Is your community's "happiness flag" showing signs of wear and tear? (Photo: Rachel Kramer, Flickr/Creative Commons)

How happy are we?

Most everyone would agree that being happy is a good thing—along with the coming of spring, a robust economy, and clean air to breathe. For most nations, there are detailed, current statistics about the weather, the state of the economy, and the atmosphere (not to mention many other things). Statistics about happiness are a little harder to come by.

The government of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has made it a priority to measure “Gross National Happiness” as a summary of national wellbeing. Since 2005 a national effort has been underway to assess not just economic activity in the nation (“Gross National Product” in economist-speak), but to attend to data from eight other “domains” that impact people’s lives, such as health, education, community vitality, and cultural resilience. The website GrossNationalHappiness.com provides the official explanation of the project and reports on the results of the calculation of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index for 2010.

There is no such national index for the USA so far. In my hometown, Sustainable Seattle is using the concept to develop a happiness index for communities. The idea is to supplement its other initiatives and build a long-term future of health and well-being. The project has two components: a set of objective statistics that create a profile of a region’s progress toward meeting goals related to sustainability, and a personal happiness survey that anyone can take. At the end of the survey, each respondent’s answers are compared to the overall response from all survey-takers. Food for thought as a new year begins.

No such thing as personal happiness?

For his 2008 book The Geography of Bliss, reporter Eric Weiner visited nine varied countries, looking for the happiest place on earth. He found some very disappointing spots, including one place where people “derive more pleasure from their neighbor’s failure than their own success. I can’t imagine anything less happy.”

In contrast, when he talked with Bhutanese scholar Karma Ura, he heard “There is no such thing as personal happiness. Happiness is one hundred percent relational.” Weiner reflected: “At the time I didn’t take him literally. I thought he was exaggerating to make his point…But now I realize Karma meant exactly what he said. Our happiness is completely and utterly intertwined with other people: family and friends and neighbors and…people you hardly notice. Happiness is not a noun or verb. It’s a conjunction. Connective tissue.”

This general point is repeated over and over again in the literature. Arthur Brooks, President of the Heritage Foundation, concludes his book “Gross National Happiness” with a quick review of social scientists’ results demonstrating that all sorts of activities that benefit others—from the most direct sorts of help to family and friends to the abstractions of making donations to help people in far-away lands—are closely related to general feelings of happiness and well-being.

Five steps to happiness

In the UK, a study for the National Health Service called Five Ways to Well-Being concluded that these simple steps would improve people’s lives in measurable ways (and sharply reduce the risks of mental illness too!):

• Connect with the people around you
• Be active
• Take notice of what’s around you
• Keep learning
• Give

How will you do these things in the coming year?

Not to toot our own horn too loudly, it still bears saying that Idealist.org offers lots of opportunities for doing all five. Just a few minutes clicking through listings in your community, or in your area of interest, or for the sorts of things you want to do will turn up things to do and places to go.

With your personal profile from Sustainable Seattle’s survey in front of you, and some reflection about the Five Ways to Well-Being, Idealist’s listings are one way to make sure you have a happy Happy New Year.

Best wishes for 2012 from all of us!

Put Barber translated this post, originally written in Spanish by Elena Martin for Idealistas.org.

Image via The Global Soap Project. Click to learn more.

Two million children die every year just from a lack of basic sanitation. Meanwhile, in the United States alone, more than 800 million bars of soap are discarded annually after they have been partially used in hotels. Derreck Kayongo, an Atlanta resident—who happens to be a Ugandan refugee and the son of a soapmaker—recognized in these two extremes an opportunity. So he founded the Global Soap Project.

Derreck’s parents were displaced by the tyranny of Idi Amin in Uganda, so he knows about the extreme conditions faced by the millions of people in IDP and refugee camps around the world. When Derreck came to the U.S. and first saw how much soap went into the trash after just one use, he asked “Is it like this in every hotel?” The answer changed his life.

