Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

In my work with Oxfam Solidarity I have discovered how both people in the developed world as in the developing countries respond better to opportunity driven solutions.
The first ones, the people I encountered on the streets (where I tried to convince them to become a supporting member of Oxfam), had more appreciation and respect when they were told how poor people responded to small economic projects. One story I'd like to tell was this one case where African farmers build an actual marketplace (partially financed by Oxfam) , so they would have an official and consequent way to trade their goods. As the market place gained popularity, it expanded: they build a communication centre, which gave them the opportunity to trade off goods with other villages in case of overproduction. Just the simple fact of building a place where all economic action would occur, gave more structure in trading and thus helped farmers to better plan, anticipate and of course sell their products.
People on the street could relate to this kind of story, because, well, I believe, that everyone has a need for structure (in this way: every place has its function) and they were more willing to grant another person the possibility of building a structured society, because -and again, I believe - everybody likes to have some ground rules in complex situations.

So, to make a long story short, my favourite tip was:

Embrace market mechanisms (Giving stuff away rarely works as well as selling it.)

(And to stress out: I don't longer work for Oxfam, but to be honest, in the time I did and got to know them, they impressed me)




Views: 22

Comment by Massive Attack on March 22, 2010 at 8:14pm
I agree. Personally, too. Evoke seems pretty opportunity-driven
Comment by Jill Versluys on March 22, 2010 at 8:33pm
Yes exactly. It appeals me because I can gain some stuff here (although I don't have a clue where to find my quest rune and what to do with it :)). But I think that's really the general idea. Set up some rules, give people a place, and some tools and let them play the game.
Comment by Sylvain Ratelle on March 22, 2010 at 8:38pm
Hello Jill, I support that vision, I will continue to follow your blog for more evidences and will be back to you, When you get a minute, please try to have a look at my blog and don't hesitate to comment and support, talk to you soon, regards

Comment

You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!

Join Urgent Evoke

Latest Activity

Ning Admin is now a member of Urgent Evoke
May 17, 2023
N updated their profile
Sep 25, 2020
Sophie C. commented on Asger Jon Vistisen's blog post Stinging Nettle
"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
Aug 19, 2020
Meghan Mulvey posted a blog post

Fourth of July on the Lake

This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Jul 6, 2020
Asger Jon Vistisen posted a blog post

Stinging Nettle

In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
Apr 13, 2020
Jonathon McCallum posted a blog post

The meal

It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Mar 10, 2020
Jean Paul Galea shared a profile on Facebook
Mar 1, 2020
Kevin posted a blog post

Future

FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
Jan 1, 2020
Namwaka Mooto posted blog posts
Jan 13, 2016
T D updated their profile
Sep 3, 2015
Brook Warner posted blog posts
Aug 25, 2015
Santiago Vega posted blog posts
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega commented on Santiago Vega's blog post Act 8
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega posted photos
May 5, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted blog posts
May 2, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted a photo

public servants

The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
May 2, 2015

Follow EVOKE on Twitter




Official EVOKE Facebook Page




EVOKE RSS Activity Feed










© 2024   Created by Alchemy.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service