Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2387 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Thailand's Bamboo School

Fred de Sam Lazaro

February 07, 2019 |

Under-Told Stories Project |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Thailand

A unique boarding school in Thailand has inspired close to 200 more of its kind. At Mechai Bamboo School, students benefit from a combination of traditional classroom instruction and hands-on activities, including starting their own small businesses. Targeted at some of the most disadvantaged students in Buriram Province, the lessons in economic development encourage students to give back to their home communities instead of migrating.

Read More
Go to Original Story
These probiotics for plants help farms suck up extra carbon dioxide

Adele Peters

February 07, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

A startup called Locus Agricultural Solutions has created a "probiotic" for soil that uses a mixture of beneficial fungi and bacteria. Not only does it increase productivity of crops, but it also absorbs enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere per acre to offset the emissions of a passenger vehicle. Tests done on an orange grove in Florida showed that areas treated with the product took up an extra 4.38 metric tons of CO2 per acre.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Battle Over Teaching Chicago's Schools About Police Torture and Reparations

Peter C. Baker

February 07, 2019 |

Longreads |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In response to the discovery that Chicago police officer Jon Burge led a "Midnight Crew" torturing mostly Black men to coerce criminal confessions, the city council's agreement to make cash reparations to the victims included a mandated curriculum in public schools to teach high school students the truth of what happened. Critics called the curriculum, "Reparations Won," anti-police propaganda. But a rare and lengthy observation of one class' experience showed its effects on youth. Not only did they learn the history, but they also learned the possibility of change in the face of systemic injustice.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Punjab's marginalised communities struggle for their right to cultivate common lands

Kundan Pandey

February 07, 2019 |

Down To Earth |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Punjab

Balad Kalan’s Scheduled Castes, popularly called Dalits, collectively bid to win the rights to fertile common lands that big landlords had taken control of. Each family contributed what they could and, after protests due to the lack of transparency in the bidding process, won 53 hectares, or one-third of the common land, which was distributed among 145 families. Fifty other villages have since won collective land rights by replicating the joint bidding process. An 11-member cooperative manages the land in each village, which is distributed to families in proportion to their monetary contribution.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In Nigeria, documentary films spark social change

Innocent Eteng

February 07, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Port Harcourt

A local, grass-roots art project in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, spreads awareness about and encourages action against government-sponsored evictions in the city's low-income communities. Cinematic films, music, and journalistic storytelling help spread the humanity and character of the communities to appeal to government entities to let people stay.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Baltimore enacts new rules to root out squalid rental properties. But some tenants could lose their homes

Doug Donovan

February 07, 2019 |

The Baltimore Sun |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore passed a law that cracks down on rental property owners that have been operating without required inspection, leaving renters living in squalor. While critics fear that owners and landlords may lose business, advocates note that living conditions have drastically improved for those renting homes in these buildings.

Read More
Go to Original Story
When refugees need emergency help with a language barrier, this app connects them to a translator

Adele Peters

February 07, 2019 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States

A new mobile app called Tarjimly connects refugees with much needed translation services, especially in times of emergency. With over 8,000 volunteer translators who speak over 90 languages, the adaptable app can break down language barriers in any situation in which a refugee has access to a mobile phone.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Community Solar Developers Get Creative to Finance Big Projects

Zoe Sullivan

February 06, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Organizations across the country work to make sustainable solar energy accessible for low-income communities. Through creative financing models that allow community members to maintain ownership over their neighborhood solar panels, these organizations keep financing in the hands of community members rather than corporate entities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
What we can learn from Canada's universal child care model

Allison Herrera

February 05, 2019 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Montreal, Quebec

By reducing daycare costs to nearly nothing, Québec's universal child care program allows more women than ever to join the labor force, rather than stay home and care for their children. The United States now looks to this Canadian province as a working model that sheds light upon the benefits of government-funded child care programs.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Restoring the Range: Can Beef Be Earth-Friendly?

Madeline Ostrander

February 04, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Hayes, South Dakota

Mortenson Cattle Ranch in Hayes, South Dakota is redefining sustainability practices for cattle-raising farmers by using a model that restored the habitat, wildlife, and water sources on their land. Mimicking the habits of bison herds, the Mortensons use a technique called holistic range management to rotate their cattle's grazing areas, which increases distribution of wildflower and grass seeds, as well as planting trees and replenishing groundwater using dikes and dams. Having started this in the 1980s, 90% of their 19,000 acre property is back to native vegetation, and efforts are still ongoing.

Read More
Go to Original Story