In the U.S. today, volunteers in every part of the country assist by collecting bars of used soap and getting them to Atlanta, where they are cleaned, melted, and made into long rolls of soap. These are then cut, packaged in boxes, and distributed in many new countries with the support of other organizations. And now, more than 100,000 bars of reclaimed soap have been distributed to different parts of the world. Learn more about Derreck’s story via CNN Heroes.

Bubbling over with excitement? Visit the Global Soap Project to find out how you can get involved. Or search Idealist.org for keywords like sanitation, refugees, and hygiene.

What are your favorite examples of everyday people who, like Derreck, spotted a need and an opportunity, and found a way to do much more with the resources around us?

Of course, you can always barter on your own, too. Photo via Flickr user Irina Slutsky (Creative Commons)

The model doesn’t just foster collaboration that isn’t based on monetary worth; it also prevents waste by reusing, sharing, and offering goods – both tangible and intangible. A similar creative dynamic of exchange is what drives the nonprofit Freecycle, a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their communities. Yet another network of reciprocity is supported by GiftFlow, an online gift community supported by a social network. It’s much like a virtual free store, with the benefit of user profiles that help people build reputations for generosity.

I’m super bummed that the 2011 Trade School season has drawn to a close. But its host organization, Our Goods, makes sure that the community lives on. Anyone can join any of these sites to participate in the regular flow of object, skill and space exchanges. People trade/give everything from dog-walking for acupuncture, to good handwriting for home-brewed beer. And the in-person meetups won’t be limited to just NYC; folks are starting Trade Schools in Milan, Italy; Charlottesville, VA; and soon, London!

I’m smitten with all of these simple, replicable, sustainable concepts, and with the people they attract. Have you heard of other models like these where you live? If so, can I come visit?

Kibera photo by khym54 (Flickr/Creative Commons)

Today’s idea: Map Kibera

For many of us, all it takes is a few clicks to find out what’s nearby. The first thing I do when I’m restaurant hunting, for example, is go to Google Maps. Same goes for when I’m traveling.

But there are still areas that literally aren’t on the map. Nairobi’s slum Kibera, for example, was displayed as a forest on official documents until late 2009 when a group of volunteers set out to change this. Realizing the tremendous value a simple map could have for this city within a city, the group trained Kenyan youth in GPS and data editing. The result was an ever-evolving digital map that displays all of the community’s resources – hospitals, schools, food kiosks, gas pumps, Internet cafes, and more.

Why we’re adding it to the Idea File

• Community empowerment. The tool taps into one of our basic human needs: recognition. Instead of focusing on a lack, why not create a map that highlights existing assets?
• Practical resource. The map increases residents’ knowledge of the area, thereby increasing access to resources.
• Stake in own development. While the initial idea was from non-Kenyans, it was the local youth who implemented the project. From the process they learned concrete technical skills and built a sense of ownership.
• Open technology. The platform accounts for rapid changes; anyone can go in and update the map.

How you can replicate it

First, see if the need for a digital map exists. If it does, participants can identify starting reference points, such as existing paper maps or firsthand knowledge. A clear view from space using Google MapMaker also helps.

You’ll need a lot of people to capture all the resources. Reach out to community members via traditional word of mouth, or through social networking sites such as Facebook. Once you have the information, a good tool to use is OpenStreetMap. For easy editing, MapQuest is surprisingly complementary.

Throughout the process, engage residents in its creation and provide opportunities for learning. Let the community take ownership; if you’re an outsider, they, not you, should be in charge of the map’s maintenance.

Caveats and considerations

Because creating the map ideally involves a lot of people, the potential for mistakes can be huge. But if it’s a peer reviewed process, where people are constantly checking to make sure the data is correct, then the mistakes can be lessened.

Once the map is completed, it can be a challenge to make the up-to-date version accessible for those who don’t have access to the Internet, or whose knowledge is sparse. One possible option might be to put an editable version of the map on residents’ mobile phones.

What else can you do after the map has been filled in? There are plenty of initiatives to glean lessons and inspiration from: Ladies Mapping Party, Ushahidi, Groundcrew, GeoCommons, Crowdmap, Managing News, and DC Foodshed just to name a few. Any others come to mind?

Written with the help of Scott Stadum, User Engagement Analyst for the Sunlight Foundation.

