Zaytoun is the social enterprise and CIC which specialises in bringing Palestinian produce from farmer’s field, to shop shelves in the UK. I caught up with cofounder Heather Masoud, to talk olive oil, transportation nightmares, and life under an illegal military occupation…

Olive trees have been rooted in Palestinian soil for millennia. There are surviving olive trees in the region which date to before the reign of King Herod in 37 BCE; olive trees which predate Christianity; and even trees which existed before Judaism — which was founded over 3,500 years ago. …

This post originally appeared on the Meaning Conference website: meaningconference.co.uk

‘Disruptive innovation’ is the theory coined by Harvard University professor and businessman Clayton M. Christensen in his seminal book: The Innovator’s Dilemma. Published to critical acclaim in 1997, the book explains the theory of disruptive innovation — an innovation which creates a new market and a new value network, eventually disrupting the market and displacing the existing market leaders.

Disruptive innovations start life as outsiders. They’re usually the brainchild of entrepreneurs in startup companies. They rarely come from the existing market leaders. This isn’t because the incumbent firms of the world aren’t innovative — they’re just a different type of innovative. Market leaders put their time and money into sustaining innovations that turn a profit for them, and ensure their competitiveness in a busy market. Disruptive innovation carries too many risks. It doesn’t turn a big enough profit; it usually doesn’t represent what the mainstream customer wants; it’s unpopular; it’s ignored. …

This post originally appeared on the Meaning Conference website meaningconference.co.uk. All images credits: Meaning conference

What does meaning mean to you?

“Meaning is not a fad — meaning is who we are. It’s fundamental. Meaning is our anchor in times of turmoil, and it’s our compass when we need direction,” says Marjolien Lips-Wiersma.

“In order to truly understand meaning, we must consider the opposite,” says Aditya Chakrabortty.

“Meaning is found in balance and harmony across many dimensions,” says Lani Morris.

Or, as Andrew Simms so eloquently quips, “Meaning is the first step towards an existential crisis.”

Whatever your definition of meaning may be, we are all brought together by Meaning 2018, for a day’s worth of enthralling talks, debates, workshops and improv. …

Let’s talk about mental health.

According the mental health charity, Mind, one in four adults in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year; and one in six people in England reports experiencing a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression.

Every one of us has mental health — in the same way that we each have physical health. But the stigma surrounding mental ill health prevails, meaning that people fail to seek help for mental health in the same way they would physical health.

If you physically injure yourself in the workplace, it’s mandatory that you receive first aid, as stated in the Health and Safety (First Aid) regulations of 1981. These regulations require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure that their employees receive immediate attention if they take ill or are injured. However, this legislation does not cover mental health; and this is something that Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA England) is on a mission to change. …

Another new year, another new Ethos magazine. This time of year sees lots of us partake in our annual joy drive, with many of us still firmly behind the wheel of our new year’s resolutions; some of us have stalled; whilst most of us have probably run out of gas. And, there’s nothing wrong with that — as our columnist Fiona Shaw explores, on page 59.

I stopped making new year’s resolutions a while back as I was terrible at keeping them. Instead — inspired by a tweet from Yoko Ono — I decided to write a list of things that I wanted to achieve over the coming year, lock it away in a drawer, and revisit it in 365 days… Roll on 12 April 2019! …

Referred to as ‘the Kickstarter guy who made that rap video’, Mr Bingo is an artist and illustrator who, after 15 years of working for clients, gave it all up in favour of something a little different. Lucy Chesters caught up with Mr Bingo, to find out more about the crowdfunding campaign that garnered him international attention…

Tell me about yourself and what you do…

My name is Mr Bingo and I’m an artist.

Why Mr Bingo?

I played bingo at Gala Bingo in Maidstone in 1998 and won £141.27. I got the nickname Bingo, then a couple of years later I started signing all my work at university ‘Mr Bingo’ and I just stuck with it. …

Vênoor Living is the design-led furniture company with a difference. Creating ethically-sourced homeware which supports communities in India to live more sustainable lifestyles; and dedicated to reforestation in some of the country’s worst affected areas, Lucy Chesters spoke to Vênoor s founder Wesley Pereira…

The furniture design company with sustainability at its heart, Vênoor Living creates beautiful, handcrafted items of furniture — with a story. Founded by Wesley Pereira, who wanted to create beautiful, bespoke furniture after being inspired by his Indian ancestral home of Venur, in southern India, Vênoor celebrates heritage and innovation through all its pieces.

“I chose the name Vênoor because of the connection to my childhood where I had a lot of interactions with my grandfather — he was a farmer,” says Pereira. “I learned to respect nature through his practices; he was a person who didn’t like using fertilisers on his farms and was all about using natural things like cow dung or earthworm manure to get a healthier crop. It was much more difficult, but then it was much more ethical at the same time.” …

Collective action is powerful.

Its power was demonstrated recently in the US midterm elections, which saw Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland become the first Native American women elected to Congress. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar became the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress. Jared Polis is the first openly gay man to be elected as governor. Abby Finkenauer is the first congresswoman to be elected from Iowa –and one of the youngest people ever to be elected to the house… The list goes on. And all because the American electorate made a collective choice.

In this issue of Ethos — our eighth (!) — we follow the theme of collective action. On page 50 we talk to Mr Bingo about the collective power of crowdfunding and his viral Kickstarter campaign, that changed his life, forever. …