I’m delighted to be showcasing one of my favourite ever ventures: Morsbags. The story is – an inspirational young woman named Claire Morsman realised the devastating impact of plastic bags on marine animals. Rather than starting a campaign to stop people using plastic bags, she decided to create an alternative and came up with ‘social guerilla bagging’. This involves groups of people getting together with a few sewing machines to turn recycled material into beautiful, useful bags and then distributing these outside supermarkets etc. Not only has she created a proactive solution to a problem, she’s inspired people to connect and get creative – and ultimately become more alive and involved in their world.
I first made a bag at an event several months ago where Claire was guiding people through the process. I can’t tell you how proud I am of that bag – if you see me in person, ask me to show it to you as I carry it everywhere I go. Apparently that one bag will save me using about 80 plastic bags and it’s immensely satisfying to refuse a bag and put shopping in my home-made one instead. We managed to acquire a sewing machine via my father-in-law’s colleague, my grandma visited to teach me how to use the machine, and then a friend and I got together to start a little creative pod here in Cambridge.
On her website, Claire has paired up a Sad Fact (over 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally) with a Happy Fact (making morsbags will help immediately). We can see this problem/solution match being true for so many aspects of this venture:
Sad fact: Old sewing machines are sitting around gathering dust
Happy fact: This project is inspiring new generations to learn old skills and perhaps reconnect with our society’s elders
Sad fact: People feel isolated
Happy fact: This is an excuse to get together with existing friends, make new friends and feel part of a community
Sad fact: People feel bored and sit in front of the TV all evening
Happy fact: Here’s a way of spending time creatively, doing something enjoyable and unusual
Sad fact: People feel useless and unimportant
Happy fact: We can start seeing ourselves as needed, useful, able to make a difference
With this kind of inspirational project, we are powerfully matching up needs and solutions. This is what any business venture is meant to be about – using our genius to come up with win-win ways forward. Rather than simply ‘what does the world need?’ and ‘how do we NEED to solve it?’ – let’s ask: What does the world need and how would I LOVE to offer a solution?
The World Needs Your Passion, So…
Make a list of what you feel most sad/angry/frustrated about in the world. Now list activities you would LOVE doing which would offer solutions. Then: What’s the first step? What could you do right NOW – literally, in the next five minutes? Notice what it’s like to be the solution. I invite you to share your thoughts as comments on this blog – to inspire others and create some momentum for yourself to get into action.
© Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008
* Focus On You*
The idea of the world needing our passion is at the heart of the work I do with each coaching client – helping her connect with that passion and get in to sustained action to create an inspirational venture. To book a consultation to explore how you might benefit from this support, simply click here.
