OUR SPECIALITY:

Freshly baked goods, such as cakes and bread, and western cuisine served by the intellectually challenged, who are professionally trained by vocational teachers and practicing chefs.

THE INNOVATION:

The Children Are Us Foundation (CAUF) provides intellectually challenged young people of age 16 and above with training in skills that are practical in daily life and for work so that they might better integrate into society. At CAUF’s workshops, which are purposefully situated in busy areas of the city where students are visible to the public to dispel public ignorance and discrimination, they learn skills from baking pastries for sale to growing their own vegetables.

Children Are Us also operates cafes, bakeries restaurants in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu where some of their trainees are employed. Though workers might not be as efficient, through time and training, they perform their tasks adequately and with enthusiasm. To aid the learning process, tasks are simplified into simple steps where students are assigned to according to their abilities. And through employment, the young ones gain greater confidence and fulfillment in life.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

CAUF chairman Su Kuo-chen and wife Hsiao Shu-Chen inspired by the sheltered workshops and communities they saw in Japan, brought the idea back home to Taiwan. Impressed by the level of service and quality of the products there, Hsiao, herself a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, was encouraged that with proper planning, training and hard work, her child might too be capable of holding a good job.

With the help of skill training and recipes from the Le Petit Prince Bakery, CAUF opened its first social enterprise, the Children Are Us bakery in Kaohsiung in 1997. It has since grown to operate five bakeries and restaurants in Kaohsiung, Taipei and Hsinchu. As of the year 2000, 51 percent of its funding from its business operations, 25 percent from private donations, 22 percent from the government, and 2 percent from fundraising events or bank interest.

The non-profit organisation, which was founded in 1995, hopes to change the general perception of the intellectually challenged as well as create job opportunities through training them to work in their social enterprises. Children Are Us, too, provides assistance to them in leading an independent life as much as possible and long-term care for them when their parents pass on.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

The MAGNO Wooden Radio, a beautifully crafted wooden gadget equipped with AM/FM tuning, two shortwave bands receivers and a mp3 player input, is built from sustainably grown wood and blends design elements of both retro and modern minimalist. It stands out against the commonplace plastic products all around us and comes in three sizes.

THE INNOVATION:

Through the production of the MAGNO Wooden Radios and other sustainable products that are made with environmentally responsible materials, designer Singgih Susilo Kartono hopes to improve the economic conditions of his Indonesian village of Kandangan with its local craft industries. He marries the two most abundant resources in the village of wood and labour, and employs 30 villagers who make about 150 handcrafted radios each month.

What’s more, Kartono who seeks to “redefine the relationship between a user and a product”, includes a built-in flaw in the radio: The MAGNO Wooden Radio’s surface is uncoated and has to be oiled periodically to protect the wood. He hopes that this would give the owner of each radio a chance to feel the wood and also to care for it.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

The MAGNO Wooden Radio is produced under Piranti Works, which was founded by Kartono in 2005. The ingenious design of the company’s products has won several design competitions such as the Japan Good Design Award G-Mark 2008 in the category of Pioneering & Experimental Design as well as the Design Plus Award 2009 (Ambiente-Frankfurt Germany) among others.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

Led by blind guides in small groups of four to five participants, Dialogue in the Dark (DiD) visitors go through a specially curated route that simulates elements of daily environment in complete darkness.

THE INNOVATION:

By entering the world of the visually impaired, we may best break free of our limited view of them. At DiD, sighted people are removed of their familiar and much relied on sense of sight while the blind take the lead by providing them with expert orientation in the dark.

This method of experiential learning helps broaden visitors’ mindsets with a greater emotional impact – cultivating an interest in understanding and even respecting their blind guide instead of pity and having the misconception that independent living is beyond their visually impaired counterparts.

At the same time, by employing the visually impaired as guides, they are empowered through imparting knowledge of how to employ hidden senses more effectively to their sighted counterparts, and at the same time, they are given the means to sustain themselves financially.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

DiD, founded by Andreas Heinecke, is an awareness-raising social franchising company that creates jobs for the visually impaired, disabled and disadvantaged globally through the exhibitions and business workshops it conducts in complete darkness.

