The Heritable Innovation Trust honors intellect, information, and wisdom that have been passed down throughout history. On July 12, 2010, a great man who fully embodied the spirit of the Trust passed away. Mau Piailug, 78, originally of Satawal Island (part of the Federated States of Micronesia) was one of the last great master navigators of the sea, having learned to navigate the ocean without the use any modern instruments. As a young boy, knowledge of non-instrumental seafaring was passed down to him from his grandfather, and is a skill taught only inside family structures.
The Forest Trust, formally The Tropical Forest Trust (TFT), is a non-profit international organization seeking to address the problem of deforestation by working with companies and communities and help them trade Forest Responsible Products. Created in 1999, The TFT works to set up traceability systems and assist in producers towards sustainable forest management.
This afternoon we received a message from one of our dear friends in India, Dr. Bremley W. B. Lyngdoh. He expressed a story to us about how his ancestors planted their trees on their native land 500 years ago. The story is as follows:
"Remember in the movie Avatar the Colonel says - You are not in Kansas anymore - You are in Pandora - Well our homeland is like Pandora. In the depths of Meghalaya northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built - they were grown 500 years ago by our ancestors.
On this first anniversary of the inaugural Heritable Innovation Trust (HIT) it is fitting to take stock of where we are. There are lessons learned, experience and wisdom gained, and a clarifying impulse to deepen our engagement with this framework for a new, integral value social organization. Growing out of M•CAM’s 12 year design and deployment efforts to build both economic and social charters and practices to ethically engage all humanity in equal opportunity, the HIT appears to hold promise for the manifestation of such a reality.
Hello, HIT fans!
29 DAYS until we leave for PNG! Orientation planning is in its final stages. All hotel and plane reservations have been booked and the itinerary is set. We are VERY excited to be on our way back to our second home, but Katie and I are experiencing butterflies at the prospect. The thought of having four people dependent on us half-way around the world is terrifying. We are now in the calm before the storm. The newest interns only have two assignments left to complete before orientation, so we're sure they are feeling a bit surreal right now, as well.
As you may notice, our Friday post is a bit out of the ordinary. While we have not yet set up a Heritable Trust in Guatemala, a friend of the Trust, Jeff Dabkowski, and his Northeastern University Physician's Assistant classmates, have spent the last week serving rural communities in Guatemala. We were inspired by Jeff's stories and were moved to post them because his stories give a lot of context and illustrate very well, the reason we do what we do.
As you read below, notice how much can be done by taking action. Be inspired and empowered by the ethic of the group.
We received a positive update yesterday from our contact in Nepal, Krishna Gurung. He let us know that Dr. Ruth Goenseth, a member of parliament from the Green Party in Switzerland went to visit the site recently and is interested in helping in the efforts of creating news sites and recording the indigenous knowledge. We are excited for this news and will keep you posted as we know more about this exciting new partnership.
A couple of months ago, we at the Heritable Innovation Trust were connected with Tyler Gage, the founder of the Runa Foundation in Ecuador. Due to similarities in direction and focus, the two organizations melded quite well. Runa LLC is an international organization dedicated to facilitating sustainable development and cultural preservation for the indigenous communities of Ecuador. Runa's main focus is to protect and participate in the fair trade of Guayusa, a naturally caffeinated tea grown and celebrated in Ecuador.
Listen to M-CAM Executive Chairman Dr.
The following article by David Bollier describes The Heritable Innovation Trust as an alternative to western intellectual property schemes.
Read it HERE
