In this new episode of Be & Think in the House of Trust, Servane listens to Dr Sara Calvo, from Minca Ventures, who tells us about the transformative core principles of Buen Vivir (Good Living), a South American concept.

Tapping into her background as a knowledge entrepreneur, university lecturer and global social innovation explorer, Sara explains how a deep connection with nature, community relationships, and a holistic approach to living goes beyond traditional well-being concepts.

We hear how we can apply the Buen Vivir philosophy in various contexts, from individual well-being to organizational leadership, and the beautiful support and guidance it provides to meet the world’s needs.

Highlights in this episode:

• Discover how the Buen Vivir Philosophy offers a wholesome approach to living in harmony with nature and community, and how it challenges traditional ideas of well-being
• Hear stories of communities and organisations around the world that have successfully embraced Buen Vivir principles, and how they cultivate sustainable and inclusive development
• Learn about the importance of aligning personal values with organisational goals and how leaders can incorporate Buen Vivir to flourish and grow their impact
• Explore how cultures around the world are adopting similar ideas, proving that we're all craving a more conscious and connected way of life.

Connect with Sara

• On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-calvo-martinez-19094714/
• At Minca Ventures www.mincaventures.com
• Learn: MBA4Impact: https://mba4impact.com/

Book: "Social Innovation in Latin America", read the chapter: "Buen Vivir, a decolonial approach to development" https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367823382-1/buen-vivir-decolonial-approach-development-morales-andrés-calvo-sara

Imagine we could build a new form of public coexistence in diversity and in harmony with nature to achieve a good way of living. What does this look like? When you translate this to your household, to your team at work, or your various community groups, what does it mean for yourself and your way of seeing the world? Hello, I'm Servane from Conscious Innovation and this is the Be and Think in the House of Trust podcast. This is for people who love to invest in social and environmental change. We zoom in and out on practices and hypothesis that could shift your perspectives. We ask questions about what it takes to create a place where we can say to each other and our environment, you mattera. And in the House of Trust Today I have Dr. Sarah Calvo She's a knowledge entrepreneur, a senior lecture in entrepreneurship at the Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise at the Open University. She's the co founder of Minca Ventures, a social enterprise that supports impact and sustainability learning projects globally. She's also the founder of the Buenibir Institute. We'll talk more about that. And Sara researches many things among other social innovation processes in the global north and global South. And alongside her partner she's also developed the academic MBA for impact. And this is going to be available all around the world. She's done many, many other things, so I'm just going to stop there. So let's dive in. Hello Sara. Good to have you here.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Hi Servane. Hello. Good to be here actually. Thank you for inviting me.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Yes, of course. Well, thank you very much, for bringing this up. I think, my vision wasn't that far. I think it's getting there. Ah, I have realized that in the last few years more people and more people are actually caring. Especially with recent events that we have had. Climate crisis, COVID 19 people have started questioning things that they didn't do before one of the things that they are questioning is how we can create well being. Especially for example in the UK they use a lot the term well being which in Latin America, in Spain we talk about bumbo. We could also translate it to good living but essentially is the same. It's a way of understanding how we can live in harmony between us, between human beings, to connect with communities, to work ah with respect, with nature. So I think this is taking place now. I think at least the discussions and even at the macro level people are challenging things that have been done before and questioning staffu there is more value for organizations that are making impact across the globe and I think it's a good start. I believe there is still a long way to go but we are in the journey. I will say we are getting there I will imagine. I'm not sure we're going to get until 2030 is going to be the day. But for sure it's a good starting time for us to go in good times. And I think in the right approach that I believe we should take which is the different way of understanding development and bo webe it'an approach that allows to do that actually.

Servane Mouazan: So that's interesting because you say Buen Vivir the good Living and it's almost like you have to put the voice into that Buen Vivir something powerful in that it's quite similar to well being. And I welcome your message of hope and your positive note here. But how is it that Buen Vivir might be different still from well being? What is the tiny. Is there a difference and how would you describe it?

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Yeah, there's

Dr. Sarah Calvo: a good question actually. when you look at well being the way it has been approached, for example in the UK there's been a lot of work on the well being. It connects a lot with mental health which is important because obviously mental health somehow is connected and I will argue why. but One of the big differences with the argument that people put in well being and then Good living of Buen Vivir is the connection with nature is not that clear and the importance of community but particularly the importance of nature. I think that's the big difference because for example with well being the way it has been approachedample in the UK particularly they focus a lot of mental health. They talk now about the importance of being in connection with other people in communities somehow they don't talk much about the importance of us connecting with nature which I think is a crucial aspect for Mental health. It has been proof that people that are not connected with nature suffer more from mental health. And in fact there are a lot of treatments now and therapies that are connecting patients with nature. like retreats. We all know for example, especially people who live in urban environments, that they need to be connected. So a retreat somehow far away from the city helps a lot the brain, the mind and even ourselves to be quiet and think clearly and be a bit more in peace. so I think this is one of the piece that is bonir is bringing that I believe, well, beings should incorporate, I think the importance of nature being in connection with nature.

