THE GREENHEART PROJECT

is a simple idea, centered around a sailing cargo ship. Not the traditional, square-rigged tall ship of the nineteenth century, but a completely modern, efficient, cooperative trading vessel, powered by the sun and the wind alone. This specially designed ship, named the Sailing Vessel (S/V) Greenheart, will serve many functions. It will be a transport vessel, the international headquarters for the enterprise, and a training vessel for young people from around the world. The unique ship will also serve as a promotional platform, to publicize international cooperation, clean energy, Fair Trade and sustainable industry.

The Challenge

The United Nations Committee on Trade and Development declared that "The non-availability of a well developed transport infrastructure in many developing countries.... has been identified as one of the critical bottlenecks for industrial development." The overall objective of the Greenheart Project is to produce a new clean and appropriate technology and introduce it to communities that can most benefit from its implementation. In the process of doing this, we expect to help increase the market share for EST (Environmentally Sustainable Transport) and Fair Trade around the world and contribute to the research in the fields of clean technologies and sustainability.

The Greenheart Project involves engineering challenges, organizational complexity, and coordination with experts in several fields. We are continuing to build on our membership of professionals, as well as collaborating with experts in other organizations. Having secured funds for administrative costs into 2011, our strategy for funding the remainder of the project consists of continuing to secure grants and donations sufficient to build the first ship and operate her for a two-year period until achieving full financial independence.

The Business

S/V Greenheart will be a prototype vessel engaged in a wide variety of applications. Primarily, we will be testing the ship’s capabilities under a broad range of physical, social, and commercial conditions. Through consultations and experimentation, we will determine the approximate parameters of her profitability in a variety of business models for developing and developed countries alike.
We have designed an initial operations schedule that includes carrying sustainably-sourced goods for profitable resale, transporting development and relief supplies for our partner organizations while promoting various public education campaigns, during an around-the-world voyage. Our cargo-carrying activities, high-profile campaigns, research & training programs, and public port events will provide the level of publicity and revenue sufficient to support operations and future growth. By using trade winds and traditional sailing routes in addition to electric motors powered by the sun, S/V Greenheart will be able to operate without burning petroleum products for propulsion.
Because of her unique characteristics of size, extremely shallow draught and folding masts, S/V Greenheart will be able to travel under bridges and up rivers, to reach and load at undeveloped ports and within large cities presently unable to accommodate ocean-going vessels, thus providing new access to international markets for small producers.

The Benefits

The benefits of such vessels to developing communities will be outstanding, so we intend to leverage our high quality and broad-spectrum publicity potential to secure governmental and corporate cooperation, technical assistance, continuing appropriate technology transfer, etc. We will also, in cooperation with our partner organizations, cultivate media linkages and collaborate with scientific inquiry, academic research, cultural exchange programs, and civil society promotions wherever possible.

The Outcome

Greenheart is an entirely new concept that combines the modern technologies of solar power and satellite communications with the ancient science of sail to produce a cargo ship with no fuel costs and unlimited range that can serve as its own international office. The unique design of this ship enables her to connect the most remote coasts and rivers of the world with the centers of the world's most prosperous cities. One third of Greenheart's staff/crew will be paid trainees from developing nations, learning the technical and administrative skills useful for launching similar sustainable enterprises in their home waters. By combining both charitable and profitable aspects while embracing the principles of environmental protection, sustainability and Fair Trade, Greenheart will offer a very public model of a self-funding, ethical institution. We hope to inspire people and organizations around the world to re-think the boundaries of business and of international aid. In time, we intend to build a fleet of non-polluting sailing cargo ships for use in poverty abatement programs around the world.