Everyday Just Living

I was thrilled to learn today from Co-op America that fair trade ice cream is now available! No, this is not ice cream imported from developing countries (it would be awfully melty by the time it arrived here!). I’m talking about delicious cold stuff that uses fair trade ingredients like coffee, vanilla and, of course, chocolate! According to Co-op America, brands of fair trade ice cream include certain flavors of Temptation Organics, Blackwell’s Organic, Ben and Jerry’s, and Stonyfield Farms. I love that fair trade ingredients are finding their way into so many good things, so there’s less reason to feel guilty eating it (although I think it’s safe to say the calorie count is no different!). I haven’t seen this good stuff in any stores around me, although I’m going to start looking.

The first person to tell me where they found fair trade ice cream, what flavor and how they liked it gets a special gift from Bambootique.

I’m often asked about the women who make the products I sell through my online fair trade boutique, Bambootique. Customers like to know more about them, see pictures, and understand how I am sure the products are made under fair trade conditions. I thought highlighting one of my artisan groups would be an insightful way to shed light on the types of organizations my company supports.

One of my favorite fair trade organizations is Guardian Village Handicrafts (GVH). GVH is a non-profit headed by several American ex-pats and based in Kathmandu, Nepal, one of the world’s poorest cities. GVH runs a home for children who have come from abusive situations. Along with the children’s home they run an educational center where 30 or so women at a time, mainly single mothers, receive training on various vocational skills to support themselves and their children.

Ritu is one of the single mothers who has received training from GVH. Ritu’s husband abandoned her and her 1-year old daughter shortly after she was born. Like many uneducated young women, her options for employment seemed limited to begging or prostitution. Once she found GVH though Ritu received training in jewelry making and quickly began to earn enough income to provide for herself and her daughter, who recently turned 2.

Jewelry-making is just one of the vocational skills taught at GVH but it’s the skill where I come in. GVH ships their jewelry to a warehouse in the Midwest staffed by volunteers. I order jewelry from the warehouse and sell it online and at Bambootique events. I pay for the jewelry up front so the women receive payment before I ever sell each piece. In addition to the women earning a livable income from their jewelry making, a portion of the proceeds go back to support the children’s home so every cent of the price I pay goes back to do good.

I love Guardian Village Handicrafts for the stories of the incredibly hard-working women but I also just really love their jewelry! Each time I receive a new shipment it’s like Christmas for me. The women do much of their own designs as well as getting ideas from US fashion magazines, and they really have a good eye. The color combinations are really pretty and the type of beads they use are so interesting, from hand-blown glass to water buffalo bone to light-catching colored glass beads. It’s all so pretty and I haven’t seen a piece yet I didn’t like.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Hand-tied Turquoise Necklace and Earrings

Ritu’s Necklace (Water Buffalo Bone)

Green Sea Beaded Bracelet

In my other life I’m a mom to Grace, 17 months old, and my husband Steve and I have a separate blog, Kids Go Global, where we blog about travel with kids, especially internationally. Today we launched a really cool contest with the grand prize of an Ergo Baby Carrier travel system. If you have kids and have ever traveled with them, this contest is for you!

Everywhere I go these days there is this buzz around the “law of attraction.” Hardly a day goes by where I don’t hear someone (usually female) talk about “the universe” and what they are giving to it or getting from it. In all the conversations I’ve participated in or eavesdropped on, I haven’t heard anyone say what I’m about to announce: I don’t believe in the “law of attraction.”

I can almost hear the gasps as I type. If the law of attraction does exist despite my unbelief, then I suppose this will come back to bite me, since the basic premise of the law is that what you put out into the universe is what you get in return. I guess we’ll see about that.

The topic is on my mind tonight because I just watched a DVRed episode of Oprah featuring a panel of experts on the “law.” It’s really fascinating stuff. Much of what they say I have found to be true in my own life. Loving myself is important. Having a peaceful soul can be my reality. Having a vision for my future is helpful in achieving my goals and dreams. But I just don’t buy the central idea they hold as gospel, that what I put out into the universe is what I get back.

I think I missed the spiritual shift in our society from believing in God to believing in “The Universe.” I don’t think I even know what “the universe” means but I do know that belief in a faceless, nameless, personality-less cosmos does nothing to bring me any peace or hope. At the risk of sounding preachy, I hold fast to the traditional belief in a loving God whose son Jesus died for me. I love myself because He loves me and no matter what comes into my life, I believe He cares for me so I can trust what He sends my way. Notice the difference here - He sends it my way, I don’t attract it myself.

