March April 2013
Where Christian faith gets down to business
Into Africa:
They loved it so much they started a business
Highline Mushrooms — nature’s superfood Trying to stay safe in volatile regions Ukraine’s farmers overcome distrust 1
The Marketplace March April 2013
Roadside stand
Sniffing out an encore My grandfather was a consummate entrepreneur. A church leader observed, “Abe Kroeker sees the rabbit coming. I only see it when it’s running away.” I’ve often wondered if Grandpa’s entrepreneurial gene somehow skipped me. Although I have had no shortage of scintillating business ideas, I have not managed to inflame others with my vision (investors, for example). I have always been perplexed as to why this is so. Now I know why — I was too young. New research on “encore careers” shows that entrepreneurs over the age of 50 have a better success rate than those who are younger (see news article, page 23). Now that I am past (okay, well past) that pivotal age, I think I am on the cusp of raging entrepreneurial success. Which means it is time to reintroduce a brilliant product idea which I shared with readers when I was much younger (that is, before reaching the age of heightened entrepreneurial perspicacity). That idea — wait for it — is the scratchand-sniff Bible. Scoff not. This product, employing scent-strip technology, would bring old Bible stories to life with riveting odor enhancements. Imagine the possibilities. For example, at the story of Noah’s ark, you’d scratch the margin, and the aroma of camels and elephants would waft up from the page. Scratch beside Matthew 6 and
Cover photo of Dashir Lodge in Tanzania courtesy of Darryl Peters
The Marketplace March April 2013
detect lilies of the field. Turn over a few pages and smell the fish that fed five thousand. Read the story of Jesus turning water into wine, and a mere scratch of a fingernail would release the oaky notes of a nice Chardonnay. Wherever the text mentions anything scent-worthy, you could scratch, sniff and inhale new realms of olfactory bliss. Now that I am of suitable entrepreneurial age, I am determined to dust off my business plan and with renewed courage pitch this product (again) to the publishing community. Who knows, perhaps it will be the latest sensation in the global book industry. I can already visualize myself at next year’s Frankfurt Book Fair (like the World Series for publishers) autographing copies for eager readers. Please stop by. I’ll be the one with the gray hair.
the focus on customers, says Curwin Friesen, CEO of Friesens, one of North America’s leading book printers. “When we ask for overtime or flexible work schedules, we say to staff, ‘management is not asking you to work overtime, the customer is asking, and you’re the owner. We want to get this book out on time’,” he told a seminar at MEDA’s annual convention in Niagara Falls, Ont. When Friesens, based in Altona, Man., had the contract to print Harry Potter books, it was a “massive, massive project,” and the company had to cancel a lot of long weekends, which are highly precious in Manitoba’s short summer. The message to staff was “our customer needs this book.” Employee ownership, said Friesen, “allows us to be very flexible in our work arrangements.” You’re hired. Not. It’s hard to imagine someone actually saying this. Half-way through a job interview the male candidate told the female interviewer, “I’m not good at reporting
Two longtime MEDA supporters were honored at the end of 2012 with Canada’s highest civilian honor for their contributions to Canadian life. Ron Schlegel, Ayr, Ont., was named an officer of the Order of Canada for his commitment to innovative senior care. Besides building an organization that operates 11 continuum care villages housing some 2,500 seniors, he developed the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging. Elmer Hildebrand, Winnipeg, was named a member of the Order of Canada for his media contributions through Golden West Broadcasting, which operates 40 community service stations in western Canada. What are the benefits of widely-held employee ownership? One is that it helps keep 2
to women. Am I going to have to report to you?” The interviewer replied, “You would have, but you don’t need to worry about that anymore.” (Ragan Report) Words can haunt. We were paging through an old issue of this magazine from 15 years ago and came across this quote: “I ... am a strong believer that one of the most satisfying things in life is to create a highly moral and ethical environment in which every individual is allowed and encouraged to realize their Godgiven potential.” Who said it? None other than Kenneth Lay (yes, that one), former CEO of Enron Corp. Work hymns. For dentists: “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” For builders: “The Church’s One Foundation.” For fisherfolk: “Shall We Gather at the River.” For tailors: “Holy, Holy, Holy.” For optometrists: “Open My Eyes that I Might See.” For electricians: “Send the Light.” — WK
In this issue
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Into Africa
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“You can almost see them growing”
Harry Enns is a big fan of mushrooms, values and innovation. Those ingredients have made Highline Mushrooms the largest producer in Canada and the third-largest in North America.
New crops, new ways to cooperate in Ukraine. Page 14
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Safe and secure
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Sowing trust in Ukraine
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We still need pastors
Departments 2 4 20 22
Roadside stand Soul enterprise Soundbites News
Volume 43, Issue 2 March April 2013 The Marketplace (ISSN 0199-7130) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114. Lithographed in U.S.A. Copyright 2013 by MEDA. Editor: Wally Kroeker Design: Ray Dirks
They loved the place so much they decided to pack up, move there and build a business that would employ local people and model ecofriendly farming practices. By Darryl Peters
Change of address should be sent to Mennonite Economic Development Associates, 32C E Roseville Road, Lancaster, PA 17601-3681.
Development work can be dangerous as some of the neediest areas are also the most vulnerable. MEDA’s safety and security specialist offers tips to help keep staff and tourists out of trouble.
The project’s goal was to help 5,000 small farmers work together to produce better and more profitable crops. Despite a deep-rooted culture of suspicion, that target has been surpassed.
Amid the excitement to affirm all vocations as Christian callings, has the pendulum swung too far? Has the plodding work of shepherding a congregation become outmoded? By Drew Dyck
To e-mail an address change, subscription request or anything else relating to delivery of the magazine, please contact subscription@meda.org For editorial matters contact the editor at wkroeker@meda.org or call (204) 956-6436 Subscriptions: $25/year; $45/two years.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The Marketplace 32C E Roseville Road Lancaster, PA 17601-3681
Published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), whose dual thrust is to encourage a Christian witness in business and to operate business-oriented programs of assistance to the poor. For more information about MEDA call 1-800-665-7026. Web site www.meda.org
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The Marketplace March April 2013
Ordained for business? My old friend, Harry Martens, told me he was never ordained, but he had hands laid on him many times. Some of us feel this way in the rough and tumble business world. Seriously, is business really a calling? Does God actually summon certain persons into business? Does he recruit believers for kingdom work in business? Or do we simply stumble into business without any sense of divine unction? My point is this: We are all commissioned for a lifetime of Christian service, and business is a great place to live out the loving and serving presence of Jesus. Why do we only ordain and commission pastors and other congregational leaders? Shouldn’t businesspersons be set apart and dedicated for Christian service and witness in the marketplace? I wonder what would happen to us, as businesspersons, if our congregations had commissioning services for us. Our brothers and sisters would lay hands on us, pray over us and send us forth as their ambassadors to the business world. I suspect our businesses would take on a more hallowed dimension. We’d feel a sense of mission in business. We’d function as representatives of Christ’s church. We’d acknowledge his lordship in our businesses. Our corporate policies would be influenced by the gospel. And we’d feel more accountable to our sending bodies, our congregations, where we ought to be giving and receiving counsel. If you and I can’t feel ordained for business, maybe we ought to look for other work. — John H. Rudy, reprinted from his Marketplace column from May/June 1990
What work should we do? What wisdom does the Bible offer for how to choose our work? Timothy Keller, in his new book, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, has three suggestions. • “If we have the luxury of options, we would want to choose work that we can do well. It should fit our gifts and our capacities. To take up work that we can do well is like cultivating our selves as gardens filled with hidden potential; it is to make the greatest room for the ministry of competence.” • “Because the main purpose of work is to serve the world, we would want to choose work that benefits others. We have to ask whether our work or organization or industry makes people better or appeals to the worst aspects of their characters.” • “If possible, we do not simply wish to benefit our family, benefit the human community, and benefit ourselves — we also want to benefit our field of work itself ... [and] increase the human race’s capacity to cultivate the created world.”
