Social Enterprise for Peace
Peace can be a vocation but can
it become financially sustainable?
The answer is yes! One major
profitable action of peace practice
is mediation and negotiation. Most
conflicting parties do not trust
each other and need a third party
to intervene. Such intervention
is highly technical and requires
much experience. Many schools
and institutions offer courses to
train professional mediators or
negotiators.
Mekong Peace Journey Participants on International Peace Day, 2013
soldiers. Morodok, a Cambodian
NGO, has been working on
reintegrating former Khmer Rouge
soldiers into communities by peace
education and livelihood training.
Peace Education
Peace education is the most
popular program at the grassroots
level especially among the youth.
Young people in many conflict-
affected countries are vulnerable
due to lack of education and
employment opportunities. They
could join gangs and engage in
violence. As a response, many
grassroots organizations work on
peace education. Working Group
for Peace in Cambodia is one of
such organizations. They organize
workshops, campaigns, and other
activities to raise awareness
among the youth.
In the past few years, organizations
started to take youth peace
education into the international
level by organizing peace camps
and workshops across nations.
The Thai Volunteer Service
organizes Mekong Peace Journey
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to bring together youth from the
six Mekong River countries. The
purpose of the program is for the
participants to improve knowledge,
competencies, and skills for
peacebuilding and become
change agents for peace across
borders. The program is composed
of lectures on peace theories and
analysis tools simulations, field
visits to local peace NGOs, and
cultural exchanges.
Livelihood or development
is probably second to peace
education in terms of popularity.
Poverty is considered as one of the
leading factors that causes conflict.
As a successful example, China
has lifted over 600 million people
above the poverty line in the last
four decades. Its model is referred
by some scholars as “peace
through development”.
More countries are making
development the first priority
to achieve peace and so are
many grassroots organizations.
Developing countries do not
possess enough high technology
or educated human resource. Their
economies mostly rely on the
exploration of natural resources.
Apparently, many conflicts revolve
around these limited but valuable
natural resources; a phenomenon
often referred as “resource curse”.
Grassroots organizations
combine environmental
conservation and economic
equity with development. They
teach peasants to make organic
fertilizers instead of chemical
ones to increase yields. They
also work with or fight against
corporations for economic equity.
Many corporations take peasants’
lands without fair compensation
and an alternative livelihood.
Thus, both are in constant conflict
that may sometimes involve
vi olence. Grassroots negotiate
with these corporations on behalf
of community members and help
corporations make responsible
investments such as providing
vocational training for communities,
building schools and hospitals, etc.
In this way, corporation investment
becomes an investment with
peace rather than with conflict.
In some countries, this line of work
requires a license. Because of the
high hurdle to get into the practice,
many companies earn profit by
offering professional mediation or
negotiation services. Their services
are not limited to serious conflicts
like armed ones but also to minor
conflicts within organizations. If
employees engage in serious
disputes, a company may suffer
from the loss of efficient teamwork.
A professional mediator may
intervene and settle the conflict
at the expense of the concerned
employer. In some countries like
Indonesia, the government is
recruiting professional mediators
to resolve conflict in communities.
This profession is expanding
rapidly.
There are more creative ways to
earn profits by building peace.
Center for Peace and Conflict
Studies is working to create a
peace museum in Cambodia. The
museum works as an educational
and experiential space geared
towards supporting a wider
national healing process–one
which highlights the efforts
to reach the Paris Peace
Accords in 1991, the period of
reconciliation that followed, and
the achievements of Cambodian
peacebuilders who have helped
to positively transform Cambodian
society. The museum will also
serve as space for peacebuilders
around the world to learn from
the rich and dynamic story of
Cambodia and to be able to apply
the country’s lessons to their own
peace work. 1 The museum can
generate revenue to support its
operation and contribute to more
activities in Cambodia.
Coffee for Peace is a social
enterprise based in the Philippines.
The enterprise was established
in 2008 in Davao City. The idea
began when the founder facilitated
an informal conflict mediation
between a migrant farmer and
his Bangsamoro neighbor in
Maguindanao province. They were
fighting over ownership of the rice
field that was ready for harvest.
Instead of shooting each other,
the two were invited for a dialogue
over coffee. They started inviting
other members of the community
to have coffee together — for
peace. 2
1 http://www.centrepeaceconflictstudies.org
2 http://www.coffeeforpeace.com/
After realizing
that coffee is a
useful intermediate
in areas where there is armed
conflict, the founders started
to work with coffee-farming
communities using peace and
reconciliation principles and
practices. Not only do they provide
livelihood for local peasants, but
they also donate a part of the
income in peace-building activities
over coffee. In October 2015, they
received an N-Peace Award from
the United Nations Development
Program - IM Impact Investment
Exchange Asia (UNDP-IIXAsia) in
behalf of the women who comprise
the 80% of the CFP farmers.
Indeed, peace is not only a noble
vocation; it can also be a profitable
one. Whether you are battling
poverty, protecting human rights,
or engaging in environmental
conservation, you are
building peace.
Certificate of Coffee for Peace
About the Author
Zhe Kong has 10+ year experience in international
development organizations, including United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific,
American Friendship Service Committee, and Greenpeace.
He has an MPA from University of Pynnsylvania.
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