Opp Biz Dev

Feeding The World and Healing Earth At The Same Time

Is it possible to farm land, generate tremendous output in terms of food for our species and heal the Earth at the same time?

According to this talk on TED (a video site worth visiting if you never have), the answer is a resounding "YES!".  Farmers are going "beyond organic" and doing just that right now.

Watch this!

PS: He uses a couple of words which might be new to you.  If so, I recomend either Googling them (type in "define: [word]" in Google, or using www.onelook.com so you get the full benefit of this video.  It's worth it!

Panama Real Estate Value Holding

Link: English News Panama | Real estate market holding | Estate, Real, Market, Carlucci, Ocean.

The Panamanian real estate market appears to have escaped the debacles of the real estate sector in the United States, Spain, and England, along with the financial crisis brought about by high-risk mortgage lending in the U.S.

"The Panamanian real estate market remains competitive," said Iván Carlucci, former president of the Asociación de Corredores de Bienes Raíces. This is due in part to a cyclical situation that's helping the local market, he added. The favorable exchange rate for euros has attracted many European investors.

At the Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid, one of the world's main real estate conventions, which ends today, more than 30 companies are representing projects in Panama, which Carlucci suggested is a sign of the continuing strength of the market here.

If sales at the The Trump Ocean Club are any indicator, Carlucci might be right. As of March 31, 753 of 1,053 units had been sold for a sum of $322 million, according to a report from Bear Stearns, which structured the financing for the project. In its report, the investment bank also noted that Ocean Club sales appear to be unaffected by the problematic dynamics of the U.S. real estate market and economy.

Bear Stearns recently had to be rescued by federal government in the largest bailout of U.S. securities firm in history.

Americans remain the biggest group of people who have bought into the The Trump Ocean Club, but major interest in the project has shifted to buyers in Venezuela, Canada, Europe and Russia.

The importance of the Ocean Club, Carlucci said, is that it puts Panama on the world real estate map.

Microlending

This area of microfinance/microlending is a fascinating one.  Not sure I could tell you when or where I first came across the idea, but recently a friend recommended a book called "Small Change, How $50 Can Change The World" by Juriaan Kamp, editor of Ode Magazine.  Ode is one of my all time favorite publications (their motto/tag line is "For Intelligent Optimists"--I love that.)

I'm still reading Kamp's book, but so far I'm in love with the idea.  Basically, he gives real stories about how microlending is making poverty a thing of the past.  Small sums are loaned to people who typically make less than $30 per month (which is the World Bank poverty threshold).  90% or more of these loans get paid back.  That's incredible! 

More importantly, the money is being put to work by these individuals who are using it to buy a second milk buffalo, or put an hitherto unplowed field into use.

It's enough to make a chap wonder what the world could be like if we reached 100 million families (or 500 million people) with this sort of one-on-one sort of financial help, vs. giving the state all sort of "aide" which gets squandered, hoarded, or just has so many conditions put on it that it does little to no good for the individual people.

You know, there are no "countries".  There are only people who, together, make up what we have given "country" as a name.  In other words, if we are ignoring the needs of enough individuals, we have in turn turned our backs on the whole country.  Conversely, to raise the standard of living in a country, we must address the individual and his/her needs.

That is what I think makes microlending a solution where other forms of aide have failed.

Here are my ongoing research notes on this subject, with links back to sourced websites.  I'll be adding to these notes from time to time.

India: Asia's Other Superpower Breaks Out

This story is not only about the booming Indian economy and its infinite potential (and attendant challenges, of course).  It also addresses the assumption that sending American jobs overseas is "bad for America."

There certainly may be specific reasons not to send some work off our shores (such as data privacy concerns) but, on a broader look,  globalization and trade with countries such as India will bear out to be a good thing.

Link: India: Asia's Other Superpower Breaks Out - Newsweek: World News - MSNBC.com.

"Over the last 60 years, manufacturing employment in the United States has plummeted as those industries went abroad—and yet average American incomes have risen to be the highest in the world. Over the last 20 years, as globalization has quickened, American companies have outsourced first goods, then services—and American incomes have risen faster than those of any other major industrial country. Banning auto-parts factories or call centers will not save General Motors. Globalization highlights some problems for America, but the solutions are all at home. As they have in the past, Americans must—and can—make goods and services that people will pay for freely, not because the government forces them to by shutting out the competition. That is the only stable path to economic security."