Inspiring Purpose Prize leaders.

In 2015 I was fortunate to be honored as a Purpose Prize Fellow.

The Templeton Foundation, a major supporter of the Purpose Prize, just published a great report about this year's prize winners.  It's an inspiring group that I'm very proud to be associated with.

From a remote corner of Alaska to Harlem, from micro lending to the arts, these 'encore career' leaders are demonstrating beautifully the many ways that age and experience can help solve intractable problems.

The world needs 'encore' contributors.  To a person, we're all doing this to help create a better world for the next generations.

It's an honor to be sprinting along with this group.

Intergenerational Inspiration Marks 10th Year of The Purpose Prize.  Templeton Report.  Dec. 10, 2015.

My Purpose Prize fellowship.

My Kiva report. Thanksgiving 2015

I really like working with KIVA to support entrepreneurs around the world through micro loans.

Kiva.org is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.

As of Thanksgiving 2015 I've made 108 loans to entrepreneurs in 69 different countries.  73% female.  27% male.

I've supported 7 of KIVA's 7 markers for social performance.

The business model is called a revolving loan.  You make the loan on your terms and when you get paid back you get to loan it out again. 

The interest you make is paid in gratification for being able to help your global peers build a better world.

As Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said:  "A charity dollar has only one life; a social business dollar can be invested over and over again."

###

Kiva

Thankful. Purpose Prize Fellow 2015

I am profoundly grateful that the work we are doing is being recognized.

I've just been included in a group of remarkable people creating inspiring new careers as a Purpose Prize Fellow.

Thank you!

From the Purpose Prize / Encore.org web site:

"Encore.org is building a movement to tap the skills and experience of people in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world.

Our ultimate goal is to create a better future for young people and future generations."

Everyone I work with, especially my co-workers with disabilities at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, is grateful for this recognition.

Link to my Purpose Prize Fellowship information

Thank You!  Encore.org 

Author Marlon James - a huge win after 78 rejections.

You want real entrepreneurship?

Get closer to what artists and scientists do:
- Dream.
- Test.
- Persevere.
- Repeat.

Jamaican author Marlon James says he nearly gave up writing after his first novel, John Crow's Devil, was rejected 78 times by publishers.  He was recently awarded the Booker Prize, a literary award given each year for the best original novel, written in the English language, and published in the UK.

This recognition came within a close shave with disaster .  He had to retrieve the only remaining copy from an old email outbox.

Mr James dreamed and tested his story.  He persevered. Over and over.

"'There was a time I actually thought I was writing the kind of stories people didn’t want to read,' he told Today. Asked if he had considered giving up writing, the 44-year-old writer said: 'I did give it up. I actually destroyed the manuscript, I even went on my friends computers and erased it.' He said he retrieved the text by searching in the email outbox of an old iMac computer."

Entrepreneurs should look to artists and scientists for their inspiration:
Dream.  
Test.  
Persevere.  
Repeat.

Booker Prize winner's debut novel rejected nearly 80 times

"The Future of Food is Food"

Steve Case is an important investor and entrepreneur (AOL).  He recently wrote a good article called "The Future of Food is Food"

There are so many people touting goofy food trends that it's hard to keep up.  What Mr. Case brings us back to is the fact that someone has to grow real food and someone has to prepare it.

This is not manufacturing.  This is not an app.  This is not counting users.  This is food.  Part way through the quote below Mr. Case asks if Google would be serving powdered food and drinks to its employees.  I don't think so.

The world needs small, regionally based production kitchens that can capture, stabilize and move to market the millions and millions of pounds of food that are wasted every year during the harvest.  There is just no way to save it without minimal processing and a way to store it for year-round use on a commercial scale.

That's what our friends at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen do.   They take real food from real family farms in the Upper Midwest and turn it into delicious ingredients for year-round use on menus across the region.

They also take treasured recipes - and exciting new ones - and turn them into real food products and brands that food entrepreneurs can build careers on.  Nothing being made into 22nd century food powders.

Sure there will always be new ways of growing food and certainly new ways will arise to store and preserve it, but those efforts will be in support of real food not 'food like substances'.  That's what they do at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen.

Astronauts may have started out drinking Tang, but now they're growing leafy greens on the International Space Station.

Here are a few excerpts from the Future of Food is Food (link below)

"Do we need healthier food and a cheaper way of sourcing and distributing that food? Absolutely. But that’s not a powder. It’s authentic, natural foods, locally sourced, sustainably grown, brought fresh to our tables."

