2024 APSIPA Winner Auke & Che Idzenga On Aligning Technological Innovation With The Needs Of Remote Communities
With the gradual increase of global risks, how can we develop innovative practices to ensure a future where sustainability will become mainstream? The Asia Pacific Social Innovation Partnership Award is established to explore dynamic social innovation models in the Asia Pacific and to motivate more change-makers to contribute to social innovation, discovering and celebrating social innovation partnerships that connect diverse stakeholders and make significant social impacts. Partnership cases are required to set the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) as their core value.
The award sets motivating social innovation partnerships as its purpose, integrating 17 SDGs sorted into three categories, Biosphere Sustainability, Inclusive Business and Social Prosperity. Three winners were chosen from each category and there was one Special Jury Prize chosen by the judging panel.
The Social Prosperity Award focuses on social innovation initiatives relevant to fundamental dignity in human society. The highly related corresponding SDGs are SDG1: No Poverty, SDG2: Zero Hunger, SDG3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG4: Quality Education, SDG5: Gender Equality, SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG16: Peace, justice and strong institutions.
Highlights from the Interview
(listen to the podcast for full details)
[Indio Myles] - To start off, could you please share your backgrounds and what led to your passion in social innovation?
[Auke Idzenga] - I'm a marine engineer, and I grew up in a socially active family. Being on ships, I was exposed to extreme poverty; I saw places in the world experiencing hunger, such as parts of Africa we went to. My idea was first to do this for another 10 years, but I then quickly decided I could better devote my time and work for the poor by using my knowledge, skills and enthusiasm. I prepared myself with an appropriate technology group at a technical university, and for the first time, we created a pump which could pump water using the power and energy of falling water. That was so amazing, and it was always in the back of my mind that I would work with that again later (even though took more than six years).
I then moved to the Philippines, but this was pre digital, so it's completely different from what you can imagine right now. I ended up on an island with just sugar cane, and it was very poor. Plantation owners were the only people who had cars, and they were not paying the workers properly. I arrived there when the sugar prices had completely dropped on the world market, even to the extent that plantation owners had ceased operating. There was no cultivation going on and there was no alternative; you could not find a job on the island. Without the internet, you were not able to explore opportunities.
The sugar workers were going hungry, and to make this story short (because this is pre AIDFI) we worked with farm lots borrowing pieces of land from the plantation owners. Some resisted, some cooperated, and we produced with the sugar workers their own food purely for survival. When we got a new president (we were told President Marcos fled the country), immediately a new land reform was started. We were ready for that because we had already practiced with farm laws, and so we ended up with sugarcane plantations of 200 hectares and didn't know what to do.
We only had land and people, the rest was all pulled out and any knowledge or connection with the banks or central institutions were gone. There was only organising education and some agriculture activities, but no opportunity for any technologies.
With my technical background, I saw so many needs. With three colleagues, we started AIDFI. This was in 1992, and the start of AIDFI was all natural, but we wanted to do everything. We saw all the needs, so we developed all kinds of technologies and programs where we wanted to provide answers to basic needs.
Fast forward, we realised that we can't do everything, and we should focus and what was expressed by all the people (mostly in the uplands). Those areas were mostly in the mountains, and the number one need was water. Water is always number one, even more than energy, electricity, or roads. We had this idea of the ram pump already, and we developed our own model. We started focusing on this around 1998, some six years after starting. Now, 85% of our work is in installing these water systems by utilising this pump.
You are the CEO and COO respectively of the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI). Can you both share more about this organisation and the impact it’s generating today?
[Auke Idzenga] - We started from project to project, and this was still pre digital. I'm trying to make a distinction, as imagine we were on an island, not in Manila or one of the middle islands. We were not connected to Manila, and it's very hard to communicate. Travelling was expensive, everything was expensive. Near your office and the surroundings of the city (the mountains), that's where we naturally started, and so this work was project to project.
We won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2011 because we did more things on a community level which we were recognised for. 2011 was also the time that the Coca Cola Foundation were implementing a program for the company. They did this internationally, and that was part of their sustainability program. They already worked with energy, and then the next thing was water. They decided that all the water they were using in bottling cola around the world had to be returned to people or to nature. They experimented a little bit with nurseries and tree planting, but it's very hard to establish the volume.
