Displaying Archive for the ‘sustainable economic development’ Category

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

Connie K. Duckworth / January 24th, 2011 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, economic sustainability, sustainable economic development / 1 comment

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

– Albert Einstein

“Systems thinking” is about understanding how individual component parts influence each other within a whole framework. In a science lab, for example, systems thinking can be easily observed when small amounts of a catalyst create big chemical reactions.

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Wear Peace Proudly

Connie K. Duckworth / December 9th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghanistan families, economic sustainability, social investment, social programs, sustainable economic development / 4 comments

I’ve been running somewhat silent on STIR blog these past two months due to a particularly high level of activity across all fronts in Afghanistan that’s kept me running full throttle. There’s much to catch up on.

First and foremost, I am delighted to announce the launch of Peace Cord™, a new artisan “product with purpose” available now in time for the holidays, selling online for $10 and $15, and providing 150 additional jobs for women in rural Afghanistan.

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Welcome Home – You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby

Connie K. Duckworth / October 12th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, sustainable community, sustainable economic development / no comments

As mid-October approaches, members of the Marines’ first-ever “Female Engagement Team” will be head home. Deployed for six months in Helmand Province, Afghanistan along with 20,0000 other Marines under the command of Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, this band of 40 volunteers will return to the States from one of the most dangerous places on earth. (For more, read the October 3rd article in New York Times on this topic – “For Female Marines, Tea Comes with Bullets.”)

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Exploration, Innovation and Expeditionary Economics

Connie K. Duckworth / September 23rd, 2010 / posted in afghan people, sustainability strategy, sustainable economic development / no comments

Last week, I was invited to West Point to address Cadets taking an upper-level economics class about ARZU’s approach to grassroots community development in rural Afghanistan. Based on my interaction with the students I met, including a group of female (military-speak for “women”) engineers, I came away from this experience impressed with the intelligence, seriousness of purpose, and “systems-thinking” of our future military leadership.

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Afghan Women Hard at Work

Connie K. Duckworth / September 7th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, economic sustainability, social business enterprise, social programs, sustainable economic development / 1 comment

Yesterday was Labor Day – a time to celebrate and reflect upon the achievement of workers. It’s the perfect time to take stock in several micro-businesses that ARZU seeded earlier this summer. Each of these new enterprises shares the same overarching objective: to create sustainable jobs for rural Afghan women at fair wages through the sales of their products. That’s the ARZU STUDIO HOPE economic model for rugs in a nutshell, simply recast into new innovative applications.

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Would You Drink River Water?

Connie K. Duckworth / July 29th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, sustainable community, sustainable economic development, sustainable environment / 1 comment

Given our national obsession with bottled water over tap, I somehow think that the answer for most of us would be a resounding “no.” But for billions of people, the question is not particularly relevant. They simply have no other alternatives and it makes them sick, literally.

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Just Like Chicago, There Are Only Two Seasons: Winter and Construction

Connie K. Duckworth / July 26th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, sustainable economic development, sustainable environment / no comments

Compared to the deserts of Southern Afghanistan, Bamyan is like a green oasis surrounded by spectacular mountains in every direction. The summer climate there is like Aspen, Colorado—almost perfect. The fields are green with crops and entire families, men, women and children, are out working together to take advantage of the idyllic, but short, growing season. Come mid-November, when the ground freezes and the snowfall starts, many mountain villages will simply be inaccessible. But for now at least, those dark, cold days seem a long way off.

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Common Sense Is Not Common

Connie K. Duckworth / July 12th, 2010 / posted in social change, social programs, social responsibility, sustainable economic development / no comments

When I read about colossal development missteps, like the $104 million sewage system in Falluja, Iraq, funded for five years but never finished, that we’re walking away from, I can hear my mother’s voice reciting the litany of common sense truisms that I now try to drum into my children’s brains:

It’s quality, not quantity that counts.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Good things come in small packages.
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.
(I’m sure you can add to the list.)

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Operation Magic Carpet Ride

Connie K. Duckworth / June 21st, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, economic sustainability, opportunity, social programs, sustainable economic development / 3 comments

If my blog has been conspicuous by its absence for the last ten days, at least I have a good excuse. I’ve been in Afghanistan – at Camp Leatherneck, Northern Helmand Province to be precise – at the invitation of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Needless to say, it’s been a once in a lifetime experience.

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“Expeditionary Economics” : A New Weapon in Our Arsenal

Connie K. Duckworth / June 15th, 2010 / posted in economic sustainability, sustainability strategy, sustainable economic development / no comments

Until a month ago, I had never heard the term. Then, someone sent me an article from the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs entitled “Expeditionary Economics: Spurring Growth After Conflicts and Disasters.” It was written by Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, whose mission is “to foster a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities.”

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