"Or let’s take Google. Google’s culture thrives on collaboration, which includes a buzzing and healthy in-house dining experience for everyone to mingle and relax. I doubt Google would dream of firing their chefs and replacing their buffet with powdered drinks."

"In fact, some of the best ideas I have ever been part of have come over a shared meal. I remember having sushi with Steve Jobs when he was outlining his vision for the iPod, and being moved by a conversation I had with Nelson Mandela in his home after lunch about the rise of Africa. And not a week goes by when I’m not inspired by an up-and-coming entrepreneur, sharing his or her vision for a better world as we break bread."

"Sure, there will be some that prefer powder over real food, and more time in front of a computer over more time with loved ones. Indeed, one advocate of powder over food recently told the New York Times, “I think engineers are ready to throw in the towel on the illusion that we’re having this family dinner … Let’s do away with all the marketing facade and get the calories as quickly as we can.”

"That is sad. That is not what Silicon Valley disruption is about. What are we innovating for, who are we building the future for, if we don’t value human connection?"

"In my opinion, Michael Pollan had it right when he urged us all to eat 'real food,' avoid 'edible food-like substances' — and 'don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.'"

"Sometimes revolutions take us forward by taking us back."

###

Amen.  You should check into Innovation Kitchens. 



The Future of Food is Food.  By Steve Case.

My 100th Kiva loan to global entrepreneurs

This weekend I made my 100th micro-loan through Kiva.org   

It's a good feeling to be able to support entrepreneurs globally.  It's especially nice when Kiva makes it so easy.

My portfolio after 100 loans:

73% female.  27% male.
About 95% related to agriculture and food entrepreneurship.  Kiva has a 98.59% repayment rate.  Kiva currently has about 1,341,049 individual lenders who have made about $759,301,075 in loans globally.

I'm proud to be part of this story.  I've included a link at the end if you'd like to learn more.

Here is the story behind my 100th Kiva loan (photo).  This story lured me in because it mirrors the effort we're making at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen to improve food preparation efficiencies while creating valuable jobs for co-workers with disabilities:

"The 'Cristo el salvador' communal bank is made up of 5 responsible women who want to get ahead in life. In the new cycle the group is represented by Vilma, who is 50, single and has 4 children, 1 of whom still depends on her. She has a business selling all types of food that she prepares for her customers herself with a lot of hard work. That is why she will use the loan to buy an renew her utensils, such as pots, stirring spoons, plates and cutlery she needs to be able to serve and sell better. This is how Vilma generates her own income with a lot of hard work and dedication, to offer her son a better quality of life. In future, she plans on doing buffets for all types of events, because she is the best at that. In the group photo, Vilma is standing among the other members, who are seated."

Here is my 'country list', of places where I chose to make my micro-loans loans to help entrepreneurs:

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Benin

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Chile

China

Columbia

Congo

Congo – DRC – Democratic Republic of Congo

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Georgia

Ghana
Guatamala
Haiti

Honduras

India

Indonesia

Iraq

Jordan

Kenya

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Liberia

Malawi

Mali

Mexico

Mongolia

Mozambique

Nicaragua

Nigeria

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Rwanda

Samoa

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Suriname

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Timor-Leste

Togo

Uganda

Ukraine

United States

Viet Nam

Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Don't wait for top down solutions to problems that can be solved at the person-to-person level.  I invite you to join this adventure in support of our global peers:
http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/rick7473

Thanks Kiva!

"Innovation Kitchens is on the forefront of the eat local movement."

Great to see the shout-out for our business in the new Willy Street Co-op Reader.  In the Upper Midwest we're being cited as a possible food supply solution to the California drought.  Creating regional food processing systems to diversify the risks involved in California-centric models seems smart to me.

###

California Drought Provides Impetus for Innovation

Will Cushman.  Willy Street Reader.  Sept. 2015

Excerpted from:

Innovation Kitchen…

But what about the glut of locally grown summer produce?  Minnick said an exciting new partnership between the Co-op and a local venture might help Owners take advantage of that surplus and more throughout the winter.

Willy Street Co-op is in the beginning stages of what could become a very cool partnership that would bring Wisconsin’s summer produce to the Co-op’s shelves and freezers throughout the winter.  Located less than 60 miles southwest of Madison in Mineral Point, Innovation Kitchens is on the forefront of the eat local movement.  The commercial kitchen offers light processing that stabilizes produce – via freezing, canning and pickling – which Minnick said will provide another avenue for Owners to minimize their winter dependence on California produce.

