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Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Steve Wright

Although its cost has come down considerably since its mid-20th century introduction, solar power remains prohibitively expensive for most homeowners and business owners. Utility companies that operate in sunny regions are steadily building massive "solar farms," but rank-and-file folks still have a hard time justifying the costs of rooftop solar panels. Fortunately, many states offer powerful solar power incentives that make the technology affordable and economical for regular homeowners. Without further ado, here is a list of the best and worst states for solar power.

The Best States for Solar Power

Several U.S. states offer a smorgasbord of solar power incentives that significantly reduce installation and maintenance costs for rooftop panels. In some cases, enterprising homeowners may actually earn regular income from their at-home solar arrays. At the moment, the best states for solar power include New Mexico, Colorado, California and several Northeastern jurisdictions.

New Mexico: Not Content with Its Blessing

New Mexico is blessed with near-constant sunshine, but it isn't content to rest on its laurels. By 2020, its "Renewable Portfolio Standard" will require a full 20 percent of the state's total power output to come from renewable sources. Homeowners can earn up to $9,000 in tax credits towards the purchase and setup of solar panels.

Colorado: High Cash Flow in the High Plains

Colorado is another sunny, dry state that's not content with its natural bounty. Its subsidy model is a bit less centralized than New Mexico's: The individual utility companies that operate in this bastion of rugged individualism offer per-kilowatt subsidies to homeowners who set up solar panel arrays. For instance, Holy Cross Energy and Poudre Valley REA offer rebates of up to $1.50 per kilowatt-hour for solar-endowed homeowners. Such subsidies pay for upfront installation costs on an ongoing basis.

California: No Surprises Here

While California's weather is a bit more variable than New Mexico's or Colorado's, it's the third "sunny" state on this list. It's also recognized for the groundbreaking anti-pollution measures it enacted in the 1960s and ‘70s. These measures live on today in the form of a $3.3 billion subsidy for California's booming solar panel manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, the New Solar Homes Partnership offers individual homeowners incentives of $10,000 or more to construct efficient homes with built-in solar power arrays.

The Northeast: Small States, Big Incentives

The small states of the Northeast are barely visible on national maps, but some of them are leaders in the drive to increase solar power usage. In light of the region's moist, often cloudy climate, this is a truly remarkable achievement.

Massachusetts is making direct payments to school districts and municipalities that install photo-voltaic arrays on new or existing structures under their control. These are projected to top $70 million per year for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Connecticut is on target to meet its ambitious goal of producing 27 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020. It's accomplishing this feat by offering direct payments to homeowners who install solar power or retrofit their homes. Finally, tiny New Jersey's total solar capacity is second only to California's. The state has aggressively courted solar power companies and promises to offset the cost of homeowners' solar water heater installations through its WARMAdvantage program.

The Worst States for Solar Power

Unfortunately, there's a yin for every yang. The following three states are clearly lagging in the drive to adopt solar power in a sustainable fashion.

Missouri: Wasting an Opportunity

Like many Midwestern states, Missouri has a wealth of renewable energy resources. While it's not known as one of the nation's sunniest states, its northwestern corner receives more sunshine than almost any area to the east. Unfortunately, Missouri offers few if any subsidies for regular homeowners who wish to install solar panels on their rooftops or in their yards. While individual cities like Saint Louis may offer some subsidies, these tend to be scatter-shot and are often scaled back or eliminated by stingy lawmakers. As a result, Missouri continues to use coal for more than 80 percent of its power needs.

Mississippi: Depression-Era Policies

Once upon a time, Mississippi was a renewable energy leader. During the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority constructed a number of massive hydroelectric dams around the Southeast. For a long time, these dams provided much of the power that Mississippi's homeowners and business owners used. Unfortunately, the state uses more coal and oil every year. Aside from "legacy" contracts with existing TVA customers, Mississippi offers no significant incentives for families and business owners who want to use solar power or other forms of renewable energy. Accordingly, it's regarded as one of the most expensive places to set up a solar power operation.

Oklahoma: Volunteering for Disaster

While Oklahoma purports to support solar power and other types of renewable energy generation, it offers only a minuscule subsidy for these purposes. Worse, its laudable goal to generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 is unenforceable: The state has refused to penalize businesses that don't comply and forces homeowners to pay upfront for solar panels. As such, it's highly unlikely that Oklahoma will meet this target. Even if it comes close, it's much more likely that big wind energy businesses will be the driving force.

