On Being an Innovator - LEARN1

As I read the Design in Africa assignment, I was impressed by several "keynotes" that resonated with me:

1. Innovate on existing platforms. (Mobile phones & Bicycles as "messengers")

2. Create transparent technologies that promote local innovation.

3. Provide skills, not just finished technologies.

4. Design for measurable improvement in the lives of more than a million people.

5. Provide financial motivation for continued growth over time. (sustainability)

My surface level perception of Africa is a country rife with violence, discord and disease in which the majority suffer from inadequate nutrition (and starvation). What would it be like then, if Africa was to experience an innovative transformation that not only radically improved the lives of African communities but also became a prototype for sustainable transformation of communites that are plagued by different and yet equally disasterous circ**stances?

I wondered about Permaculture and have begun to research and learn what I can about permaculture in Africa and in the United States (where I live). I know that religious organizations in my country build wells and schools in Africa, but I envision using those bicycles and cell phones to start a new kind of micro-enterprise that involves sustainable farming and manufacturing and even possibly local "currency". This is a new track in thought, and I may expand upon it, or choose another direction as I continue on my first mission. I am so grateful to "play" on such an awesome field. Thanks. Linda