Making change in Africa, the Portland way
One of the things people have long admired about Portland is they way we do things – as well as what we do. It’s collaborative.
Well, maybe it’s too collaborative sometimes. Yep, it can take forever on occasion.
But compared to most cities, we make decisions with lots of information from the people who are most affected.
So when a man named Barry Childs wanted to make a difference in Africa, he did it the Portland way: he asked. According to the Africa Bridge Web site, he interviewed more than 70 people, including children and others living with HIV, as well as businesses, support organizations, educators, journalists and health care workers.
Today, Africa Bridge works with local organizations to address fundamental issues affecting Africa’s children. For example, Africa Bridge
- Provides school uniforms (required in most African schools), shoes and writing materials to children for only $25 a year, as well as providing scholarships to more than 600 students annually;
- Organizes community-based support to orphans and foster children through its “Most Vulnerable Children Committees;”
- Supports environmental preservation by tree planting projects in an area that’s losing nearly 200,000 acres a year to deforestation. A long-term goal is to find a substitute fuel to reduce the trees cut for firewood.
Africa Bridge does a lot – mostly with volunteers, and always at the direction and in harmony with the values of the community in which it works.
On Aug. 29, you can join Africa Bridge at its annual Harvest Gala – an important fundraiser for this Portland-based organization. You can be a part of this innovative approach to international support. Read more about it at the Harvest Gala page of the Africa Bridge Web site.
Women working for change — and for their children
By Denise Attwood, co-owner, Ganesh Himal Trading
In 1986, Ganesh Himal Trading started working with the Association for Craft Producers (ACP) in Kathmandu, Nepal. This project, started by Meera Bhatterai, has the goal of helping raise marginalized women’s self-esteem and income generating skills.
Laxmi Maharjan was a woman who had woven all of her life but never seen the money from any of the work she had done. The money she earned had always gone to the male in her life, her father or her husband.
When Laxmi had children, she put away her loom, but as her children grew she realized how badly she wanted to send them to school. Her husband’s work did not give them even enough for living let alone for school.
Laxmi approached ACP and asked if they would help her to put her loom back together, market her weaving and earn money to send her children to school. ACP agreed, and Laxmi became a part of the ACP team doing traditional cloth weaving and teaching other women to weave.
Meera recalls that when Laxmi received her first pay, she cried. She explained that she cried because she had never before had power in her life, and now she did.
ACP helped Laxmi save her money, and she used it to send her three children to good schools. Laxmi herself had never had the opportunity to be educated, but she understood its value, particularly for girls. As a result, she sent her girl child as well as her boys to the same quality of school. Eventually, all of her children, with her money and encouragement, earned college level degrees.
When Laxmi first went to ACP, other women in her village became interested. With ACP’s help, Laxmi eventually organized 60 other women in her village to begin weaving, earning income and saving it on their own.
Laxmi’s work has brought economic viability and a huge change to the status of women in her village. Women have more say in their families’ decision making and have been able to influence the education and health of their children, particularly their girl children.
Laxmi’s daughter Sudha, who was educated with the money her mother earned from weaving, ended up not only learning the traditional weaving skills of her mother but also getting a Masters in Social Work. After graduation, Sudha worked for the Nepali government in a program for the blind. After several years of this work she realized that the most important social work she had ever seen was the work that her mother had done with the women weavers in her village.
Sudha decided that this was the work that she really wanted to do, so she returned to her village and has now taken over working with the weavers group to help market their products through ACP and provide for more training and help for the women.
In 2008, Sudha was asked by ACP to represent the organization at the Sante Fe International Folk Festival as a spokesperson for women weavers in Nepal. She was able to travel elsewhere in the U.S., speaking to groups about her mother’s work.
Ganesh Himal products are available in Portland at Ten Thousand Villages; Paloma Clothing; Trade Roots; and Mirador.
Fair Trade; More Than ‘Moral Economics’
The shape of our economy is pushing us to find cheaper alternatives to everyday necessities. Many Portlanders have taken to only eating out when there is a deal at-hand. The fact-of-the-matter is hard economic times can force us to become obsessed with our own wallets and well-being, instead of those firstly affected.
A large sum of the world depends on Western cultures for economic support. This is done through government funding, and the role of global markets. We import goods made and grown by people living in poor conditions and through this, support a system that keeps nations and socio-economical classes divided.