Final Thoughts: Place Matters

As a large, politically diverse nation, the United States has not been able to achieve widespread solar power adoption on a national basis. In this respect, the country lags behind European counterparts like Germany and Belgium. However, individual U.S. jurisdictions have had tremendous amounts of success in subsidizing the cost of solar power installation for homeowners and business owners. States that offer a wide range of subsidies and credits are sure to become even more attractive to solar-powered businesses in the years to come.

About the Author:

Steve Wright works for Whirlwind Steel Buildings. They manufacture a diverse line of metal buildings including steel warehouses, manufacturing buildings and aircraft hangars. Whirlwind Steel Buildings, Inc. is a LEED certified company that manufactures pre-engineered steel buildings and metal building components. They provide comprehensive building solutions with services ranging from design calculations to building erection. They also produce eco-friendly solar rack systems that reduce dependence on natural resources and mitigate environmental impact.

Interns in the UK are to get more support to protect their right to fair pay, as the government launches new advice for young people and cracks down on unfair practises.

The new video and posters - produced by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) in collaboration with 4Talent (TV broadcaster Channel 4’s in-house intern scheme) - explain to people leaving education and making their first step on the career ladder what their rights are in relation to being paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW), where to go for more information and what action they can take if they feel they have been exploited. Information available to young people will also be boosted online and through social media such as the NMW Facebook page.

Alongside the new guidance, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who enforce NMW on behalf of BIS, will be sending out letters to 200 employers who have recently advertised intern opportunities and unpaid work. The letters will alert businesses that HMRC will shortly be carrying out a series of targeted checks to make sure employers who have advertised internships are paying all their workers the correct NMW rate.

Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson commented: "Leaving education and getting a job for the first time can be daunting for any young person. Internships can provide an important first step and are often a valuable way of helping young people start work. They should be open to everyone in a fair and transparent way.

"Not paying the National Minimum Wage is illegal and if an employer breaks the law, government will take tough action. Already this year HMRC has issued penalties to 466 employers. Anyone considered a worker under the law should be paid at least the minimum wage, whether they are an intern, or someone on work experience.”

Picture credit: © Abdone | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

UNICEF is urgently appealing for $34m to aid the more than four million children of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which ripped through the archipelago four days ago.

"With every day that goes by, thousands of children are becoming weaker and more vulnerable to disease," said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Representative in the Philippines. "The collapse of water and sanitation systems, and destruction of homes and schools, all are putting children at huge risk and in need of urgent help."

The appeal is a first estimate of the requirements needed to help children and their families survive and recover. It is expected to cover the first six months of relief efforts.

Some UNICEF supplies have already been delivered, including portable toilets to hard-hit Tacloban. A truck hauling hygiene supplies (including soap, detergent and personal hygiene items), education materials and recreational materials is also making its way to the area.

UNICEF is purchasing 10,000 water kits and 10,500 family water kits locally, as well as water tablets for 6.3 million liters of water. From its global supply warehouse in Copenhagen, UNICEF is sending over 20 generators to power water treatment plants. Over 1,200 water quality testing kits are also being sent, as well as collapsible water containers. UNICEF Philippines is currently in the process of moving 10,000 packs of water purification tablets, 3,000 hygiene kits and two water treatment units into affected areas.

An estimated 100,000 children under the age of five, and 60,000 pregnant or nursing mothers were displaced by Haiyan. 

UNICEF is also working with local authorities to identify and register children who may be separated from their families. UNICEF will use funding to support strengthening national, regional, and local government bodies, including local and barangay councils for the welfare of children since these institutions have been weakened during previous emergencies.

In response to the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Global Impact has established the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Fund to address critical humanitarian needs in the hardest hit regions.

Contributions to the fund will support the rescue, relief and rebuilding efforts of Global Impact’s alliance of US-based international charities. Donations will provide people and communities in need with clean drinking water, food supplies, relief kits, necessary medical attention and safe shelter.

Many Global Impact Charity Alliance partners are on the ground, poised to respond, including: AmeriCares, Children International, Doctors Without Borders, Heifer International, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, UNICEF, and World Vision Inc.

