Housing

Social Entrepreneurship Work in Housing =Introduction:=

Social Entrepreneurship is a new way at looking at helping the extremely impoverished people of the world. It is not a hand out, and it isn't charity. Social Entrepreneurship is people and companies coming up with new and radical ways to change the way that the extremely poor live, by giving them the means to change their lives at an affordable price. Social entrepreneurs are not non-profits, but very often they are considered not-for-profit. They sell their products at fair prices that the lowest percentage of the population can afford, and use their profits to invest in their business, allowing it to grow and reach around the world. In housing, Social Entrepreneurs not only work to change the way houses are built and maintained, but also to improve the wellness that houses can provide. This can cover a wide range of needs. First and foremost, these people look for better and more affordable ways to build houses. From designing building and materials that are more resistant to floods or earthquakes, to planning neighborhood designs that make the entire community better off. They also look to improve simple things in the household, like affordable flooring to replace dirt floors, and even simple plumbing that can provide people who have no access to water a means to retrieve it in their own home. In some cases, Social Entrepreneurs in housing work to improve lives of the homeless as well. toc

City planning in India and Google Earth-
Shelter Associates saw a problem with the slums of India. The people that needed help the most were not getting it, mostly because no one knew where these extremely poor people were, and these people did not know a better way to live. City planning was a monumental task in a place like the slums of India. "The number of people living in slums is projected to rise to 93 million in 2011 or 7.75 percent of the total population almost double the population of Britain," (Wikepidia). It was impossible to get these people running water, and provide them with basic sanitation.

Shelter Associates wanted to find a way to chart the slums, and give the government the ability to use funding effectively to help the most people in these places. They also wanted to show the people that there were better ways to build their homes and communities to make them more sanitary, and less effected by floods. They found their answer in a totally free service called Google Earth. By simply mapping and photographing the Indian Slums, Shelter Associates was able to give the government an extremely cheap way to look into the most impoverished sectors of their country. This has led to improvements across the board in everything from water supply to building new roads.(Shelter)

The people have benefited too. Showing people better places they could live that would give them more opportunities in employment and education have convinced people to move to locations where their families have to best opportunity to grow and move out of the slums. Shelter Associates have used Google earth to change the idea of city planning in India, and it is changing the lives of its people. (Dawkins) media type="youtube" key="ZAKyNO0aSgE?fs=1" height="340" width="560"

http://www.ashoka.org/story/6458

The Homeless World Cup
Mel Young, originally from Scotland, is one of the most successful social entrepreneurs in the area of housing today. Young started his career as co-founder of a newspaper sold in Scotland by homeless people and the International Network of Street Papers. He has also co-founded the Social Entrepreneurs Network in Scotland. Young believes and wishes to help the homeless transform their lives through their own efforts and motivational activities (Schwab Found). But in 2003, in efforts to end homelessness worldwide, Young has come up with a different but brilliant event, the Homeless World Cup. The Homeless World Cup has “a vision for a healthy, abundant, confident world where everyone has a home, a basic human right” (Homeless World Cup). It is an annual football tournament where nations create teams composed of homeless people in that nation and they are trained and prepared to compete in tournament following the rules and regulations of street soccer. The teams consist of players that are usually alcoholics, drug addicts, unemployed, etc. But like Young’s beliefs, the homeless football tournament uses soccer to energize and motivate homeless around the world to want to change their lives on their own (Schwab Found). A study conducted after the 2010 Homeless World Cup in Rio, Brazil showed that seventy percent of the players in the tournament changed the directions of their lives to positive ones once the tournament ended (The Homeless World Cup). The players are shown that they are capable of accomplishing anything and are motivated to accomplish new goals in their lives. Players move on into legitimate jobs, to finish their education, to find places to live, to end drug addictions, and overall improve their lives (Schwab Found). There are now about 70 nations registered to compete in the Homeless World Cup each year (Schwab Found). The Tournament has become so successful that Young even developed a Woman’s Homeless World Cup Tournament as well. The 2011 Homeless World Cup is scheduled to take place in Paris next year. Ukraine Celebrates their Victory in the Homeless World Cup in 2009.

