When you are 22, the world is your oyster.

  For Yale University graduate Chris Baker, that oyster contained a pearl, which was the idea for OneSeed Expeditions. OneSeed is now a way to take an amazing trip and give an entrepreneur in Nepal the seed money needed to start a business.

  While Chris was at Yale, he conducted research in Katmandu and the Khumbu area surrounding Mt. Everest. As President of the Yale Mountaineering Club, he was naturally inclined to start a business that would marry his passion for Nepal and love of climbing. OneSeed Expeditions germinated following his fellowship with Kiva.org, where he worked closely with a microfinance institution in Nepal and learned how he could create trips that could also assist the people of the region.

  On a OneSeed Expedition, you have three areas of Nepal you may choose to explore. Take a low key trek holiday in the lush Langtang region, or dial it up a notch and attempt the Annapurna ascent. No matter which holiday you choose, you will spend time hiking in a country filled with beautiful scenery, and you may even glimpse the elusive snow leopard. Explore ancient villages, discover monasteries, and even try Yak butter tea (or not).

  The heart of the journey is being able to see and meet the people that you have helped with your donation and hear their stories first hand. In one instance, only one cow made all the difference in providing for a needy family.

  We caught up with Chris just as he was about to get married and asked him a few of our "Milkshake" questions -

What is your favorite journey?
I'm a mountain guy above all else, but I've always been especially partial to the Himalayas.  I first traveled there at the age of just 18, and I haven't stopped going back.  As a student, I was always scheming ways to get back to the mountains and now it's my job.  The Khumbu region surrounding Mt. Everest has to be my favorite spot.  As you walk the trails that link each village, you start measuring distance and time in valleys and mountain passes rather than miles or kilometers.  Things just slow down.  
      
Who are your favorite heroes in real life?
I've always been inspired by people that live lives of quiet self-reliance.  My grandfather comes to mind.
          
How do you define “good”?
I'm most concerned with actions.  Intentions matter, but actions change the world.  I would define "good" as the daily pursuit of making the world ever so slightly better than you found it.  Nothing grand or ambitious, just better than you found it.

What is your favorite cause?
At OneSeed we fund the creativity of individual entrepreneurs.  Microfinance, even with all of its imperfections, does more to place power in the hands of the individual than any other solution I've encountered thus far.  If I were to identify a "favorite cause," it would be the cause of creativity in the face of constraint. 

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Before launching OneSeed, I spent two years working as a public school teacher.  No harder job in the world.  

What is your motto?
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence."  - John Muir