“Major disasters require both short-term disaster relief and long-term international support to fuel recovery efforts,” stated Scott Jackson, president and ceo of Global Impact. “We are setting up this fund now so resources will be available to meet immediate needs after the storm and to establish long-term sustainable programs for rebuilding.”

Picture credit: © Andre Klopper | Dreamstime Stock Photos

German multinational corporation SAP is supplying technology and training to Colombian coffee farmers in an attempt to help them develop more sustainable business practices.

The software giant has teamed with the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and the Manuel Mejía Foundation, the educational offshoot of the FNC, to run the project as part of its CSR programme.

With technology continuing to be scarce among rural communities in Colombia, SAP has donated technical training to more than 500 coffee growers, teaching them how to effectively use mobile tablets and computers.

They will also learn how to use the “coffee portal,” which runs on SAP technology. Using the new coffee portal on their mobile devices or computers, farmers and their families can obtain relevant information such as coffee market news, geographical farm information, coffee purchasing conditions, incentives and support programmes.

“Like SAP, we are committed to sustainable business practices, and FNC is dedicated to supporting rural coffee communities,” said Luis Acero, chief operating officer, FNC. “Working with SAP is essential to bringing technology to rural areas of the country. Helping farmers become familiar with tools like the coffee portal and access to the portal, gives them access to important business information that helps shape their market activities.”


Picture credit: © Johanna Goodyear | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Jeffrey Puritt

Though its advent still seems quite recent, the outsourcing industry is going through a noteworthy maturation process. For evidence, one can start by looking at India. Best-known as the largest outsourcing destination for the Fortune 500, India’s outsourcing dominance is now being slowly eroded by other regions with young, educated, lower-cost workforces like the Philippines, as well as locations offering multilingual talent like Latin America and Eastern Europe.

More country leaders are realizing the positive aspects that outsourcing can bring to their people and their emerging economies. For example, though poverty is still a major problem in India, wage increases from the booming outsourcing industry of the late 1990s and early 2000s have helped create a large and growing middle class. The same is happening in the Philippines now, with more young people benefiting from stable, in-demand jobs.

But even as the industry enters into the equivalent of middle age, outsourcing still suffers from a long-standing image problem. As I write this, there is a bill on the floor of the US Congress to explicitly discourage outsourcing in the call center space. Introduced by Congressman Tim Bishop, the "US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act of 2013," would bar corporations that send US call center jobs overseas from receiving federal grants and loans.

While the concern regarding domestic job displacement and the political debate over outsourcing is understandable, I believe that focusing only on the negative is equivalent to “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” There is another side to this discussion. What rarely comes up in the outsourcing discourse is that there is a growing segment of the industry that is capable of, and focused on, delivering positive social outcomes, particularly in the developing world.

The Social Benefits of Business Process Outsourcing

In the Philippines, the government actively touts the job creation potential of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as one explicit tactic to promote poverty reduction. Across parts of Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia, organizations like San Francisco-based Samasource are working to bring the benefits of the digital revolution to unemployed young people through outsourced call center jobs.

Other industry players have even been working to rebrand “outsourcing” to the less controversial “impact sourcing,” a term coined and promoted by Digital Divide Data (DDD), a non-profit social enterprise that offers outsourcing services in developing countries. Like many progressive outsourcers, DDD focuses its efforts on poverty alleviation by attempting to provide access to decent-paying jobs and skills development for folks who might not otherwise be employed in the BPO sector.

In a recent Huffington Post article, DDD co-founder Michael Chertok writes that, “while international aid for economic development often fails, business has the potential to bring millions of people out of poverty. For no enterprise is this more true than the unsung $300 billion industry known as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).”

Business as a Poverty Alleviation Tool

DDD’s is an effort that I applaud. It offers a tangible model for bringing the benefits of outsourcing to small, rural and remote areas. The spread of modern telecommunications ensures that impact sourcing will continue to grow and provide opportunities for poor people around the world.

Still, there’s no doubt that impact sourcing remains in its infancy. In many ways, it reminds me of the financial industry’s attempts to increase access to credit among poor populations. In the past 20 years, the concept of microfinance (making small loans to poor people, often women) has emerged as a powerful force against poverty. Providing access to capital helps would-be entrepreneurs and small business owners to help themselves.