The Marketplace March April 2013
Multipliers, bad and good You’re driving down the highway on your way to work. Someone cuts in front of you into your lane, which makes you mad. To get away from this lane jockey, you cut into someone else’s lane. Naturally, you make that person mad. Thinking you’re a real jerk, he swerves into the next lane. Pretty soon there are countless people coming into work, every one of them ready to start their day angry and upset. Some will take their frustration out on the product or the customer. Others may bark orders at their secretaries and staff. The multiplier effect has begun and just keeps on going. If you can help someone get off to a good start, however, maybe catch him or her doing something right, it will create a positive effect that can also multiply. Many small, simple but positive things managers, supervisors and associates do generate momentum that eventually can lead to great things. If you’re not too big for small things, you won’t then be too small for the big things that might happen as a result. — Retired Toro CEO Ken Melrose in Making The Grass Greener on Your Side 4
Do I want this job? Excellent! Numerous books have extolled the value of quality and excellence in the workplace. By and large, these studies have been based on the premise that quality work doesn’t just lead to higher profits — it is a condition of staying in business today. Many managers and employees have embraced excellence as a new way of doing business. Yet the theme of excellence in work is as old as the Bible (Proverbs 22:29 speaks of those who excel in their work). In fact, quality is one of the keys to a biblical view of work: • God works with excellence. The created world was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). • God equips people with specific skills and abilities that fit them for certain kinds of work. When our skills are used as intended, we serve God with all our mind and might (Matt. 22:37-38). • Christians are to do their work as if Christ himself were evaluating the effort — because he is (Eph. 6:5-8). • Christians are commanded to be “well pleasing in all things” in their work, because doing so makes the gospel of Christ attractive to coworkers and customers. That said, what kind of quality and craftsmanship do you put into your work? Would God be pleased with how you do your job, or with the end product or service? Are you proud of the way you do your job? If not, how could you make improvements? Reprinted from The Word in Life Study Bible, copyright 1993, 1996 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Here’s a check-list to evaluate a job you’re considering. Ask yourself these questions about the company or organization: • What kind of reputation does this employer have in the community? • What are its values? Are they clearly stated? How do they line up with mine? • How does this company treat minorities, women, seniors, the disabled? • Is it family-friendly? [If you are married:] What price will my spouse have to pay? • Will I be proud or embarrassed to tell others that I work here? Ask these questions about the job: • Will my Christian faith and values be a plus or minus for this company? • What’s the chance this job will require me to do something that goes against my principles? • Will the work I do help other people? • Does the job look interesting enough to keep me from getting bored? • Does it provide adequate support? • Does it use my gifts in a useful way? Will it give me a chance to grow (or at least look good on my resume later)? • Will this job make me a better person? From You’re Hired! Looking for work in all the right places, a MEDA career guide available for free download at www. meda.org/hired
Go forth Seen in a church bulletin: “Welcome. We consider it a blessing and a privilege that you chose to be here today. But frankly, we are more concerned about what you do when you leave. You see, we don’t believe the holiest moment of church is the hour or so you spend here Sunday morning. We believe it is when God’s people go out of the church door to be the church in the world.”
Overheard
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“You can praise the Lord by peeling a spud, if you peel it to perfection.” — Eric Liddell’s missionary father in the movie, Chariots of Fire The Marketplace March April 2013
Into Africa They loved it so much they moved there to do “business as mission” by Darryl Peters
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hen my wife Shirley came home from work one snowy, blustery winter day in our home city of Winnipeg, she said she’d talked to a friend who would like to visit Africa but was not comfortable going without knowing someone. He had Darryl Peters (back row) and staff celebrate completion of the lodge’s front step. quipped, “If you go and set up a place, then I’ll come.” That got us really thinking, We have attempted to enter into our local village and before the night was over, we had set our minds on a culture as much as possible. To facilitate this, we have new direction. endeavored to do our development and building VERY Four years later, after buying 12 acres of land over the SLOOOOOWLY — sometimes by choice and often by phone in 10 minutes, after selling off all our possessions forces of nature and life here in Tanzania. A popular Swa(less our three grown children!), and after two-and-a-half hili expression is, “Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba” (“Drop years of blood, sweat and tears, we have just opened up by drop, the cup becomes full”). Although our patience Dashir Lodge, a tourist lodge in Arusha, Tanzania, behas been sorely tested in so many ways, the slow method tween Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. That’s pretty is really amazing; it takes the main focus off productivity logical for a math teacher of 20 years, isn’t it? and allows plenty of time for personal, unhurried interacIt is no surprise to our family and friends that we have chosen to live in Africa again. It was actually in the “pre‑nups” when Shirley told me that if I would take her to Africa, then we could date and get married; but if Africa was out of the question, then we would just be good friends. I kept my end of the bargain: we have both been to Africa twice before as missionaries — once to Zambia as singles in our relative youth, and once on a three‑year teaching term with MCC in Botswana with our kids in tow.
It is, however, a complete surprise to our
family and friends, and even to us, that we have chosen the hospitality industry for our work in Africa. We have always enjoyed entertaining people in our home, so why not do it as a vocation? We see the lodge business, like any vocation, as a means to reach people for Christ, and in this case with a special ability to impact a sector of people who are difficult to reach through conventional missionary roles.
The Marketplace March April 2013
Shirley Peters (right) and cook Joyce Anaeli (seated) in the new cooking quarters. 6
tion, as well as the learning of language and culture. We have deliberately chosen to do as much as possible through manual labor, thus employing plenty of local people and keeping the money in the community rather than spending it on fuel and machines from larger companies. We also work alongside our workers, feeling the hot, sunny days and the rigor of the work, especially the tough digging and moving of soil, rocks and gravel. Currently we are providing full‑time employment and thus supporting the extended families of 10 local men. They are faithful to see the money gets to their families — we check on this regularly. Together, we have become like family, as many of the guys stay for night during the week. We try to model a loving marriage, full of fun and challenges.
