Bell Ringing for Solutions

2018. Early October... Hurricane Season in full swing in the SW United States and the Caribbean: "Michael" has just devastated the Florida panhandle, "Florence" has obliterated the US south leaving both Carolinas (and nearby coastal ecosystems) in despair and severely flooded, polluted with pig poop lagoons and highly toxic coal ash piles now in flood waters. This after a horrific prior storm season in 2017 which left an unprecedented disaster - the largest in US history from a hurricane and prolonged humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

How many communities will be destroyed ? How many homes? How many will be homeless ? How many island villages decimated... how many riots in the desperate aftermath of a Cat 5 monster storm that destroys everything in its path ?

Caribbean wreckage after Hurricane Irma, 2017

Let’s face facts: severe climate events and related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. This is a critical humanitarian and societal resilience issue of our time, not a political debate. It is a looming social crisis on a vast scale that is likely to snowball as large swaths of population shift while natural resources, food supply (security) and water supply are increasingly diminished. Part of this challenge is the disaster refugee crisis driven by estimates that average out at 200 million climate refugees by 2050 globally. (Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University.) Some estimates are up to 1 billion by 2050 !

We can choose to ignore the reality of the increase in severe natural disasters. We can waste time and energy debating the causes of climate change. We can continue to operate as a society that is in a bubble, exhaust limited natural resources, put off implementing sustainable systems within our society and economy - all to our and our children and their children's detriment. There is reason for hope and enthusiasm for sustainable systems via effective philanthropy and collaborative social innovation.

In taking a proactive, constructive approach in the wake of severe natural disasters (aka "climate change") we intend to move beyond blame, politics, ego and all the other non-productive elements of the mainstream narrative - the wasted discourse that does nothing to address the humanitarian crisis that is here and getting worse with each hurricane season. 

Ella, the Grandmother of one of AQUARITAS Group's co-founders, was a Chicago school teacher (history was her passion) for 50 years, including through the depression when she taught for free. One of her metrics of success was the number of children that avoided gangs and prison; another was those that became role models in their community. Ella was a consummate teacher with admonishments such as “those that don’t read history, repeat it.”   

The 'status quo' is a powerful force in our world.  Some could say because few read or learn from history we get more of the same. Many communities in the Caribbean suffer regular storms which based on geography and weather patterns is unlikely to change. BUT, the preparation for hurricanes and flooding can benefit from change to the status quo by updating the solutions from development organizations delivering their aid. Does the aid address the current needs and reduce future disaster impact? Does the aid integrate the best local insights with the best global solutions? What percentage of the aid investment delivers impact to those in need?  

The stark reality of communities destroyed physically and socially by disasters such as Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017 and taking more than 1 year to rebuild and recover, should be a major wakeup call to us all...The following highlights specific to Puerto Rico after Maria are sobering, mostly because much of this could have been averted with proactive resiliency planning and execution.

• Estimated 4,000 plus casualties / $100 billion damage caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, many in the aftermath of communities with little to no disaster resilience systems
• Tons and tons of water shipped to island but never distributed to those in need
• $2.3 billion spent on the same legacy electric grid that will again fail the island and lead to humanitarian crisis in the next major Hurricane. How does this make sense ?

A man walked in his destroyed house in Catano town, Juana Matos, in Puerto Rico (Wall St. Journal)

Clearly from the image here and the millions displaced from the disaster the island (based on well-known weather patterns established over centuries) requires an alternative, resilient, sustainable residential dwelling design in addition to reserve emergency shelter / provisions / power / communications / first aid / meds, etc. Development organizations and their funders are being challenged by: calls for impact metrics, single digit overheads and timely delivery of aid. Resilient solutions after disasters can deliver near-term benefits to those impacted plus societal dividends by reducing global donor aid, recognizing the ecosystem nature of these communities, and avoiding the death spiral of criminal elements being de facto leaders.

Recipes for recovery have been seen in Japan and Germany which rebuilt after WWII to become global economic leaders as compared to Afghanistan where >$80b will be invested this year with no transition to economic sustainability on the horizon. Investing in recovery is not sufficient for economic independence. Like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs disaster recovery has its layers of focus areas, including: infrastructure, essentials (food, water, fuel), economic engines for exports, FDI, workforce utilization and quality of life. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

Our focus is helping in a few critical areas to impart new thinking, approaches and virtuous cycle ecosystems. AQUARITAS Group aims to:

• Support storm impacted communities for more rapid recovery

    Hurricane Harvey, 2017

• Source resiliency solutions that address immediate needs and deliver longer term value

   The Shoe that Grows (Courtesy of Because International)

• Accelerate economic recovery for impacted communities

     Making items Locally

• Generate AG margins to fund ResilenSEA Lab (identify and assess future solutions)

 Plastic Waste Solutions

• Vet and aggregate social innovation solutions via proven partners that drive long-term empowerment, skilling and economic independence:       

DEILAB's STEM in a Bin program uses Toys as Tools to Teach which provides critical therapeutic play as well as long-term positive impact to children and communities in post-traumatic disaster recovery via an ecosystem of sustainable job and business creation.     

As storms create localized problems, solutions must also be locally embraced. AG’s resiliency solutions are bred as collaborative platforms with vetting and support of village and community stakeholders to navigate timing and priorities that deliver the best impact (near-term and on-going). We inquire, listen, gain knowledge and develop locally relevant solutions.

ResilienSEA solutions leverage a multi-disciplinary approach to avoid sub-optimization (near-term thinking that vexes traditional development organizations). Integrating local insights with globally tested solutions while balancing short and longer term tradeoffs (resilient) enables AG to architect ‘a better way’.   

In closing, we are seeking like minded individuals, leaders, innovators, global citizens social innovators (AQ Legacy Members) to collaborate, force multiply and take collective action to bring about rapid positive impact and long-term foundations for prosperity. This is about a community, not about us or our company and non-profit. We seek to be a vehicle and catalyst for the support and empowerment that so many people in frail coastal communities drastically need and will need exponentially more in the coming decades.

The AQUARITAS Community is in part comprised of AQ Legacy Members - a diverse and unique group of compassionate and entrepreneurial leaders taking action through unique adventure philanthropy and Excursions-With-a-Purpose Experiences in support of disaster-prone coastal communities… stay tuned for announcements and invitations on AG Membership, first excursion and impact conclave events and experiences.

The urgency of this crisis is loud and now.    

Scott Gillespie | Eric W. Dahler

About AQUARITAS Group

AQUARITAS Group is a social enterprise that combines Lifestyle Membership with an innovative, purpose-driven platform that facilitates resilient solutions for disaster-prone, coastal communities.

AQUARITAS Lifestyle is a unique membership club with a mission of delivering extraordinary lifestyle experiences which integrate, and generate support for, resiliency projects in disaster-prone coastal communities. AQUARITAS Lifestyle architects member benefits including access to yachting lifestyle events, excursions and adventure philanthropy experiences.

AQUARITAS Purpose identifies and sources proven solutions that address key challenges faced by disaster-prone coastal communities. AQUARITAS Purpose’s mission is to deliver resilience programs to disaster prone coastal communities that accelerate recovery, reduce future impact, minimize dependence on aid and enable ecosystem sustainability.

A Lifestyle With Impact  |  A Legacy With Purpose