Mindful Businesses Vidhya Iyer - Host

As we sip our daily cup of tea, we may wonder how and where it was grown and its impact on our planet. Tea production impacts our planet and people on several layers. The farming practices employed, wages paid, living conditions of the workers and its overall impact on our planet. In 2006, Numi Organic Teas was one of the founding (amongst 30 businesses) to be certified as a B corp. They had been mindful of how and from whom they source their organic teas, procuring them from Fair Trade and Verified Labor farms, but they knew they had to do more.
The realization that there can be no tea without water - clean drinking water, made the brother and sister team, Ahmed Rahim and Reem Hassani, co-founders of Numi Organic Tea introspect the purpose of their company.They launched “Together For H2OPE” - a nonprofit program bringing clean, safe drinking water to tea farming communities around the world.

The journey from farm to cup requires raw materials, packaging, transportation and water for steeping. They established a “Climate Action Plan” with a detailed, measurable process to reduce and offset the impact of Numi Organic Teas on the planet. Climate action can’t wait. Numi is committed to giving you the tools to fight climate change, starting with their Carbon Footprint Label. In this episode we have Reem Hassani, who shares the vision and mission of Numi Organic Teas. Listen and learn.

https://numitea.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
#tea #tealover #floraltea #teas #fairtrade #sustainablefarming #mindfulnusinesses #numitea

As a way of welcoming Spring let's learn about composting, specially curbside composting. The result - a beautiful rich soil ready for your spring planting. Let's hear more in this episode.
_________________________________________________________________________
Black Earth Compost was founded in January 2011, in Gloucester, MA. Originally a one man, one truck, Cape Ann company, it has steadily grown to become the leading full-service compost company in New England. With over 25 trucks, they are dedicated to collecting food scraps from residents, schools, supermarkets, colleges, and more, all across eastern MA and RI. They are also the only vertically integrated company that composts the material too, returning it to customers and selling it in garden centers across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. They are your one-stop-shop for all your organic waste collection or garden soil needs.

In this episode, we talk with Conor Miller, Partner, CEO of Black Earth Composting as he shares his journey and how the business had to pivot during the pandemic to moving from commercial pick-ups to residential pick-ups and compost delivery. Learn more in this episode.

#garden #eco friendly #sustainability #greenliving #sustainablecooking #soil #dirt #rhodeisland #foodwaste×#newengland #composting #compost #gardening #zero waste #sustainable #planting #gloucestermassachussetts #organicwaste×

The risk assessments that governments and corporations make to encourage marginalized communities and uplift them, have themselves become a hurdle to the assistance that they wish to provide. Honnold foundations wishes to fill that gap by partnering closely with nonprofits in a space where their needs are too small for governments and not profitable enough for businesses. The Honnold Foundation was founded by professional rock climber Alex Honnold in 2012. After a rock climbing expedition around the world, he decided to focus his giving on solar energy - as it was so tangible.

They engage and collaborate with these communities to expand equitable solar access. The Honnold Foundation is a proud partner with community-based organizations all over the world who are using solar energy to improve lives and reduce environmental impact. They partner with communities in Africa, Americas, Asia and in the Native American communities in North America. Native Renewables empowers Native American families to achieve energy independence by growing renewable energy capacity and affordable access to off-grid power. To learn more about this truly mindful and giving philanthropy listen to Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director of Honnold foundation, in our latest episode.


https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/
www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com

#solarenergy #marginalizedcommunities #mindfulbusinesses #honnoldfoundation

We just heard that “the Delhi High Court has granted an injunction in favor of Barefoot College restraining Barefoot College International (BCI) from using “Barefoot College” (and the two-feet logo) for any purpose whatsoever. More specifically, the Court has restrained BCI from continued use of the domain name www.barefootcollege.org. Further, the Court has also forbidden BCI from using “Barefoot College” as part of their company name.” We are happy for our guests who feel vindicated. On this occasion, we would like to re-air this very thought provoking and powerful episode.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the winter of 2012, I had the good fortune of visiting Barefoot College Tilonia - located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that visit was indeed life-transforming. The Barefoot College founded by Mr. Bunker Roy in 1972, is a community-based grassroots organization working to make marginalized communities sustainable and self-sufficient. He believes in the Gandhian philosophy that knowledge, skills and wisdom found in the villages should be used for their own development.
Though he went to the prestigious Doon School and St. Stephens College, he realized the wealth of wisdom in rural India (Bharath) needs to be harnessed and showcased.. The Barefoot College's one program in particular - Solar Mamas is filled with inspiring stories. Of women from around the globe who come to an unfamiliar country, where they don't understand the language, culture or food. These women come to become solar engineers. They come as mothers and grandmothers, and return back as tigers electrifying their villages with solar lamps. How do these illiterate women who have never left their villages become solar engineers? Listen to learn more in our latest episode.
https://www.barefootcollegetilonia.org/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
#barefootcollegetilonia, #ruralpower, #culturalpreservation, #rajasthan, #tilonia, #Barefoot, #BarefootCollege, #barefootcollegetilonia,

www.instagram.com/mindful_businesses_podcast

www.facebook.com/Mindfulbusinesses

Most US elementary school students learn about photosynthesis in their science class. The process is very simple - chlorophyll in the leaves and green stems absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the atmosphere. It is nature's elegant way of capturing carbon dioxide. Carbon cycle is where humans and human activities put out carbon dioxide and processes such as photosynthesis absorb it. But when the NET carbon dioxide into the atmosphere exceeds what is absorbed - that to the extent of 30 - 50 gigatons of carbon dioxide, then we have a problem on our hands. Observing and learning from nature our guests Beth McDaniel, President and Dr. Steve McDaniel, CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of Reactive Surfaces try to replicate the carbon capture process in nature in their solution. They have created coatings that can be applied to surfaces to capture carbon - just like nature does it with leaves and stems. Using polymeric materials thinly spread on a surface, adhere to the surface and then cured. These surfaces when exposed to sunlight, will photosynthesise, capturing and fixing carbon, using the photosynthetic process to carbohydrate. To learn more about this truly fascinating solution listen to our latest episode of Mindful Businesses.

Mentions:
Embassy Row Project - Envirotech Pre - accelerator
Xprize
Musk Foundation

#climatechange #carboncapture #carbonsequestration #mindfulbusinesses #reactivesurfaces #photosythesis #learnfromnature #sustainablematerials
https://reactivesurfaces.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/

We have this love-hate relationship with plastic. It is versatile, durable, light-weight and used in a multitude of applications. How do we recover and give this plastic a second life or third life?

Today we have with us Doug Woodring, Founder and Managing Director of the Ocean Recovery Alliance - Bringing Creative Surprise to Environmental Engagement. Ocean Recovery Alliance is focused on entrepreneuring programs to reduce plastic pollution, both on land and water, by creating strategic solutions for governments, industry and communities which lead to long-term, hands-on business practices that engage. They purposefully design programs to educate, build awareness and provide solutions which inspire positive societal change at the community, national and international levels. We learn more about their initiatives such as their global app that crowd sources and alerts authorities about trash on land along waterways. They have worked with cosmetic companies such as LUSH to help them look at their products and how they can reduce the plastic - for instance by eliminating glitter from all their products. Learn more of such efforts by the non-profit Ocean Recovery Project on this episode.

Mentions:

Ricron Panels

Lush Cosmetics
https://www.oceanrecov.org/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/