RICA DIASPORA, LLC RICA DIASPORA, LLC Provide capacity building and strengthening in technical and non-technical areas in the Americas for historically under-represented populations, especially Afrodescendants and indigenous populations. Our vision is to empower people with XXI century skills for social and economic development and inclusion. Spiritual Principles of Life-Driven Diaspora Business Black History Month“There’s a spiritual aspect to business, just as there is to the lives of individuals. You give, you receive; you help others, you’re helped in return.” – Jerry Greenfield (of Ben & Jerry’s Fame) In some cultures “business” and “doing business” may be perceived as cut and dry. In the mindset and spirit of Rica Diaspora, while we are an LLC driven by service and able to earn our livelihood by working to fulfill our mission of building and strengthening capacity across the Diaspora, we are anything but cut and dry in the way we want to approach capacity building and strengthening. In the North American culture it would appear that people shy away from speaking openly about religion, though many people are “religious”. People do not readily associate “biz” and spirituality nor am I suggesting that we do our capacity building and strengthening imbued with religiosity. Not at all! Rica Diaspora joins in and sees an increase in discussion about the spiritual side of business when discussing a new way of operating that puts people and the environment above (or at least on equal footing with) the purely financial bottom line. Our capacity building and strengthening for organizations, entities and individuals is not about salvation but rather about service and just to be clear, in this discussion, I am not talking about going to church or personal spirituality specifically. I am talking about the business itself, the collection of values, purpose, impact, and meaning that emerges from the organization, and, when taken collectively, forms a single entity to empower an historically “ dis-empowered” Diaspora to be able to become professionally more sound, economically more robust and socially more included by virtue of XXI century skills “with a human face”. I do believe that the personal spirituality of the people who are a part of this organization and are a part of this emergent entity, share their ability to see work as service and “profits” not as another “piece” but as the necessary fruits of hard work with which they come to terms and peace. Perhaps in this regard our business and biz in general may have an inherent spiritual side. Infusing spirituality could even lead to greater profits! Who is to say? Ben & Jerry thought that it did. We have certainly seen that operating entirely on greed may be great for quarterly profits, but is not sustainable over the long term. I believe that as the XXI century progresses we are seeing an integration of spiritual principles in businesses that are concerned with the “Triple Bottom Line” of People, Planet, and Profit. As these “TBL” business practices have become more widely accepted as smart business, rather than the practices of any fringe element trying to save the world so might we see an increase in the amount of discussion, and integration, of spiritual principles in the business of capacity building and strengthening within the Diaspora. Here are some of the common threads that I see between spiritual practice and a new way of doing business: Right Livelihood and living Connecting individuals to something bigger Coincidences that have meaning across the Americas, within the Diaspora Abundance in giving back to and beyond the Diaspora Repetition & Ritual in learning Celebration of clear goals and cutting edge skills Enthusiasm in seeking empowerment Nurturing those around you Peaks & Valleys Using values to guide decision-making Perseverance to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds Kindness Intuition I think that talking about connecting to a greater purpose, serving the common Diaspora good of individual and organizational excellence and treating everyone and everything with dignity and respect (which I would say are spiritual values) has the significant potential to have a positive impact within a business. Whether speaking of individuals as persons or a business, the illusion of separateness (self/other) is a root spiritual problem. It seems to me that that the triple bottom line approach is a heartening development in the business modus operandi indicating a softening of that sense of business separateness and extreme self-centeredness so that empathy and compassion , as opposed to “cut and dry” can more freely function in all of the “nested systems” in our Diaspora world. Alison Moses 26 February 2013 Alison Moses Founder and President of RICAD LLC Tags: African Diaspora, Business Development, Capacity building, Consulting Business, Livelihood, Spirituality, Spirituality and Business HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Realizing Important and Conscientious Actions for our Diaspora, LLC – Rica Diaspora,LLC or RICAD is excited to launch our Blog. RICAD