Fair trade, however, ensures that those who produce products are guaranteed fair price and payment, helping them improve their daily lives. To support and purchase fair trade products, is to contribute to the global economy and well-being of all peoples. It ensures that those who are involved in producing products in the global economy actually receive some sort of benefit for their labor.
Instead of thinking about the economy as a reflection of poor national choices, think of it as a global concern. Fair trade is at a pinnacle moment, which depends on socially-conscious consumers and how we react to our economy. Each choice we make to purchase fair trade products can mean helping others afford food, housing, medications, and education. It is those small, conscious choices that can help build a stronger economy and relationships overtime.
Key concepts to keep in mind:
- Personal choices directly affect those living in other parts of the world.
- We are all part of a global economy.
- Fair trade directly affects socio-economical development.
A Story of “Care Trade”
In celebration of World Fair Trade Day, Tim O’Brien, founder and President of Tropical Salvage, a fair trade wood furniture manufacturer, visited one of their retailers, Ten Thousand Villages while also providing great insight into the company’s history. Tropical Salvage’s tagline, “positive change through sensible commerce,” sums it up perfectly. What started out as a remarkable vision was soon realized and has become a successful company embodying social and environmental values.
After working for many years as trader, traveling through Southeast Asia buying textiles, antiques and immersing himself into different cultures, O’Brien became aware of the vast amount of undervalued natural resources. All across Indonesia, wood mosques were being torn down and replaced with concrete structures. The hundreds of years-old wood remains were simply being burned or left in piles to decompose in the earth. It was then that O’Brien not only saw a business opportunity, but also a way to greatly improve the world.
Tropical Salvage, founded in 1998, discovers, reclaims and recycles wood from various tropical hardwoods by using it to build furniture. The furniture is then imported to sell in the United States. While “the first years were lot’s of trial and error, emphasis on the error,” O’Brien admits, Tropical Salvage has established a prosperous business model and employs over 100 people in the United States and overseas. Not only does the company help to prevent further deterioration of Indonesia’s old-growth forests, but Tropical Salvage also provides secure, fair-paying jobs for Indonesian natives. “In a world where ecology connects all of us inextricably, from one end of the earth to the other, it is essential that people try to understand and take responsibility for the repercussions of their consumer choices.” The entrepreneur adds, “I like to think of it more as ‘care trade,’ where it enables [the workers] quality of life.”
Just recently, Tropical Salvage reached out to the Indonesian Government in an effort to preserve their forests and create job/home security. The company is now responsible for managing 560 acres of Indonesian forests for the next 30 years.
For more information about Tropical Salvage and how to purchase fair trade, recycled, wild wood products, please visit their website.
World Fair Trade Day This Saturday, May 9th
This Saturday marks a big day for fair trade as a cause and as a global community. May 9th is World Fair Trade Day and this year the community is celebrating with a Fair Trade Coffee Break. Everyone across the globe is encouraged to take their breaks from work and life with Fair Trade coffee, tea, chocolate or whatever else helps you unwind. Fair trade businesses and affiliates in over 80 countries are participating in this event by sponsoring everything from drum circles to soccer games to storewide sales.
According to The Fair Trade Resource Network, “When we support Fair Trade, we not only support the people who make the items we consume and enjoy, we also support the environment, women’s rights, children’s rights, cultural dignity and peace building.” This day is about supporting a cause bigger than ourselves.
Get Involved with these Oregon Events:
Ten Thousand Villages Portland: 938 NW Everett Street Portland, OR
Ten Thousand Villages Portland, located in the Pearl District, will be offering samples of Fair Trade coffee, chocolate and olive oil, as well as featuring local music and speakers on fair trade issues. Plus, everything in the store is on sale, including its large selection of fair trade oriental rugs.
Onda Gallery: 220 SW A Street Suite 104 Lake Oswego, OR
Through the month of May, Onda Gallery is sponsoring an art show featuring Fair Trade artists and artists that specialize in the use of recycled materials. They will be serving fair trade coffee as refreshments.
Java Jones Coffee Shop: 757 Newmark Ave Coos Bay, OR
Free fair trade coffee from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on May 9th at Java Jones Coffee shop, as well as live music and a booth offering information on a variety of fair trade products and organizations.
Small Planet Trading: 202 Cascade Avenue Hood River, OR
Starting at 11 a.m., Small Planet Trading will be hosting a drum circle for the public to join in on. After, they invite you to take a fair trade break with them as they offer a sale in their store.
For more information check out the Fair Trade Resource Network at http://www.fairtraderesource.org/