“The cure for despair is action.”
That quote, from legendary actress and activist Jane Fonda, could best describe what motivates entrepreneurial women to take up a cause – rather than sit back on the sidelines – when concerns about global warming, politics and society in general threaten to overwhelm.
In recent years, we’ve filmed innovative women doing their part, not to fix the entire world but to tackle problems within reach. Check out these short documentaries (all 10 minutes or less), produced by The Story Exchange and shown at times at film festivals, including this year’s Climate Film Festival and San Antonio Film Festival. We hope they provide inspiration in troubling times.
The Race for the States
Women still lag behind men when it comes to political donations. When we heard about The States Project, we knew it had the potential to be a gamechanger. Giving Circles, the organization’s grassroots funding program, was founded by Melissa Walker in 2018 and it allows ordinary concerned citizens — and especially women — to pool donations of small sums, which can then be used to help flip state legislatures.
Food From the Air
When it comes to the future of food, Dr. Lisa Dyson of Air Protein is looking to the past: NASA’s 1970s space program. “Imagine that you’re on a trip to a distant planet,” she says, “and you have to figure out how to feed yourself and the rest of your crew.” One idea explored (and shelved) by NASA scientists was turning air into protein. That long-forgotten technology is now coming to life at Air Protein.
Turning Up the Heat
Climate protestors are taking on a new foe in the battle to end fossil fuels: Wall Street. The big banks and insurers that lend money to oil and gas companies “are just as bad as the companies that they’re financing,” says Marlena Fontes, co-founder of Climate Families NYC. “Wall Street has gotten off up until now.” Her organization joined with others to stage a series of non-violent protests in New York City. Watch as we follow Fontes to a protest, this one outside Citibank, where she is arrested while chanting “Shame On Citi.”
The 3 Cricketeers
When Claire and Chad Simons’s son came home from school one day having eaten a “delicious” snicker-doodle made from cricket flour, the couple were more than intrigued. The next day they started to raise crickets in their basement. Driven by concern about climate change, they hoped to create a truly sustainable source of protein for hungry families. Today, the couple are co-founders of 3 Cricketeers and raise millions of crickets each month in a 3,500 square-foot indoor farm.
Native Roots
“We didn’t set out to be the first Native-woman-owned brewery in the United States, but I’m told we are,” says Shyla Sheppard, founder of Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. She and her partner, Missy Begay, take inspiration from the American Southwest, incorporating traditional Indigenous ingredients into their craft beers. Sheppard grew up in western North Dakota, a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation). Begay, meanwhile, was born in Albuquerque and raised on the Navajo (Diné) Nation. The couple use those experiences to inform their beermaking, bringing a diverse perspective to the industry.