But to achieve the greatest possible scale of social benefit, some argue that small non-profit microfinance institutions can’t do it alone. Without the protective regulation of banks, they may not be able to attract sufficient capital necessary to meet demand. Thus, their impact could be stunted.

One could make a similar argument about outsourcing. While small players and non-profits can undoubtedly make an impact at the margins, larger players operating with a progressive mindset have an opportunity to drive larger-scale, country-level change. But they must be committed to social impact and not be purely driven by profit.

Of course, some outsourcers will struggle to fully embrace the benefits of engaging in socially responsible business. For them, the status quo of cost-cutting and margin management persists, and they’ll continue to seek lower costs at all costs. But over time, I believe they too will evolve as local employees, communities and the clients of BPO services insist upon partnerships that combine bottom-line results with meaningful social change.

Progressive Business Process Outsourcers

As BPOs have matured, they have realized how community development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and promoting employee well-being positively impact staff retention and service quality. A new white paper that my company, TELUS International, published with CSR consultancy Impakt Corporation called Outsourcing for Social Good: A BPO Perspective, describes how recognizing the positive impacts of social responsibility have created a dramatic transformation in the way many traditional BPOs operate.

Progressive BPOs are going beyond increasing employee salaries. They’re increasingly offering programs that help employees and their families fundamentally improve their lives.

For example, some firms now offer onsite post-secondary and college-level education for their employees. Contrary to the expectation that educating the workforce would increase staff turnover, many BPOs are finding the opposite to be the case.

Progressive BPOs are also increasingly mobilizing employees to volunteer in their communities by supporting basic needs like building roads and schools, as well as volunteering for local grassroots charitable organizations. In addition to building concrete value in the community, these efforts engage employees in work they find meaningful, and corporate volunteer activities demonstrate to employees that the company cares.

Social Change – An Investment that Pays Off

Changes like these aren’t rooted in altruism alone. BPOs aren’t compromising their own profitability by contributing to developing-world communities. Rather, they’re taking the long view and understanding that the more investment they put into their community, the more value it will cultivate.

It’s an investment that pays off. According to the TELUS International white paper, when a business helps improve the lives of its workers and their communities, it enables the business to improve its value for customers far beyond cost savings. Investing in people and communities actually improves the quality of the firm’s products and the effectiveness of its services as their employees reward their employers with a higher degree of loyalty, engagement and productivity.

Increasingly, socially responsible companies like the technology heavyweights in Silicon Valley are aligning with these progressive outsourcing firms for the social change they create, as well as the quality of service they provide. BPOs today are going above and beyond business as usual – getting involved in their communities to produce amazing results.

As our industry matures, we’ve got real successes to demonstrate – hundreds of thousands of individuals’ lives and entire communities which have been improved through global business.

Our challenge, however, lies not just in producing sustainable results, but in evolving the public perception of the outsourcing industry, particularly here at home in North America. That means spreading the word, and working with all willing partners to continue to create real, measurable change. Domestic employment opportunities are a real concern; and this issue warrants real discussion and meaningful, progressive solutions. But in my view, putting the outsourcing genie back in the bottle and pretending that we don’t all live and work in a global village, however, is not the answer.

About the Author:

Jeffrey Puritt is President of TELUS International, a global BPO provider of contact center outsourcing solutions. With locations throughout North America, Central America, Asia and Europe, TELUS International’s almost 16,000 team members support the customer service needs of some of the world’s largest and most respected brands. Learn more at: telusinternational.com.

Connect with TELUS International on social media:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TELUSInternational
• Twitter: @TELUSint
• Google+: plus.google.com/+Telusinternational/posts

G4 Online is a new web-based tool to support organizations preparing sustainability reports using the latest generation of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The GRI Guidelines are the most widely used sustainability reporting framework in the world.

The free to use website presents the content of the G4 Guidelines in an easy-to-navigate format, and is designed to support users directly involved in a G4-based reporting process.

GRI says reporters who have a basic understanding of the G4 reporting process can use G4 Online to access definitions of key terms and concepts, as they prepare their report as well as information referenced in the G4 text, such as references to other globally recognized sustainability reporting frameworks, via links to third party websites.

