"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…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Importance of Market Mechanisms
Ethan Zuckerman’s post ‘Innovating from constraint‘ is brilliant; his 7 lines of innovation secrets are as simple as not fighting reality, but rolling with it.
I'd say my most favorite secret from the evidence would be:
"Embrace market mechanisms (Giving stuff away rarely works as well as selling it.)"
This makes a lot of sense even in a mixed cultured country here in Malaysia. Sure, we may love free stuff as much as everyone else; but there is always that sense of wondering the worth of it. As we work hard enough to make our money, we get this sense of achievement (or Epic Win as Jane McGonigal calls it in her TED presentation).
About a few months ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine about their NGOs feeding the homeless out in the streets and she told me of some homeless not only receives the free food that they receive with gratitude; they tried to exchange whatever they had found on the streets, or priceless possessions of theirs (like umbrellas, or even pet cat) to show a little gratitude or balance in anyway possible.
Chinese people's culture here are also the same as they would prefer to give back whatever they can or repay them as they feel "Paiseh" or a sense of feeling embarassed in the most discreet way. Some believe in karma and the golden rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.") would agree to this as well.
I guess I never noticed the real significance of this until I read this line. Often times I find myself wanting what is free, but I would pay/exchange for whatever that I may not need. Marketing works in so many level and come to think of it, giving stuff away is as close as marketing as well. There should be some sort of reason why free stuff are given.
Even in a world of innovation with constraint, market mechanisms work better.
"You don't always get what you want...but ..you always get what you need."
Rolling Stones
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Comment by Philip Wood on March 19, 2010 at 8:23pm
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Really enjoyed reading this local insight, thanks for sharing! Also, "Don't fight reality, roll with it" is something I'll have to remember. Solid advice in any situation. +1 Local Insight.
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Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 19, 2010 at 8:24pm
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+1KS. Aside from being not sustainable in the long run, free things often robs recipients of their. It is more empowering when we can do stuff for ourselves and earn our way. Nevertheless I do think there is a place, time and way for things to be given for free.
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Comment by Liz McLellan hyperlocavore.com on March 19, 2010 at 8:36pm
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That is great insight. My cousin worked in an NGO in Africa trying to give away condoms to stem AIDS for years...the program only started to work well when they sold them for a nominal amount. People started to value them and use them...strange dynamic.
I think people need to take this with a grain of salt though and not frame absolutely everything in terms of markets - they are not perfect and can be vehicles for extreme exploitation. The unregulated market it derivatives has destroyed the lives of many older people here in the States. There are moral and immoral people - wise and unwise people operating in markets. They are not always rational or fair or just - Those are human realms and human intelligence must be applied via setting fair rules for the game and punishments for abuse.
Our yard sharing site is free for most, but it is not sustainable to stay completely free - someone pays somewhere and right now it's me. So in the long run the costs will be distributed. However, for the majority the service will be free because that is in line with our mission to enable people to create their own food security starting the minute they find the site.
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