More than six million visitors have visited DiD in countries throughout Europe, Asia and America since its beginning in 1988, and more than 6,000 visually impaired employees have found a job through the organisation.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

BloomerHang is a biodegradable paper hanger made in Singapore from recycled cardboard, held together by water-based glue and carry advertisements printed in soy ink. The glossy advertisements are given their shine by oil varnish instead of a thin film of plastic or UV varnish usually used in magazines and boxes. BloomerHangs are produced in Singapore to ensure quality and to cut back on the carbon emission incurred from freight transport.

Users can reuse the hangers as long as they wish before putting them in the recycling bins with the assurance that the hangers can be 100 per cent recycled.

THE INNOVATION:

Advertisers looking for a platform to advertise their products pay for most of the cost of the hangers. For example, Terra Plana, an international environment conscious brand with two branches, has about 5,000 BloomerHangs, with its ads and a discount coupon attached, distributed here in Singapore.

For now, they are distributed at four laundromats and 16 hotels such as Green ‘n’ Clean Laundry, Dry Clean Express and the Gallery Hotel. But to discourage abuse that comes with free hangers, Bloomerang charge the distributing outlets a stipend sum of five cents, a marked discount from plastic hangers selling at eight to 13 cents per piece.

It is a win-win situation for both buyers and advertisers as well as users and the environment. Buyers get the hangers at a lower price, while advertisers, especially those with a green focus, get their green message reenforced in their advertising and users can dispose them guiltlessly.

Besides its environmental focus, Bloomerang is now in the talks of employing ex-offenders to produce its hangers, which are made in a manufacturing plant in Woodlands. BloomerHang are manually glued by hand.

Mr Thian said: “Rather than paying a factory to do it, I rather the guys get the money.”

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

In June 2008, Thian Zhiwen, 27, founded Bloomerang, with his junior college classmate, Wong Joon Ian, 28, who joined him in August. They wanted an eco-friendly way of advertising and found a creative way in BloomerHang. A sound business concept with a low start-up capital of $10,000, Bloomerang made use no funding or grants.

BloomerHang is highlighted as an innovative marketing example in a business textbook published by McGraw-Hall Education (Asia). The company behind it was also featured on Channel U’s Money Week programme for their eco-friendly business concept. Design wise, BloomerHang has emerged as finalists for the 2009 President’s Design Award for its creativity as a home made product in Singapore.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

Over 300 types of Fair Trade products, including foodstuffs like organic coffee, tea and chocolate powder, and hand-made products such as notebooks, bags and greeting cards.

THE INNOVATION:

Fair Circle provides Fair Trade products as an alternative and responsible choice of consumerism for consumers through their brick-and-mortar shop in Kowloon in Hong Kong, their online shop, consignments and other promotional outlets.

Through their parent company, the Hong Kong Fair Trade Power (HKFTP), the social enterprise assists producers in rural China to set up production systems of internationally recognized Fair Trade standards. After which, they export and market their products in the cities of Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. This way labour and farmers are protected from greedy middlemen in transactions and are ensured fair rewards and a sustainable means of livelihood. Also, by organising and conducting talks and public education, they hope to raise awareness of the concept of Fair Trade and encourage responsible consumerism.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

Fair Circle is the product arm of HKFTP, which was set up in December 2005 to promote Fair Trade as a form of responsible consumerism to consumers through use of their products and educational programmes. The HKFTP works with farm co-operatives in the provinces of Shanxi and Guizhou as well as organic farms in Vietnam and India to set and maintain internationally recognised Fair Trade standards.

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Fine French and Italian fare with elaborate dishes such as Roasted Beef Rib in Strawberry & Papaya Sauce served with baked sweet potato and grilled white eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomato, and La vie en Rose, a warm chocolate lava cake with dragonfruit and strawberry served on the side.

THE INNOVATION:

Gingko House is a restaurant that exists with the mission to offer employment opportunities for the elderly, whom with their rich life experience and patience, have the potential to offer an unique dining experience – one that encourages slow dining and relationships between the server and the customers.