The fourth generation of the Guidelines, G4, was launched in May 2013 and has been revised and enhanced to reflect important current and future trends in sustainability reporting. This includes an increased emphasis on ‘materiality’ which GRI believes will make reports more relevant, more credible and more user-friendly.

Nelmara Arbex, GRI’s chief advisor on Innovation in Reporting, said: “G4 Online will make the experience of reporting easier. For report authors, it provides a more convenient way to navigate G4 content, with key terms and definitions just a click away. We are very curious to know users’ reactions to this first version of G4 Online.”

In the coming months GRI will gather user feedback and carry out consultations with experts, which will be used to inform further development of G4 Online.

Picture credit: © Ronalds Stikans | Dreamstime.com
 

Claudine Blamey, sustainability manager at The Crown Estate is to become the new chair of the voluntary board of directors for the Corporate Responsibility Group (CRG).

Blamey will replace Yogesh Chauhan, corporate sustainability director at Tata Consultancy Services UK, who steps down from the board after six years of service; three of which as chair. 

The new appointment comes at an exciting time for CRG with the imminent launch of the first professional body for CR and sustainability roles, the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS), planned for 2014.
 

Submitted by Guest Contributor

By Richard J. Crespin, CEO Crespin Enterprises & BCLC Senior Fellow

No one owns honey bee pollination. As with almost anything in a highly specialized society, a commercial beekeeper owns her bees but not the means of making the inputs or outputs of bee pollination. She doesn't own the land or the crops and flowers that her bees depend on for forage, that is to say, for food. She relies on farmers and other surrounding landowners to feed her bees. Nor does she own the distributors and stores that bring the crops and flowers her bees pollinate to market. This specialization has wonderfully increased the production and distribution of food.

It's a problem, though, when a tough problem arises where no one party stands to lose or gain in the short term, but where we all stand to lose or gain in the long. These are problems "in the commons." Just such a problem threatens honey bee health.

Colony Collapse: Who’s Problem Is It?

The recent Honey Bee Health Summit held at Monsanto’s Chesterfield Village Research Center in St. Louis and co-hosted by Project Apis mP identified a set of potential problems causing declining honey bee populations. These included poor nutrition due to lack of a multivariate diet, the varroa destructor mite and its accompanying viruses, and pesticides which exacerbate the other two problems.

The beekeeper doesn't really "own" any of these problems. She can’t control what is planted on the land where her bees look for food. The varroa mite, an invasive parasite that burst on the scene in the early 2000s that attaches itself to bees and weakens their immune systems making them susceptible to a battery of viruses, isn't owned by the beekeeper. She owns the decision about whether or not to use miticides to treat her bees, but that's it.

Bees come into contact with pesticides when they forage near agriculture, mainly when they pollinate treated crops, but the beekeeper doesn't have the decision of whether or not to treat crops with pesticides, nor does she completely control where her bees range.

"Bottom line: the vast majority of managed colonies in the U.S. contain a population of bees that requires intensive husbandry, chemical control of parasites, and is dependent upon supplemental feeding, similar to other livestock," wrote Randy Oliver in a recent entry on his Scientific Beekeeping blog.

What Does This Mean for Improving Honey Bee Health?

It means even if you had the perfect scientific solution, you would still need a complex social solution.

Let's take forage. Bees, like humans, need a multivariate diet. "What is important to bees, other pollinators and beneficial insects are the weeds, native plants and brush between the rows [of crops], on the field margins and ditch banks and in hedgerows and woods," writes Oliver. "It is these plants that provide the steady mix of diverse nectar and pollen upon which colony health is dependent. Such bee-friendly flora used to be a common feature in agricultural lands. But today’s farms often appear 'sterile'—all the pasture and biologically diverse 'natural' areas have been cleared and herbicided right down to bare soil."

Many activists blame large agribusinesses for creating these bee food "agri-desserts" through the proliferation of monocultures; when in fact, the spread of monocultures are due to, "the application of the recommendations of [USDA] agricultural extension agents and the economic reality of farming." These recommendations and their resulting intense and highly specialized farming practices arose in response to a growing population worldwide with an expanding demand for more and more food produced on less and less land by fewer and fewer people.