Getting a start on the lodge’s pool.
drinking water from the roof, pump task water from a well, and are slowly increasing our supply of fruits, vegetables, meat, honey and other items from our own land. age better farming practices. Most farmers in the area Better farming practices are not easily taught to Africans work the land by ploughing with oxen. Meanwhile, the so that they will apply them on their own — they are soil suffers greatly — it loses the deeper moisture, erodes better “caught.” As people see what is happening as well quickly with the downpours of rain (people always talk of as the results, they are asking questions. the rocks “growing”), and packs even harder Using manual labor That is the entry point for true change — through each tilling. “Farming God’s Way” questions and an inner desire to adopt (FGW) is one method that is helping many something they see as beneficial and also farmers through better practices of conservacreates jobs and within their means to acquire (without tion of precious rainfall, minimal soil disturbance, and taking seriously the commission keeps the money in charity handouts!). of God to tend the land carefully. We have set Another personal community aside two acres, out of our current 30 (we have the community. goal of mine, being a teacher by trade, added to the original 12), for planting maize is to set up a learning centre and library on our land. and beans using some of the FGW principles. Recent guests donated the first batch of kids’ reading We are also moving towards eco‑friendly subsistence materials. Getting books into the hands of pre‑school living — obtaining most of our water, food and energy children and creating a love for books is so important from our own land. We practice grey water recycling for to academic success. We will also be assisting the local irrigation, create electricity from wind and sun, harvest public school and health clinic using volunteer expertise of tourists who are interested in spending some of their time in this way. We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to live in Africa, to have the stewardship of 30 acres of land, and to have the privilege and responsibility of living in the midst of a Tanzanian community. (The tough part of course is living so far away from our Canadian family and friends.) Our lodge is just an “excuse” for us to carry out the mission that is in our hearts, and we trust that we will be faithful. We welcome visitors to come to Dashir and experience Tanzania — its game parks, Kilimanjaro and especially to connect and interact with our warm and hospitable community of neighbors and friends. ◆
One of our community goals is to encour-
Darryl (left) and farming associate James Shikobe show off a new crop of sweet corn.
For more information contact info@dashirlodge.com or go to www. dashirlodge.com
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The Marketplace March April 2013
“You can almost see them growing” Values and innovation are key at Canada’s largest mushroom grower
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“It’s not a vegetable, not a fruit,” says Enns. “It takes id you know this about mushrooms? • They don’t need to grow in the dark. in oxygen, it gives off carbon dioxide, it sweats, it’s al• They don’t really grow in manure. most, well, like humans.” • The uglier and drier they look, the better His passion for the lowly fungus is rooted in his perthey may taste. sonal regard for the late Dr. Murray O’Neil, who founded Harry Enns, given a chance, will tell you a Highline Mushrooms in lot more about mushrooms. 1961. O’Neil was a local “Mushrooms are an exciting world,” he physician with a specialty says with enthusiasm. in allergens and a gift for entrepreneurship. Enns is one of the owners and the CFO He and a dentist friend of Highline Mushrooms, based in Leamingestablished the company ton, Ontario. Producing a million pounds and soon began using the a week, it’s the largest mushroom grower services of Enns, who was in Canada, and the third largest in North then a CA. America. “I was their accounHe is like an apostle for mushrooms. He’ll tant, doing their income extol their health benefits and let you know tax at the time,” Enns that a portabella contains more potassium Social responsibility makes running a busisays. than a banana and that cancer experts in the ness exciting, says Harry Enns, CFO and part owner. He forged such a U.S. have called mushrooms a superfood. The Marketplace March April 2013
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Highline ships out a million pounds of mushrooms a week to companies like Costco, Wal-Mart and Campbell Soup.
He admired his client so much he gave up his own practice to join the company.
goes to companies like Costco, Wal-Mart and other food chains, and the rest to food processors like Campbell Soup. Highline grows white, brown and portabella mushrooms, selling them in 32 different package sizes. Eight contract farms supply them with specialty varieties such as shitake, king oyster, enoki and oyster mushrooms. Highline also enhances mushrooms with vitamin D and is testing adding Omega 3 and other nutrients.
strong bond with Dr. O’Neil and his innovative style that he left public practice in 1972 to join the company and became a shareholder two years later. Today Highline’s four farms produce 155,000 pounds of mushrooms a day, two-thirds of which
A conversation with Enns can become a mini-
“It’s very important for us to share”
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hat’s the most exciting part of running a labor-intensive company? Balancing business with social responsibility, says Harry Enns. “We take social responsibility very, very seriously.” He admits to being proud of the benefits made available to Highline’s 1,100 employees. The average wage is $16.50 per hour, well above the local minimum. Benefits include a pension plan, medical, dental and vision insurance, scholarship program, on-site wellness programs, and a generous vacation package. Every employee gets a day off on their birthday. Fifteen percent of pre-tax earnings goes to employees as profit sharing. “We have never missed paying a profit share in 25 years,” he says. Last year it worked out to 80 cents for every hour worked. “We believe everything we do must be done in fairness, not only to our customers, but mostly to our employees. Not only must it be fair, it must also be
perceived as being fair.” A charitable foundation set up by the company’s founder supports medical needs. The company is very active in the community having in recent years purchased a Zamboni (ice-clearing vehicle) for the Leamington arena, naming a community centre in Wellington, and naming a library in Kingsville. “It’s very important for us to share,” says Enns. With many employees from other countries, Highline under contract engages three English as a Second Language instructors to provide literacy training. At last summer’s family picnic a flag was flown for each country represented among the staff — 18 in all. Communication at the farm is carried out in eight different languages. Enns takes special delight in the number of employees who utilize scholarship benefits for additional education while working for Highline. “That’s more important to us than making money,” he says. ◆
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Contrary to myth, mushrooms don’t need to grow in the dark. But less lighting makes it easier to keep them cool.
education in mushroom culture. What’s a portabella? Nothing more than a grown-up brown mushroom. The same phenomenon occurs with white mushrooms. “We tried growing large whites, but the market didn’t want them,” he says. Contrary to popular lore, mushrooms do not Highline was the need to grow in the dark. They don’t require light first mushroom because they don’t have chlorophyll and don’t pergrower in North form photosynthesis. The main reason for darkness, America to though, is to help keep the temperature down to eliminate the use the desired 55 degrees F. Lighting just warms them unnecessarily. of pesticides. Nor do mushrooms grow in beds of manure. They sprout in a compost called substrate, which at Highline is composed primarily of wheat straw that has been fed urea and animal manure for nitrogen. “We buy and haul in 2,100 bales of wheat straw every week,” Enns says. “That’s the equivalent of 700 acres The Marketplace March April 2013
of wheat.” The composition of substrate is a private issue among mushroom growers; not everyone uses the same organic matter. Highline’s founder was a stickler for a particular kind of substrate. “He would tell us that it all starts with the substrate,” says Enns. “If you don’t get that right, you don’t get good mushrooms.” During the growing cycle, considerable heat is generated (160 degrees F, 71 degrees Celsius) which pasteurizes the substrate so no bacteria or micro-organisms remain. Thus, it could be said, mushrooms grow in “clean dirt.” That dirt can have a bit of an odor, however. Enns remembers his grandchildren commenting on the smell. He told them, “No, it doesn’t stink. It smells like old money.”
