Economic Recovery

In April we have been honored with invitations to present our Relief 2.0 model and the Markets of Hope project at two international TEDx conferences across the globe.

TEDxSilkRoad: Borderless Creativity and Commerce brought us to Istanbul, Turkey where we had the privilege of sharing the stage with distinguished speakers from IDEO, CuteCircuit and Universities from around the globe.

Photos from the top of the Hill, taken on March 2011 and Mar 2012.

After the Tsunami, the survivors were living in make shift shelters in schools across the city. After a few months, the government built temporary homes for the displaced and the first few people who moved in May 2011. The survivors were given the following amenities to get them started in their homes: (Some get it pretty late, and not all the items are present during move in)

1) Air Conditioning
2) Television
3) Refrigeratior
4) Washing Machine
5) Microwave
6) Rice Cooker

Kadonowaki elementary school

On Mar 11, 2011, an earthquake off Fukushima Prefecture triggered a tsunami that hit Ishinomaki.

There are 362 students and 19 teachers and academic staff dead or missing in Miyagi Prefecture alone.

I'm currently planning a project to bring art from the artists living in the affected areas in Japan to different parts of the world like NYC, Boston, Singapore, Taiwan and Mexico to help them sell their art and create awareness for the Relief 2.0 movement. One of the goals of this Art Festival is to change mindsets from donation based to one of conscious buying, which would give dignity to survivors who work and earn their own money and benefiting the economy in the disaster areas. I believe that this will accelerate the recovery process.

Billions of dollars were pledged and a significant percentage of that has been spent in Haiti's disaster recovery related processes. But how much of that has made it to the people? With even the most conservative estimates, the money actually destined for Haiti should be enough to provide for at least 6 months or a year of income for the entire population in Haiti. A population that could be actively involved in the reconstruction of Port-au-Prince and restoration of the National economy instead of being systematically sidelined and excluded from the recovery process.

As we get ready to launch the Market of Hope on-line store in time for Christmas, we've been curating, evaluating and selecting products to offer from our visits with Peace Boat to Guatemala, Haiti and Panamá, as well as our visits to Japan and the Dominican Republic.

Here is a first look at some of the products from Guatemala, commercialized by Sara Payola and her husband Pablo Coxaj Morales at the general market in Antigua.

If you can not wait for our marketplace to open next week or prefer to contact them and buy directly from them, here is their contact information:

The main goal of Relief 2.0 Enterprise is to promote sustainable disaster recovery with dignity, inclusion and generation of wealth and opportunities. Our Relief 2.0 Marketplace is an important part of this strategy and one of the many paths to achieve this goal.

It was an honor to host a Relief 2.0 workshop on board Peace Boat, an organization that has been key in mobilizing a continuous flow of volunteers and placing them at the service of the people of Tohoku, not displacing them but enabling them to more themselves with their strength and support, not making choices for them, but serving them in whatever task or manner the local people and organizations choose and decide.