Ultimately the “law of attraction” is overly simplistic and leaves me with my mouth gaping open at how many important questions its proponents leave unanswered. What about the hundreds of millions of people in the world who go to bed hungry every night. Did they not put out enough “good energy” into the universe to get even their basic needs met? If the “law of attraction” is true, why are children orphaned from HIV? Did they not have a strong enough vision of their parents living? Or the millions of Americans who can’t afford basic healthcare for themselves. If they all could just envision having health insurance would the system immediately shift in their favor? Or maybe it’s a cosmic power struggle between the haves and the haves-nots. The haves are envisioning getting so much stuff for themselves that they are in fact creating the injustice around them.

If the law of attraction is true, it follows that we are each responsible (or to blame) for whatever wonderful or horrific events or things come into our lives. When I look around me and around the world I see far too many humans suffering, often at the hands of other humans, through no fault of their own and I shudder at the suggestion that it is only for lack of “visioning” that the sick are sick, that the poor are poor, and that the oppressed are oppressed.

I feel I’m alone in my disgust at this popular idea. Am I?

New at Bambootique, you can now order two delicious flavors of Seattle-based Theo Chocolate through our website! Priced at $3.25 each, these bars of organic, fair trade dark chocolate are truly heavenly. Choose from Nib Brittle or Coffee. Yum!

This comment came in from Donna this week in response to my popular post about the value of my organic backyard garden:

I have been thinking about planting my own garden. Organics are not available around here without having to drive into a larger city. I would like to know what type of materials you used to build your raised beds, especially the metal or plastic pieces that are at each corner of the bed holding the wood slats. Thanks for your help on this! Donna

I had to go back to my husband on this since he researched, ordered and installed our garden box three years ago. We ordered our garden boxes from Square Foot Gardening, a site he found through much online researching. We’ve been very happy with the boxes and are actually considering installing two more along the side of our house next summer.

Anyone else have a source for good garden boxes?

Good luck with your organic garden, Donna!

A few days ago I was thrilled to receive an email that started out:

Dear Elisabeth,

An interest payment of $3.58 was recently added to your PayPal account for the following: Manuela Ramos via Oikocredit Global Community Note.

Granted an interest payment of just over $3 isn’t much to be excited about, yet this email warmed my soul. You see, Manuela Ramos-Credit Mujer is a non-governmental Peruvian organization that makes microloans (very small loans, usually under $100) to economically empower women. I found the organization through Microplace, an ebay company that matches small lenders like me with small borrowers in the developing world. On Microplace I was able to read the profiles of a number of organizations around the world and choose which one I wanted to lend my money to. The organizations choose the actual recipients of my loan, but profiles of some of their clients are available on Microplace.

The loan I chose to give is a 3-year loan with 1.5% interest rate. Granted that’s not a very good interest rate compared to what I might get on Wall Street but it’s better than the money just sitting in my checking account. I love the idea of my money at work to empower women who just need a little boost to move their businesses to the next level. These women are small shop owners who use the funds to buy their first inventory or artisans who use the loan to buy raw materials (like those I buy from for Bambootique). Recipients of loans on Microplace, and actually recipients of most microloans, have an incredible payback rate of almost 100%.

I am a big believer in economic empowerment of the poor over charitable giving, since economic empowerment is sustainable for the longer-term while charity tends to solve problems only for the short-term. If you’re looking for a way to be involved in ending global poverty but want to do something beyond giving handouts, consider an investment through Microplace or Kiva, a similar organization I’ve blogged about before. With both organizations you get your money back, so long as the borrowers pay back, although with Kiva there is no interest. With both organizations you get heart-warming emails about your $3.58 of interest and the opportunity to truly change someone’s life for good.

Have you made a loan through one of these organizations? What has your experience been?

Summer sunshine is finally here in Portland (thank goodness!!) and the summer travel season is in full swing. But do we think about how the way we travel impacts others and the planet? My blogging buddy Cheryl Janis over at Planet Pinkngreen posted an intriguing new concept this past week - fair trade travel! Apparently it’s all the rage in Europe right now (why are Europeans always ahead of us on these cutting edge ideas?).

