Blog Action Day 2010: The Worth Of Water.

There is a saying that states, ‘We never know the worth of water ‘til the well is dry,’ and isn’t it true?

I think for many of us, the particular pressures of modern Western life; excelling in work assignments, arranging fun times with friends, or even deciding which dress is the most stylish, leave us overlooking the marvel that is this clear liquid that descends from the tap when I turn it, and into my glass.

However, what if that seemingly infinite supply of clean water should suddenly become inaccessible to me? I probably wouldn’t care so much about my outfit. I certainly wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work. It’s most likely I would be too unwell to go out with my friends. It is an often-heard cheerful truism that ‘water is the building block of life;’ but without it, we cannot aspire to much more than basic survival.

This is the reality for almost 1 billion people in the world. More people die from drinking contaminated water than from all forms of violence and war. 1.5 million children die every year from water-related diseases; a higher death toll than that from AIDS, measles and malaria combined. In Africa, women and children spend up to 10 hours per day collecting water, meaning that -even if they manage to remain healthy- education, play, work and self fulfilment are all but out of the question.

Blog Action Day is about drawing attention to these facts. Hopefully, the sheer number of both high-profile and relatively unknown blogs inspired by blogactionday.change.org will raise awareness of a global, and preventable, problem. Most importantly, it might inspire people to action.

Of course, the aims of Blog Action Day also run parallel with the purpose of Red Button Design. The founding statements of the company were to design, produce and supply products for the humanitarian market, products that address the problems faced by the Developing World outlined in the UN’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

Red Button prioritised our water solution ‘Midomo’ as we recognized the basic fact that without water to drink, the remaining MDGs; even shelter, sanitation, education and gender equality, all become secondary.

We are not martyrs. Red Button Design is not a charity, but a social enterprise that seeks to make a fair market profit in direct correlation to the benefit we can provide. For us, humanitarian goals, financial aspirations, and the proven utility of our products are all inextricably linked. After all, if we are not profitable our ability to effect sustained and meaningful change is severely capped.

Our ‘Midomo Bracelet’ Christmas campaign - a limited edition piece of jewellery by Alex Monroe that covers the cost of sending a Midomo to Africa- embodies this position. We are not about self-denial or guilt, but believe that modern and considered business models can mean that you ‘don’t have to change your life to change someone else’s’.

For me, the point is not that I shouldn’t worry over where the best night out is, the minutia of my grammar in an essay, or even the height of a heel on my shoe. However, I should absolutely remember that I am in a privileged position where I can take the basics of survival for granted, and that I have a duty to others who are not.

For that reason, my ‘blogger action’ shall be to ask for a Midomo Bracelet for Christmas. It will celebrate the fact that I have aspirations, give credence to an emerging, ‘win win’ model of enterprise and, by giving the most basic gift of safe, clean water to another person, it will enable that person to have aspirations too.

Sophie Orbaum,
Red Button Design,
U.K

Red Button Design's Midomo Bracelet - Social Vision 2010

Red Button Design's newest venture The Midomo Bracelet needs 2 mins of your time!

Please Click Here to submit your email voting for us in the following competition..

Triodos Bank, the Social Enterprise Coalition and the regional social enterprise networks of England are working together to run Social Vision 2010: business at its best – the annual national social enterprise photography competition. (Our submission is the thumbnail above.)

The amazing prize on offer is:
• £750 cash
• an entry ticket for two people to Voice 11.
• a year's free associate membership to the Social Enterprise Coalition
• a year's free subscription to Social Enterprise magazine as well as £1000 worth of print advertising in Social Enterprise magazine

..all of which would be really important for us. But to get there, first we have to win the London heat. So please:

VOTE NOW!

The deadline for voting is 11:30am on Monday 11 October.

For some people, boldness is not a character trait but a function of need..

Someone once told me that, for some people, boldness is not a character trait but a function of need...

..I am one of those people.

I spent years wondering why everything I did only came together at the last moment; why vital assignments were always submitted minutes before a deadline, why I only found high paid consultancy work when I was down to my last £10, why supporters, funders, mentors only appeared in my life as I was giving up and not in the agonising months prior while I was searching high and low for help...

It’s incongruous to the way I’d like to view myself but the truth is
it takes an extraordinary amount of pressure to displace me from my comfort zone.

If I am under no pressure, why should I do the arduous / complex / scary things?
Only when the deadline is looming, big and scary on the horizon, does the fear of failure even begin to overcome the fear of the actions required to succeed. Then, and only then, will I do the things I ought to have done from the outset. The things I knew in my heart were right but was fearful of.

Excelling at a subject, pushing your boundaries, upselling yourself to make new connections requires moving out of what is comfortable. Not merely working harder or smarter but moving out of your emotional comfort zone. It requires courage (because it’s nerve wracking) it requires confidence (because it’s intimidating) it requires faith (or why would you even try?)

99% of the time I haven’t achieved my goals it has had nothing to do with my level of competence. It has everything to do with indulging hesitance and fear.