The partnership actually began in 2014 when all of the Co-op’s pumpkin pies were baked with local pumpkins pureed at Innovation Kitchens.  This year, the partnership will bring locally grown broccoli to the Co-op’s freezers after it is prepared and frozen at the Mineral Point facility.

“It’s in the inception stage right now” Minnick said.  “A lot depends on how this broccoli deal goes, which was kind of our toe in the water.”   Ideally, Minnick said, if the frozen broccoli goes well, the Co-op will partner with Innovation Kitchens to bring a few other products into the Co-op shelves yet this winter.  If that goes well, Minnick foresees a much more coordinated effort in future years that would greatly expand the Co-op’s Wisconsin produce offerings during the winter.

“Every year we meet with local growers in the winter and scope out the year to come,” Minnick said.  “Hopefully if these things work out the way we hope they will, we’ll be able to talk to our growers this winter and say ‘Hey can you plant two acres of tomatoes just for this?’”  If all goes well, the partnership could bring new growers into the fold simply for winter-use contracts.  “Ideally, we’d be actually contracting for large quantities,” Minnick said.

Innovation Kitchens CEO and Founder Rick Terrien said the kitchen’s business model is the first he is aware of in the United States.  “We’re a small, regionally based co-packing facility”, Terrien said.  “We can focus on inbounding and sourcing local produce from local farms, and processing it minimally.”  In addition to its work with Willy Street Co-op, Terrien said Innovation Kitchens contracts with some area schools and hospitals, as well as local food producers like RP’s Pasta.

###

California Drought.  Full article in the Willy Street Co-op Reader.

Edible Startup Summit - Monday Aug 24 - Join us

I'm doing a presentation at the Edible Startup Summit in Madison tomorrow (Monday 8/24/2015).

My talk is titled 'How To Use
Co-Packing Services to Scale Up
a Professional Food Business.

If you're in the area please join us.

Looks like a great lineup of seminars and information sharing opportunities.

I love the Summit tag line - 'Building companies you can sink your teeth into!'

Link to the Edible Startup Summit 

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen cited by U.S. Commerce Secretary Pritzger - "Make It in America renaissance"

The work of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen was just cited by U.S. Commerce Secretary Pritzger as an example of the "Make It in America renaissance".  

Secretary Pritzger shared her remarks at the National Manufacturing Summit hosted by Wal-Mart.

She was announcing the awards as a way to identify innovative new 'Manufacturing Communities' in the United States for investors. 

The Madison (WI) region was chosen for its emphasis on agriculture, food and beverage.

Secretary Pritzger had hundreds of projects nationally to choose from to highlight by name as representing the 'Make It in America renaissance'.  She chose the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen.

"The IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money."

Thank you Secretary Pritzger!

###

Text for Secretary Pritzger's announcement remarks below:

"The Department of Commerce is also supporting the Make It in America renaissance through the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership. This program – run by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration – encourages regional collaboration to create comprehensive plans aimed at drawing inbound investment.

Here is how it works: Leaders from the private sector, local government, higher education, local economic development organizations, and other nonprofits work together to identify a sector of manufacturing where their community has a comparative advantage and draft a strategic plan that addresses: workforce and supply chain challenges; infrastructure; research and innovation; trade and investment; capital access; and operational improvement for manufacturing companies. 

After selecting the best plans, the Department of Commerce supports their implementation by coordinating federal aid from 11 different agencies and providing the community with a dedicated counselor to navigate federal services. An IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money. 

And this is smart government at work. By breaking down silos and encouraging communities to take a more thoughtful, comprehensive approach to their strategic plans, we are ensuring that precious federal dollars are used on the most high impact projects and in a way that maximizes return on investment.

Among this group is the Madison Regional Economic Partnership in Wisconsin, who put together an ambitious strategy aimed at taking advantage of the growing trend toward “local foods.” The community plans to expand the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, upgrade an existing kitchen incubator, build a Madison public market, and construct a training center and trucking logistics center. 

The other new designees are located across the country and span from a Louisiana State University-led consortium on chemical manufacturing to a partnership in the Pacific Northwest on wood products. I look forward to seeing how these communities grow as a result of their IMCP designation. 

From coast to coast, America’s manufacturers are the backbone of our economy, and our country’s prosperity is closely linked to your success. Through smart programs like IMCP, Manufacturing Day, and more, the Department of Commerce is committed to being your partners as this vital sector of economy continues its remarkable resurgence. Working together, we can ensure America’s manufacturers remain at the center of our nation’s prosperity and keep America open for your businesses. Thank you."