They discovered our ram pump, and we can measure exactly by water metres on how much water we had pumped up to a community, so this was ideal for them. It was ideal for us because now from project to project, we were able to go to batches of projects. It was like we were put in a comfort zone where we could concentrate.
Then we had the opportunity to make the program more holistic, because it's not at all a ‘technical’ intervention, it's more a social intervention. We had the opportunity and funds at the time to develop a what we call social preparation for the community.
In the Philippines, we have a strong dole out system mostly related to politicians and to the politics. People don't feel ownership over these projects, so we had to turn that around and gain the trust of the communities. This is so they would take a full ownership of the project, not because we asked them to, but also because they see it is super beneficial to them, not just immediately, but also in the long run.
What should entrepreneurs consider when developing technological solutions that are purpose led or trying to support a disadvantaged community?
[Che Idzenga] - What's important is we had the focus and the passion. It wasn't easy at the start, there were many hindrances and challenges. But once you overcome these challenges, things fall into place very fast. At the time, when we got the Coca Cola partnership, it was a period of tremendous growth for us. It also gave us the opportunity to think about a lot of things.
When you develop a technology, it's very important that you also incorporate the social component into it. It's not merely a technical intervention. In some projects, they just give the technology to the community, but there is no social component to it. After a few months or a few years, when you come back the project doesn't exist anymore, and that's not what AIDFI wants.
We spent a lot of time in developing our social component, which we developed through a holistic approach. We involve the community as much as possible in all the villages from the beginning. They're not mainly the beneficiaries, but they are the owners of the systems once they have been installed in their communities.
[Auke Idzenga] - The young entrepreneurs should be ready for a rollercoaster ride. They should fully enjoy it, don't look at the hindrances. For example, we gave a lot of lectures to young people and tried to stimulate them to go into social entrepreneurship, because there are so many basic needs or social problems. They always stop when they start thinking about money, and that's a secondary need, go for the passion.
Be very passionate, and then tell your story everywhere. When you do that from the heart, people will understand, and the money will follow. I don't say it's easy, even for us now after COVID it's not easy to find money but feel confident.
The most important thing is to persevere, persevere and persevere, then you will make it. Don't look at basic needs from the point of money or a business where you believe this is where you can make money. It's rather the other way around, it should be that you also like the issue and you can be passionate about it, then all the rest comes naturally.
You have recently won an APSIPA Award, and it highlights your dedication and ability to innovate and create a social impact. What have been your observations of the social innovation movement in your country, and where do you see key opportunities arising for others?
[Auke Idzenga] - There were many NGOs who would go with the trends and where the money flows. They were looking at projects and programs as something separately, and what you now see is that social innovation is a new concept. For us it was natural, because we're thinking more about community building. With the ram pump for example, [we see it] as a starting point which will trigger bigger developments, not as an end goal.
Many NGOs must change their mindset, because these are not just projects which can or may fail. They will just move on to the next project, but this is what we always say is a bloody serious business!
The beneficiaries must be on board as well, there's a lot at stake with social innovation or social enterprising. For example, you have clients who you cannot tell the stories or problems you must. If they want to [like in our case] buy lemongrass oil, we can't come up with excuses or maybe even tell them the truth. What is happening in these projects which is difficult is you're dealing with people and difficult circumstances. We all must be prepared and be on the same stage, and solutions must be for the long run and something very sustainable. This requires a shift of mindset.
In the Philippines, government agencies like the Department of Science and Technology or the Department of Health are changing. The Department of Health even have a program called Social Innovation in Health for example. Maybe what’s also unique for the Philippines is that there's a social enterprising bill in the making. It's progressing now, but it is already 16-17 years in the making. That would maybe incentivise social enterprises. Government is resisting a little bit because they look at the money side, so when there are too many incentives, they think it will cost them money.
They don't see the long-term impact or the financial departments who must look at those bills, they don't see the long-term impact sand therefore also the financial gains for the Philippines broadly.