Highline prides itself on maintaining the innovative legacy of its founder. “Dr. O’Neil’s inquisitive thinking has been the secret to the company’s success,” says Enns. “We are the first at many things. We were the first to vacuum cool our mushrooms, for example.” The company also raised the bar on speed of growth. New techniques enabled them to accelerate the cropping cycle to 13 crops a year, while many competitors produce only eight. 10
One key to good mushrooms is the right substrate, or compost. Highline’s substrate is composed mostly of wheat straw. The company hauls in 2,100 bales every week, equivalent of 700 acres of wheat.
“Ours grow at a pace of four percent per hour,” Enns says. “You can almost see them growing.” That speed has benefits beyond additional yield. “We grow mushrooms faster than the rate at which microorganisms can grow so we don’t need pesticides,” he says. “Nothing can mature in that time frame. We
were the first mushroom grower in North America to eliminate 100% of the pesticides typically used in our industry.” The spent mushroom compost, which remains rich in nutrients, is recycled. Some is sold to the public, local farms and fertilizer manufacturing companies. “We are a large recycling operation,” Enns says. “Everything is used.”
Not in bulk
He takes visible pride in Highline’s reputation as a leading grower of a product that he sees as nutritious and healthful. He hopes to see consumption grow in North America. Canadians eat some six pounds of mushrooms a year, about double U.S. per capita consumption. He’d like to see that come closer to Europe’s per capita consumption of about 30 pounds. To that end, he’s always ready to spread the word and to debunk myths about mushrooms. “Some people say you shouldn’t refrigerate mushrooms,” says Enns. “Not so. Keep them in the fridge, take the plastic off, and cover with paper towel. They’ll last for a long time. Officially they are said to have a seven-to-10day shelf life, but they’ll last much longer.” Not only that, they’ll get tastier, he adds. “White fresh mushrooms are 90% water. When they get ugly, all it means is that they’ve lost some water. The market likes nice white mushrooms. But the worse a mushroom looks,” he says, “the better it tastes.” ◆
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f you see bulk mushrooms at your local grocer, they probably did not come from Highline. “We seldom sell bulk mushrooms to retailers,” says Harry Enns. To him it is an ethical issue that goes back to Highline’s founder, Dr. Murray O’Neil, who was an allergist with strong views on food safety. “Our packaged mushrooms are safe,” says Enns, “but loose bulk mushrooms are a different story. Previous customers may have run their hands through those mushrooms and you don’t know where those hands have been. We don’t want our mushrooms to get contaminated.” A decade ago a large food chain requested bulk mushrooms, but Highline said no even though the potential sale was huge. The grocer eventually agreed to take Highline’s product in packaged form. The policy is plain and simple, says Enns. “We seldom sell bulk mushrooms to retailers. For us it’s a food safety issue. It’s not right. It’s not walking your talk.” ◆
Adapted from a seminar presented by Harry Enns at MEDA’s Business as a Calling convention, Nov. 1-4, Niagara Falls, Ont.
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Safe and secure MEDA’s advisor offers tips for travel in vulnerable regions
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of hard security measures, like guns and armored vehicles. “In most cases there are better ways,” he said, noting that his own values were closely allied with MEDA’s. As for protecting persons and organizations from danger in vulnerable environments, “it’s not all about guns and bombs,” he told the staff security briefing. “You are more at risk for safety than security.” He said the first three months after joining an organization is the most vulnerable time because of normal start-up stress and the lack of embedded knowledge that comes over time. He reminded new staff how important it is to be careful and cognizant of procedures. “What if we have a kidnapping?” he asked rhetorically. “What usually happens? We suspend the program, which brings all the impacts and costs of cessation. One person’s action can have a huge impact.”
n school we were taught to do our homework. That’s still important, especially when it comes to international travel, says Steve Ritchie, MEDA’s safety and security consultant. He is a big fan of doing “contextual research” (i.e., homework) before visiting potentially vulnerable regions. He talks about the “seven Ps,” which are code for his mantra: “prior preparation and planning prevents pathetically poor performance.” Development work, despite its altruistic intents, can be dangerous, Ritchie says. Many agencies have experienced robberies, even abductions. Fortunately, fatalities have been few, though last summer a Mennonite businessman from Ohio was shot to death in Afghanistan, where he had been working on a hydroelectric project. For MEDA, the concern level ratchets up as new projects take the organization into regions where security can be an issue, such as Libya and Yemen. “We’re not shying away,” Ritchie says. “We’re spreading our roots into more insecure areas.”
Ritchie said a preliminary risk assessment
Photo by Steve Sugrim
should cover a range of topics such as public disorder, traffic, kidnapping, uprisings, robbery, disease, assault, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder incidents (often high in former conflict areas), and natural disasters such as earthRitchie, a native of Belfast, Ireland, who now quakes or tsunamis. A local illness profile should consider lives in Turkey, is a former soldier who specializes in advisairborne, waterborne and vectorborne diseases, tubering humanitarian and development organizations that culosis, cholera, food poisoning, hepatitis, HIV, rabies, work in insecure environments. He made two presentamalaria and dengue. tions at MEDA’s convention in Niagara Falls, Ont., last Other suggestions for contextual research: November. One was to new staff, who all must attend a • Check on the local economy. If the economy has dropped, there could be a rise in criminality. Bring suffione-day security seminar; the other was for the general cient cash (preferably U.S.) because ATMs can be few and public, titled “Traveling with Confidence.” far between. For staff, Ritchie laid out his “And remember that if you are personal view of the difference from Canada or the United States, you between security and safety. Security was the “state of being are perceived as being rich. No matter protected against external/internal the reality, they think you are rich.” He threats.” Safety was “the condicautioned against fancy vehicles and vistion of being safe; freedom from ible driving patterns like taking the same risk or injury.” It was “by far the route every day. biggest issue, much more than • Know the history of local conflict, the level of criminality and how readsecurity.” ily available weapons are to the local Having security as a planning populace. Are there landmine-littering tool rather than a reactive tool issues? What is the local acceptance of was a new field in development. your particular nationality? He urged development practitioners to “see to it that security is • While Africa and other developing Guns and armored vehicles? In most part of every step.” regions have become very tech-savvy, cases there are better ways, says Steve Ritchie, safety and security consultant. Ritchie said he was not a fan check on mobile phone capability, coverThe Marketplace March April 2013
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Photos by Ray Dirks
age areas, what SIM cards you will need to carry. If you travel with electronic gadgets, be sure to carry a surge protector. • Check on the climate and what you will need to wear. In Africa, for example, the rainy season needs to be considered as it can seriously lengthen a trip. • How careful will you have to be about food? Will you have to filter water?