Gratifying business news

I’ve always thought that the work I do is manufacturing / making.

We made custom commercial art for 25 years at our beloved first business, Banner Graphics.  (1972-1997)

My last manufacturing startup (1997- ) won globally cool recognition from the world’s leading engineering organization (2005).   Our work was awarded Fast Company magazine’s honor for the world’s most 50 innovative companies (2004).

Last week, United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzger cited the work of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen as representing a new 'Make It In America renaissance'.

Secretary Pritzger shared her remarks at the National Manufacturing Summit hosted by Wal-Mart recently.

Secretary Pritzger was announcing the awards as a way to identify promising new 'Manufacturing Communities' in the United States.

The Madison (WI) region was chosen for its emphasis on agriculture, food and beverage.

Secretary Pritzger had hundreds of projects nationally to choose from to represent what 'Manufacturing Communities' can mean for a better future.  She chose the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen to talk about first.

"The IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money."

As a lifelong entrepreneur this is is profoundly gratifying.  

Thank you Secretary Pritzger!

##

Text for the Secretary Pritzger's announcement remarks below:

“The Department of Commerce is also supporting the Make It in America renaissance through the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership. This program – run by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration – encourages regional collaboration to create comprehensive plans aimed at drawing inbound investment.

Here is how it works: Leaders from the private sector, local government, higher education, local economic development organizations, and other nonprofits work together to identify a sector of manufacturing where their community has a comparative advantage and draft a strategic plan that addresses: workforce and supply chain challenges; infrastructure; research and innovation; trade and investment; capital access; and operational improvement for manufacturing companies.

An IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money.

Among this group is the Madison Regional Economic Partnership in Wisconsin, who put together an ambitious strategy aimed at taking advantage of the growing trend toward “local foods.” The community plans to expand the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, upgrade an existing kitchen incubator, build a Madison public market, and construct a training center and trucking logistics center.

After selecting the best plans, the Department of Commerce supports their implementation by coordinating federal aid from 11 different agencies and providing the community with a dedicated counselor to navigate federal services. An IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money. And this is smart government at work. By breaking down silos and encouraging communities to take a more thoughtful, comprehensive approach to their strategic plans, we are ensuring that precious federal dollars are used on the most high impact projects and in a way that maximizes return on investment.

In 2014, we announced the first 12 communities to receive the IMCP designation. While we are barely a year into the process, we are already seeing results. For example, the Southwestern Ohio Aerospace Region has secured nearly $20 million in federal investment since receiving its IMCP designation. They have already created more than 2,500 new jobs and attracted new private sector commitments totaling $529 million in the region’s manufacturing base. Today, I have the pleasure of announcing that we have selected 12 new communities to receive the federal IMCP designation. These communities will be able to better respond to industry needs by building robust industrial ecosystems and strengthening their manufacturing clusters.

Among this group is the Madison Regional Economic Partnership in Wisconsin, who put together an ambitious strategy aimed at taking advantage of the growing trend toward “local foods.” The community plans to expand the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, upgrade an existing kitchen incubator, build a Madison public market, and construct a training center and trucking logistics center.

The other new designees are located across the country and span from a Louisiana State University-led consortium on chemical manufacturing to a partnership in the Pacific Northwest on wood products. I look forward to seeing how these communities grow as a result of their IMCP designation.

From coast to coast, America’s manufacturers are the backbone of our economy, and our country’s prosperity is closely linked to your success. Through smart programs like IMCP, Manufacturing Day, and more, the Department of Commerce is committed to being your partners as this vital sector of economy continues its remarkable resurgence. Working together, we can ensure America’s manufacturers remain at the center of our nation’s prosperity and keep America open for your businesses. Thank you.”

Food and Community. A future intertwined.

I recommend this nice, succinct summary of the mess we have created in our food systems and the opportunities to fix it.

The essay is titled, 'Food and Community. A future intertwined.'

I recently met (by phone) a couple of the authors.

This is a good summary of the economic value and security that regional foods can bring to communities...

“This is because a healthy community will be a relatively self-sufficient one. A community's complete dependency on outsiders for its mere survival weakens it. The most fundamental requirement for survival is food. Hence, how and where food is grown is foundational to an economics for community”

"Without a doubt, the centralized industrial food system has achieved amazing productivity and technological advances over the last half century. But along the way, the creation of short-term shareholder wealth has been decoupled from community health, environmental sustainability, and justice, and community self-reliance has been sacrificed to the pursuit of specialization, efficiency, and scale economies."

