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Projects help people in developing countries
BOULDER - After spending a lifetime creating environmentally friendly products for the developing world, Steve Troy realized he could create a business model for nonprofits and provide people with solutions that discourage terrorism.
Troy, manager of The Sustainable Village LLC (www.sustainablevillage.com) and executive director of Sustainable Resources (www.sustainableresources.org), both in Boulder, came up with the ideas after Sept. 11,2001.
Troy, who became involved in international development 40 years ago in Mexico, has worked in more than 130 countries on various projects. He formerly owned Jade Mountain Inc., a catalog-based seller of ecofriendly products. He sold half of the company to Broomfield-based Gaiam Inc. in 1999 and closed the deal with Gaiam on the other half on Sept. 10,2001.
After Sept. 11 Troy said he found the solution to the roots of terrorism in the field he had been working in his whole life. "The antidote to what makes fertile ground for terrorism to sprout is the lack of hope and feeling of confidence of making things better," he said.
Instead of relying solely on traditional ways of funding a nonprofit, Troy started The Sustainable Village in September 2001. The for-profit company's mission is to raise money to support nonprofits by selling ecofriendly products and services.
The next year Troy...