The Social Impact Pulse: Series One Reflections

Series one of the Social Impact Pulse is coming to a close. The podcast cultivates intimate conversations with entrepreneurs, reflecting on the heartbeat of their organization. Each episode is a ‘no filter’ conversation with entrepreneurs working at the intersection of the sustainable livelihoods and lifestyle sectors, where we dig deep into the values they hold dear and how that moulds & shapes the social impact they strive for through their organizations.

This series consisted of four episodes, showcasing four different brands and four empowering stories of social impact. As we reflect back, the conversations really speak for themselves. Each of the brands featured, has a unique path that brought them to where they are today, and it is evident that they are all working hard to bring about true social impact in the world.

We started off in Bangalore, India speaking with Pomogrenade. Aiswarya and Madhu’s genuine nature and honesty really shined through in this episode. Their dedication to their brand and its mission was apparent. When asked how they wanted to be remembered, they spoke about how they “Don’t want to be remembered as just a brand that was making clothes. [They] want to be remembered as being thoughtful in the process of making something that added value to other’s lives.” They drew a parallel between life and death as they spoke about their “Close the Loop” project – a project where they allow products that are no longer being used to be sent back to them so that they can reuse or recycle them into something else. Their social impact reigns true in just that one example.

Next, we traveled to Antigua, Guatemala and spoke with Tierra & Lava. Lucy and Maria’s passion for their products and for the work that they do was admirable! They spoke about their dream to make the company an employee-owned organization and how they truly “…believe that it makes a big difference to the people involved having stakeholders who actually own a part of it.” It was apparent in speaking with them that they do the work that they do in order to empower and motivate all of those that are involved. Their social impact can be seen and felt by this vision alone. 

We then headed to the Philippines, where we spoke to Twinkle from Style Isle. Twinkle’s raw honestly about the highlights and struggles of running her business stood out to us. Her focus on the Philippines archipelago and the weaving communities within, instantly spoke to us about the social impact that she would have. She spoke about wanting to empower those communities; to tell their stories. Her heart for this work was easy to feel when she spoke about these communities.

Lastly, we traveled to Nairobi, Kenya where we spoke with Goodie’s African Interiors. Design student Cellah and Goodie herself joined us for this interview. When asked to describe Goodie’s African Interiors, Goodie simply said, “Social Impact.” “Everything we do, it is not about me, it’s about impacting everyone we are working with in a positive way.” The social impact that this organization is striving for and achieving is easy to see. Along with striving for impact on a ground level with their producers, they are also striving for a global impact. Goodie spoke about her focus on aligning with the SDGs and global initiatives. She said, “Everything that we do has to be intentional so it can add on to making our planet a better place.”

During each of these conversations, the on-going effects of the global pandemic was evident. Each of these entrepreneurs spoke about how the pandemic affected impacted not only their day to day lives and the lives of their producers, but the supply chain too. They spoke about how they have had to pivot their focus or transition their businesses. As we walk away from series one and prepare for series two, we know that the global situation is still very vulnerable and evolving. We will continue to share the real, genuine and honest stories of these entrepreneurs, highlighting both struggles and opportunities during a time like this.

We are excited to see how the upcoming series will continue to highlight stories of social impact at the intersection of sustainable livelihoods and sustainable lifestyles. Listen to the series one review, click here.

Until next time,

Nureen and Melanie

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