Country: United StatesA

Organization: Busto Plumbing

Idea: Developing micro trades schools for low income communities by bringing retired trades practioners (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc) to work with the talented, non- university or agrarian inclined in a given village or town.

How do you do it: 1)we start by targeting a region that has grown from rural basis but jobs and economic opportunity are not allowing for individual and professional development for a good portion of the citizenry-I am thinking of Central America. 2) Partner with retired trades people from the US and elsewhere, as well as potential trades people from the urban centers of the designated country, to conduct a comprehensive training program that will teach their students how to be plumbers, electricians and carpenters. I would also like to include an entrepreneurial and management element so that these future trades service providers are capable of better managing their decisions, operations and finances. 3) will detail more if you are interested!Out of room

Innovation: It changes the mindset on creating and charting an individual's capacity to live his or her dreams, be self- sustaining and make a positive difference in the lives of others. Trades people make communities work. From running water, to electrical service delivery, to housing the village, trades people are an essential element to any community's capacity to live the good life. Trades work also allows for individual independence potentially and is an outstanding alternative to taking the university route, which is extremely competitive and exclusive in Central America. This effort could expedite the establishment of an economically empowered merchant and service provision class that employs more people, while improving the quality of life.

Impact: Through the establishment of a systemic solution routed in education, training and ongoing community establishment. Young people are the base of the plan. Training and developing them are the means. Bringing the retired from the developed world to work with the young people of the developing world will change the lives for all involved for the better. No more wells. No more water-based disease, no more landlessness, etc. This approach to poverty reduction also deals with the elements of powerlessness that cloaks the impoverished. By equipping talented young people with the skills and ongoing support to build their own businesses or work in the trades, the national system will be substantially altered for the better.

Ethical Action: Guatemala City. Dump where 1500 or more people "live". No running water, so no showers, regular washing of hands, food, etc. Need to have running water exists. No one will pay for it. The limited plumbing service providers are not going to do it for free. There are smart and gifted young adults who are presently likely to enter crime life. By bridging their lives with opportunities to learn the plumbing trade, they can help their own community, while developing their personal capacity to control their own economic destiny. No more victimization, when they can add value to the lives of those around them and subsequently improve their community in its entirety. One waterborn illness could theoretically wipe out thousands of people!

Replication: By organizing a pilot project to last 3 years, we will be able to determine what has worked and what has to change. The end game is to establish a formal system of trades schools that can serve as an alternative for the technically inclined young people of the developing world. If the model proves successful, say in Guatemala, then we can replicate it in other communities in Central America and elsewhere. If we are successful, I am confident that we can gain outside national and non- governmental financial support to aid in the expansion of the proven concept.

Sustainability: It will be sustained through the support of alumni, community involvement, non-governmental support, direct contributions and fundraising. I anticipate the opportunity not only to partner with 2-3 universities (architecture schools, engineering), but with retired trades people who will also help to make the operation lean, because the mission is as important as finding a cure to a nasty disease. Secondly, the idea is to establish a tuition based program where students pay themselves or the support organization finds them a sponsor. We are talking knowledge, more than bricks and mortar. We can make it a success by empowering the young people participating with knowledge and increased capacity for self determination over their lives.

Position in the Ethics Mosaic of Solutions:

Factor: Ignorance of consequences

Principle: Developing self-awareness and interconnectedness