Seeking Chair: Subud Enterprise Services (SES)

Do you love the energy of starting, building, and sustaining businesses? If so, consider testing for the role of Subud Enterprise Chair at the National Congress in September.

Past SES sponsored events include the Dolphin Tank competition (“Shark Tank,” with love), development and funding workshops, and networking breakfasts.

Recent topics explored have included sustaining regional Centerprises and building national Subud ventures For more information, and a full job description, please contact former co-chairs Hanafi Fraval at fbeco@me.com or Levana Fraval at lfraval@me.com.

A Social Enterprise Start-up

by Isaac Goff (originally posted in Subud Around the World, Jan 2019; updated Nov 2019)

In the interest of encouraging enterprise by Subud members, I’d like to share with you an outline of a Social Enterprise startup I am supporting.

Here in the USA, neurological and orthopedic surgeries using titanium cages, rods and screws are commonly done every day to correct spinal, neurological, and bone damage due to trauma or deterioration. These titanium bits are manufactured in the USA and Europe and are crazy costly. In Bolivia, the cost of these imported titanium bits & pieces is beyond the reach of the poor and they do without.

At the same time, in India, several factories manufacture these items to the same standards, using the same equipment and the same quality titanium, at a fraction of the cost. Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa, a non-practicing Subud member with whom I partner on Dharma’s Children’s Heart Repair Project, has formed a for-profit company in Bolivia and negotiated a sole distributorship for all of Bolivia with one of these Indian manufacturers.

The business plan is to make these available in Bolivia to the upper and middle classes at significantly reduced pricing and then, with the profits generated, make them available to the poor at no or reduced cost.

An overwhelming number of permits & licenses have now been acquired from the Bolivian equivalents of the FDA, Customs, State & Federal agencies, etc., with much time, effort and expense. With these permissions in hand, our first order has been placed and is en route to Bolivia. We are now in the process of hiring 2 medical technicians who will undergo training by a representative sent by the Indian manufacturer.

Sadly, Bolivia is suddenly in chaos due to a contested presidential election. Everything is in lockdown, rioting in the streets, and nothing is passing through customs. None the less, this will pass and we can get on with helping those in need and without means.

This enterprise is not unlike the Free Cataract Surgery Program I started in 2004 which you can read about here: <http://www.dharmasocialprojects.com/cataract.html>. Opportunities like this abound throughout the world. We need only to look around us and act.

Pick up the Slack!

Adapted from an article in SES USA and Raynard von Hahn 

“Centerprise” is the name to describe a Subud center that has an enterprise integrated into the group’s activities. Often, the centerprise involves renting space in the group’s property. The funds generated may then be used to support that local center, the national organization, and WSA’s activities.

A NEW TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION

Raynard von Hahn initiated a new way for groups with centerprises to communicate and share information last year by establishing a private group for Subud Centerprises on Slack. Slack is a free collaboration application. Since the 2018 World Congress, this Centerprise group on Slack has taken root, and many groups that have enterprise operations around the world have already signed. With good reason; the amount of valuable information on the site is a real service to centerprise groups.

Interested? Subud Groups may join the Slack website by invitation only. This is to protect the confidentiality of the information on the site. If you think your group should subscribe, talk it over with the committee, and make a group decision to contact Raynard at rvh@genesislaw.ca.

A RESOURCE FOR ALL GROUPS

There are many useful documents available, as well as the opportunity to establish contacts with other centers for input and advice. The goal is to build up the Slack site so that it will be a resource for group chairpersons and hall managers to better run their group’s centerprises including:
1. Learn about other Subud centers and their centerprises
2. Share best practices (e.g., sample rental agreements, housing handbooks, etc.)
3. Connect with one another using the Workspace Directory.
4. Share useful experiences by uploading to the site.

Many California Centers are engaged in rental activities and could benefit from this new tool for sharing best practices within our Region and around the world.

Latifah Taormina and Isaac Goff honored at World Congress

Two members of Subud California were recognized for their contributions to Subud at the World Congress:

SICA honors Latifah Taormina

The SICA Board honored Latifah Taormina with its lifetime achievement award. Latifah’s many contributions to Subud and the arts include her role as SICA President, 2010-2014, ongoing participation on the SICA Board, and launching SICA’s Poems for Peace® initiative that spread to 14 countries. After residing many years in Austin, TX, Latifah moved to Orange County, CA in recent years.

SESI honors Isaac Goff

Awards recognizing the commitment of entrepreneurs to supporting Subud’s social and human work were presented at the 2018 World Congress by Hadrian Fraval, outgoing chairman of SESI.

Isaac (center) with sons Sampson (left) and David (right)

Isaac Goff, the founder of Dharma Trading, which has supported social projects for many years. Through the proceeds of their business, Isaac and Renee Goff have helped thousands of children achieve a better life, through access to needed healthcare and education.

Isaac and Renee are longtime members of Subud CA at Marin. As they were unable to attend the Congress, Isaac sent a video message, which you can enjoy here.

Two California Initiatives win SESI awards!

Subud members from around the world competed for a share of a $100,000 award pot offered by SESI at the World Congress. There were forty-eight presentations about Subud-led enterprises and projects, made over a three day period. Each participant made a challenging “Shark Tank” style three-minute presentation before an audience and a panel of three judges. The judges then selected 20 finalists.

