Human+Rights

=Social Entrepreneurship Addressing Human Rights =

=Why is social entrepreneurship necessary? = Using social entrepreneurship to end human rights abuses can seem like a round-about way of solving the problem, as economics is certainly secondary to basic rights. However, in a globalizing world, it is important to recognize how legal free market activity can migrate into the realm of exploitation and abuse. People who are most disadvantaged in the economic system are the most susceptible to abuses or have entered their circumstances as a result of human rights abuses. Likewise those in underdeveloped economies have fewer options to resist unjust business practices by large transnational corporations. The problem is not that corporations necessarily intend to exploit people, but that affects on developing communities are not a major concern in the business model. For example, the International Labor Organization reports that, while child labor has declined, there are still over two hundred million children being forced to work to survive ("Accelerating Action Against Child Labor"). Social entrepreneurship puts community development ahead of profit margins so that everyone benefits from economic activity. These endeavors seek to stabilize economies, provide fair trading prices, and give more autonomy to at risk individuals and members underdeveloped communities.

= = = = =Case Study 1: The Women's Bean Project =

// The Women's Bean Project is a highly innovative organization that empowers women by providing them jobs to help produce products such as bean soups and brownie mix. There mission is to change women's lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise. Founded in 1989, The Women's Bean Project has been continually serving the Denver community and helping women overcome many struggles. // = = = = =Issues Being Addressed: Poverty and Unemployment =

Most of the women that apply to get jobs at the Women's Bean Project have served time for criminal activity and were mostly convicted for drug offenses due to addictions. In Colorado, 28% of women sent to prison last year were convicted of a drug offense, which is the most prevalent crime of conviction (Institute on Women and Criminal Justice). After serving time, it is extremely difficult to find employment, which makes it difficult for the women to break out of the cycle of poverty and in most cases their addictions. Examples of road blocks to finding employment are having records exposed to employers, landlords, and financial institutions or having a driving license revoked. Colorado revokes driving licenses for no less than six months for drug convictions even if they were unrelated to driving (Colorado Coalition on Criminal Justice Reform). Colorado is ranked 48 out of 50 states by the Legal Action Center for having the most roadblocks for people to reenter society after prison. The Women's Bean Project has discovered a way to address the issues of poverty and unemployment by breaking down the barriers that may prevent these women from restarting their lives. The difficulty of finding a job adds to the chronic cycle of poverty because not only are these women struggling to survive, but most often they have children they are also responsible for. The Institute on Women and Criminal Justice reported that 2/3 of all women in prisons are mothers. =Innovative approach: Self Sufficiency through Social Enterprise =

The organization has developed a way in which women can begin to become an active member of their community after having served time, while creating a product that is marketable to the consumer world. Women who are accepted to work at the Women's Bean Project will attend many training sessions on how to become self reliant by overcoming the barriers to employment. Through these trainings women begin to increase their confidence and find meaning in their lives. In addition to the trainings, the women make products that the organization in turn sells at the local and national level. They make food products such as beans, chili, brownie mix, cookie mix and dips. They also have begun to make gift baskets and jewelery to further expand their market. The money raised from the products goes back into the organization so that they can offer more trainings and hire more women.

= = =A Highly Effective Social Entrepreneurship =

This organization has been changing the lives of women since 1989. They started as a small business operating on $6,000 a year. That number has now increased to $1.5 million a year. The women have made many testaments to how the organization has helped them overcome their daily struggles. The Women's Bean Project provides income for the women, community involvement, interpersonal skills training, job training, and a safe environment. This organization survives on the support of their customers and prides itself in providing a great alternative product that helps strengthen women and communities.

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[|Women's Bean Project] [|Testimonial Video]

=Case Study 2: Dean's Beans = =Issues Being Addressed: Community Autonomy and Self Determination =

Article I of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”([|UN Declaration of Human Rights]) Free and equal in dignity is a basic part of the very first principle supporting the concept of human rights. But people cannot truly be held in equal dignity if they are exploited and made de facto slaves of the global market. This is especially true in resource rich countries and underdeveloped countries where cheap labor is available. The coffee industry is no stranger to the controversy over exploitation. All over the world large coffee companies own hugely profitable coffee farms but the farmers are making a pitiful wage because the emphasis is on making money at the corporate level. These farmers have no choice but to accept the terrible conditions because economic opportunity is so limited in many coffee growing communities. The documentary Black Gold (trailer below) profiles the struggles of Ethiopian coffee farmers to get a fair price for their product and take home a satisfactory wage ([|BlackGold.com]). Struggles like these are frequent in coffee growing communities. Dean’s Beans is a company that seeks to reverse the current trend and return dignity and autonomy to coffee growing communities around the world.