Maybe if I worried more about *that* and less about making a prat of myself, we'd have something other than a last-second-success?!

Esme: Midomo Charm Bracelet - Preview Party Round Up..

Press Release: Here
Pictures from the event.

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The evening was approaching... The clock had nearly struck half past six...The guests had been invited, the glasses were polished, the cakes looked heavenly, the bracelet was displayed to perfection and we were in our party dresses (James was in a shirt, his dress stayed at home for the night). But there was one rather large and irritating problem - the TFL tube types had decided to go on strike!

Why they obviously decided to sabotage our party I’m not sure, but in the end most of our lovely guests battled on despite the odds and managed to join us, if a little fashionably late! Red Button Design’s preview party for the Midomo Bracelet was a complete and utter success and I am sure I speak for the whole team when I say thank you to everyone who came along.

This was a special night for everyone at Red Button because it was really our first ever fully-fledged-wine-and-cakes-in-the-evening event, and even more importantly because it marked the launch of the Midomo Bracelet.

Teaming up with Alex Monroe, creator of the infamous bumblebee necklace (for those of a fashonista inclination) was really a honour. Alex has designed and handmade a delicate, beautiful charm bracelet, featuring various charms to represent our latest project. The wearer of each bracelet will not only be the proud owner of a bespoke and beautiful piece of jewellery but can also wear it with the knowledge that they have helped someone else along the way. For every one bracelet purchased, one Midomo will be donated to an NGO in a developing country. The owner can track the journey and arrival of the donated equipment via a unique serial code imprinted on their bracelet - just log on to our site, and see who is benefiting.

I think that is what I have cherished throughout this project - that you don’t have to be a martyr to help those in need. You can enjoy the jewellery you love and all at the same time, know that your decision to buy that charm bracelet rather than any other, is directly solving the old age problem of water shortage for one family. Small steps, but steps in the right direction.

Aside from the serious stuff.... We had a great crowd of people at the party. To name a few, we spotted fashion bloggers including Hannah from His&Hers Daily Styling and Saskia from Not Just Medical swapping notes, the crew from Pants to Poverty, Lauren from Cosmo, William from Green Element and Jan from Global Giving. There were all sorts of media moguls hovering about the sumptuous cakes and I hope everyone had a chance to talk about the project. Emma popped in from Alex Monroe’s team to say a few words about the collaboration too, I liked her sparkly shoes very much....

Amanda, in the style of her confident and lovely self, did a great introduction to the bracelet and gave everybody something to think about after we watched the promotional video which accompanies the bracelet. James was a whizz with the electronic stuff as per usual and dealt with all queries of a technical nature... i.e. that us girls know nothing about! Sophie, who (I am so sad to write this) has just finished her internship, was amazing and the party wouldn’t have happened without her.

I will not mention much about the aftermath - merely that it featured eating all the left over cakes, almost thinking the only Midomo Bracelet in the world was lost, then finding it, and several more drinks in the pub across the road... Well we did have something to be proud of, after all...

Red Button Design to collaborate with Alex Monroe on Christmas Gift Initiative

Critically acclaimed social enterprise Red Button Design has today announced an imminent collaboration with renowned jewellery designer Alex Monroe, on a Christmas Gift Initiative.

To celebrate the launch of Midomo - a revolutionary water purifier for developing countries - Red Button Design has commissioned a limited-edition bracelet by award-winning jewellery designer, Alex Monroe. Each bracelet will cover the cost of donating one Midomo to an African community and, through a unique serial number imprinted on the jewellery, the owner of each bracelet will be able to track the journey of their donated Midomo. The bracelet is a perfect Christmas present; forever symbolising the gift of safe water, it can be worn as a reminder of growth and development, as well as a beautifully crafted, stylish piece of jewellery.

This initiative is not simply about saving lives; it is about quality of life. For children who have been used to walking for up to 6 hours a day to collect water, Midomo provides not only safe, clean water, but more free time With these extra hours a child could attend school, learn a trade, or simply play and ‘be a child’. The Midomo Bracelet therefore represents more than the gift of safe water. It also represents aspirations, ambitions and the chance to learn and fulfil them.

Announcing the collaboration, Amanda Jones, Red Button Design's Chief Executive
said:

“Red Button Design believe that making a difference to someone’s life doesn’t have to mean making a sacrifice in your own. The bracelet Alex has designed for us not only embodies the feminine & celebratory style for which he is so acclaimed but those dreams and aspirations we all have for our futures. We hope that wearing yours will remind you of all that you have achieved, and encourage you towards those goals which you have yet to accomplish; just as you can know that simply by wearing it, you are also giving the same gift to an ambitious young woman in a more difficult situation.”

