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 401 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Protecting Health and the Planet With Clean Cookstoves

Jeff Smith

February 16, 2011 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ghana

Less charcoal, faster cook times, energy efficient and healthier: these are all terms that have been associated with a new cooking stove produced by the small Ghana business Toyola Energy. This stove acts as a dual solution to both health risks and environmental concerns surrounding cooking with traditional methods, and is gaining tractions on a broader scale because of this.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How to Grow a Social Business

Tina Rosenberg

February 04, 2011 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Antigua Guatemala

Two columns on microconsignment, a new variation on microcredit that helps poor people living in developing countries - particularly women in rural villages - start small social businesses without taking on debt or requiring previous business skills. The organization, Soluciones Comunitarias, partners with a non-profit and a university student program to manage the supply chain and other components of the business necessary to support the social entrepreneurs in successful micro-ventures.

Read More
Go to Original Story
When Microcredit Won't Do

Tina Rosenberg

January 31, 2011 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Nebaj

Microcredit can get people into debt when used poorly. A company in Guatemala is giving products to poor entrepreneurs on consignment and then charging a commission upon sale and in this way removing the entrepreneurs' risk.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Illuminating Thoughts on Power

David Bornstein

January 14, 2011 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Tamkuha, Bihar

A follow-up article on Husk Power Systems, which has created a scalable system to turn rice husks into electricity that is reliable, eco-friendly and affordable for families in India. The company bases their business model around local involvement, grassroots systems that cater to the immediate community, and continual accountability. This article fills in some information gaps from the initial piece, "Fixes: A Light in India."

Read More
Go to Original Story
To Beat Back Poverty, Pay the Poor

Tina Rosenberg

January 03, 2011 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro

Two columns on the most important new development program today, in use in at least 40 poor countries: give the poor cash payments, contingent on their use of health clinics and their children’s school attendance. These programs, which started in Mexico and Brazil, help the poor now and try to create a generation with less poverty in the future.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Green Strategies for the Poorest

Tina Rosenberg

November 19, 2010 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Elgeyo Marakwet

The company that manufactures Lifestraw, a water purification device, has found a way to distribute their product to impoverished Kenyan families for free, while still making a profit. In the global carbon credit market, businesses receive carbon credits for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These credits can then be sold to companies who need to offset their carbon emissions, allowing green companies to make a profit off of their small ecological footprint.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Clean Water at No Cost? Just Add Carbon Credits

Tina Rosenberg

November 15, 2010 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

The company that manufactures Lifestraw, a water purification device, has found a way to distribute their product to impoverished Kenyan families for free, while still making a profit. In the global carbon credit market, businesses receive carbon credits for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These credits can then be sold to companies who need to offset their carbon emissions, allowing green companies to make a profit off of their small ecological footprint.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Health Care and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

David Bornstein Tina Rosenberg

October 18, 2010 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lesotho, Maseru

In a mountainous region of Lesotho, a man named Tsepo Kotelo visits 20 villages every week on his new motorcycle to provide health care to local villagers. The Elton John AIDS Foundation gifted the motorcycles to Kotelo and his colleagues, allowing them to increase the number of patients they visit by 600 percent. An organization called Riders for Health helps maintain the bikes, ensuring that remote villages will continue to receive medical care.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Harnessing the Wind with Scrap

Sam Burcher

May 08, 2009 |

Science in Society |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Malawi, Mastala, Kusungu District

A bright young man named William took it upon himself to bring electricity to his small, rural village in Malawi, despite having few resources at his disposal. William invented a windmill using recycled materials, and successfully generated power for his home. His incredible ingenuity attracted international attention, inspiring others as far away as Portsmouth University to design windmills that are financially and physically accessible for the world's rural poor living off the grid.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Social Entrepreneur Peru: Albina Ruiz and the Ciudad Saludable

Matthias Kopp

September 02, 2008 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Peru, Pucallpa

Albina Ruiz, founder of the social enterprise Ciudad Saludable, works with people living in areas dominated by the trash dump to create a more formal system of waste removal for their health and the wider city's cleanliness. Workers who collect and recycle the waste are now employed by the city, own a micro-business, and no longer work under a social stigma. At the same time their efforts to clean up the city are working well, and the model is spreading to other Peruvian cities.

Read More
Go to Original Story