MEDA staff. Even in daylight, driving can be dangerous. Vehicles may be poorly serviced and lack seatbelts. He urged staff to make sure their drivers are trained. “Road traffic accidents are still the leading killer, particularly in our sector.” • How can you extract yourself in a jam? Where is your nearest embassy? What transport facilities are available? What other agencies work in the area? “Know who is there in case you need help.” • What kind of medical services are available in the area where you’re traveling? What size of medical kit should you bring?
“Don’t be tempted to use
Even casual travelers in developing countries need
the ‘extractable
to take precautions, Ritchie told seminar attenders. Preparation includes getting the proper vaccinations and carrying a passport copy in a moisture-proof baggie (preferably also a scanned passport version on a flash drive that can be e-mailed to an embassy if a passport is lost or stolen). “Medical insurance is a must, and you should confirm that your carrier can evacuate you rather than using local facilities,” he said. “Moreover, bring cash, as a lot of medical facilities won’t treat you unless you pay up front.” For travel in rural areas Ritchie recommended a first aid kit (and training). His own travel kit contains basic medical supplies (including splints, mosquito net, malaria testing kit and a sleeping liner for bedbugs). He also carries a carbon monoxide gauge, noting that Afghanistan alone reported 17 deaths last winter from carbon monoxide poisoning because of malfunctioning heating systems. For hotel security he recommended traveling with an inexpensive door stopper. Then, too, there are “robbery mitigation” tactics, such as carrying a cheap “robbing phone” and a “robbing wallet” with expired credit cards and token cash. ◆
green page in your passport’ (a bribe). You will just get hit again and again.” • Be aware of upcoming events that may create travel disruptions, such as political activity, elections, and national and religious holidays (eg., Ramadan). • What is the capability and reputation of law enforcement in the area you will be working? “Don’t be tempted to use the ‘extractable green page in your passport’ (a bribe). You will just get hit again and again,” Ritchie said. • Never drive at night, especially in rural areas. “That may be tempting, but it’s an absolute no-no,” Ritchie told 13
The Marketplace March April 2013
Sowing seeds of trust and profit Ukraine farm project surpasses targets
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ou won’t see it as a line item on most spreadsheets but when it comes to MEDA’s work with farmers in Ukraine, building “trust” is right up there with crop yields and profits. Just ask Stephen Wright, project manager of 7000 the Ukraine Horticultural Development Project (UHDP). In five years of working with thousands 6000 of smallholder farmers, his challenges have 5000 ranged from an extreme lack of trust among 4000 farmers to government corruption. 3000 Wright had his work cut out for him when in 2000 2007 he launched a program whose hallmark was working together for the common good. 1000 After many decades under a communist cloud, 0 Ukrainians were caught in a culture of suspicion where no one trusted each other, much less their own government.
Wright and Jerry Quigley, vice-president of MEDA’s market linkages department, reviewed the background of the UHDP during MEDA’s annual general meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., in early November. The goal of the
Client growth in Ukraine
6199 n n 6571
5421 n 4748 n n 5765 n 5096 3851 n 3226 n
2012
49 n
1414 n n 764 931 1652 518 n 372 n
n
n
n
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2009
2010
2011
2012
Farmers are seeing tangible benefits from growing new crops and working together to consolidate shipments. The Marketplace March April 2013
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Among the extension services to farmers is an instructional newsletter with a monthly distribution of 7,500 copies.
project was to help 5,000 farmers produce a better and more profitable mix of crops. Much of its $10 million funding came from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), with the rest provided by MEDA.
company (see following article). UHDP offers other services to strengthen farmers’ capacity. Fourteen weather stations have been established to give early warning of disease-related weather changes; a dozen more are planned. Some 7,500 copies of the
The project worked with pro-
ducers of vegetables and table grapes to improve production, tap into greenhouse and cold storage technology, and work together to market crops jointly, which of course requires mutual trust. “Where farmers were once selling only locally (and all selling the same crops at the same time), they are now consolidating shipments, using greenhouses to accelerate the growing season and cold storage to extend it,” says Quigley. UHDP arranged for local engineers to design cold storage demo units using the shells of old sea containers. Farmers soon saw the benefits of cold storage, which has added a premium price difference of nine to 20 percent. Commercial cold storages are now available on a lease-to-own arrangement with an affiliated MEDA
Farmers have learned the benefits of working together to market crops jointly.
Financing made greenhouse possible
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vgeniy, a tomato producer, has been trying to expand and diversify with potatoes, radishes, cucumbers and carrots. Through UHDP he and his wife are part of a regional network of greenhouse growers, where they learn about new techniques and consolidate their produce with neighboring farmers. When Evgeniy started farming open field crops on 30 acres of land, survival was very difficult as there was little hope of bank financing. He was denied loans because he had no collateral or credit history. Now, a greenhouse they acquired through ACM financing will allow them to expand and purchase a van to help transport their produce. ◆
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The Marketplace March April 2013
project’s instructional newsletter (English title: Good Agro News) are distributed each month. A gender equality strategy has provided 298 rural women with small grants to begin their own horticultural businesses. Women now compose 42 percent of UHDP’s clients, and report income gains of 75 percent. “It is still early to fully evaluate the success but initial findings are very promising and it looks like we will see a 1:2 ratio regarding grant dollars to amount invested, meaning every dollar in grants resulted in two dollars of investment,” says Wright.
