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Every Friday we share local innovation insights sourced from tw:in, our global trend community. Here’s this week’s Spot of the Week!

A specially grown hybrid orchid that blooms once a year was handed out to women in remote areas of Brazil in April, to remind them to get their annual cervical cancer screening. Developed by orchidophile Sergio Barani, the cattleya hybrid is part of the Flower of Life campaign, led by preventive medicine group Hermes Pardini with the support of Pará State Department of Health. Five thousand flowers were given out in communities in the Amazon; the campaign also includes events on caring for the orchid and the importance of healthy living.

This initiative was spotted by our Barcelona-based tw:in member Livia Fioretti, who shared her perspective: “This flower is a natural calendar! And I think it’s interesting how innovative solutions can be found just by looking around. By considering the Amazonian environment (what can grow there) and people’s reality there (lack of infrastructure, poor access to information and extreme poverty), it was possible to develop a simple solution that can have a real impact on women’s health.”

With advancements in AI, machine learning, and automation seizing headlines, Hermes Pardini’s orchid reminds us that innovation doesn’t always have to be high-tech. Indeed sometimes the best way to grab people’s attention might involve no technology <gasp!>. After all, who here hasn’t got notification fatigue?

So, the next time you’re seeking to address a customer pain point, before you rush to consult your engineers try pausing and asking: is there an ‘unplugged’ option that offers a novel – and natural! – solution?

tw:in (TrendWatching’s Insight Network) is our private Slack community, where we share and discuss innovations with hundreds of passionate trend enthusiasts around the world. Sound interesting? Join us now!