As a child, he met his mentor an Indian organic farmer, who made a big impression on him. He decided that he would move to #india as an adult. After studying in the Netherlands, where he got his background in organic agriculture and Fairtrade he made his dream come true and moved to India. Gijs is an #ashoka Fellow and has started several social projects and companies to drive sustainability in production and trade in India.
In this Episode we talk about:
- What is a social entrepreneur
- Non Profit – For Profit
- The value of profit
- Gijs inspiration
- meeting his mentor
- Moving to India with 18
- Why living in India is like camping for a very long time
- The cultural shock finding the boundaries
- Living in Auroville
- Working all over India
- Cotton farming is a high-risk, low-profit business
- Dryland cotton farming
- Why the green revolution is an arms race between humans and nature
- The debt trap of Indian farmers
- Why more than 150000 farmers killed themselves
- Zero budget farming movement
- Minimum prices to cover the cost of production
- The „Fast #fashion“ disconnect
- Organic as a niche product
- The myths about organic cotton
- The problem of activist brands
- The extra cost for organic farmers
- Why brands should take the leadership
- The problem with the „Better Cotton Initiative“
- Understanding Fair Trade and Organic Cotton
- An incubator for Indian change makers
- CSR is becoming mandatory in India
- The Ashoka selection process for social entrepreneurs
- A community of practice
- The Atmavichara project
Show Notes, Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Gijs Linkedin page
Zameen
Gijs Ashoka Page
Gijs presentation at Youtube
Auroville
Green Revolution India
Zero Budget Farming
Unlimited Tamil Nad
Better Cotton Initiative
Atmavichara
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