paid for and supplied by an Israeli development agency, local training institutions and farm associations. “When these disparate pieces are brought together for a single purpose,” says Quigley, “the result is as satisfying as coaching a little league team and watching them turn their first double play.” Project numbers are growing. By year’s end UHDP had surpassed the initial 5,000 farmer target with more than 6,500 card-carrying clients. This is expected to exceed 7,000 by the end of March. Client sales totalled more than $14.5 million last year with incomes increasing an average of 71 percent. Farmers have been pleased. In the most recent client satisfaction survey they gave UHDP a score of 4.68 out of a
UHDP works with multiple partners for maximum impact — including consolidators, greenhouse experts
Expanding canopy Unintended leasing company now feeling growing pains
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erry Quigley calls it “the company ACM. that should never be.” The new company has He’s referring to Agro Capital done well. It has written 884 Management (ACM), a “lease to lease‑to‑own contracts worth own” supplier of greenhouses, cold stor$4.7 million, and earned ages and agricultural inputs to small farma net profit of more than ers in Ukraine. $500,000 in 2012. Sarona’s “Normally MEDA is committed to original $1.2 million investcooperating with local companies, not ment has grown to $1.8 competing against them,” says Quigley, million. who is vice-president of MEDA’s market Best of all, the farmers linkages department. who have used ACM are But adverse market conditions have a more productive and more way of forcing one to step out of characprofitable. ter, as it did in Ukraine. Quigley offered a succinct “investment But growth at ACM history lesson” during MEDA’s annual genhas not come easily, nor eral meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., in early without setbacks, says November. Quigley. “Stable and comAlla, a widow, grows table grapes and The original project design (as depetent management has strawberries on the 5,000-square-metre plot of land she received as a collective scribed in the previous article) expected fibeen difficult to find. Staff is farm member. ACM made it possible for nancing to be provided by local banks and constantly tempted by clients her to acquire a motorized rototiller which and suppliers in a business credit unions, but “the 2008 global finanhas significantly increased productivity. cial crisis brought that plan to a screechenvironment where bribes She hopes to purchase additional ACM ing halt,” Quigley says. “Credit in Ukraine and kickbacks are routine products such as a greenhouse. dried up in a matter of months.” and expected. Business deals Undeterred, MEDA and its investment affiliate, Sarona are based on the initial assumption of deceit; integrity and Risk Capital Fund, launched ACM so UHDP clients could trust is only established later. Local accounting standards acquire greenhouses, berry and grape seedlings, cold storare not compliant with international ones. There is always ages, small equipment and tractors. MEDA used money it risk that an economic downturn could compromise the had raised for UHDP as an investment into Sarona, which portfolio.” then invested the $1.2 million in capital needed to launch But that is part of the life of an entrepreneur, he
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maximum of five. “We believe we have established a very good model that can be scaled and duplicated,” says Wright. “We also believe we have created a strong model for the private sector. We anticipate very close working relations with very large suppliers in the future.” MEDA hopes to receive the green light from CIDA for a second phase. Meanwhile, UHDP is trying to expand its reach and reduce its cost per client. That cost has been $2,000 each but Wright believes ongoing improvements and expanded scale can bring it down to $500 per client. ◆ A shipment of tomatoes off to market. Greenhouses accelerate the growing season and cold storages extend it.
The climate was
adds philosophically. “In short, this is the perfect for MEDA to be in forbidding. Bribes place business.” ACM’s biggest chaland kickbacks lenge right now is one that many businessfolk were routine. yearn for — managing growth. One element Business deals of that is finding good people to staff a growwere based on an ing business; another is the need for more initial assumption money to meet growing demand. “Along with MEDA’s of deceit. equity of $1.8 million, we have also borrowed about $425,000 from MEDA members and related foundations,” Quigley says. “Next year we will need about $1 million more to meet growing demand. Lenders should be assured by the very manageable debt-to-equity ratio. Interest rates paid for loans to ACM are generous by North American standards (6 to 6.5% depending on the term and amount). Additionally, the board of ACM is looking for equity partners to help take ACM to the next level. Over the next year we will be seeking local partners — perhaps a local bank or Ukrainian equipment supply company.” Quigley sees the Ukraine work as a modern extension of MEDA’s earliest work, where members formed investment partnerships with local entrepreneurs to launch enterprises in Paraguay. Today those partnerships are more extensive. “Yes,” he says, “we still invest, but now these investments are often coupled with Sarona expertise, leveraged with CIDA or USAID funds that are administered by MEDA managers in partnership with local companies and implementing partners. The tent has expanded and the reach is greatly multiplied. Nowhere is that ‘multiplied leverage’ more on display than in our work in Ukraine.” ◆
“I’ve got confidence”
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alina began farming by joining a network of UHDP farmers where she received training and consultation services that gave her the confidence to begin her own strawberry business. She obtained seedlings, drip irrigation and plastic through ACM. She also plans to acquire spun bond fabric from ACM for plant protection and faster ripening. Galina’s husband and one son help with the family business. Her oldest son is disabled and requires constant attention. She does her best to provide that care while still tending to her business. Her only other income is a very small state pension. Galina and her family hope their additional income will enable them to purchase a car to make it easier to run the business and care for her son. ◆
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The Marketplace March April 2013
Why we need plumbers — and pastors Amid the excitement to affirm all vocations, let’s not forget to honor the pastoral calling by Drew Dyck
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rowing up I knew I could serve God in whatever standing of vocation. I’ve seen numerous books on the profession I chose. Providing, of course, I chose topic published in the past few years. Conferences are to be either a missionary or a pastor. springing up. What’s most heartening is to see some In the particular subculture in which I was churches, like Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, raised, those were pretty much the two vocations availlaunching programs to help parishioners think theologiable to serious Christians. And even within the dyad, cally about their vocations. We still have a long way to there was hierarchy. Missionary was preferred to pastor. go, but things are changing. And I’m thankful. Yet amid If you had a physical condition that made overseas living the excitement to affirm all vocations, I want to offer this prohibitive, or had too many children when you caveat. Let’s not forget to also applied to be a missionary with our denominahonor the call to full‑time ministion (as was the case with my parents), becomtry. ing a pastor was a respectable Plan B. Since graduating from semiI remember one traveling missionary thunnary six years ago, I can’t think dering, “Every Christian is called to go to the of one former classmate who is mission field!” This was no metaphor. He now a pastor. For many young wasn’t talking about being a “missionary” in Christians today, going into “The ancient, your workplace or neighborhood. No, this was missions or the pastorate is now drop‑a‑finger on a map of Africa — and go! the second‑class option. Doing I still appreciate that kind of passion for social work, starting a charity, or plodding work global missions. But that mentality often had working for an NGO – those are negative, if unintended, consequences. For inthe cool vocations. Next to such of shepherding a stance, it devalued “secular” callings. The excluendeavors the ancient, plodding sive focus on “full‑time ministry” vocations creof shepherding a congregacongregation seems work ated a two‑tier spirituality. Those in “full‑time tion seems passé to many. That ministry” were the spiritual one‑percenters; worries me. If the Christians passe´ to many. bi‑vocational ministers and secular workers the of yesteryear exalted ministry second‑class Christians. vocations to unhealthy heights, I That worries me.” Sure, a wealthy executive or doctor who fear the pendulum may now be lived faithfully for Christ might achieve a modiswinging too far in the opposite cum of respect in church circles. But spiritually speaking, direction. they were “walking wallets,” useful for funding ministry All vocations are sacred. Christ calls his people to — the real work of the Lord. take the gospel into all worlds. We need lawyers and Thankfully, we’ve seen a shift away from that sort of businesspeople, landscapers and plumbers. But we also thinking. The sacred‑secular line has blurred while the deneed pastors, men and women who devote themselves to sire to affirm all callings has sharpened. Many now rightserve the church full‑time. In our zeal to affirm all callings, fully see all vocations as equally valid ways to glorify God. let’s not forget this. Ministry is still a special, not superior, “Church leaders are increasingly talking about the calling. Nothing has changed since Paul told Timothy mission of God in the world and our role in it,” Amy Sherthat “elders who direct the affairs of the church well are man, author of Kingdom Calling, recently told Christianity worthy of double honor, especially those whose work Today. “Many leaders realize that if we want people to is preaching and teaching.” When we talk of vocation bring about restoration in the fields of business, law, the as holy, let’s remember that applies to all callings, even arts, and media, we need to think about what it means pastoral ones. ◆ to be a Christian businessperson, a Christian lawyer, or a Drew Dyck is managing editor of Leadership Journal, from which this Christian journalist.” article is reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2013 by Christianity I applaud this move toward a more holistic underToday/Leadership Journal. The Marketplace March April 2013
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Who said it? Quotations and proverbs are grist for sermons, speeches and clever conversation. But who said them first? Take the following test and check your Business I.Q. (For “I’m quoting...”). Disclaimer: Our use of these quotations does not mean we agree with them (but we might).
