Launched at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in Berlin this July, and full of the photos and personal stories sent in by the Van Bo-following DIY furniture makers from around the world, this book celebrates the love of furniture, the social and creative benefits of building your own chairs, and further illustrates Van Bo’s social outreach. In its pages, he adds instructions on how he has built a community in seven steps, and how he envisions the capitalism of the future—which is all about Thank yous and win-wins. “There are some things that companies need, which don’t involve money,” he explains, “For example, one of the members of my Crowd is a leading figure in Deutsche Bahn, the German Rail company. She says that on hot days when the air conditioning breaks down in one of the rail cars and that car has to be removed and replaced, it causes chaos at the next station. She needs people to come to that station to re-direct traffic, explain the delay, help with the circulation and the clean-up, and give passengers a reassuring smile. If she has Karma Volunteers, they get a badge, they get to help, and they get praise and some free train tickets in return. This is more valuable to both parties than money. It brings people together in a spirit of community, and it makes that community more cohesive. This is the basic principle of Karma Economy. Everyone needs to be needed and needs to be praised. If we can do that for each other while fostering each other’s businesses, it creates a harmonious, helpful, prosperous society”. Search “henny van nistelrooy” from Democratic Design: The Work of Le Van Bo

Search “henny van nistelrooy”

Launched at the BMW Guggenheim Lab in Berlin this July, and full of the photos and personal stories sent in by the Van Bo-following DIY furniture makers from around the world, this book celebrates the love of furniture, the social and creative benefits of building your own chairs, and further illustrates Van Bo’s social outreach. In its pages, he adds instructions on how he has built a community in seven steps, and how he envisions the capitalism of the future—which is all about Thank yous and win-wins.

“There are some things that companies need, which don’t involve money,” he explains, “For example, one of the members of my Crowd is a leading figure in Deutsche Bahn, the German Rail company. She says that on hot days when the air conditioning breaks down in one of the rail cars and that car has to be removed and replaced, it causes chaos at the next station. She needs people to come to that station to re-direct traffic, explain the delay, help with the circulation and the clean-up, and give passengers a reassuring smile. If she has Karma Volunteers, they get a badge, they get to help, and they get praise and some free train tickets in return. This is more valuable to both parties than money. It brings people together in a spirit of community, and it makes that community more cohesive. This is the basic principle of Karma Economy. Everyone needs to be needed and needs to be praised. If we can do that for each other while fostering each other’s businesses, it creates a harmonious, helpful, prosperous society”.