Our Manifesto
Action | Accomplish | Purpose
Mission & Objectives
Tindakan supports solution-based endeavors that focus on ecological & social justice issues worldwide.
Philosophy
We strive to achieve the following ethos-
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A shared reverence and mutual respect of all life
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A desire to improve the current condition and direction of human society by re-directing energy and values towards community and the planet.
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Leading by example: teaching others via our own organization’s structure, direction and events about the importance of ecological protection, animal welfare, social justice, and an overall well-being of individuals, communities, and future generations
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Spreading knowledge of what is actually happening on the planet § Making available the tools to create and spread change
The Goal
Through our endeavors and projects, Tindakan aims to accomplish the following-
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Social Action:
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Connecting stakeholders around relevant issues
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Building Coalitions
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Coordinating efforts with other funders
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Supporting & serving as the driving force for strategic collaboration
Community Engagement:
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Providing avenues for community input, ideas, and connection -
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Facilitating community dialogue - Strengthening social ties
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Promoting civic participation & volunteerism
Building Community Capacity:
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Promoting nonprofit organizational effectiveness
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Supporting and growing eco-socially conscious entrepreneurs, businesses, nonprofits, projects, endeavors, artists/musicians, and activists
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Creating and supporting programs, projects, events and organizations
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Incubating eco-social minded nonprofits and enterprise
Deploying Financial Capital:
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Supporting individuals, start-ups, front line organizations, projects, and innovators
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Providing platforms to connect givers and recipients
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Producing, planning, and collaborating on events and endeavors that generate funding, awareness, and solutions
Through our endeavors, Tindakan aims to educate, empower and inspire individuals and community members to mobilize and develop sustainable solutions for their community. We are interested in improving and supporting projects including but not limited to: local power generation, community based food production, natural building strategies, public health policies, ecological conservation, animal welfare and protection, alternative transportation, complementary currency practices, community art/film projects, animal and wildlife preservation and social justice initiatives. Simultaneously, it is an objective of Tindakan to support and include music and the arts as it is a major part of how we operate and disseminate our message.
COMMUNITY STRATEGY
Tindakan believes environmentalism and social justice issues are intertwined. We will bring to the communities we visit, edifying and empowering ethos that people can infuse into their lives; re-instilling a positive, egalitarian world-view.
It is a strategy of Tindakan to inclusively work with diverse grass-roots groups in the communities we will visit from social/political advocacy and activist to environmental, conservation and sustainability entities. Taking this approach substantiates our sustainable working model. These groups have their pulse on the communities they serve. They know the people and can furthermore assist in logistical and promotional support ensuring each event and project goes off successfully. Also many of Tindakan’s staff and board have or are currently involved with endeavors that serve these affected communities.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Although changes in the last hundred years (such as increased rights for women and minorities) have significantly advanced human rights across the globe, social justice is still a dream for hundreds of millions of people. For example, despite laws against it, slavery is actually on the rise, and genocide plagues several continents. Starvation and preventable disease – the result of corruption, lack of education, global climate change, diminished resources, human overpopulation, and more – claim millions of lives annually. Women, people who are minorities, homosexuals, disabled people, or those facing poverty all over the globe still endure prejudices and obstacles that prevent them from leading free, safe, and healthy lives.
Human rights are inextricably connected to environmental and cultural issues. For example, the decline in potable water – due to causes such as intensive agricultural systems, pollution, corporate ownership of water rights, and global climate change – is an environmental, cultural, and a human rights issue. Rapid economic globalization – representing a cultural and political shift over the past half-century – is resulting in increased slave and child labor. Some religions perpetuate human rights atrocities (e.g., female genital mutilation), making a cultural issue – religious freedom – a social justice issue as well.
Humans are oppressed by the same systems that exploit animals and the environment. Humane education gives us a lens to more clearly see the interconnectedness of these issues and the impact of our personal and systemic choices and helps us develop creative solutions that work for all.
