The women of Nashira, a female-led commune in Colombia
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Watch: Nashira: Peace and Prosperity in Colombia's Matriarchal Village
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SheEO has not yet opened in Bangkok, but its mission is echoed by a Thai community mall called The Commons, built by Vicharee Vichit-Vadakan with her brother. Unlike the standard strip-lighting and wall-to-wall shops offered by most shopping complexes, The Commons favors green space and promotes wellness; the shops are all local producers, and there are kids' play areas and a yoga studio.For Vichit-Vadakan, starting her own business was a way of providing the flexibility to succeed both in her career and as a mother. Like the founders of Nashira, she came up with The Commons as a way to find a better quality of life in a hectic country . "For me, wholesome living means you eat well, you look after yourself, you exercise, you take care of the ones you love, and you are closer to nature," she says. "All of those elements I try to incorporate into The Commons and all these things I hope support a more wholesome lifestyle."Are women just better at this kind of thing? Vichit-Vadakandemurred when asked. "I think it's hard to say they're better at it. But I think the struggle to balance your time and your work and your family pushes women to be more conscious of it."It does a disservice to women to suggest that they can be paid in other ways, or can be compensated in other ways, particularly in the creative industries.
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On Saunders' part, the businesses funded by SheEO are wildly outperforming expectations. "On average our ventures have grown their revenues over 60 percent in the first seven months," she says proudly. And in Thailand, The Commons was shortlisted for the Blueprint 2016 Award in Best Public-Use Project, narrowly missing out to British architect Zaha Hadid.It is true that women entrepreneurs often run into trouble in an economic system defined by competitiveness, where ravenous growth and profit are sought at the expense of everything else. But as more women break past the confines so often imposed upon them, they are free to conceive of wealth and richness in a way that makes sense to themIt doesn't come at the cost of being simultaneously successful in a traditional sense. It means being successful in more ways, more sustainably."Just because you have balance doesn't mean you can't be focused on one thing and not be really good at it," Hong says. "Balance doesn't mean coming second."This article was presented by UBS and was created independently from Broadly's editorial staff.