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=Innovative Approach: Fair Trade Pricing and Community Reinvestment =

Dean’s Beans is a Massachusetts based coffee company that sells coffee grown all over the world. Dean’s Beans qualifies as social entrepreneurship because it buys 100% of its coffee beans at the International Fair Trade price, currently $1.41 per pound for organic beans (the only kind Dean's Beans carries), regardless of market conditions setting a lower price ([|Dean'sBeans.com]). In doing this, Dean’s Beans allows the farmers in their growing cooperatives to have more direct control and capital to build their own community. If prices were to drop to, as they have before, $.30 per pound the farmers would be devastated economically, and likely forced off their land to seek work elsewhere. Moreover, Dean’s Beans attaches a 6 cent per pound Social Equity Premium to every pound of coffee purchased so local communities have even more capital with which to develop health care, education and infrastructure that will benefit all inhabitants ([|Dean'sBeans.com]). In addition to both of these measures, Dean’s Beans supports local projects that support both production and quality of life for the growers. Examples of these projects include a loan fund to help Ethiopian farmers build wells, restoring sacred lands in Peru, and using water buffalo to reduce labor in Sumatra. These are all projects that are initiated or endorsed by the growers themselves, so decisions and priorities are entirely local ([|Dean'sBeans.com]).



=Effect: Better Quality of Life and Sustained Growth =

Dean’s Beans demonstrates how a company can operate in a market system without workers at some level being exploited by focusing on community development and a fair trade strategy. Having input on the way one’s community is shaped is a basic human right. Social Entrepreneurship, as demonstrated by Dean’s Beans, enables small farmers in South America, Asia, and Africa the ability to sell their product without selling their dignity to larger international distributors. Crucial to this strategy, also, is its focus on sustainability so long term progress can be realized. This is not a hand out, but a fair market operation, and these transactions can be sustained over time and replicated in other industries. Fair trade standards can be a viable method for combating child labor, exploitation, and many indignities forced on people by globalized market system.

__ Annotated Sources __

1. "2010 Colorado Quick Facts", Colorado Criminal Justice Coalition Reform. Web. 15 Oct 2010 


 * Annotation: ** This document provides a brief summary of the current Colorado justice system, including costs, demographics, and external effects on the community

2. "Accelerating Action Against Child Labor-ILO Global Report on Child Labor 2010," International Labor Office, Geneva, 99th Session 2010. .


 * Annotation: ** This is an extensive report by the ILO that contains statistics and strategies for combating child labor, as well as the current global trends in Child Labor.

3. Black Gold : - A Film About Coffee And Trade. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/>.


 * Annotation: ** This website describes the reason for making the documentary, provides the opportunity to purchase it and appeals to consumers in the developed world to be aware of the impact of their consumption choices.

4. Dean's Beans - Fair Trade Coffee Fair Trade Coffee Roasters Organic Coffee Roasters. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.deansbeans.com/>.


 * Annotation: ** Dean's Beans website provides the opportunity to learn about where different beans come from, how they are grown and who was growing them. This source also shows Dean's Beans' business strategy, and the specific projects and programs intended for social development, and provides the opportunity to purchase quality coffee blends that have been bought according to fair trade standards.

5. "Institute on Women and Criminal Justice: Quick Facts Women and Criminal Justice 2009", Women's Prison Association. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.wpaonline.org/pdf/Quick%20Facts%20Women%20and%20CJ%202009.pdf>


 * Annotation: ** This report was provided by the Women's Prison Association to inform the public about progress made in criminal justice as well as things that still need to be worked on. It also gives a demographic analysis of the women who are convicted and in prison.

6. The Women's Bean Project. Web 12 Oct 2010. <http://womensbeanproject.com>


 * Annotation: ** The Women's Bean Project website provides a range of information. It has testimonies from the women that have or are currently working their, the history behind their organization, information for prospective employees and also access to their online catalog of products.

7. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml>.


 * Annotation: ** This document was originally adopted by the United Nations General Assemble in 1948 and now contains 30 articles declaring the basic rights of human beings all over the world. Article I was specifically referenced on this page.

8. Women's Bean Project. Youtube Video. Web. 15 Oct 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDEEn9869VU.


 * Annotation: ** This video is their first promotional video about the organization.

Created by Doug Johnson and Erika Larson