and in my experience it is more of a curse than a blessing to the families that possess it.” a. Milton Hershey b. Joseph Rowntree c. Francis Fry d. George Cadbury
2. “It’s a sin for a man to die rich.” a. Bob Kroeker b. Ronald Sider c. Milton Hershey d. Warren Buffet
3. “Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.” a. Stephen Leacock b. Amartya Sen c. John Kenneth Galbraith d. Joseph Schumpeter
4. “Management is about human beings.” a. Peter Drucker b. Jack Welch c. Roger L. Martin d. Jim Collins
5. “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” a. Steve Martin b. Gilda Radner c. G.K. Chesterton d. Lily Tomlin
6. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” a. Melissa Stoner b. Marlin Hershey c. Winston Churchill d. Sir John Templeton
7. “The society which scorns excel-
lence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because philosophy is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.” a. A.L. Mencken b. Bertrand Russell c. John W. Gardner d. Christopher Hitchens
8. “Far and away the best prize that
life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” a. Mark Twain b. Theodore Roosevelt c. Abraham Lincoln d. Conrad Black
9. “There is no traffic jam on the second mile.” a. Zig Ziglar b. Albert Schweitzer c. Marion Pollard d. Timothy Keller
10. “God calls you to the kind of
work that you need most to do, and that the world most needs to have done ... the place God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” a. Ray Bystrom b. B. Boku c. Frederick Buechner d. David Miller 19
11. “Tithing is for cheapskates.” a. Marlin Hershey b. Mike Miller c. Bob Kroeker d. None of the above
12. “If you’re not making some
mistakes, you probably aren’t taking enough risks.” a. Ben Cohen b. Howard Good c. Judy Valente d. None of the above
13. “Live so that you wouldn’t be
ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.” a. H. Winfield Tutte b. Laverna B. Reimer c. Will Rogers d. Mark Twain
14. “All our best-laid plans must eventually degenerate into hard work.” a. Steven Covey b. Peter Drucker c. Samuel Johnson d. Logan Pearsall Smith
15. “When you invest in the poor you get to keep the change.” a. Damisa Moyo b. B. Boku c. Amy Sherman d. None of the above
Answers: 1. d; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a; 5. c; 6. c; 7. c; 8. b; 9. a; 10. c; 11. d; 12. d; 13. c; 14. b; 15. d
1. “Great wealth is not to be desired
The Marketplace March April 2013
Soundbites
Can we relate to $8 per hour? America’s economic divide has grown so large that it’s hard for those in the [top] 1 percent to imagine what life at the bottom — and increasingly in the middle — is like. Consider for a moment a household with a single earner and two children. Assume that the earner is in good health and manages to work a full 40 hours a week (the average work-week of American workers is only 34 hours) at a wage somewhat above the minimum, say, around $8.50 an hour, so that after paying his Social Security tax, he gets $8 per hour, and thus receives $16,640 for his 2,080 hours. Assume he pays no income tax, but his employer charges him $200 a month for health insurance for his entire family and picks up the rest of the $550 per month cost of insurance. This brings his take-
entertainment. If something goes wrong, there is simply no buffer. — Joseph E. Stiglitz in The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future
Attack ads
home pay to $14,240 a year. If he is lucky, he might be able to find a two-bedroom apartment (with utilities included) for $700 a month. This leaves him with $5,840 to cover all other family expenses for the year. Like most Americans, he may consider a car a basic necessity; insurance, gas, maintenance, and depreciation on the vehicle could easily take up some $3,000. The family’s remaining funds are $2,840 — under $3 a day per person — to cover basic expenses like food and clothing, not to mention things that make life worth living, like
I’d like to hear attack ads on things worth attacking. If there was an attack ad on malaria, I’d get that, because 3,000 people die every day — mostly kids — of malaria. — U2 singer Bono alluding to recent election ads while speaking to students at Georgetown University
Hire the happy Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness. In one of those life-isn’t-fair results,
it turns out that the happy outperform the less happy. Happy people work more hours each week — and they work more in their free time, too. They tend to be more cooperative, less self-centered, and more willing to help other people — say by sharing information or pitching in to help a colleague — and then, because they’ve helped others, others tend to help them. Also, they work better with others, because people prefer to be around happier people, who are also less likely to show the counterproductive behaviors of burnout, absenteeism, counter- and nonproductive work, work disputes, and retaliatory behavior than are less happy people. — Gretchen Rubin in The Happiness Project
We need work Work is as much a basic human need as food, beauty, rest, friendship, prayer and sexuality; it is not simply medicine but food for our soul. Without meaningful work we sense significant inner loss and emptiness. People who are cut off from work because of physical or other reasons quickly discover how much they need work to thrive emotionally, physically, and spiritually. — Timothy Keller in Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work
Quitting time Work is the form in which we make ourselves useful to others.... Imagine that everyone quits working, right now! What happens? Civilized life quickly melts away. Food vanishes from the shelves, gas dries up at the pumps, streets are no longer patrolled, and fires burn The Marketplace March April 2013
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themselves out. Communication and transportation services end, utilities go dead. Those who survive at all are soon huddled around campfires, sleeping in caves, clothed in raw animal hides. The difference between [a wilderness] and culture is simply, work. — Lester DeKoster in Work: The Meaning of Your Life
that we don’t have to win an election, convince Congress or pass a bill to do what we think is right. We can simply move forward, doing what we know is right. — WalMart CEO Bill Simon, promoting his company’s plan to lift the U.S. economy
Getting engaged
Mobile-money services are especially useful in developing countries. A worker in the city can send money to his family in the village without having to waste a day travelling on a rickety bus. Indeed, he can pay his family’s household bills directly from his phone. It can be safer too: nobody wants to carry wads of currency on public transport. Mobile money also gives its users — many of whom are poor and have no access to banks — a way to save small amounts of money.... Mobile transactions are more traceable than cash, making it harder for corrupt officials to embezzle undetected. — The Economist
People get excited when they feel they’re genuinely a part of something and making a contribution. If they’re thinking of completing their tasks and not their purpose within the organization you’re not going to have an engaged work environment. — Leadership consultant Bill Hogg in Profit magazine
Business beauty We’ve developed a national paralysis that’s driven by all of us waiting for someone else to do something. The beauty of the private sector is
Missed opportunities Interesting article, “How I changed my mind about business” (Jan/Feb issue). Just re‑read it this morning. I’d love to see a follow‑up article — “How I changed my mind about leadership.” Readers of MEDA are already pretty aware of the benefits of business and that it is not a “lower” path. I’d like to read an article about the waste of money, damaged relationships and missed opportunities caused by the type of timid, egalitarian, approach the author describes in his second paragraph. An honest discussion around that topic might be a first step in achieving the items in his “Hopes” list at the end. — Alan Giagnocavo, Fox Chapel Publishing, Lancaster, Pa.