"We believe that the current food revolution is a hopeful harbinger of some remarkable community-level changes in our food and food system to come over the next twenty-five years—changes that are essential to diversify and restore balance and resilience to our dangerously lopsided current system."

"We believe we are in the midst of a community-rooted food renaissance—the rebirth of food that travels a short and known route from field to plate and accomplishes these things:

• It supports local farmers and farm workers with dignity.

• It keeps dollars circulating within the local economy and creates a ripple of jobs throughout the community.

• It is a genuine expression of local identity and heritage, not a cosmetically engineered imitation.

• It celebrates and enriches cultural and genetic diversity that fits the season and the local environment rather than fighting against them.

• It increases the self-sufficiency of families and the resilience of the community for generations to come.

• It expresses love and care for ourselves, our neighbors, and our planet."

###

Thanks to the authors for a great summary of this historic opportunity to fix things.


Food and Community. A future intertwined.

National Civic Review, March 2014

Renee Guilbault, Larry Yee and Karen Schmidt

Happy 10th Anniversary Sustainable Work!

My goodness.  Today is the 10th anniversary of this blog.

The photo is from the award ceremony where we were honored as the United States Small Business New Product of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) represents the highest engineering standards in the world, and our work, our inventions, were chosen as the best new product created by a small business in the country that year (2005).

What is most cool about that story, and about the work I've been trying to write about here at Sustainable Work, is that the NSPE used definitions of small business used by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA).  Small business by those standards are any company of 500 employees or less.  

I tell people the best part of this story is not that we won, but that we did it with 4 people.

And we changed the world.  Those designs are now recycling millions of gallons of oil worldwide that used to be lost as wastewater.  Four strong, daring, stubborn people.   It brings to mind the great Margaret Mead quote:  "Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

I'm very proud of the work I've done and of the body of writing I've built up in this blog over the past decade.

Below is what I first wrote on April 12, 2005. I was in a budget hotel in Dubuque, smearing oil and blood all over the notebook following a difficult - but successful - installation of one of our fluid recycling systems at the local John Deere plant.

I'm still trying to do what I put in this first post, 10 years ago today. I'm more confident than ever we can pull it off. 


Tuesday, April 12, 2005
What I'm trying to do.

Hi;

I'm glad you've found you're way here. Welcome!

I've got this idea that I'd like to start a million more small, sustainable enterprises. However, I'm 50 something and I have a perfectly wonderful 90 hour a week job now. So I'm just going to have to talk about it here in my spare time. Hopefully I can help other people along this path. Can we get to a million new small enterprises? Come on along. Let's try. I look forward to sharing this site with you.

All the best,

Rick 

Congratulations Chef Paul Virant - Check out this video

Link below to a great new video about Chef Paul Virant.

Paul is a friend and an inspiration. At Innovation Kitchens, we’re working with Paul to bring his remarkable recipes to a wider audience. Look for Paul’s groundbreaking cookbook, The Preservation Kitchen. Innovation Kitchens is a culinary foundry for building artisan food brands.

Paul is a finalist for this year's James Beard Award.  Congratulations Paul!

Watch this beautiful video about Chef Paul Virant's work.   (Posted here April 6, 2015)

Local foods year-round. Innovation Kitchens has the model.

Innovation Kitchens provides local foods year-round.     Chefs and food service pros can order our fresh-frozen, farm identified local ingredients any time of the year.  Here's a nice photo and post from our friends at Thrive foodery in Wausau, WI.  "Tonight we have Fresh Pacific Cod served with Wisconsin Sweet Corn Polenta finished with a Double Tomato Bruschetta. Thank you to our friends at Innovation Kitchens LLC for providing us with some beautiful produce!"


We've developed a smart new business plan for local and specialty foods year-round that focuses on supporting family farms.  Chefs and food service pros can order our fresh-frozen, farm-identified local ingredients any time of the year. 
The 2015 harvest is coming up.  Does your organization want to increase it's offering of local foods year-round?  Let's talk.

Thanks Chef Elizabeth at Thrive foodery!

Make no little plans; they have no magic ...

"Make no little plans; they have no magic ...Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty."  Daniel Burnham.

Photo is of the City of Quebec.  My Terrien family ancestor  arrived here as an immigrant, and as an explorer, stepping into a remote, unknown wilderness in May of 1656.  

Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty.

Photo courtesy of NASA, APOD, 2-27-2015

This partnership has the potential for changing regional food systems world wide.

