploration to find out what the problem is.

‘Poverty is all about access’  – their market research showed that people may have the money to buy water: they’re paying twice what people pay in the west, but there isn’t water close enough to where it’s needed. People live 1-2 k from the source and making several journeys a day, can walk up to 20 k daily –  work that’s often done by children who might otherwise be at school. Not only is the problem one of transport, the water is also dirty by the time it reaches home, so there’s a problem of filtration. The third problem is one of storage – at home it gets dirty again.

The design of a simple wheelie filtration system that solved all three problems was, in James’s words, embarrassingly simple. Whilst studying for their degree, Red Button founders also spent a year developing and site testing the prototype – ‘get it out there and get it tested!’

The real development happened as part of that process: meeting up with people from Malawi to Nigeria who would both use and manufacture Ross (their mobile water filtration system), brought them into contact with an incredible number of innovative people with ideas and local know-how to make dozens of different varieties of the original prototype to meet locally specific needs – so now, not one product but potentially, an infinite number of unique designs.

Deciding to maximise the benefits of local production led to more ideas – why not use the workshop in the evenings for classes? Why not set up co-operatives to make sure the profits get shared fairly? ‘the benefit isn’t in the water carrier, it’s in the small scale manufacturing.’

The value added through working collaboratively is impressive. Selling the idea to NGO’s has been another journey but Red Button have been able to prove that clean water has a 1-6 cost benefit ratio so for every £1 of aid that goes into Ross, £6 gets returned – a good argument for investment.

‘We’re problem driven!’ says James and it was clear from what he said that every problem was an opportunity to learn, widen the network and develop new solutions.

‘We could have spent two years perfecting our product and then gone to market – only to discover that there were already lots of competitors and that our model wasn’t in fact perfect’. By testing Ross in the market place, James and Amanda opened up a world of relationships and opportunities, developing ways of working that help to fight poverty. They looked at the barriers people have to overcome in order to beat poverty themselves and then worked with them to help them do so.

Of their partnership James said: one of the reasons we’ve come so far is because we have completely different skill sets. You need three people to make a company: one to make, one to market, and one to count.

By the way – according to James, Red Button are short of someone to count…could that be an opportunity?

You can read James’ blog here

Inspirational people – Paul suggested checking out Jane Jacobs – an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for over 40 years. Her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, became perhaps the most influential American text about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of urban planners and activists. Her efforts to stop downtown expressways and protect local neighborhoods invigorated community-based urban activism and helped end Parks Commissioner Robert Moses’s reign of power in New York City. Also recommended – the Design Council website for all sorts of info on market research and how to do it.

Last ideas fest…next Monday16th November at Cluny 2…join us!

All these can be found here

All this has come about after me deciding that I had to get on and create
work which is important to the future rather than simply important to
current funding fashions’

GET INSPIRED  -  READ LEARNING FROM EXTREMES!
‘That kind of disruptive innovation may not come from the best schools. It is much more likely to come from social entrepreneurs who often seek to meet huge need without the resources for traditional solutions: teachers, text books and schools. Disruptive innovation frequently starts in the margins rather than the mainstream. Governments should continue to look to the very best school systems to guide improvement strategies. But increasingly they should also look to social entrepreneurs working at the extremes who may well create the low-cost, mass, participatory models of learning that will be needed in future. Download the full report here

2009

Seven Stories was the venue for ideas last Mondayevening. A lovely group brought along their shouts about learning – why are we fixated on   qualifications? Why do we have to make choices so young? Why is the academic way the only way? We want to change DIRECTION! We want learning that meets the needs of individuals…we want learning that recognises the knowledge within.

The imaginary guest list of people to inspire included Bill Drummond, Montessori, Steiner, and oh yes, the Chancellor of the Exchequer should come along to listen and maybe put his hand in his pocket. Great food from the chefs at Seven Stories and  some good feedback from the people who came along – next up – health on Thursday and poverty next Monday – join us if you haven’t already.

This is what people have said so far…

…great chance to meet some great people with shared values and ideas to create change in our community…excellent way of sharing and building ideas…great opportunity to potentially realise your aspirations and career dreams and goals…

jane's magic wa

May 24th 2010

New news! Here’s a ningsite dedicated to the kind of things we talked about at our FOI on the environment – its called ooooby (out of our own backyard)

October 2009

Pheww – we made it! Twelve lovely people met at Cluny 2 with the making it_ team and special guest Mick Marston, one of the founders of Byker City Farm and currently development manager for the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. The craic was fine and the food pretty good too (thanks Rachel!). No lack of issues here – locally grown food, homelessness, how to save the bees, climate change, how to get young people to care for the environment, how to stop wasting food, how to grow your own – and almost every issue involved increasing social cohesion. Being creative folk, solutions were plenty, ideas buzzed and more than one potential business concept got aired.

Lets be hearing more from you and all you folk out there who didn’t make it_last night. Here’s some pics. You can go to our facebook and post some comments or add comments here.

Next event – next Monday November 9th – Learning – register here if you haven’t already.