Servane Mouazan: Sarah, could you tell us a story of an organization or a social enterprise or any kind of community group that has applied buen viid in its ways of working? You know, amongst all your trips and all your peregrinations, maybe you've seen something interesting. Tell us more about that.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: I mean the first examples I can give you is obviously from indigenous communities that these were Buen Vivir is rooted from I did a trip 10, 15 years ago to Latin America one month I was the only European traveling on that trip where all Latin American people and me and the idea was basically to travel in a bus for a month stopping in different indigenous communities and spending time with them, working with them, seeing what they were doing, spirits in their lives basically without questioning or challenging or asking anything. So basically embedding us in their lives. So we'doing that in Colombia, Ecuador and this is where the concept came from. My interest with the when term comes from that. The way they understood Buen Vivir within their organizations. All of the indigenous communities and the Afro Caribbean communities that we also visited in the Pacific part of Colombia site, they were running organizations based on wemb Weir principles. And I really like the approach because the funny thing was that all of them have a different way of understanding bu web but they have a common path which was the importance of community, the importance of collective work and the importance of respecting nature in all the things that they were doing as an organization. So they were putting this as a priority as an organization. And value core was respecting nature. And another aspect was that one. So I was really really impressed by that. And then few years later I came across with other organizations that were also inspiring me a lot in that sense. I can tell you onlyigro communities are taking this approach. But there are also other organizations that are now doing it. For example, another organization for example that I really found interesting it was about. Was in Sri Lanka and with elephants and the importance of the elephant preservation basically. And there was a big conflict before between humans and elephants in Sri Lanka because in that region particular because they were destroying some of these agricultural production that they were doing. but obviously you could see the other way around. The elephants were feeling like threating and then they were obviously trying to do try to def themselves and obviously the people were trying to defend themselves. So the strategy was basically unfortunately to kill the animals. So he came across with this idea of okay, how can we believe together providing support for each other and contributing to each other. So he talked with the farmers and he discussed the idea of obviously collecting elephant d and mixing this with paper. They could do beautiful products that they could sell and they will create some fnces to protect their agricultural productions basically. But they could benefit the farmers plus the elephants as well.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: that was actually qu positive. And he also talked about, he didn't use the term one viir because this is a very lat an American concept. But he talks about the importance of the good living approach of connecting people with nature, with animals, with the environment. I thought there is some synergies between what has beenance in Latin America and what has been discussed in other parts of different countries and different regions. perhaps they use different terms but in a way's the same direction.

Servane Mouazan: Lovely. Wow. So it reminds me of that quote by Nora Bateson and "There will be no community without communing." And just hear that in that story that coalescing being together, learning to be and live with each other. And I wonder, maybe you can tell me how did the elephant took a seat at the decision making table or did they nature had a representative. Have you seen places where nature has a seat at the decision making table? How would that look like?

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Yeah, I mean one of the things for example in this organization that happens was that there was an NGO that rescue elephants involved as well. And although they are humans obviously involved in the decision making, there are humans that have, have this sensible connection with animals. they will connect more with animals than with people let's say. So therefore I think in that sense those people, they do feel like they live with elephants all the time, stay with them, they rescue elephants, that's the way they live. And to involve those people that understand the elephants, or at least more than we do, let's say those people who are kind of outsiders, that they spend time with them in the decision making process of how we going to do this how and resolve the issue is a big thing because they understand their needs or at least more than us. alth they would be great actually to see how it could connect but definitely to involve animal activists, to involve people who are working directly with animals. That is definitely a must. A plus if you work obviously if you are dealing with the issue of the animals and the same with nature. If you want to involve, I don't know, People who are for example in the Amazon region we need to involve ah, people in indigenous communities there because they are the ones who understand their environment, their forest, the beauty of the Amazons for example that we don't understand. I don't know if you hear about this beautifull story of four Colombian kids that they were rescued in the Amazons a few years ago.

Servane Mouazan: We heard about it.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: You heard about that yah plane crash and the mom died and then these poor kids, one was one year old. They were left in the middle of the Amazons because the pilot and the man died. They were actually going because in the Amazon it's very difficult to move around. So you have to go by or sometimes by boat. And they took a small plane, it crashed. And then these four kids were left in the Amazon by themselves. And The government was trying to find them with the army they put all the efforts, they couldn't find them. What they had to do at the end they have to call the indigenous people from different parts of the country and from different parts of the Amazons to come across and to help the army.

