Tuesday 8 May 2012, Attic Bar (Arthouse Hotel) – Sydney
Recently I had the opportunity to present at a brilliant meet-up event called Think Act Change. The theme was ‘creating change through adventure’ and my presentation was tabled directly after two very inspiring young men who turned a student-engineering project into a change-making micro hydro venture in remote Vanuatu.
Eden & Chris talk about their micro hydro project (Photo: Think Act Change)
Eden and Chris engaged the audience with how they brought sustainable, affordable and reliable power to Imaki village. The Imaki Community Mini-Grid Project has moved this community away from the expensive, dirty and unreliable diesel-generated energy that they had to import into their village. Eden and Chris installed a micro-hydro system that bought natural power to Imaki from a nearby mountain stream. They talked passionately about the life-long relationship they have formed with Imaki and regaled us with stories of cross-cultural interactions as well as their adventures to the lip of the local volcano.
Chris and Eden’s ‘Think Act Change’ has improved the quality of life in Imaki village particularly in terms of health, education and communications. The project has also managed to preserve the beautifully subsistent lifestyle of the people of Imaki village.
Feeling inspired about creating change through adventure (Photo: Think Act Change)
Moving on with the theme of the night, I was fortunate enough to be able to share my journey of how Inspired Adventures came about. Walking away from this meet-up, I couldn’t help feeling like there’s been a recent groundswell in people like Eden and Chris doing incredible things on a small scale and voluntary basis. With the proliferation of crowdfunding sites like indiegogo, Kickstarter and pozible, I am excited at the future of social change and the opportunities that are now available to creative minds without the need of large set-up costs. I feel excited to be a part of this fast-changing world we live in and am constantly inspired by chance-meetings with people like Eden and Chris.
Thank you to the wonderful Avis Mulhall for creating one of the most exciting Tuesday night events in Sydney – Think Act Change.
Justine
Feeling inspired? Check out the following links:
- Check out: Think Act Change (Twitter: @ThinkActChange)
- More about Eden & Chris’ Imaki Community Mini-grid project
- Create change; join an Inspired Adventure
- Follow adventure, follow Inspired Adventures on Twitter
- Go fund yourself: indiegogo
- Funding platform for creative projects: Kickstarter
- Crowdfunding creative projects & ideas with pozible
Read more Inspired Adventure News from Justine or visit our Inspired Adventures Calendar and find a Charity Challenge perfect for you.