The innermost motivations of GreenDreamFoundation originate from Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is a century old philosophy in Africa which also functions as a compass for all sectors within society in the new Africa. Ubuntu means ‘I am because of we’ and demonstrates the essence of being a human being and our interconnectedness. Your existence depends on the context you are part of; you will be successful when the total is successful. Your value is determined by your meaning for other people: you are nothing on your own and you will not achieve anything on your own.
In our choices and considerations we can and will be guided by this moral compass. This is also demonstrated by the goal of the foundation to make a difference and contribute to positive change i.e. poverty reduction and an increase in welfare, based on the fundamental attitude that ‘the glass is half full’.
The five P’s
Inclusiveness is the business model that originates from this Ubuntu philosophy and that we use. In inclusiveness business motives (profit) are combined with a social contribution (people) and environmental sustainability (planet). We add two more principles to these three: Passion and Pleasure.
* People: because we love people and are always looking for the best result. The Ubuntu philosophy is our starting point and we take everybody involved into account, our GreenDreamers, our partners and the people who work on our projects.
* Planet: because we realize that we need the planet and not the other way around. We are a guest on planet earth and are supposed to behave ourselves accordingly, with respect. We adhere to the principles of the Blue Economy and sustainability is key in our approach.
* Profit: because a healthy organization is also financially sustainable and must be healthy in order to maintain its right to exist in the future. Successful projects enable us to realize other projects so that we can create more jobs and the impact can increase.
* Passion: because that is just the way we work, with our head, heart and hands. We are able to do so because all GreenDreamers fully support our core values and the goals of our foundation.
* Pleasure: because that is what we want to bring to ourselves and others – happiness for all! We enjoy the beauty of the countries where we work as well as the people we work with. Pleasure is also what tourism is about and stands for.
The nautilus shell as logo
We chose the nautilus shell as logo. The nautilus shell is a beautiful demonstration of infinity in finiteness. If you open the nautilus shell you will see a spiral unfolding a special process: the little animal started very small and as it matures creates new, larger chambers, and moves its growing body into the larger space sealing the vacated chamber with a new septum. This goes on and on.
The nautilus shell is a perfect example of connectivity and represents exactly what we want, a harmonious balance between being and becoming, of Ubu and Ntu. The projects we develop are a demonstration of this process: they arise from each other and co-exist in interdependence.
In order to achieve our goal, we develop various concepts that are aimed at the transformation of rural areas into eco-tourist destinations. The foundation functions as an incubator of new ideas, of labs. If a lab has matured it may become autonomous and develop into an independently operating organization. Concentrating around the basic needs of those labs we distinguish various organizations that, on the one hand arose in interdependence and on the other hand reinforce each other, like the small chambers of the nautilus shell.