Scaling Long-term Investments

Solving the forage problem lies outside the control of the beekeeper. If the answer is to plant more varied crops, weeds and wildflowers, the farmer would need to do it on his land, thereby giving up production capacity, i.e., revenue. Planting more varied crops raises his cost to plant, manage and harvest. Solving the bee nutrition problem requires the active cooperation of at least three parties: the USDA to change its recommendations on farming practices, the farmer to plant forage and the beekeeper to place her bees in the right fields.

And this demonstrates the problem of problems in the commons. No one party stands to gain or lose in the near term but we all stand to gain or lose in the long term. In fact, the short-term incentives may actively work against long-term solutions. The USDA, the farmer and even the beekeeper have limited to no short-term interest in solving the problem. In fact, the farmer's immediate interest is to maximize production on his land, so giving up land to plant forage runs directly counter to his interests. Solving this problem will require developing solutions that benefit farmers and beekeepers while addressing the need of an ever hungrier planet.

When we work to solve big social problems, we need to take a step back and look at the social aspects as well as the scientific—what some might call the "soft" as well as the "hard" problems. Even if we come up with great "hard" solutions, if the social structures aren't in place to implement them, they will persist.

About the Author:

Richard is the CEO of Crespin Enterprises, a boutique consulting firm working to bring companies, NGOs, and governments together to create commercial innovations that solve problems in the commons. He is also a Senior Fellow of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He lives with his wife in Falls Church, VA where they practice extreme parenting with their three young children.

Voting is now open for L’Oréal’s annual community recognition awards in the US.

The Women of Worth programme recognises women who embody the spirit of the French beauty giant’s cosmetics brand L'Oréal Paris – ‘Because You’re Worth It’ - through commitment to their communities.

From helping victims in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, to enabling terminally ill seniors accomplish their bucket lists, to building a nonprofit restaurant that helps at-risk youth learn life skills, this year’s nominees come from a wide range of backgrounds.

The 2013 contenders, selected by a panel of judges, each receive $10,000 for their charitable cause. A National Honoree will be awarded an additional $25,000 when voting closes on 20 November.

The contenders for the $25,000 are:

• Somy Ali, president of No More Tears, nonprofit organization devoted to rescuing victims of domestic violence and helping survivors with assistance to meet basic needs; 
• Tricia Baker, co-founder and co-director of Attitudes in Reverse, a nonprofit organization to educate society about mental health and combat negative perceptions about mental illness;
• Patty Boles, executive director of Straight From The Heart, Inc., a nonprofit resource center that provides critical support, mentoring, must-have items and resources for foster children and their caregivers;
• Lauren Book, founder and ceo of Lauren's Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse through public awareness, education and political advocacy, and to help survivors heal;
• Maria D'Angelo,founder, president and ceo of The Children's Lifesaving Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to serving and transforming the lives of homeless and at-risk children and families in LA;
• Kimberly Iverson, founder of Bucket List Foundation, a nonprofit which grants end-of-life or "bucket list" wishes to the terminally ill;
• Lori Lee, founder of Me Fine Foundation, a nonprofit founded in memory of her son Folden Lee, IV, which provides resources and financial assistance to families with children being treated at Duke and UNC Children's Hospitals regardless of race, diagnosis, religious affiliation or economic status;
• Estella Pyfrom, ceo of Estella's Brilliant Bus, a nonprofit fueled by a state-of-the-art mobile learning center and network of opportunities where children and families without home access to technology or internet can learn vital computer skills.
• Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, teacher and founder of Classes 4 Classes, Inc., a nonprofit organization developed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy whose mission is for every student in the US to learn compassion, caring, kindness, empathy and consideration;
• Susan Garcia Trieschmann, executive director of Curt's Cafe, a nonprofit restaurant that provides training and support for at-risk youth while offering the community a place to "dine with a purpose".

Votes can be cast at the dedicated website WomenofWorth.com and on the L'Oréal Paris Facebook and Twitter pages.
 

Our Sunday mornings lately have begun with kale, cauliflower, and heaps of carrots. Once a week, our neighbors gather to harvest veggies from our local community supported agriculture (CSA) farm. It is a worker-share arrangement, so each member contributes a couple hours of time each week or  pays in a larger sum to receive a share of the farm bounty. There is an element of surprise each week as we discover what we are harvesting and thus bringing home. By design, this unique business promotes resiliency, teamwork, and a deeper relationship with our food.