And Alex Monroe added:

“I really am honoured to be collaborating with Red Button Design. What they are achieving is amazing, and it's very humbling when you get approached to help fight for such a great cause.
Through their incredible product, Red Button Design are essentially giving life to thousands of people, and I hope that through my design I can make people aware of this. The Bracelet is a celebration of life - it's fun, and something to treasure, play with, and remember why you bought it in the first place.“

For more information please contact Amanda on 07982715187 or Amanda@thisisredbutton.co.uk

Notes

Red Button Design
Red Button Design is an internationally award winning social enterprise set up to design, manufacture and supply life changing products exclusively for the humanitarian market.
www.thisisredbutton.co.uk

Midomo
Midomo is a household‐level water transport, purification and storage solution designed for use by individuals throughout the developing world.
The device uses an internal filter system, powered by the rotation of the wheels, to transform harmful water to drinkable water on-the-go. A user would roll the unit to the nearest source of water, fill the 50 litre tank, and roll it home. Once home, the water drawn from the unit is potable to World Health Organisation standards.

Alex Monroe
British jewellery designer Alex Monroe grew up in Suffolk. He trained at Sir John Cass School Of Art in London, and uses nature to inspire his whimsical, intricately beautiful jewellery.
Established in 1986, his core aspirations remain unchanged; to make great quality, wearable jewellery, which is originally designed and well priced.
www.alexmonroe.com

Safe water and sanitation - a human right, not a privilege.

On July 28th 2010, a vote took place which, for the first time, saw the United Nations declare access to water and sanitation a basic human right.

That's correct, despite the statistics and the decades of awareness campaigns, prior to July 28th access to safe drinking water was, for all of us, a goal, an aspiration, but not a legally enforceable entitlement.

At Red Button Design, we are thrilled that the balance of power has shifted. State Governments are no longer providing a service by ensuring access to safe drinking water, they are committing a human rights violation when they are not.

Harsh words, yes, but illustrative that a long awaited step change has finally been set in motion. Declaring access to water and sanitation as a human right is a huge leap forward. Not only does it bring to the fore just how important water is to human life and how it must be the basis upon which we build further medical, educational & economic development, but this resolution also acknowledges some of the lesser publicised water problems; from privatisation, exploitative pricing and the practise of controlling water supplies as a method of blackmail and weapon of war, to the effects of climate change and over population in relation to water scarcity.

This resolution will, of course, also bring significant challenges. The guidelines for minimum water requirements vary wildly from agency to agency, there is currently no centralised body to approve water quality, or indeed no universally accepted water quality standard. Water quality can be affected by a vast array of harmful contaminants which vary by season and by region, and on-site water testing methods are on the one hand costly and unwieldy, or on the other, hugely unreliable!

It is our hope that the next few years will see a renewed effort on behalf of the international community to prioritise the provision of sufficient safe water, and to consistently and appropriately address the above concerns with a combination of policy, funding, new technologies, better implementation and greater transparency, in order to assist international learning...
High hopes we know, but then again, at RBD we do travel hopefully!

Meet Esme..

Hello! I’m Esme and I am the other new intern working with the lovely people at Red Button Design.

If we were to go zoom back in time roughly ten years, and were to ask a littler (but not much) Esme what she wanted to be when she grew up, I think she would say she wanted to be either a ballerina or work in a bullet-proof vest for the BBC reporting from a war zone. Seriously - these completely polar career choices have been my aim for as long as I can remember. And I did work hard to turn both ideas into reality... I went to ballet school (but hated it and ran away) and ended up doing all sorts of journalism and media work experience. This work experience ranged hilariously from working on Home Affairs at The Independent to tape logging for Cash in the Attic. Glamorous eh?

So... It is completely by chance, and a lot of good luck that I have found myself, a true fledgling graduate, working with an amazing and life changing company who have already inspired me continue a career in the same field. I still feel an attachment to journalism and feel that it encapsulates much of what goes into social enterprise; you have to be great communicator, a people person, and a passionate, driven individual. You have to care about what is going on in the world around you. But what divides the two is that a reporter observes and comments on the world, a social entrepreneur changes the world - they see a problem and they hope to fix it, for good. Trying to establish myself within the latter seems more worth while to me...

I studied English Literature and Language (opting mostly for all the novels...) at UCL where I managed to drink a lot, perform and organise a lot of dance through the union, do a bit of volunteering and most importantly, get a degree. The great thing about English Literature is that you learn about the world in all its shapes and forms; I covered everything from Old English to Ian McEwan but the Restoration will forever be my favorite age for writing.

So what have I been up to? I have been writing a lot of copy, have already shimmied to a social entrepreneurial party (where not enough food was eaten and too much wine drunk) and been collecting ALL sorts of literature on the web about Red Button. I have also been working on an overhaul of Red Button’s website, their manifesto and most importantly, the enormous task of marketing their very shiny Midomo. I can reveal... that we have teamed up with an equally shiny jewellery designer on a Christmas gift initiative! Sophie and I are so very, very, very excited to be a part of this project and our aim is it just get as many Midomos sent out to where they are needed, as soon as possible.

We also want to spread the word so keep looking out for us on twitter and on the facebook group for more revelations!

I am very lucky to be working with Amanda and the team, I am already learning so much and hope I can make a difference.

Esme x