Small ‘BIG’ deeds

By Renton de Alwis

Written and published in late 2009, this may serve as a reminder of how our own innovators made an impact on global society at large with less talked about small but ‘BIG’ deeds. 

 

We watched BBC announce the grand winner of the World Challenge 2009 with great delight. And the winner was; the ‘Safe Bottle lamp’ project by surgeon /innovator Dr. Wijayapala Godakumbura of Sri Lanka. Our gratitude and heartfelt thanks to him and many thousands of small but high- impact-deed-doers like him in Sri Lanka, who indeed inspire us and make us all proud of being Sri Lankan. In 2006, the winner of the same award was the ‘Maximus’ project that produces hand-made paper from elephant dung. We then had the world’s first eco-factory set up in Sri Lanka and decades earlier the hand-tractor, raved by small farmers all over Asia was designed by our own late Ray Wijewardena. In the recent past, several of our innovative soft-ware products also found recognition at international level and were sought after in the global market place. There are other creative and innovative pursuits of small entrepreneurs who have not got similar recognition, but have had much impact on the ground with their user communities.  

The will to change

On the same day we saw this feat, there was another programme as a forerunner to the critical climate change events about to begin in Copenhagen.

It examined in detail, if the American people will have the will and resolve to readjust their lifestyles, from the current ‘Big is better’ and wasteful ways to ‘small is beautiful’ and more sustainable ways.

The determinant of the world’s future direction in mitigating climate change, we are told, will depend heavily on the decisions President Obama makes and the proposals he will bring to the table at the climate talks next week. The very same way the US promoted and defended the ecologically and socially disastrous brand of laissez-faire capitalism, it will now have to take a re-look at how to save humankind from its current predicament of global warming identified as a real threat by an overwhelming majority of climate scientists working from all over the world. Last week’s fiasco of leaked emails suggesting tampering with climate data at a British University, indeed must not be made an excuse to hold our chances for survival at ransom.

No easy sailing

The programme went on to show how young people from the world over, were coming together to pressurise their lawmakers to take critical decisions in Copenhagen. History tells us that leaders need, at critical times to take decisions that are bold and unpopular if they are to bring sea-changes in thinking and action. The climate change issue is one that needs such boldness and conviction in leadership decision-making, for it is no longer a ‘keep-in-the back-burner’ issue but one impacting on Mother Earth’s very survival. President Obama, in line with his campaign promise of ‘Change We Can Believe in’ has brought out the realities that the US can no longer pretend that all is well with the world and the economic and business model that we knew for so long. He also believes that findings of climate scientists can not be ignored as just hype or the work of doomsday-soothsayers. Citizens of the US have on the one hand been sensitised to the possibilities of higher electricity charges, higher food prices and basic changes that may be necessary in readjusting to new lifestyles. As in all such issues where, vested interests and short-term thinking will prevail over the good of the many and the longer-term benefits, there is no easy sailing on this too.

Vested interests

In spite of what the President of the US may wish to do “Laws are made not by the President but by the Congress” the presenter on the programme rightly said. There is strong feeling that the fossil fuel and coal industry lobbies in the US will have strong influence on the government’s implementation plans of the Cap and Trade laws, which its critics have identified as an inadequate response to mitigating climate change. In the recent past, we saw US oil interests cited as the real reason for engaging in wars with countries and how dependent the blast and strip-mined coal fields of West Virginia (that form 4% of the total coal reserves of the world) is, on that State’s economy. The focus also falls on the luxurious lifestyles of entertainment centres such as Las Vegas and the overall wastage of food and resources at each level of the USA’s social strata. On an encouraging note, the State of California is cited; as it maintains relatively affluent lifestyles with 50% less waste in comparison with many States living with similar affluence. Its citizens pay twice as high charges for electricity and other utilities, but the per-capita expenditure of a household on utilities, is nearly half of other states.

Positive exposure

Back again on our innovations; what is noteworthy is that they are sustainable and have a high impact on the people that benefit from them. ‘Sudeepa’ safe oil lamps from Sri Lanka not only serve our own community needs but also those of several other lesser developed countries. The value of the positive publicity exposure that Dr. Godakumbura’s winning idea brought Sri Lanka this week, could not have been achieved by State agencies, without access to large public relations spends. On a recent visit to the tourist site of Sanoma in the US, I came across a store that featured Elephant Dung paper from Sri  Lanka, also bringing valuable publicity exposure, with excellent positive vibes. 

This goes to prove that a summation of many small, effective and sustainable deeds can indeed count-out to have a very big impact on a country, its economy and even the world at large. We have for far too long being the victims of or slaves to the belief that if one was to be successful as a business enterprise, one needed to be large in volume and size. Small enterprises were the ‘yakko’ discards of the larger Chambers of Commerce until recently, when they became a fashionable ‘must have’ appendage.

Give nets not the fish 

It is time that we as a nation and as citizens of Mother Earth changed our ways. We must realise that every drop counts in making the mighty oceans. We must in unity call likeminded others and impress upon larger nations such as the US to take on strong mitigation measures, so we all can ensure our survival on this planet.

On our part, we will need to have more confidence to take on actions to empower our people at each level and think of using the power of the many in sustainable ways, as an alternative to setting up unsustainable large enterprises operated by a few.

As my friend the late John Diandas used to say at Association for the Advancement of Science forums nearly three decades ago; ”Government must focus on providing a system of education that will let students have access to information, encourage inquiry and discovery, build the roads and bridges, develop and support effective mass transportation facilities and have policies to take care of the helpless. This done; people themselves will ensure that there is sustainable development”.

This was a wish, an honest, thinking man had three decades ago. Let us hope that Sri Lanka can see its fruition within the next three decades.