finding rickshaw.

On Sunday, Ekta, Natassia and I (after some competitive and sarcastic scrabble) went to Seva Café, which is an NGO-run restaurant that employs volunteers and a “pay-it-forward” system that doesn’t require guests to pay, rather a request to contribute to the next guest’s meal or to Seva’s designated charities. The café is attached to a retail outlet, called Gramshree, which exclusively sells rural and urban artisans’ clothing and crafts. Both concepts are gaining substantial attention and Seva Café has been replicated at the University of California’s Karma Kitchen (thanks, Arathi). One of the volunteers at Seva on Sunday was Neil Jain, a fellow ’04 Georgetown grad whom after spending 4 years on Wall-Street has come to India to work with IndiCorps. Click the picture below for a link to an awareness video on Seva Café:

Seva Cafe Video.

In Chicago, a few of us threw around the idea of a “Charity Bar”. Non-profits typically host casual fund raising events at local venues but they give up a large percentage of the profits to the host bar. A Charity Bar could employ volunteers and all profits could go to the charity of the organizers choice. Obviously, the economics of rent and liquor licensees would have to make sense, but I think it’s something to look into.

Seva Café’s walls are covered with Indian history, especially that related to Gandhi. Just outside the restaurant is a giant digital advertisement for Reliance, one of India’s largest telecom companies…

"juxtaposition" everywhere.

~ by findingrickshaw on October 21, 2008.

Posted in Uncategorized