Screenshot of actions on One Tama

Boyet Dy thinks it’s time for us to stop talking about changing “the world.” Instead, the Manila local is encouraging me to change “my world” — one action at a time.

The idea

One Tama is a campaign 26-year-old Boyet, a government employee in the Philippines, created to show how the little things add up. (Tama is the Filipino word for “right.”) The idea is that by simply sharing your good actions, you can inspire others to do the same. Using a nifty number counter, for example, the site shows 1744 completed deeds ranging from carpooling to listening, with over four thousand more in progress.

One Tama also encourages real world interaction by hosting Action Days, such as simultaneous use of recyclable bags at the grocery store.

Intentions to action

A couple years ago, Boyet was listening to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack when David Bowie’s “Heroes” popped on. The lyrics “Just for one day/We can be heroes” made him think about his fellow Filipinos. “That was the genesis of One Tama, and it’s really the notion of everyday heroism – that every single day is loaded with opportunities to be a hero for your country because there’s always a right action within your reach that can be done,” he says.

Boyet then presented the idea to a group of dedicated and diverse idealists he had been a part of since college. The group was enthusiastic from the getgo, and he found that their shared values was an incredible asset as well as their willingness to ask others for help. The website, for example, was voluntarily created by a nonprofit communications group he serendipitously met while building One Tama.

Replicability factor

Of course, the campaign is not without its challenges. One Tama is soley run by volunteers, and their current obstacles are to find more volunteers and funding sources.

But let’s say you like this idea and think you can address these challenges. What would you need to copy this in your community? An intimate, committed group to initially help get it off the ground, and outside experts to fill in the knowledge gaps. It also helps to have a succinct catchphrase to explain the idea and a firm belief that change can happen on an individual level. “At its core, the One Tama campaign is not merely a call to be a good Filipino – it is a call to be a good human being which makes it not only applicable but also relevant in other contexts,” says Boyet.

Have you done something small recently that counts as one tama?

Image: http://candychang.com/i-wish-this-was/

It’s been more than five years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. While the city is still grappling with rebuilding efforts, its residents have proven nothing less than resilient. From floating homes to affordable health care for local musicians, NOLA has seen a recent resurgence of innovation and community.

With so much potential, the city has become a breeding ground for new ideas. “I Wish This Was” is an art initiative that collects citizen’s thoughts for re-imagining the space around them. The project is the brainchild of Candy Chang — co-founder of the design studio Civic Center — and was born because her neighborhood still lacks a full-service grocery store.

The concept is simple: free stickers are distributed throughout the city in cafes, bookstores, hair salons and more. You pick one up, and pen your wish, dream or hope. Afterward you stick it on an abandoned building or any other public space that could use some wishful thinking. Wishes so far range from the practical (butcher, bike rack) to the abstract (owned by somebody who cared, heaven) to the cheeky (big old cupcake, Brad Pitt’s house).

Pros

• Awareness. The stickers publicly merge your innermost desires with the city’s pressing needs.
• Inspirational. The hope is that the creative, collective consciousness will spark actual transformation.
• Easy. It’s super simple to do. And democratic distribution so that anyone, regardless of class, race, age, etc., can participate.
• Ecologically friendly. The stickers are made of vinyl, not paper, so they don’t damage storefronts.
• Accessible. If you’re not currently based in NOLA but want to follow along, Chang is working on a digitized version of the ideas.

Cons

• Free, but not for long. Vinyl stickers are more expensive. Unfortunately, the free supply has run out, so you’ll have to throw down some dollars to make a wish.
• Art or trash? Some may view the stickers as added blight.
• Good intentions…but will stickers lead to action?

Plenty of cities, towns and villages have abandoned spaces and could implement a project like this one. Could this benefit your community?

Today’s idea

Photo by Flickr user andymangold (Creative Commons)

How many times while traveling have you come across an organization that had a practical need you could have easily fulfilled had you just known about it beforehand? The folks behind Stuff Your Rucksack think they can eliminate missed connections like this. Rather than packing an extra T-shirt or towel, the UK-based nonprofit asks idealistic travelers to instead bring items that can help local charities in places from Colombia to Egypt to Vanutau. A quick browse of current needs show books, pens and pencils, Legos, board games, Frisbees, mosquito nets – even fairy wings.