is founded on the concept of the historical ‘wealth’ of Africans and African descended peoples. Materially, between the 11th and the 17th centuries West Africa was the leading supplier of gold to the international economy. African gold contributed to the functioning of the domestic economy in Europe and it contributed to the wealth of the great states of the Western Sudan. In the East, in diversity, the Swahili, are a distinct African people who came about as a result of the intermarriage between the local coastal communities and their visitors from Southern Arabia, Persia and India. Our services include: organizational effectiveness and leadership services to support the development and capacity of organizations and their leaders to effectively work domestically or in an increasingly globalized world, technical assistance and evaluation services in support of program and project effectiveness; and, training and development to meet the learning needs of our clients for increased revenue and market share internationally. Our mission is to build and strengthen capacity. Our vision is to especially empower Afrodescendant peoples of three interconnected regions by providing intellectually inspired, experiential and sustainable business leadership, technical assistance and opportunities for life-long training and professional development. By providing these services it is hoped that our vision will ultimately influence social and economic outcomes for people of the Diaspora, in developed and emerging countries. Our path forward is to transform intellectual ideas into real economic and social capacity building work by providing practical business tools for all people, especially people of the Diaspora in Brazil, the Americas and Africa. We offer global reach, professional resources and a can-do culture by providing an environment where you’re empowered to do your life’s best work. We encourage “small is beautiful” and our motto is “start small, think big”. We believe in team-work – “one for all, all for one”. RICAD’s End-game Capacity, Capacity, Capacity! For more information please contact Alison Moses, Founder Visit us on FaceBook – www.facebook.com/RicaDiasporaLLC. \ Growing Business with the Ancestors and Orishas Across this globe enslaved Africans were brutally stripped of their Spiritual Heritage. When the Portuguese brought African slaves to Brazil in the 16th century, they imposed their authority and suppressed the religions, costumes, rituals, and all aspects of the culture of their African captives. The Portuguese were interested only in the physical force of the slaves for hard work on the coffee and sugar cane plantations. (Resource: Capoeira Sul da Bahia – http://www.suldabahiasf.org/?q=node/23) As a child whose Ancestors’ final earthly destination was America, it has been a journey to reconnect to Traditional African spirituality through Candomble, Ifa as we understand it, Santeria, and Akan. The only way we can prosper economically is to work with our Ancestors and Orishas to reconstruct and build a new way of living for the African Diaspora. This only strengthens all of Humanity. We need the wisdom and insight of our Ancestors and Orishas to guide us into commerce and trade that builds communities throughout the African Diaspora. That is the only way the 7th Generation will Honor us as Ancestors. To ignore this responsibility brings shame, and our descendants will curse us. We have all the tools; my Godmother, Ancestor Bernice Ballew, taught me there was a serious reason for such a devastating number of human sacrifices during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Their ultimate sacrifice must be honored. Ma’at, Sankofa, Traditional African wisdom must prevail. Business is about revenue, profit, investing and building communities. Sustainable development is the way of the Ancestors and Orishas. Education and Commerce must be about reconstructing, building, managing, maintaining and sustaining communities of the African Diaspora. When we allow other perspectives, theologies and philosophies to dictate, the African Diaspora loses. This time is a major testament to the Divinity of Traditional African Religions. As with anything, it is how people live, that contribute to the strength or destruction of the Divine. Being in America, this means a drastic shift in thinking, perspective, actions, emotions, and way of living. When we align our focus and stand before the Orisas and your Ancestors with a simple question: How can you best serve others, your community, and humanity? Because this is always a relevant question. And if you look with spiritual eyes at all the events in your life you will notice that everything is connected – and everything is pushing you closer and closer to answering this question. How can you best serve humanity is the question. And how you choose to live your life is the answer to that question.” – James Weeks/ Across The King’s River https://www.facebook.com/acrossthekingsriver Diane Littles Director of Communication and Outreach RICA Diaspora, LLC http://seekingatruthfulmind.blogspot.com/