Many senior citizens, especially upon retirement, face the issue of boredom and a sudden lack of a sense of purpose in their lives. A significant number of them are professionals who have held mid-level management jobs and who are uncomfortable with living off welfare or simply being idle, especially in their golden years. Others may be financially strapped and in need of a less physically burdensome job. Hence, Gingko House – a win-win solution – is set up specifically to address these issues by employing the senior citizens and at the same time, provide an unique dining experience for the diners.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

Gingko House was set up by former social workers Roger Li and Elite Kwok, who saw a lack in quality care for the elderly in 1998. The funding for Gingko House comes from its parent company, Everbright Groups Limited, an enterprise which provides social services for the elderly including a home and a rehabilitation centre. Since Gingko House was set up in 2006, it has bagged several awards such as the Brand with a Conscience Grand Award 2008, the 2008 Hong Kong Awards for Industries and The HSBC Living Business Award 2007 (Diamond Award winner). Gingko House is also in the midst of launching their third restaurant in Mongkok that will serve Chinese food instead of the typical Western fare.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

One of Gift and Take’s (GAT) best sellers is its patchwork animal soft toys. They come as magnets, keychains, paperweights and cuddly soft toys. GAT also designs and customises gifts for corporate events. These high quality handicrafts and soft toys are made by skilful artisans who have been marginalised, ranging from an intricate silk shawl hand-woven by disadvantaged groups in Cambodia to hand-drawn memorabilia by youths with special needs.

THE INNOVATION:

GAT believes in creating a source of livelihood for the disadvantaged through the sale of handicrafts and acts as a channel for buyers to purchase the products. Abroad, GAT has a rigorous social audit process to ensure that beneficiaries are not ‘sweat shops’ or unfairly treated; profits are also ploughed back in skills training and equipment such as sewing machines. Locally, GAT has job attachment programmes created specially for youths with special needs who cannot easily fit into society.

“We think it’s important for our interns to gain confidence and skills and be able to integrate into the workforce when they are ready,” says one of GAT’s partners who is also a social worker and counsellor. She pays special attention to develop positive work attitudes and skills in interns so that they may rise above personal challenges and become independent. In GAT’s words: “To teach them to fish, instead of giving them the fish. It’s the dignity that we hope to help them regain.”

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

Gift And Take Pte Ltd was set up by Lance Ng in August 2006. The social enterprise works with several marginalised or disadvantaged individuals and communities to produce and sell handmade gifts. GAT’s products are well-received locally and can be found at various landmarks and locations in Singapore such as the PaTH Market at VivoCity, the Singapore Flyer gift Shop, the Singapore Art Museum and most other museums.

Partners and recipients come from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. They include the intellectually and physically challenged, disadvantaged women, landmine victims, the impoverished and individuals with special needs.

Now, by building on their rich lessons, GAT plans to share their experience as a social enterprise with modules taught through workshops and seminars. Companies, institutions, schools and other organisations can contact GAT to invite them to give talks on running social enterprises as part of their enrichment programmes or to showcase its meaningful products.

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OUR SPECIALTY:

“Eat as you wish, give as you feel” South Indian vegetarian cuisine that is definitely value for money as customers decide for themselves how much they will pay.

THE INNOVATION:

Annalakshmi works on an interesting philosophy of “Athithi Dhevo Bhava”, which means “the guest is God”. The core of the South Indian vegetarian restaurant’s existence is to serve rather than to earn. Most staff are a group of like-minded volunteers who dedicate their time to serving because they seek joy in the underlying philosophy of serving as an act of giving and loving. The cooks are usually housewives, and service staff comprises of doctors, teachers, clerks and other professions.

Besides a dedicated staff, the food items at Annalakshmi are reflective of its South Indian origins and are served against an elaborately grand backdrop of Indian statues and artwork. Hence, with quality food, ambience and service, the restaurant is confident of surviving with its unique concept of “pay as you wish”.

Besides serving as a venue for TFA members to serve the community, Annalakshmi helps sustain the activities of TFA financially. Proceeds from Annalakshmi goes to the charitable and cultural activities of the Temple of Fine Arts, such as free medical treatment to the urban poor and “pay as you wish” dance classes.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

Vegetarian restaurant Annalakshmi (Singapore) was set up at Excelsior Hotel in 1986 and is the culinary arts section of the Temple of Fine Arts (TFA). TFA is a community-based charitable organisation dedicated to spreading arts, music and dance in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perth and Chennai. Annalakshmi has since grown in size and is now based in Chinatown Point in Chinatown. The restaurant also provides packed lunch and catering services.

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