Why we’re adding it to the Idea File

Stuffing your backpack or suitcase with extra items is a quick, easy and concrete way to fill a need. And it can be beneficial for both parties:

• Direct fulfillment of a need. Orgs receive what they are lacking, often at a low cost to the traveler – and without a middleman. And in cases where gently used goods are accepted, the person giving can avoid creating waste in a landfill.
• Increased awareness and helping good ideas travel. Many times, nonprofits are doing great things but the communication about their work is not far-reaching. In this scenario, travelers learn about a new org and can share its work back home or in other places.
• Feel good factor. Locals appreciate that their visitors thought of them, while travelers get immediate satisfaction.

How you can replicate it

Since a service already exists, see how you can contribute to helping it grow. Add orgs to Stuff Your Rucksack, or share your success story.

But you don’t need a third party website to connect with locals. Before you hop on a plane, reach out to your trusted networks to see if anyone knows a nonprofit you can help. Get in contact with them, and check sites such as Charity Navigator or Guidestar to vouch for its validity. Also try searching Idealist to find people who have either volunteered or worked for the org using our new personal profile system. When in doubt, you can always reach out to the folks at Stuff Your Rucksack for advice.

Caveats and considerations

• Logistics: There might not be an org listed in your destination, or the one listed might have out of date information. It’s best to contact them beforehand to let them know you’re coming. It also requires a leap of faith to trust that the orgs really do need what you’re bringing, and aren’t going to sell or misuse it in some way.
• Cultural impact: People who have the luxury of being able to travel are often perceived as wealthy (especially Westerners), and this could perpetuate the stereotype. Also, dropping off foreign goods and then leaving might actually hurt the local economy.

What do you think? Would you add some weight to your backpack the next time you go abroad? Or does this idea seem too…stuffy?

Today’s idea sharing model

Everyday, all around the world, people are coming up with local solutions to the needs in their communities. Sometimes well-known leaders are the driving force, other times it’s the people we walk by in the grocery store every week. But regardless of who enacts change, the burning question always is: just how did they do it?

Our United Villages is a community-enhancement organization in Portland, OR that strives to answer this question through the event “Sharing Ideas: Grassroots Projects Started by Neighbors.” Here’s how it works: panelists represent projects that (a) have community benefits and (b) might be replicable in other neighborhoods. They talk about initial inspiration, how exactly they moved from the idea to action (including challenges), and their hopes for the project’s future. Audience members can ask further questions, and briefly touch upon their own projects at the conclusion. The whole session is recorded for archival purposes.

Ecotrust atrium photo by Sam Beebe (Flickr/Creative Commons)

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend the event at the beautiful downtown Ecotrust building in Portland. There were four panelists, and the topics ranged from urban farming to ice cream socials to traffic calming. Not only did I learn more about Portland and some of the good things going on, but I left the event feeling that such a simple model for idea sharing could work in other places. Here are some things to consider:

Pros

• A focus on an honest assessment of challenges is refreshing
• The guiding questionnaire that speakers complete beforehand helps to keep the talk on track
• A dynamic Q&A gives the audience a chance to participate
• Plugging your own projects enriches knowledge in the room
• The opportunity to informally network with the audience face-to-face increases potential for connections
• Access to an online audio recording is helpful for future reference (in case you can’t make it, or don’t want to take notes)

Cons

• The format lends itself to a slim picking of projects – and you may not be interested in any of them
• Similarly, how do organizers decide which projects to highlight?
• One risk: projects might be compelling, but the speakers might not be so engaging on a panel
• Sustainability can be an issue, as obtaining an event space, finding apt facilitators, etc., can be time consuming

What do you think? Could this work in your village, town or city? And what other replicable idea sharing models are out there?

Today’s idea
Car sharing services such as Zipcar have been around for a while, allowing people to access vehicles quickly and for short periods of time. But what if you could rescue your neighbor’s unused car from its dark garage or lonely side street and take it for a spin instead?