Little River Community Farm was founded by three members of Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage (BC&E), a multigenerational community in Midcoast Maine on 42-acres that will contain 36 units when complete next year. The arrangement between the two organizations is a symbiotic relationship, allowing community members to have fresh produce grown just beyond their doorstep and the community helps provide the infrastructure and support to the young business.

When my family made the move from Wisconsin to Maine, we arrived in August with no established garden. The CSA was just beginning to harvest the fall share and we had instant access to high-quality and extremely local veggies.

The CSA is boosting the soil quality of the several acres it uses by planting buckwheat, millet, vetch, and pea cover crops that boost nitrogen, retain topsoils, and boost organic matter, thus increasing the fertility of the land for years to come. BC&E has just three unsold units and having an on-site CSA offers a unique benefit to potential homebuyers.

“To me, a really important part of being a member of BC&E was there being a farm where we would raise food and work together,” says Jeffrey Mabee, a member of BC&E and Little River Community Farm. “The CSA has really answered my prayers about that. Having young farmers using the land in such a responsible way feels right. The farm feels like the heart of any intentional community. It has a much greater significance than merely producing food.”

The farm began operating this fall with 11 paid shares and several free shares for those who traded use of a tractor or tools. The farm will become profitable once it has more than doubled its shares.

CSA and worker-share CSA farms in particular are generally small in scale, as the market for people willing to put their hands in the dirt is relatively small and it is more difficult to have a strong connection with the members as the membership grows. Members can participate, regardless of experience, as every task is explained.

"If you're going to take seriously the 'community' component of it, and if one of your goals is to have strong ties with your members and have your members have strong ties with you, maybe there is a point where the CSA can't really get any bigger," says John Hendrickson, an outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems in an interview with NPR.

The support from BC&E has been essential for Little River Community Farm to have a successful first season, including having people trade use of a tractor or tools for a free share in the CSA. “It’s great to work with the community and have the support,” explains Amy Adamson, member of BC&E and one of the founders of Little River Community Farm. “Starting a farm without support can be a huge investment of time and money to establish the needed farming infrastructure.”

There is a desire by many BC&E members to see the farm become lucrative for its founders. “There are cohousing communities that have grown high-priced vegetables that restaurants are willing to buy, such as mushrooms and mixed lettuces,” says Judith Grace, Jeffrey’s wife, and a member of BC&E and Little River Community Farm. “That’s been the way they’ve been able to turn a profit. Maybe this group will decide to do that.”

To replicate such a project, Adamson says finding a market is really important, as interest and knowledge of CSAs varies widely across the country. Interest in contributing labor will also vary widely, as it does require a time commitment from members.

“I think its tough for people who can’t come to the weekly harvests [to meet their work commitment],” says Jenny Davis, a member of BC&E and Little River Community Farm and Amy’s wife.

Some of the downsides of a worker-share CSA are luxury problems: having to use or preserve four bunches of kale in one week, learning to prepare less known crops such as mustard greens, and helping out in cold or rainy weather. This has caused community members to make jokes about using kohlrabi as a paperweights and learning to weave baskets with green onions.

This scenario can also create an opportunity. I've learned to freeze and pickle a variety of veggies this year and I have a large stockpile for the colder months. We only gain experience with produce that can be cultivated here at home, thus strengthening the local food culture.

“One of the things I enjoy most are the veggies that we wouldn’t bother with or simply haven’t grown for ourselves over the years,” says Judith. “It’s opened up new tastes and dishes. Kohlrabi or fennel, for instance, comes to mind.”

There is interest by some in BC&E to host educational events related to sustainable agriculture, such as a hoop house building and vineyard planning event that is open to the public on November 10. The three founders of Little River Community Farm have also demonstrated a commitment to educating people about sustainable agriculture.

“I love the idea of teaching people how to grow food,” says Amy. “I think a lot of people don’t understand how inexpensive it is to have their own garden. A lot of people could get much healthier food if they grew their own. They just have to invest their time in it.”

Updated January 18, 2017

Image Credit: Jeffrey Mabee of Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage