Sustainable Livelihoods
Meeting the Global Challenge of a Secure Livelihood one Family at a Time
Experience and Passion
A passion to change the marketplace for the $1 a day entrepreneur. Jeff Asher is a consultant and entrepreneur with over 40 years experience in research, testing and communicating practical advice to consumers worldwide. In 2008, he decided to retire from Consumer Reports as its Vice-President and Technical Director to become the President of a new organization, Sustainable Livelihoods. Our mission is simple:
“… to make secure the entrepreneurial efforts of the working poor who earn $1 a day in emerging countries around the world. Together with other partners, Sustainable Livelihoods will work to develop and disseminate culturally-relevant, technical solutions to solve critical problems of the working poor one family at a time.”
The implementation of this mission statement is complex being specific to the region and the local needs of the community. Admittedly, the precise technical support offered will depend on future collaborations with other organizations and Governments. (Not knowing the precise path is actually a refreshing change after many years of following well-formulated, multi-year strategic plans at large organizations.)
Introducing “Sustainable Livelihoods.” Sustainable Livelihoods arose out of my passion to leverage my significant technical, project and management skills to “do good” in emerging countries where families are living tenuously on $1 a day. This new consulting company of one seeks to develop and deploy culturally-appropriate technology in emerging countries to better ensure a sustainable livelihood for the $1 a day entrepreneur who happens to be poor.
For instance, water for farming and the family, is usually a critical key to their sustainability. Developing sufficient sources of water for farming and potable water for the family remain a quest for many throughout the world. Sustainable Livelihoods will assist in developing and deploying technologies that can meet these needs and do so in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Sustainable Livelihoods seeks to bring organizations—NGO’s, not for profits, Foundations and Governments—together for the common good to bring sustainability to the entrepreneurial families.
The Sustainable Livelihood Dream. We can do more than solving a problem for one entrepreneur at a time. Rather, the dream is to change the local marketplace by making substantial improvements to the infrastructure for products and services that support the entrepreneur.
For example, these could be the steps to support the needs of a small-scale entrepreneur:
- Assess the needs for key, major capital investments of the $1 a day entrepreneur and his/her family.
- Develop technical resources, like Universities, to test products in the marketplace via scientific, objective methods and communicate the “best in show.”
- Provide a sustained communication link to gain feedback as the entrepreneur employs these new products to make their lives and livelihood more sustainable.
- Encourage that the design, manufacture, repair and recycling of these products be done locally with local expertise and local materials to further build a local infrastructure.