The concept makes sense. Travel of any kind involves large quantities of fossil fuels, unless you walk to your vacation. Many of us travel to developing countries because we want to experience something different from home plus the lower prices we enjoy help our dollar go so much further. But do you ever wonder what the people who make your meals, serve your meals, clean your rooms, drive you all around, etc are paid? I know I do. Traveling in developing countries means opening our eyes to the realities of poverty - we just can’t avoid it no matter how cush the accommodations. There are fair trade labels for travel in South Africa but most other countries don’t have such labeling yet. I garnered some great tips from the UK site Responsible Travel, which I’ve paraphrased below plus added a few of my own:

• Reduce carbon emissions by minimizing flying time and layovers - the worst carbon emissions are released during take-off and landing. Buy carbon offsets for flights you can’t avoid.
• Travel with respect. Learn a few words of the local language before you go and read online or pick up a book about the country from your local library. Traveling with respect earns you respect.
• Buy local produce over imported goods.
• Do not buy products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artifacts.  Whenever possible buy directly from artisans themselves rather than from souvenir shops or middlemen.
• Use public transport, hire a bike or walk when convenient - its a great way to meet local people on their terms and reduce pollution and carbon emissions.
• Use water sparingly - its very precious in many countries and tourists tend to use far more than local people.
• Ask your tour operator or hotel staff whether there are local conservation or social projects that you could visit on your trip, and if/how you could help support them.

Have you found a way to travel with a lighter impact? Let us know about it here!

My husband Steve pointed out to me last night that we’ll be harvesting our garlic soon, leaving a large space in our garden box open for new plants. He suggested we plant a few rows of veggies for our local food bank. He heard at our church about the Plant A Row For The Hungry program and, unbeknownst to me, bought a bag of potato starts to plant in our garden and donate later this season. When the garlic comes out, the potatoes will go in and we’ll take them to the Oregon Food Bank when they’re ready!

The Plant A Row program seems like a great idea, given the abundance of produce some gardeners have at certain points in the season. Zucchini grows so abundantly in the Northwest that a local lumberyard’s placard sign a few years ago read “It’s zucchini season. Don’t make eye contact with your neighbor.” When the zucchini or tomatoes or cukes ripen all at once some gardeners are desperate to give them away. Why not make the extra effort to transport them to a local food bank and get them into the hands (and mouths) of people who need them the most?

Here in Oregon the most needed vegetables, according to the Oregon Food Bank, are:

• Tomatoes (pick while slightly under-ripe)
• Green beans
• Winter squash (acorn or butternut)
• Garlic
• Hot peppers
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Collard greens
• Onions

If your budget is shrinking as gas prices soar, the cost of organic fruits and veggies might make you gasp. My morning paper today featured an article on how to save money in this tight economy. One of the smart suggestions was to grow your own vegetables, something Steve and I have been doing each year since we bought our home three years ago. Curious, I decided to calculate how much we are actually saving by what we grow ourselves. The dollar values are based on today’s prices for organic vegetables at our local New Seasons supermarket.

Blueberries - 15 pints @ 3.99 = $59.85
Strawberries - 2 pints @ 3.99 = $7.98
Garlic - 12 heads @ 0.75 = $9
Lettuce - 10 heads @1.99 = $19.90
Sugar snap peas - 10 pounds @ 4.99 = $49.90
Tomatoes - 10 pounds @ 4.99 = $49.90
Tomatillos - 5 pounds @ 4.99 = $24.95
Potatoes - 3 pounds @ 1.49 = $4.47
Onions - 3 pounds @ 1.19 = $3.57
Leeks - 3 pounds @ 2.49 = $7.47
Rhubarb - 2 pounds @ 2.99 = $5.98
Green peppers - 15 @ 1.50 each = $22.5
Red peppers - 5 @ 2.50 each = $12.50
Habanero peppers - 25 @ 0.75 each = $18.75
Cucumbers - 15 @ 1.49 each = $22.35
Cilantro - 10 bunches @ 1.29 each = $12.90
Spinach - 5 pounds @ 1.79 = $8.95
Chives - 5 bunches @ $1.19 = $5.95
Parsley - 5 bunches @ 1.49 = $7.45
Basil - 10 bunches @2.99=$29.90
Rosemary - infinite (we have a huge bush) but we probably use about $5 worth in a year

Grand Total Value of Our Organic Vegetable Garden = $389.22

Wow! I was truly shocked at this total, especially when you see in the picture above that we have a very small vegetable garden. Besides the garden box in the picture we plant a few things in the beds around the yard but it’s still a very small space. The upfront cost for seeds and starts was less than $50 and, besides planting, watering, light weeding and picking there is very little work involved for the return. I was also impressed that tomatoes, peas, peppers and berries generate the most savings based on their high cost in stores.

It’s not too late to plant your own veggies for this year. I’m about to plant spinach for a fall harvest. Many vegetables such as broccoli and garlic winter well. Depending on where you are in the US you can still plant quite a few summer/ fall vegetables through June. For those living in Oregon, OSU has a great guide online to when to plant your vegetables. Even if you don’t have a yard you can plant a few veggies in containers such as tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. As my calculations showed, even a small amount of veggies can add up to a lot of money saved. Now I’m starting to wonder what other parts of our yard we can turn into vegetable garden and save even more money!