“A month or so ago, I was fortunate to be sitting in an apple orchard in the mountains in Pakistan… it was this isolated orchard and I was sitting there surrounded by these apple trees... As I walked to this orchard, I met this young man and he said, ‘I’m looking for a job in Karachi and I know you’re from Karachi… if you find something can you let me know?’
And I thought, he’s going to leave this beautiful place which is abundant and peaceful and gorgeous to go to Karachi. For what? What is he looking for?… The first feedback I got (about UpTrade) is you’re going back to the stone ages with the barter model. My response is it’s not going backwards, but it’s adapting to communities and cultures according to where they’re at and using 21st century tools to make an economy more inclusive.”
In this very special (re)wind episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa revisits her conversation with Fariel Salahuddin, the founder, and CEO of UpTrade, a bartering service that enables rural communities in Pakistan to exchange livestock for solar-powered water pumps and solar home systems. Over 40% of Pakistan lives off the grid and without lights in their homes and electricity to pump water, women can spend up to four hours a day fetching water from distant wells.
The BBC calls UpTrade a solution for the desert and after listening to this conversation, you'll understand why. Fariel is both a 2021 TED Fellow and a 2019 finalist with Cartier's Women's Initiative.
In this episode, this World Bank consultant turned self-described goat herder shares her vision for an inclusive economy that values more than just fiat currency.
in the episode:
Fariel begins the conversation describing how UpTrade works and the ways she gets off-grid, rural communities to opt into bartering their goats for solar water pumps and solar home systems.
She then shares what inspired her to start UpTrade and how her model is based on community and self agency versus traditional charity focused interventions.
Fariel then describes her vision for tech-enabled marketplaces that are not bound by fiat currency.
Fariel ends the episode sharing her vision for rural, unbanked communities to be able to participate in the mainstream economy using the resources they have.