Our foundation takes an “eco-centric” view of development as opposed to an “ego-centric” view. We understand that we are part of this planet and should be respectful of all living things. This “connected perspective” is behind all that we do at the foundation.
The world has to move quickly to protect and recover what has been lost. We understand the reality of “transition economies” and next steps to get us to a better place. Our investments in technology and alleviation of poverty are not “silver bullets” that will fix everything, but rather a “next wise action” that will help move us forward quickly. As such we will invest in various clean energy projects that are not perfect, but will help move things forward
A critical component in this post-industrial age is the development of leaders who can lead this world into the next age. Our leadership programs are intended to develop leaders who can create alternative structures and practices in all our major cultural establishments, including economics, food, energy systems, government, and education. Alternative institutions created as part of this great shift must be sourced in a worldview profoundly different from the one that created the current industrial growth society. Rather than become something other-than-human or superhuman, we are summoned to become fully human. We must mature into people who are citizens of Earth and residents of the universe, and our identity and core values must be recast accordingly. This kind of “growing up” entails a quantum leap beyond the stage of development in which the majority of people live today.
Jonathan and Jennifer Baynes are the founders of Asone Foundation and are based in British Columbia, Canada. They bring with them a passion for change and experience from Africa, Europe and now North America.
We work closely with our project partners, Nation First (www.nationfirst.ca), who work with indigenous nations and on various clean technology projects around the world. This partnership gives us the assurance that investments and grants are having the impacts they were intended for.
It should be noted that our investments are not only made to not for profit organizations, but also for profit organizations who can demonstrate a clear impact and reproducible results. We talk about this in terms of the 3 P’s - People, Planet, Profit. We don’t see profit as a dirty word, instead we see a “reasonable profit” as an essential component of a truly transformed and sustainable economy.
Our clean energy projects are focused on the development of a Hydrogen Economy, and does not exclude electric (battery technologies etc) from this equation.
We invest heavily in the protection of forests. This includes the support and development of sustainable forestry practices in poorer countries and the development of sustainable economies around forestry. We also acquire properties that we can put into a Conservation Trust for the ongoing protection of key wildlife corridors and species at risk. Our education and leadership programs are delivered on these pieces of land to 1) provide and economic engine for ongoing protection and 2) to educate leaders in an immersive context on the land (instead of a traditional classroom).
The synergy between all of our projects is the upliftment of communities. We understand that much of the exploitation of the planet is done through the plundering of resources from poorer communities (Eg indigenous communities). All our projects seek to improve the lives of the poorest amongst us.