Non-Bird of the Day: Flying Fox (Thekkady, India)

They come out before dawn, and again at dusk, and it is easy to confuse them with birds–eagle-sized at that– when they circle around Cardamom County.  Flying foxes are good neighbors, hanging around the bamboo stand across the way from us in the Periyar Reserve during the day; munching on insects during the darker hours.

Watch It On National Geographic Channel

Our colleagues offer amazing experiences on the backwaters of Kerala, in the houseboats described here, with some visual support here and here; and once more here (really, look at it to get a sense of grocery shopping in our neighborhood); so no surprise that a film crew and remarkable cast of characters asked to spend time with them.  The crew of 15 or so (I lost count) was from all over India; so was the cast.  The four featured men in this film are part of a “bucket list” adventure that is being filmed in the locations ranked most highly in a national competition as “must go.” Kerala’s backwaters made that list. Raxa Collective’s houseboats were chosen as the venue for best experiencing those backwaters.

The four men–a student, an IT marketing executive, an Indian Capoeira master-in-training, and a famous Bollywood actor–met for the first time not long ago, and by the time we met them they seemed like old friends.  By the time it airs on the National Geographic Channel, that will stand out as much as the fabulous locations (I like the picture hanging on the wall past the camera man).  We will share more on the broadcast times when we have them.  The photo below is Milo’s, and we have some additional photos by Sung from this particular day (they were on the houseboats for many more days), more on which as we have those photos, and hopefully some film outtakes.

Brown Takeaways, & Galapagos Giveaways

For the work we do, there are a few places always on my radar.  I do not mean some search engine tool for getting all the news on such and such.  I mean radar in the sense of, what really matters?  Why? When and where did it start mattering for me?  September, 1983 at JFK Airport is at the very top of the list, believe it or not, but I will save that story for another day. August, 1988 at Cornell University is near the top, as is February, 1995 in Costa Rica.  The Galapagos Islands joined the list in July, 1998 when I had my first work assignment there.  Ever since, I have had WWDD? buzzing in my thoughts, something like a bumper sticker in the back of my mind that cannot and will not go away.

This story from 2000 is a reminder of one my my subsequent visits.  Continue reading

Hello To The Galapagos

A pleasure to read this post from the Islands that Reyna has written about, especially that it is from someone celebrating their honeymoon; super-especially when they take great photos, write well, and share them with everyone.

Takeaways

The video clip above is what comes to mind after a bit of reflection. Thanks to Alan, Bill and 30+ others, I have not only fonder thoughts for Brown University, but food for thought.  The course ENGN 1930, aka Social Entrepreneurship, asks students to provide brief, written reflections on class sessions, readings, etc.  In my session with them, I started by sharing my experience completing a PhD and moving to Costa Rica in the mid-1990s.  I then described the process of learning from both public sector leaders and entrepreneurs there, and eventually forming a company that practices entrepreneurial conservation.

The gist of several of the “takeaways” from students is the reasonable question that I am chewing over now: are the Raxa Collective initiatives examples of social entrepreneurship?  Is La Paz Group practicing social entrepreneurship?  The snarky, if partially true reply would have been that I do not care all that much what it is called.  Continue reading