This is a work in progress that announces the way we see business to be a contribution for our well being as well as for the next generation. To contribute to it please add your commentaries at our blog Meta Mate Manifesto.
Meta Mate Manifesto:
Overview-
- We are the roots – you are the trees
- Mateocracy: Horizontal decision making – there is no boss –
- Treat your competitor as your subsidiary
- Treat your supplier as your customer
- Full transparency – all information about Meta Mate is available
- Fair Wages and No Profit
- Open source Creative Commons Licensing
- Revert the Ecological Footprint
- No push advertising – do not paint shit with gold
Meta Mate Manifesto-
-We are the roots – you are the trees
We work in the forest, with the tarefeiros, with the Uru that dries the mate, we research with the universities and labs, we negotiate with the governmental agencies and institutions. We make it for us and for you and we need you to drink, breathe and to share the mate and the knowledge.
Mateocracy -Horizontal decision making – there is no boss
We experience that having no Hierarchy is nicer to work. It fosters the feeling of owning it for all partners. It does take long to execute decision-making with consensus democracy but it does bring better solutions. In the other hand, just like the cevador prepairs the mate, the ones responsible to execute a task have the freedom to decide how to do it, and after, we all in the circle can voice our opinions.
-Treat your competitor as your subsidiary
We do not see the separation or the opposition in business but we rather work together hand in hand with the mate producers that understand the mate spirit. We are proud to work with Caayara, Premium Cola, Club Mate, Barao do Cotegipe and 1337 Mate, that instead of an outdated philosophy of separation decide to openly unite forces resulting in better services and products. We envision a co-operative market place where resources are united for the well being of all.
-Treat your supplier as your customer
We never bargain the price or allow someone to bargain with us. We deliver the very best product for the most fair price possible. We pay the price wished or better whenever possible. We strive to educate ourselves as well as our partners to reach more sustainable processes and better results for the environment and each one involved. We want the best for our partners and if someone wishes to join us with the possibilities to provide our suppliers with better conditions and reach out to a wider public thus spreading the mate to more drinkers, we welcome them.
-Full transparency – all information about Meta Mate is available
We answer all questions. We give the source of suppliers, the price paid, the google earth geo-references of the forests. This is done with the prior agreement that Meta Mate’s relationship with our suppliers would not be endangered but enhanced by the cooperation. This is a part of our Fair Trust concept. We do everything possible for all our partners so if someone wants to join with the same or better conditions they are most welcome.
-Fair Wages and No Profit
We refrain from taking loans or supporting the financial market and try to if possible work with direct transactions and not use or earn capital interest in our operations. All money we earn is used to pay our costs and re-invest in procedures to allow a replacement of our ecological footprint. Exceptions, however can be made as in the case with the Mate e.V. where we have taken a loan together with Caayara to save 8 hectares of Mate forest from becoming a soya monoculture field. Up to February 2015 all private income from the initiators of Meta Mate Berlin (do Canto Family) has been covered by the German government’s program to support new business initiatives for citizens with low/no income.
-Open source Creative Commons Licensing
We work with a CC-License NC-SA, that means all what we do can be copied if the source is named for non-commercial reasons. If someone wants to make money with it we would prefer to have an agreement so that we ensure proper use of our intellectual investments. Our partners that co-develop products are also motivated to publish their design and recipes as CC.
-Revert the Ecological Footprint
Sustainability is not enough, we strive to replace our ecological footprint – introducing revertability. Today’s economy is not healthy, not only not sustainable, the patterns were driven towards growth or material wealth, separating man from man and from environment. To be sustainable is not enough we need a model to reset and undo the damage caused to the environment. To preserve the condition is not enough, we strive to revert so that the next generation can enjoy the quality of life and products as our ancestors have done or even better. One of the ways to do that is to implement A non-profit, non-earning strategy to support mate ambassadors as they start such as with Project Mate Bar and Yerba Mate South Africa. Another way is our projects such as investments in permaculture, reforestation, legalization of artisanal and de-central mate production.
-No push advertising – do not paint shit with gold
Not put money in media advertising is a way to ensure that we invest all resources to make the best product possible and not make our customers pay more so that we can convince others but give the best product possible for its money. So we do invest our time in posting information about our work, but we refrain for a media budget of mass communication.
If you like to contribute with this manifesto please add your commentaries on our Blog Meta Mate Manifesto and share the link to https://metamate.cc/meta-mate-manifesto/