HumanWrit.es: the notebook company helping underprivileged kids

This is pretty cool. Social innovation startup HumanWrit.es, which donates 10 exercise books to classrooms of school children in need for every one of its Writable notebooks sold, has released a video showing its most recent donation delivery.

The most recent donation of 20 000 exercise books were delivered to over 200 pre-schools that form part of the Ithemba Labantwana community forum, operated under the umbrella of Ikamva Labantu, the company’s partner organization.

The give-away exercise books include tools for reading and writing in both Xhosa and English, drawing and colouring-in, some basic maths and dotted pages for free thinking, writing and drawing.

HumanWrit.es is a social innovation start-up launched in June 2012. It is the brain child of Adrian Myburgh, Jason Bagley and Richard Mulholland who, when asked why they embarked on this project, responded “We wanted to create a real world product which we had not done before and we wanted to provide sustainable support to the communities around us in need”.

The selling of products is the first phase of the business. For every product sold, the company says it donates a similar, reading and literacy based, item to school children in need. “Depending of the needs of the schools and the age of the children in the class, the type of books will vary,” explains Adrian. “However whole-brained thinking and our passion for writing, doodling and ideas will be a component of every book, in whatever form it might take.”

HumanWrit.es’s first product is the Writable, a square hardcover notebook with a magnetic clasp containing 192 dotted pages, made of acid free munken pure paper. The dotted pages are something you are unlikely to find in other notebooks, Mulholland explains. “We were looking for a solution to the age-old argument of whether lined or blank pages are better. Writers are more prone to go for lined pages, whereas those of us who like to doodle and draw prefer a blank page, we don’t believe your brain should have to choose, the dotted page accommodates both and more importantly it encourages the user to employ whole-brain note-taking.

HumanWrit.es says it will be expanding its product range over the new few months. It’s apparently creating a smaller pocket notebook. The giveaway item will be a Xhosa story book aimed at three to five-year olds. The aim of the story book is to encourage a love of reading in young children through the creation of warm and engaged moments with their significant care-givers.

Writables can be purchased online at http://humanwrit.es.