“Are nonprofits going to build the food system we need? No,” Allen said.  “This will be done by entrepreneurs..."

We love working with Will Allen and Growing Power.  This partnership has the potential for changing regional food systems world wide.

New loan to KIVA entrepreneur in Brazil - Francine and breakfast baskets

News from a recent KIVA loan to an entrepreneur in Brazil:


"Francine is 28 years old, has two children and managed to get a scholarship from the government so she's currently studying in college.

Francine needs an income to help raise her children but as she has very little time she can't find a fixed job. She therefore plans to use this loan to buy materials (baskets, mugs, sweets, bread, flours and stuffed teddy bears) to produce breakfast baskets to sell to her neighbours and at college."

About Banco Pérola:
Banco Pérola joined Kiva through our Experimental Partnership Program, and has therefore received a lighter level of due diligence. Accordingly, loans associated with this partner carry a higher level of risk than typical Kiva loans.

Additional Information
This loan is administered by Kiva partner Banco Pérola, a non-profit organization that aims to contribute to social change in Brazil through the financial inclusion of young entrepreneurs. Banco Pérola is primarily focused on funding loans to young entrepreneurs (ages 18-35) in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The organization is an off-shoot of Projeto Pérola, an NGO that offers youths trainings and educational courses on arts, culture, and digital media. Banco Pérola was created after staff observed that the youth served by Projeto Pérola had solid business ideas and the drive to execute them but were unable to fund their ideas due to their lack of credit history or collateral.


http://www.kiva.org/lend/848044

Report from recent Kiva loan to entrepreneurs in Ecuador - Liliana Maria

News from a recent KIVA loan to entrepreneurs in Ecuador:

"very happy to realize all your timely payments, Liliana Maria tells us that "all his colleagues are very grateful for the support with the loan to invest in your business, are very happy because they can better support the study and health of their children . thank Kiva and VisionFund for credits for businesses of poor people."

FODEMI, a partner of World Vision International
Posted by Vladimir Batioja from San Lorenzo, Ecuador Feb 23, 2015

This update was written in Spanish by Kiva field partner FODEMI, a partner of World Vision International. We machine-translated it into English for your convenience. The original text is below.

Agradecimiento desde Maria Liliana "Nueva Organización"

muy contenta de realizar todos sus pagos puntuales, María Liliana nos indica que: "todos sus compañeros se encuentran muy agradecidos por el apoyo con el préstamo para invertirlo en su negocio, están muy alegres porque pueden apoyar mejor en el estudio y salud de sus hijos. agradecen a Kiva y a VisiónFund por los créditos para los negocios de la gente pobre.

https://www.kiva.org/updates/loan/666799

Congratulations Chef Paul Virant on your James Beard Award nomination. Local foods making a difference year-round.

Congratulations to friend of Innovation Kitchens Paul Virant who was named a James Beard Award semifinalist ‘Best Chef: Great Lakes’.  

Paul and his team run Vie Restaurant, Perennial Virant and Vistro, all in the Chicago area. 

As the news broke, Paul was sending us photos of recipes he was making using our Innovation Kitchens' farm fresh frozen local produce. Wonderful images of amazing foods.  Pretty cool.

Congratulations Paul!

Innovation Kitchens is a B2B supplier of year-round local and regional foods, and artisan co-packing services for food businesses.

'Small-batch production - knowing where food is made and who made it.'

Nice new Wall Street Journal article on specialty food processing.  ‘Between the lines’, it’s clear that the world needs professional, small-batch, regional, food processing capacities. 

“The specialty food business is booming. The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade says the sector hit a record $88.3 billion in sales in 2013, and continued to grow in 2014. The association attributed the sector’s popularity to “growing concern” among consumers about sustainability and health, as well as increased interest in “small-batch production”—knowing where food is made and who made it."

Wall Street Journal article,  Food 'Accelerators' and the $10 Bag of Pasta"  

My KIVA loan map

This is the map of my Kiva loans to date.

Micro lending to entrepreneurs at home and worldwide is easy with Kiva.

Use this link to learn more:  KIVA

My current KIVA portfolio:

79 loans.  56 countries.

72% Female.    28% male.

85% - 90% invested in food related enterprises.

Current repayment rate is 100%

If you want to make a difference to the lives of entrepreneurs in the U.S. and around the world, here's a great way to start.  You make small loans (a little as $25) to entrepreneurs of your choosing, that are gathered up with other lenders to make the full loan.  Risk is spread and deals get done.

Kiva makes it easy to make a difference.

KIVA