Pocket bank
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The Marketplace March April 2013
News
Government visitor praises MEDA’s “tangible results” new production techniques, implement new technologies, and gain access to support services such as finance. Since the project began in 2011, weavers have seen their incomes rise 14 to 18 percent. Fantino talked with several local weavers and a designer to learn how they became involved in EDGET and the impact it has had on their lives. A male weaver told him, “I have more, steady orders and receive more money for my products because of the linkage to designers. In this group, we work together to encourage quality and delivery of our orders on time.” A female weaver added, “Since this project and the new things I learned about developing my business and to improve the quality of my weaving, I have gotten more orders and am able to save
money. I have made enough money to buy a new house for my family.” Local designers also benefit from the project. Said one, “It has given me access to more excellent quality weavers for the fabric for my designs. In
Youth unemployment is ratcheting higher on the global doom scale. It is now commonly being called a crisis, and was listed in The World in 2013 (published by The Economist) as one of the biggest problems facing the world. That is no surprise to economic development practitioners who have long lamented the 25% unemployment rate among young people 15 to 24 in north Africa and the Middle East. “Clearly, this is a critical business issue,” writes Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company. A survey by his company found that 40% of employers from Asia to Africa report having trouble finding skilled workers. “We forecast that by 2020 there will be a global shortfall of 85 million high- and middleskill workers for the labour market,” he writes. Beyond the needs of employers, however, there is a social and political price to pay. “If young people who have played by society’s rules — working hard, for example, to graduate from school and university — find fewer and fewer opportunities to secure decent jobs and the sense of respect that comes with them, society will have to be pre-
Canadian cabinet minister Julian Fantino chats with a weaver during a visit to MEDA’s project in Ethiopia.
Comments?
Would you like to comment on anything in this magazine, or on any other matters relating to business and faith? Send your thoughts to wkroeker@meda.org
The Marketplace March April 2013
Ethiopia there is a strong, proud heritage of excellent weaving skills and we are investing and leveraging that expertise by linking these weavers to high‑end buyers here and through export markets.” — MEDA release
The young and restless need jobs — or else
Photo courtesy of ©ACDI‑CIDA
Julian Fantino, Canada’s Minister for International Cooperation, recently paid a visit to MEDA’s EDGET project (Ethiopians Driving Growth through Entrepreneurship and Trade) and praised MEDA’s sustainable approach to economic development. The project, which receives funding from the Government of Canada through CIDA, aims to help 10,000 farmers and weavers to create more sustainable livelihoods. “This is exactly the kind of project that Canada is proud to support as it delivers tangible results, helps lift families out of poverty and puts countries on track to becoming self‑sustaining,” Fantino said. The five-year project is helping textile producers and rice farmers to increase their incomes by helping them reach higher‑value markets, learn
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pared for outbreaks of anger or even violence,” Barton writes, noting recent riots in several regions. “As the jobless young resentfully note, the gap between the haves and havenots in the OECD countries is at a 30-year high, with income among the top 10% nine times higher than that of the bottom 10%.” One ingredient of the disconnect is inadequate training (a problem which MEDA’s programs in Morocco and elsewhere seek to remedy). Employers complain that entrylevel workers lack the right skills, yet educators contend those skills are precisely what they have been trying to teach. “In our survey, nearly 70% of employers blamed inadequate training for the shortfall in skilled workers, yet 70% of education providers believe they suitably prepare graduates for the jobs market,” says Barton. “Similarly, employers complain that less than half of the young whom they hire have adequate problem-solving skills, yet nearly two-thirds of the young believe that they do have such skills.” One solution to the impasse, he says, is greater cooperation between those who train the young people and the businesses that will hire them.◆
Too old to keep working, or time for Act Two? When Pope Benedict decided to call it a career at the age of 85, he sparked a blizzard of commentary on the “second act” of life. Hordes of people are working beyond what used to be considered retirement age. A new survey by Sun Life finds that only 25 percent of Canadians expect to leave their jobs by the age of 66. In a similar survey five years ago, twice as many respondents said they planned to retire at that age. Many will keep working because of pension shortfalls, but writers in the financial press are asking: Now that people are living longer, and many of them are healthier, is it time to think differently about work?
People with a business bent may want to take note: “The good news for second actors is that entrepreneurs over the age of 50 have a significantly higher success rate than their younger counterparts,” Bedell writes. She traces this assertion to Marc Freedman, founder of the Purpose prize for social entrepreneurs over the age of 65. In his book, The Big Shift, Freedman contends that after the age of 50 or so people start to appreciate that their lives are not infinite. They sense that the sand is running to the bottom of the glass but they still feel there is enough time left to be useful. Older folk tend to want to leave a legacy that is not merely
“Extended retirement isn’t affordable and it isn’t terribly good for us,” writes Geraldine Bedell in The Guardian. “All the research on healthy longer lives shows that the more engaged and involved we feel, the better we age, physically and mentally.” While some kinds of work, such as cognitive tasks requiring swift reactions, are best done by the young, don’t be too quick to write off seniors, she writes. When it comes to “making connections, assessing the quality of competing arguments and emotional intelligence — the ingredients of what we commonly call wisdom — people go on improving for a long time.”
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financial but also social. They also want to focus on the next generation, hence their strong rates of volunteering and helping with childcare. “The negative view of longevity, then, as a period of inevitable decline and burden on the family and state, is pretty misleading,” Bedell writes. “Of course it is important to focus on dementia, to look for cures and to be concerned about care. But ... it is not the only story about getting old. “Increased longevity, if we can avoid plagues of modernity such as obesity and death by horsemeat, offers us a huge opportunity to think differently about the life course.... Bring on those second acts.” ◆
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