All Change Agent
Preserving Mexico's folk art masksBill LeVasseur has collected hundreds of Mexican masks from remote villages that now hang on the walls of his museum in San Miguel de Allende. He's singlehandedly preserving a piece of Mexican culture that few realize is still thriving today.
Six solutions to lifting the world's farm workers out of povertyAgriculture will not be viable while the vast majority of its workforce lives in poverty. Innovative changes can break the cycle of poverty.
A 'Source to Sea Cleanup' for New England's longest riverOn Sept. 29 thousands of volunteers will spread out along the banks of the Connecticut River collecting tons of plastic bottles, cans, food containers, and other trash.
Marrying cash and change: Social 'stock markets' spread worldwideIn social-investment exchanges, donors choose what projects to 'invest' in. But the return is in the form of social good, not cash.
Pitcher irrigation brings vegetables to Pakistani desertPitcher irrigation – in which buried clay pots release water into the soil – delivers water directly to plant roots rather than spreading it more widely across fields.
A cross-border park spurs water cooperation in southern AfricaThe decade-old Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park was formed through the cooperation of three nations and has reduced conflicts over natural resources, especially water, while protecting wildlife.
SOIL turns human waste into compost in HaitiRural residents of Haiti most easily see the benefits of composting human waste, says Sasha Kramer, the co-founder of SOIL.
Africa's entrepreneurs on the riseAfrica is booming with young entrepreneurs, but they don't always operate like their counterparts in the US.
An urban gardening project greens Johannesburg rooftopsIn South Africa, the Tlhago Primary Agricultural Cooperative teaches urban youths gardening skills, educates them about climate change, and empowers them to take practical actions.
Buy a share of a fresh, sustainable fish catchA Massachusetts-based nonprofit is based on same concept as community-supported agriculture, except in this case members purchase a share of a fishing season, rather than a harvest of vegetables.
Arts center helps youths in Bogota shun guns, drugsAn arts center, run by a Colombian non-governmental organization, works with former child soldiers – leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries – to help them return to civilian life.
Tasintha sets Zambia's sex workers on a better pathThe nonprofit group Tasintha helps prostitutes reform their lives using a positive, nonjudgmental approach.
Could the blackout be fuel for India's energy entrepreneurs?New technologies created by India's energy entrepreneurs could provide affordable clean energy through community-scale micro-grids, solar home systems, and solar lanterns that displace the need for subsidized kerosene and provide a hundred times the lumens for a fraction of the cost.
As cities grow, technology could help quench the world's thirstApplying known technologies and changing old practices could make a big difference in ensuring an adequate water supply for both agriculture and cities, one expert says.
How cities can get drivers bikingHow can planners attract the 60 percent of Americans who say they would bike more if they felt more secure? The answer could be cheap and simple.
A modern, wired university grows in NigeriaThe American University of Nigeria provides a modern education right in the backyard of Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown terrorist group. One clue: The campus claims 55 percent of all the Internet traffic in Nigeria.
Bamboo farming takes pressure off Kenya's forestsEvicted from Kenya's protected forests, displaced people are finding a new way to make a living – without cutting trees – by turning to bamboo farming.
12 innovations that could combat droughtClimate change is making it increasingly important to protect US agriculture and address its vulnerability to natural disasters, such as drought.
'Own your own boda' (motorcycle taxi) empowers UgandansA startup helps motorcycle taxi drivers in Kampala, Uganda, buy their bikes, which in turn helps them buy homes, start businesses, and send their kids to school.