San Francisco-based Spride, Boston’s RelayRides and WhipCar in London were all revved up about this idea enough to launch personal car sharing services this year. Although the three companies have varied approaches to the nuts and bolts of the “how,” all support car sharing as a way to increase cash flow, help the environment, and fuel community.

A little too green? Photo by Flickr user makeshiftlove (Creative Commons)

Why we’re adding it to the Idea File
Peer-to-peer car lending reduces waste by providing a direct solution to a need. How?

• Make money, save money. Car owners get a little extra cash, while car seekers save on rental costs. The rate for Relay Rides, for example, ranges from $6-$8 per hour as compared to Zipcar, whose rates start at $7 per hour as go as high as almost $15.
• Help the planet. The average car sits idle 90% of its lifetime. Instead of acquiring a whole new fleet of cars and contributing to the overall negative environmental impact, personal car sharing services utilize vehicles that are already on the road. Plus, the likelihood of using a green vehicle is higher.
• Bond with your neighbors. Car lending is almost as personal as someone lending you their favorite book – think how much you could learn about the guy down the block just by sliding into the driver’s seat. Also, this type of service inevitably brings a more human element to a usually personality-less business. WhipCar, for example, only allows the hand-off of the car to be face-to-face.

How you can replicate it
First, see if this kind of service already exists where you live, whether in a formal or informal capacity. If not, start small with your own networks and grow it from there. (Make sure to check laws regarding insurance coverage.) Go the extra mile by getting in touch with the above mentioned companies to learn about their challenges and successes, and find other interested people in your area by searching Idealist.

Caveats and considerations
The most obvious risk for car owners is that a stranger might ruin their car. Endless things could go wrong while a car is out on the road, not to mention the wear and tear that comes with continually lending. Meanwhile, car borrowers might not know what they’re going to get with an used car, it might not be close to where they live, and the choice of vehicles could be limited. Safety concerns are always an issue, and insurance laws might also be tricky to navigate.

What do you think? Would you go along for the ride, or is this idea too risky?

“The revolution will not be Tweeted,” claims Malcolm Gladwell in this week’s issue of The New Yorker. Bringing us back to the early 1960s and the U.S. Civil Rights Movements, Gladwell writes that huge upheavals coming from social unrest that led to major change happened precisely because of a lack of texts, tweets, and Facebook friends. The social change mini-revolutions that happen today are smaller scale and have less impact than ones like the Civil Rights Movement due to the fact that the tools that drive them rely too heavily on the weak bonds between members of social networks. Further, being that online social activism is based on ease of participation — people end up making very little personal sacrifice, a necessary component of any social change movement.

Via flickr user david_shankbone (Creative Commons)

Gladwell seems to think that these aspects of social networking might have hindered the civil rights movement by decentralizing the authority of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the N.A.A.C.P., destabilizing the strong, in person bonds of the movement’s members, and letting people “participate” without having to make the huge sacrifices that were required to stage sit-ins, march, or speak out in public, risking abuse, jail time, and even death.

But what about the large scale social revolutions that are happening today?

Social networks don’t seem to have eliminated protests, even if it might be true that they are not being driven by them. Look at the extremely well organized students of Buenos Aires, Argentina who have essentially taken control of 30 city public schools to protest deteriorating conditions. These students became highly organized offline, inside their classrooms. But, when thousands of people gathered to march in the capital earlier this month, information was shared via social networks, increasing participation and pushing the protesters’ message to government officials and traditional media outlets.

Yes, movements that have a lasting societal impact are going to happen offline. For every hundred thousand people that “like” an initiative on Facebook, nothing is going to change unless at least a fraction of these people show up at rallies, donate, or vote in upcoming elections. But, didn’t only a fraction of people participate in the Civil Right’s Movement? Hopefully, the real power of social media is making information about a movement’s progress and how to participate more visible and accessible — hopefully increasing the percentage of people who will take things offline, and make real sacrifices for their cause.

[This blog entry appeared on an older version of Idealist; any broken links are a result of having re-launched our site in Fall 2010.]