But it's all coming, so there are exciting times ahead. It must all be more coordinated, and we must learn with AIDFI to work with different stakeholders. We can't do it alone, you cannot just have an area where you can change everything, even with lots of funds. We must cooperate with the academe, the government, and local government units. It's challenging, but beautiful.
AIDFI was the winner of this year’s Special Jury Prize with the theme of ‘harmony’, awarded to an organisation showcasing social innovation collaborations, embodying respect for the environment, and advocating for international communities to cooperate and achieve shared visions. How does AIDFI incorporate the concept of ‘harmony’ into its social impact activities, and what are actionable steps for other purpose led enterprises to do so also?
[Che Idzenga] - For us social innovation was from the beginning. In our vision, we talk about bringing “technology and development systems in harmony with nature,” but we also say in harmony with people. What's important is to tell the story, because we want to spread this innovation further. We believe it's not only beneficial to the Philippines, but other countries as well. It's important that we involve beneficiaries throughout the whole process.
We have a whole holistic approach involving the surveying to social preparation and installation. Even at the conveyance, we involve different stakeholders (so not only the beneficiaries), but we also try to connect them to the outside world, local government units or other NGOs who are doing other things that may relate to them.
When we join summits or award ceremonies, it's not about winning the prize. We’re trying to get our story out there to help entrepreneurs follow in our steps and connect with others so that we may also work with them in the future.
[Auke Idzenga] - To add a little bit to that, we do technology transfer. This is not just technical. The people who are interested think it's a technical thing, and that bringing up the water is the end goal. They are usually interested in the ram pump, but we try as much as possible to see if they are open to the whole holistic program. We have done technology transfer in Afghanistan, Nepal, Columbia, and Mexico, so those people came to the Philippines for training.
They were triggered (or at least that's what they said) by the enthusiasm of our whole organisation. That's also the idea of why we let them come to us, they come with us to the projects, and we hope that the whole concept is picked up by them. We are open for technology transfers, but the challenge is to find serious people not just on the business side, who have a heart for bringing water to communities.
What advice would you give to a social entrepreneur or innovator who's starting their journey and focusing on creating and enhancing social prosperity?
[Che Idzenga] - I would say never stop innovating, because development work is hard. Because of fast changing times, we also must adapt to the changing times.
Innovation should be at the centre, but we must do innovation with passion, and funding should not be a driving factor or a hindrance towards this. The passion you have for your social innovation will bring more fulfillment towards yourself, your social innovation, and to the people you serve.
[Auke Idzenga] – It’s also about integrating with the beneficiaries, because you need to have the trust of the communities and the beneficiaries to understand them. Sometimes we make assumptions, so you need to be with them, speak the same language, and behave with them at the same level when you are integrating. That's why development work takes long, there's no quick solution, especially in far flung communities. I would also encourage people to look at those remote areas, because everything happens mostly on the lowlands while in the mountains is not so much happening.
If we want to achieve the SDGs at the end of the day, people must go to the far-flung areas. They say no one left behind, but they are all still waiting in the mountains for our help. It's also extra fulfilling, because the things you do have an extra huge impact on those communities.
If you look at us for example, we pump 40-400 litres of water for a household, but so many things can be done with that water. There's a huge change for that household if you look at it that way, and we see rural upland communities as having huge potential, not as a hopeless or helpless area. Many politicians don't see any opportunities in the eroded, hard to reach mountains, but we see potential. For young entrepreneurs, see potential in areas where nobody wants to go.
To finish off, what books or resources would you recommend to our audience?
[Auke Idzenga] - There's a very quick answer to this question, write your own book. This is your journey, so don't look for slogans from others as your guide. Just be natural and put yourself at the same level of others, and things will come naturally.
[Che Idzenga] - It's important not only to write your book, but also to tell your story. When you are on that journey and you meet a lot of people, you tell your story to everyone and there might be some serious listeners out there who would also like to share their story with others to help spread their innovation further. That's my message to all, write your own book and then tell your story to the world.
This content is sponsored by Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan.