One of the 20 finalists was given a private grant and, to their surprise, the remaining19 finalists had to give their presentations again. Osanna Vaughn, who organized the event, was clear that their committee wanted the Subud community to witness what members inspired by the Latihan were doing all over the world. And it was inspiring — the projects were as unique as we are as members.

The expectation was that the second presentation would again winnow us down to even fewer in number. But two days later, when it came time to name the final finalists, Osanna announced that all 19 would receive grants! What a gift! What a recognition for all these very fine projects.

We are delighted that two projects presented by members from Subud California were among those receiving awards:

Emmanuel Williams (Subud CA at San Joaquin Valley), being unable to make the trip to Germany, made his very effective pitch via a video recording. He asked for funding to produce and distribute via social media 20 short video stories to help teenage girls cope with a range of life challenges, from bullying to overuse of screen time. This creative project received an award of $2500.

Henrietta Haines (Subud CA at Walnut Creek) requested funding to enable the Venezuela Food Connection to expand beyond sending food shipments to Caracas to also deliver seeds and Spanish language educational material and “how to” books for urban gardening.

The Venezuela Food Connection received $3000. Thank you to the SESI donor and to the Judges who worked so hard for more than a week to make this possible. And, thank you to all the other donors who have made it possible to send food to Venezuela for more than a year. In the photo below, Henrietta (far right) enjoys a celebratory a moment with Subud members involved with food relief activities from India, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Next to Henrietta are the President of Subud Venezuela, her mother (behind her), and Sandra Diez.

A complete list of SESI winners and awards is available here.

My Cool Cap from SES – the Inside Story

One afternoon in 2016, Hanafi Fraval was a hothead, literally. The sun burned relentlessly on his head as he trudged along his favorite mountain trail. His hat provided some protection, but he knew it could be better — and he knew how.

Hanafi spent years in the aerospace industry, so he had dealt with heat on a much larger scale. If the heat could be reflected away, he thought, his head wouldn’t have a chance to heat up. So Hanafi reached out to another aerospace expert, Simon Curran. They used their decades of knowledge to build space-age technology into a baseball hat. Then they joined forces with a former Mattel executive, Susannah Rosenthal, and digital experts Andrew Morgan and Victor Astudillo, and the My Cool Cap project was born. This all-Subud team formed a company, Tepesco, and is setting the hat industry ablaze.

The proprietary technology on the surface of every My Cool Cap reflects solar radiation efficiently, preventing the hat from getting hot from solar infrared light. My Cool Cap also cools your head from the inside: ample venting via mesh panels on the sides, dissipates heat generated by the body. And thanks to the light-absorbing visor, My Cool Cap reduces eye strain, making it a great option for winter wear.

My Cool Cap also helps Subud. “We do more than make people look and feel great,” CEO Andrew Morgan explains “our main priority is to help Subud.” Tepesco donates 50% of all its profits to the World Subud Association (WSA), which makes International Helpers and Congresses a possibility. “WSA has a major need for contributions right now”, Morgan continues “we are doing everything we can to share Subud with the next generation.” Get your cap today at MyCoolCap.com.

The Team:
Hanafi Fraval, Board Member

Hanafi Fraval has spent the past 20 years on environment-positive technologies such as novel low-energy building materials and biomass waste-to-energy conversion. Earlier he worked as a business consultant and property developer. As CEO in a London-listed public company in the late1980s he ran a chain of nursing homes. Earlier, he founded and later sold two high-tech companies. He has a creative approach with strong development expertise and financial abilities.

Simon Curran, Board Member

Simon Curran is the CEO of Noxgear, a brand well known for their innovative safety devices for everyone, and their pets. Simon Curran has a Systems Engineering background having studied Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University. After obtaining his Masters in Humanoid Robotics he spent six years leading an R&D group at Moog Aircraft, a Fortune 500 company. In 2012 he launched Noxgear on Kickstarter and within five years helped to grow it into a multi-million dollar success with distribution across five continents.

Susannah Rosenthal, Board Member

Early in her career, Susannah was responsible for creating new product ideas for Mattel’s iconic brands and knew it was time for a fresh look for Barbie. She bent Barbie’s arms so she looked alive, gave her a smile, streaked her hair and found a hot-pink satin jumpsuit for her. When presenting her to the executives, she said, “Little girls used to win by pursing their lips and batting their eyes; and now they win by putting their hands on their hips and flashing the biggest smile ever.” Susannah won the President’s Award for Superstar Barbie and her career took off

Having seen ideas grow to million-dollar brands, she believes in our ability to come up with sustainable businesses creating the future of Subud. As current SES USA Chair, she is attracted to Subud’s emphasis on identifying talent, developing it by “cleaning our feelings and thoughts” and the vision that members can sustain themselves and their families by creating their livelihood, perhaps even creating something truly new that helps the world.

Andrew Morgan, CEO

Andrew Morgan is a web designer, graphic designer, front end developer, teacher, inventor and entrepreneur. He has 10 years of experience building and maintaining complex websites for entrepreneurs, artists, and local businesses. He is also teaches middle school children how to make their first websites.

Customer Testimonials

I am so pleased with this cap!!! It keeps your head cool even if you are stuck in the sun longer than expected, it gets lots of positive remarks from people, and it’s one of my better purchases. Five stars is a fair rating. – Lucas B.

This is the greatest cap, the reflective quality helps keep the head cool, and the dark part under the shade keeps glare out of my eyes. – Amazon Customer