Servane Mouazan: And ah.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: They were combining both things. They actually found them at the end. I don't know if you know about that. They found them they rescued them because they were using the knowledge from indigenous people and they were doing some rituals basically to identify where they were located. You have to believe in that. I do actually because I have been in the Amazons. I know the magic in the Amazons. I mean I know how magical this place is. But It was really really amazing. There is a documentary actually online that people can watch about this. And it's funny to see because then you see two words. One is the government and the army and then the indigenous people. But they are allether in the same conversation and the army people are saying and the government say if it wasn't for the indigenous people we will not have found these people. I mean these kids will have died there. they have to ask for permission to the Amazon, the earth. They have ask for permission to take and rescue the kids. So it's very magical. It kind of sounds a bit like you know, Gabriel Garcia Marquez which is a very famous writer. He talks Psychomagia is like psych magic, psycho magic. Yeah. And this is Colombia. Somehow the way people believe, but it actually work in that way. And for example with this, in this case that was, it was last year actually, it wasn't that long ago. But just to connect the importance because for example when we can be applied to this thing, I mean imagine if it wasn't because of the army

Dr. Sarah Calvo: recognize the importance of understanding nature and the knowledge that indigenous people had. They couldn't have found these people, I mean these for kids. So it can be used at a global scale. Actually it can be used to rescue people. It can be used for different things.

Servane Mouazan: Y so that leads me to another question. So imagine, I know that you are a fantastic teacher of social entrepreneurship. And imagine you come back with all these stories and you have investors in front of you. Are you curious about how to apply these principles to themselves or to the enterprise in their portfolio? What would be a sort of. I'm not talking about an easy way for them to adopt that, but sort of a sensible way to get started.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: What I'm doing at the moment is basically for example with Minca, we have developed this Buen Vivir method which is basically rooted within this knowledge that is about these principles that the Buen Vivir has adopted. One of the things that we do, for example is to ah, provide support and consultancy for organizations that want to adopt the we be method. But looking at their particularities because one of the realities, the things that we realize is that each organization will have their own unique Buen Vivir method. So that is where we came across and we said, okay, let's analyze your organization and let's see how we can apply those principles that brings the most in your organization. So it's not about there is one method that can be applied to organizations. There are some values and principles within this method that can be applied, but less applied based on your circumstances. Let's say if you're working in the educational field, you're working depending on the number of employees, depending on the country, depending on a lot of things, then we have to understand and to apply this bu we philosophy. But it can be applied actually.

Servane Mouazan: So if I understand you well, the commonalities would be to look at the community and nature, how you embrace these all things and then you look at the particularities, the local the context of the organization you come into. Is that correct?

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Yeah, but we also work a lot with the importance of leadership of the leaders of these organizations. What are the values of those leaders and what they want to get and how they apply the Buen Vivir value. So we talk a lot about the importance of this personal development element of those individuals and ah, how this connects with the Buen Vivir Because I think one of the problems that some leaders are experiencing is that yeah they know their ideas or they know where they're going to get with the organization but they are missing something. Sometimes they are struggling because they say okay, I know what I'm going to get but I cannot get there. So we're trying to go and say okay, why you cannot go there, Go a bit deeper and understand them taking into account these bu viida ideas and values. So we have developed a model but applying this to the specific organization.

Servane Mouazan: So imagine the leaders say yeah, I get the whole picture but I've got a big blank in between. How do I get there? You say go deeper, go deeper. What do they usually do? I mean if you have one or two example anonymized of course this is.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Fantastic because for example the model has been developed and I tell you a little bit about this model. The Buen Vivir was developed based on actually on a PhD that we did on understanding the Buen Vivir values and principles was a PhD conducted by one of the co founders Andres And he did a study of different values and principles from different parts of the country and different communities from different regions. And we come across with different pillars and values. So the idea basically is when we talk with the leaders we talk about the different values. Some of them for example are solidarity, harmony and some of them are connected with spirituality. And we go through this individually with the leader. Let's say it's kind of mentor coaching. Let's say it's not coaching because coaching has a different approach. It's not even therapy. It'in the middle of coaching and therapy. Let's say it's not talking about traumas or anything like that. It's also it'not talking about the future projects because some of the leaders have a very clear vision of where they're going to go. It's about analyzing and reflecting a little bit more about their Persona and ah, how they are embedding this Buen Vivir model and how they'approaching this for their organizations and how did they benefit. So it's in the middle of that.

Servane Mouazan: And it's fine to be floating and have this kind of interstitium that play between things where a lot of things happen. Well Sara, it's wonderful hearing all this and I'm sure people will want to know more. I love hearing about this ancient wisdom and this way of being together or communing and as a sort of an avenue to meet people needs and it's wonderful to hear about that. Thank you so much for being with us in the House of dress.

Dr. Sarah Calvo: Thank you very much. Thank

Dr. Sarah Calvo: you. Was a pleasure actually. Thank you for inviting me.

Servane Mouazan: So thank you all for listening to that new thinking conversation in the House of Trust with Dr. Sarah Calvo. You can subscribe now to this podcast on all your favorite platforms to make sure you don't miss the next episode and for more insights, events and resources to help you gain trust and clarity as you to invest in social change and environmental change. You can head to my website servanemouazan.co.uk and subscribe to my regular Conscious Innovation updates. I look forward to thinking together again with you in the House of Trust. Goodbye.