**Rebuilding New Orleans**
In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina displaced over one million people out of the New Orleans area. With their houses destroyed and no financial means to rebuild, tens of thousands of people are still living in Houston, Mobile, Hammond, and other southern cities (NPN). With a very large percent of the population and workforce missing (up to %80 of the population missing in the hardest hit areas) it is extremely hard to rebuild the community in a traditional way. This is where Social Entrepreneurs have stepped it. In a 2005 essay Mohammad Yunis advocated the use of social entrepreneur enterprises as a way to quickly and effectively rebuild New Orleans. As is the case in Bangladesh, when low income homes are washed away it is very difficult for families to acquire a loan to rebuild. Yunis suggest this is the perfect opportunity for microfinance loans, or loans with low interest rates to people who would not be eligible for most bank loans. “We need to remove the obstacles and barriers to unleashing people's creativity and participation in the reconstruction and rebuilding of their homes, businesses and lives.. ..Encourage local people to come up with business ideas for rebuilding and improving their communities that will also create jobs.” –Mohamad Yunis (Change Makers). One example of these social entrepreneur endeavors is Project Home Again. This non-profit organization was created shortly after hurricane Katrina by Leonard and Louise Riggio. Their mission is to build high quality energy efficient homes that meet and exceed new building codes in the area. These new homes pride themselves in using %40 less energy than comparable homes in the area and in exceeding the minimum level of elevation necessary for the flood regions (PHA). The most noteworthy element of their organization is the cost of these homes. In conjunction with extremely low prices and interest rates all the family must do is give up their flooded dilapidated home as a trade for a new home. Unlike a charity operating solely off donations, these social entrepreneur companies will be able to sustain themselves throughout the rebuilding process and remain in place for future generations.

Project Home Again Finished House

Center for Resource Conservation - Boulder:
Deconstruction projects and waste generated from housing renovations take up to 25-30% of landfill space in the United States (Resourse). The Center for Resource Conservation, in Boulder CO is a non-profit organization working to fix this problem as well as improving homes in Boulder County. Resource is a place to donate old cabinets, doors, counters, sinks, and anything you tear out of your house that still works. Resource gives you a tax deductable receipt for your donation, then sells the used products for a fraction of the original price! These social entrepreneurs are not only saving space in our landfills, they are allowing families to improve their homes and their lives for a very affordable price.

Resource has also started a “Tool Library.” This is a large inventory of tools available to the public for rent. This solves the problem of having to buy a tool you only use once. These tools include; posthole diggers, drills, carpet stretchers, power saws, plumbing tools, ect. (Resource). Their mission is to improve Boulder County one home improvement project at a time, as well as loaning tools to other non-profits such as trail maintenance crews and churches.

Their goal to save resources expands even farther than supplies and tools; by allowing people to affordably replace inefficient appliances and insulate windows and walls, Resource is working to save more than just money. They have the ability to save Boulder County massive amounts of energy, one of the most valuable resources.

As with all social entrepreneur operations, Resource is not limited by charitable donations. The money they make from selling their products has allowed them to stay in business since 1976 and will keep them saving housing resources for years to come.

=Other Useful Links and Sites in the Housing Sector:= Social Enterprise Guide to Housing: This guide from SE Toolbelt provides all the ins and outs of Social entrepreneurship in the housing sector, including opportunities for social enterprise, key issues in the housing sector and a business planning guide - http://www.setoolbelt.org/resources/623

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship – Their Mission: The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship provides unparalleled platforms at the national, regional and global levels for leading social innovators that highlight social entrepreneurship as a key element to address social and ecological problems in an innovative, sustainable and effective way. http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/index.htm

=Works Cited:=

"Finished Homes." __Project Home Again.__ 8 Oct. 2010. . "Home." __Project Home Again.__ 8 Oct. 2010. []. Dawkins, Tom. "Mapping Change: Leveraging Google Earth to improve housing and infrastructure" __Ashoka__. 29, Dec 2009. 10 Oct. 2010  "NPN." __Neiborghoods Partnership Network.__ 7 Oct. 2010.. “Our Impact”. //Homeless World Cup//. Homeless World Cup, n.d. 9 Oct. 2010. []  "Rebuilding Through SE." __Change Makers.net.__ 10 Oct. 2010. []. "Resource." __Center for Resource Conservation.__ 18 Oct. 2010. []. "Shelter Associates." Shelter Associates. 12 Oct. 2010. http://www.shelter-associates.org/index.html “The Cause”. //Homeless World Cup//. Homeless World Cup, n.d. 9 Oct. 2010. []  “Video + Photos”. Homeless World Cup. Homeless World Cup, n.d. 9 Oct. 2010. <  [] >