zazen is a Social Business Enterprise that was created so that every child in Australia is drinking the very best water all day, every day. A social business enterprise is focused primarily on maximising social returns within a profitable framework. We have chosen this business model through being inspired by the work of Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, banker to the poor, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
As social business entrepreneurs, we are committed to making a positive difference in our world, starting with children drinking the right quality and quantity of water so that we can help educate and reverse health trends that see us as one of the world’s unhealthiest nations. As a result, we launched the zazen Water Ambassador School Program which is funded 100% from the profits of our business. To date, we have donated over $650,000 to this program.
“This generation of children will live less than 10 years than their parents” New England Journal of Medicine 2005
zazen Water School Ambassador Program
- We became aware of the health and longevity issues facing our children. This generation, if current trends continue, will be the first in modern history to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
- We became aware that 1 in 6 children have a learning and behavioural disability. In 1974, 1 in 10,000 Australian children were diagnosed with autism. In 2017, it is 1 in 68 now being diagnosed! With the current trend forecast to be 1 in 2 and 80% will be boys by 2032!
- We became aware that 1 in 6 children suffer from a respiratory illness, and that asthma is our leading chronic disease among Australian children.
- We became aware that 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese in Australia, and that 1 in 2 of their parents are overweight or obese. The impact of our modern diet (processed foods, preservatives, additives and chemicals) and sedimentary lifestyles of our children impacts the longevity and quality of their life.
- We became aware that 80 years ago, the percentage of the population diagnosed with cancer was 1 in 50. Today, the statistics are 1 in 3, trending towards 1 in 2. This is the reality that children being born today are faced with. Where do we go from 1 in 2?
- We became aware of the impact our modern environment has on the quality of health and wellbeing of our children – through the pollutants and poisons in the water and beverages they drink and the poor quality air they breathe, every day.
- We became aware that the umbilical cord of a new born baby today was measured to have over 300 carcinogenic chemicals in it – already. And that our clean family homes have over 200 cancer causing chemicals in them.
- We became aware that there was no initiative we could find anywhere in Australia that was focused on the importance of child hydration. There are initiatives on the food they eat, but not on the quality of the most fundamental important nutrient to all life — water!
These statistics horrified us, disturbed us, and then moved us to action. And that’s when we decided to build this business and launch the zazen Water Ambassador School Program.
What is a Social Business?
zazen Water is a Social Business Enterprise co-creating wellness conscious communities.
- Social Business Enterprise /noun
enterprises/corporations seeking not just revenue but social returns, and returning the profits to the communities where they operate.
Read about Social Business Entrepreneurs - Co-creating /verb
to make something together; to bring something into existence together. - Wellness /noun
a choice to take responsibility for the quality of your life. Total wellness is an active process of becoming aware of choices and making decisions to achieve balance across all areas of your life including: physical, mind, relationships, community and spiritual; to achieve a fulfilling joyful life. - Conscious /noun
aware or awake; knowing and perceiving.
Watch short online movie - Communities /noun
group of people who are unified through their intention but operate with diversity of expression.