ANIMAL PROTECTION ISSUES
Humans have granted certain protections to certain animals under certain conditions. For example, what is illegal if done to a dog or parakeet may be perfectly legal when done to a cow or chicken. And while there are many laws protecting dogs and cats in peoples’ homes, these laws do not apply to dogs, cats, or any other animals in laboratories. Our relationships with animals are inconsistent, and our choices about how to treat different animals are based upon our feelings, our traditions, and our habits — not upon nonhuman animals’ inherent capacity to suffer or their intrinsic value.
Animals are used, and abused, in many industries: food, entertainment, research, fashion, the military, education, the pet trade, and more. By far the greatest abuses are found in the food industry, where tens of billions of land animals, and trillions of sea animals are killed every year. Ironically, the harm we cause to animals often harms humans and the environment, again reminding us of the connections among issues. For example, industrial animal agriculture is a significant contributor to carbon emissions; run-off from manure “lagoons” pollutes waterways; routine use of antibiotics in animal feed has led to resistant strains of bacteria and diminished efficacy of antibiotics in general; the consumption of animal products contributes to costly and deadly diseases such as cancers, heart disease and diabetes; and workers on factory farms and in slaughterhouses endure unjust and dangerous working conditions. Humane education is the only educational movement that recognizes that animals should be included in the effort to create a more peaceful and just world. Humane education helps reveal our inconsistent relationship with animals, reminds us of the powerful connection we have with nonhuman animals, and inspires us to expand our circle of compassion to include all beings. To that end, Tindakan does NOT support trophy and sports hunting.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
While many countries have responded to environmental crises with meaningful legislation and policies that have improved regional air and water quality, environmental problems are increasing. Global climate change, rapidly decreasing biodiversity, growing extinction rates, dwindling resources, and pollution are serious and escalating threats.
Environmental issues are inextricably linked to human rights, animal protection, and economic and political issues. For example, placing polluting industries in poor neighborhoods is both an environmental and a social justice issue. On a global scale, something as ubiquitous as the burning of fossil fuels contributes to pollution, acid rain, and climate change. These problems, in turn, contribute to human health declines and increased weather-related disasters. The ownership by multinational corporations of natural resources, such as water, causes shortages – for humans and animals alike – and contributes to poverty. We all depend on the natural world for our survival, so every environmental issue becomes an issue for both humans and nonhuman animals.
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Environmental concerns are frequently pitted against human rights, inhibiting the search for solutions that benefit both people and the natural world. For example, we are asked to choose between loggers and owls, as if there is no way to protect jobs and other species. And species are often pitted against individual animals, so that we may choose to trap and kill certain animals to protect an ecosystem or other species. Humane education invites people to explore more complex and far-reaching solutions to these scenarios that are often framed in an either/or way.
CULTURAL
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Cultural issues refer to all aspects of society that influence beliefs, opinions, and choices, such as advertising, media, public relations, economic globalization, religion, and politics. In order to understand the forces that perpetuate systems of destruction and exploitation, it is crucial to examine the ways in which culture plays a role. For example, advertising influences our desires for certain products. Our demand for these products then increases. As the company producing the products becomes more financially successful, its lobbyists have greater clout in politics: increasing subsidies, decreasing competition, and gaining other perks, which further boosts sales and influence. Media outlets, beholden to advertising from large companies, may fail to report on problems associated with the company or its products. Yet advertising is simply a manifestation of our freedom of speech – a precious right – complicating our response to the challenges advertising creates for the health and well being of individuals and society. Whether the product is fast food, pharmaceuticals, cheap clothes and furniture, electronics, or flowers and chocolates, there is a complex and interwoven web that can have serious repercussions on humans, animals, and the planet. By exploring cultural issues, we are able to unravel this complexity and make wiser decisions that are healthier and more humane for all. Cultural issues are not solely about products. There are complex issues that face every country regarding education, healthcare, security, government, etc. The ability to explore the cultural influences that impact decisions affecting citizens in any given nation is critical to solving pervasive problems and conflicts.