Alexander was formerly CEO of Triodos Germany where he managed more than 200 million Euros in asset. He is currently an independent consultant on finance, new economic structures, banking, and related topics. His report follows immediately below. If you want to see pictures of Alexander’s visit to the Philippines, kindly click here.

Dear Friends,

During 8 to 13 of June, 2015, I visited Nicanor Perlas and his Solution Ecosystems Activator team in Zarraga, near Iloilo, in the Philippines. The Activator-aspect of Nicanor and his team has been a key experience for me. On the photo below you see us discussing the organizational structure which Ronnie, one of the activators, has organised and established in more than 20 villages of the township Zarraga. This covers almost all the population of Zarraga, which is ca. 28.000 people. With the help of such an organization and structure, and responsibilities given to the local people, it is possible to get state-funds for helping the people to get out of poverty.

The funds are there, but they can only flow, if such a structure and responsibility-taking takes place. And this will only happen with the help of Ronnie, Gemma, Nicanor, and the other members of his team.

I was allowed to join a meeting with the mayor, a meeting with a civil society group, and a meeting with a group of business women and men, including business associations, and civil society associations, representing many hundred of engaged citizens. So in summary, i met representatives of all three sectors of society, civil society, government and business. The good cooperation between these three sectors is one of the key ideas of this whole project.

In all three meetings it was a strong experience for me to see how Nicanor and his team introduce the meeting, lead through the meeting, help connect important information, allow the more quiet people to speak, bringing the meeting to a good closing, with next steps agreed upon. It became clear to me that a team like Solution Ecosystems Activator is necessary to effect lasting change – and in the case of Zarraga, help the people to get out of poverty.

For this goal nine separate projects, which are interlinked, have been defined, like organic farming, rice production, water irrigation, a schooling area for the youth including a library, a restaurant, a gardening area, and many more. (See here.)

We have now started raising funds in the amount of up to 650 thousand Dollar, or 620 thousand Euro in order for Solution Ecosystems Activator’s team to help getting all these projects in motion and being able to sustain itself during the next three years. For this purpose we finished a 100+ page fundraising proposal and a 10+ page summary, including financials etc. For anyone who is interested in this i can send you a copy.

For all this the financial independence of Solution Ecosystems Activator’s team is key. Therefore we need those funds. Ronnie, Gemma and the others, have worked for no salary, or for a reduced salary, during the last months and really need support in order to be able to carry on with this important work.

It seems to me that there is now a real and good moment of time in Zarraga with many people getting more and more involved in actively shaping their own future!!!

Until we have (hopefully) such funds from foundations, we still need the support to bridge this gap. Until now we could raise 12.000 Euro of the 20.000 Euro we need to bridge this gap. So we still need 8.000 Euro. So anyone of you, who was still considering to give some money, is now welcome to do so.

It functions best if you use www.transferwise.com. Here are the details you need to fill in so that your money can arrive safely:

To: Nicanor Perlas

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)

Address: BPI Manduriao Branch, SM City, Manduriao, Iloilo City, Philippines

Please notify either me and/or Nicanor at npperlas@gmail.com, if you intend to transfer some money, so that we can help caring for it that it arrives safely at the correct destination.

You could also transfer the money to my personal account and i will transfer it to Nicanor’s SEA account and will send you a report that the money has arrived safely. If you want to contact me for this, please write to alexschwedeler@gmx.net.

I do thank you all for your patience to let me send these emails to you, and thanks to those who have helped already with this important project.

Warmest regards

Alexander