You can contribute in three different ways, that we describe using the analogy of the tree, hence the prefix “arbo” and ArboLife meaning the Tree of Life :

• The branches for ambassadors
• The leaves for contributors
• The fruits for users

Use the tabs below to see how these roles contribute to the ArboLife ecosystem.

As it seems obvious to us that cultivating one’s inner garden (balance) and exterior garden (planet) is the same action in a different context, it goes without saying that the choice of our internal functioning (governance system) is directly linked to the results we want to produce outside (transform the world).

As we were developing ArboLife, our integral vision of functioning naturally led us towards sociocracy, a participative model with no hierarchy, where everyone can be equally involved in project. Similar to holacracy, sociocracy is a dynamic governance model that is emerging as an alternative to classic hierarchical organizational models.

Fundamentally, the project is organized in autonomous and connected circles, there is no hierarchical links between people, and all decisions are taken unanimously within each circle.

In order to facilitate action and reduce time spent in meetings, each circle can make decisions autonomously and propose its decisions to other circles. As in agile organizations, current conditions guide decisions, and these decisions are considered “temporary”. Everything can be challenged and created differently by the group, should the circumstances evolve and require a different course of actions.

Social entrepreneurship is a new category of business that  pursues primarily a goal of social and environmental  impact. In many other countries there are legal statutes  that recognize this particular type of business, but not yet  in Switzerland.

Social entrepreneurship is a kind of hybrid approach that  brings together the values ​​and objectives that we are  accustomed to seeing in the NGO world with an operating  process drawn from entrepreneurship and the world of  business. For this last part, we also innovate by operating  as a “liberated” organization with sociocracy as our  governance model (read more about that in the section how we function).

To validate that ArboLife’s structure and operations are in line with the social and environmental goals we have set for ourselves, we are preparing for the B-Corp certification process. To obtain this certification issued by an NGO (established in the USA, Europe, South America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), it is necessary to obtain a minimum score of 80 points through an assessment that measures our social and environmental impact.

Finally, the company must amend its Articles of Incorporation to include accountability to the company, its stakeholders, and the environment. Our goal is to achieve B-Corp certification in 2018.

To date, the B-Corp movement has slightly more than 2,000 certified companies from 131 industry sectors and from 51 countries. In Switzerland there are already 20 certified companies including ImpactHub Bern, Opaline, and Montagne Alternative.

The ArboLife project is 100% self-financed by the pioneers of the project. We have no external investors and have neither solicited nor received funds in the form of a donation, loan, or financial or material support from third- party organizations.

We have chosen to be accountable only to ourselves and the public we serve. Starting a project of this size without a real source of funding has forced us to be creative in many areas, for example, learning to build this website ourselves with no prior expertise in this area.

The project, however, aims to create a source of income to self-finance its activity. Rather than charging users to use the platform, we decided to offer services to companies and to bring ArboLife network’s know-how to the service of employees and their balance of life “at work”.

Our services are individualized for each client. In general, we serve the balance of life and sustainability in the world of work. We bring a host of solutions for a better private/professional balance, to minimize the impact of stress, and for the prevention of burnouts.

We work with professional coaches, nutritionists, and specialists in various areas of preventive health.

On demand, we also organize awareness and discovery days, an opportunity for employees to discover or create new habits in nutrition and preventive therapies.

Contact us if you want to bring ArboLife’s values ​​to your workplace.

Social entrepreneurship is a contagious passion, it is natural that we also seek to collaborate with new projects in order to bring projects together and inspire each other.

We actively collaborate with several projects, especially around the co-creation of themes and categories for our on-line directory. We are developing a directory of associations in collaboration with a social change organization, we are planning a partnership with an association that promotes holidays on a farm, and we are collaborating with a project that aims to identify many “sustainable” leisure activities.

Some members of our team have their own social entrepreneurship project, which creates synergies and spontaneous collaboration opportunities.

When we started on the road to taking better care of ourselves and our planet, we were faced with the challenge of sifting through a lot of self-contradicting information. During each step on this path, we felt observed, sometimes criticized, or even judged by those around us.

From meeting to meeting, we realized that many people were facing the same obstacles and challenges as we were.

ArboLife is a digital and accessible to all version of this best friend who would share their all her good tips with you. We rely on our network of bloggers, event organizers, merchants and service providers to help you access a more balanced and sustainable life.

The first version of the ArboLife website was launched in August 2016 by a team of 4 volunteers. In this initial version, the site contained a home page and a list of events in the Neuchâtel region with a reservation tool.

Our slogan “Reconnect with Life” was inspired by several meetings with Lucien, the founder of La Chaussure Rouge, which has the intention of creating a collective movement to “take care of life“.

In the second half of 2016, the team quickly grew to 8 people, the geographical area extended to the French- speaking Switzerland region, and the site has evolved considerably. In December 2016, we started the blog and, after several months of intensive work, the directory was launched in February 2017.

In the spring of 2017, the ArboLife team began to expand beyond the Neuchâtel region. The Lausanne Regional Circle was formed in May 2017 and the circles of German- speaking Switzerland, Valais, Riviera, Fribourg formed during the summer of 2017.

One year after its launch, ArboLife has more than 25 people on its team, more than 1300 fans on Facebook and more than 4500 subscribers to the newsletter.

To interact with the public, we organize regular ArboLife evenings in Neuchâtel (other cities to come) which allows participants to discover new themes. These evenings are led by experts and are offered as a “pay what you feel is right” model.

The ArboLife team participates at various markets and events. We also regularly co-organize larger campaigns and events, such as:

Béa Johnson conference in Neuchâtel (collaboration with Flavie Tassy) in September 2016 – the Temple du Bas in Neuchâtel attended by more than 800 people

“Second Hand Gift” Campaign (collaboration with La Chaussure Rouge) in December 2016 with more than 700 people registered

Screening of the film “Futur d’espoir” in the presence of the director (collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel, the initiative for a Switzerland without synthetic pesticides, and the student associations GRAMU and AED) with more than 300 people present.

“Anti-cigarette butts” campaign (collaboration with “En Vert et Contre Tout”) in June 2017 in Neuchâtel with 45,900 butts picked up in 2 hours by more than 50 volunteers. The Facebook post that followed had more than 12,000 clicks and 2500 comments and shares.

“Second Hand Gift” Campaign in December 2017 with social media innovation that resulted in exposure by other social media pages and new stores being added to our directory. This campaign mobilized several ArboLife team members from regional circles, which generated new synergies in the team.