Socially Responsible Retail @ Via

Tagua Necklace from Ethnic Pride Marketing

What if people were using renewable resources or reclaimed resources to create beautiful and affordable pieces that would satisfy some of our shopping needs?  What if a traditional craft in South America would be supported with the purchase here in the United States? What if they were GREEN and FAIR TRADE? Does it make the purchase more fun?

We hear a lot about our CARBON FOOTPRINT these days. But what about our SHOPPING QUOTIENT? What if we used our purchasing dollars more wisely? Supporting artisans who are not part of a sweatshop, artisans creating things out of  discarded one-use items,   that is a step toward creating Socially Responsible Retail.

Chopstick Basket from Kwytza

Chopsticks are a one-use items and an amazing number of them are discarded.  In Oregon a clever young man, Brian Park, has found some wonderful uses for these reclaimed chopsticks. In addition to the handy and collapsible baskets, he has created the ziploc bag drying unit, soap dishes, lamps, and more.

Socially Responsible Retail doesn’t have to be limited to GREEN and FAIR TRADE.  Some wonderful gift products are being placed on the market by non-profit groups trying to support an economy as well as developing their health care/social development work.  This type of retail spreads the wealth around in an exponential way. Dr. John Morgan of Options for Children of Zambia (www.optionsforchildren.org) calls this type of retail “GIFT SQUARED” and means that in its exponential sense.  For example, the purchase of TRIBAL TEXTILES supports the Zambian village of Mfuwe where they are made.  The textiles are then sold in the United Stated where the money goes to Options for Children of Zambia.  From that money and other donations, Options for Children of Zambia develops programs in cooperation with Zambian government and tribal interests. Building long term relationships and creating long term aid programs in rural Zambia can all be aided from redirected retail dollars.

Tribal Textiles "Pillow Cover" Hibiscus

Tribal Textiles “Animal Block” placemats (6 unique per set)

Tribal Textiles"Dancing Ladies" wallhanging

We need to get past the “PAY LESS/ BUY MORE” philosophy and move on to “PAY A FAIR PRICE/ BUY WISELY”. That doesn’t mean everything is expensive.  “Cheap” is a bad motive for purchase.  We’ve had cheap food and cheap oil for many years because of unhealthy subsidies in those industries.  Now we’re fat and experiencing a great oil tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.  If you’re interested in purchasing socially responsible wares, contact us.  We’d love to be of service.

Argentinium Silver and pearl bracelet by Mayapple Designs

Recycled windshield glass earrings by Spirit Lala

Recycled racing tires/bike innertubes/hemp sandals by SPLAFF FLOPPS

handmade paper beads made into belt (Northern Uganda)

Walking the Via Creativa—-in slow motion

I get frustrated with myself as I can see that all that multi-tasking I used to pride myself on has become an inefficient mess. But lately I hear from friends and colleagues the same lament.  Is this part of the aging process? Or a temporary lack of focus.  I’m not sure, but I need to figure out how to change it or change my expectations of myself.  Maybe move a little slower.  I remember hearing older people telling me when I was probably in my twenties to “slow down”.  Were they saying that because they weren’t able to keep up?  I certainly feel like I’m not able to keep up with what I was accustomed to doing.  I was just getting used to the new wrinkles in my face–I wasn’t ready for the new wrinkles in my time.

Thanks to everyone who brought in the items for the health kits.  GREAT JOB! The things will be assembled into the kits by the United Methodist Women at Foundry UMC and sent to UMCOR for distribution.

Christmas in Muchila, Zambia

November 27, 2009  

Greetings from Muchila where it seems everyone is busy with plowing fields and planting maize.   The rains have started after several months of dry season and plows pulled by oxen are everywhere.  Although not as obvious, preparation for Christmas has also begun.

Christmas in Muchila includes a special morning meal of bread and tea, followed by church services, people getting together for an afternoon meal of a recently slaughtered goat, pig, or chicken and community dancing and signing into the evening and night.

The Holiday requires the rehearsing of the village small dancing girls, youth and adult choirs, and instrumentalists.  Since bread is rarely eaten and very expensive this is planned for in advance as well as the availability of a goat, pig, or chicken.   In this remote area not every church has a minister or priest. Local church leaders will prepare the church services and coordinate the music and dancing which is an important part of the Christmas celebration.  Also this is the time for baptisms, holy communion,  and marriages as most sacraments are planned around this time.

Christmas is much simpler in Muchila than in many parts of the United States, but it is the biggest holiday season for family and friends and is cherished by the community.  –written by Dr. John Morgan, Options for Children of Zambia

Mummies and Dinosaur Teeth

We took a big road trip to the D.C. Green Fest in October.  We thought it might be a good place to show off the Tribal Textiles which are beautifully handmade in Mfuwe, Zambia.  My son, Johannes, and I left town at 5:00am with our booth crammed in the large Fine Art Specialists cargo van. We were travelling early to intercept a large load of new textiles just in from Africa.  Dr. John Morgan, from Tufts University; and Max Galaba, of Muchila, Zambia, were arriving at Dulles Airport from Boston with the textiles in tow which we loaded into the van around 10:00am. Dr. Morgan takes part of the Tufts University Dental School on the road to Zambia a couple of times a year to give the students challenging practice as well as to help those in need.  Both John and Max are part of the not-for-profit Options for Children of Zambia which is an organization that helps support two African villages—one where the textiles are made and another where Options for Children has helped to get such basic needs as clean water and developed a farm project for food.

Dr. John Morgan and Max Galaba with Dinosaur Teeth/Jaw

So the four of us were in the nation’s capital and had a beautiful sunny day to explore it.  I asked Max what he would like to see.  He responded, “I think I would like to see a mummy.”  So we were off to the Natural History Museum.  I asked at the visitors’ desk for the whereabouts of the nation’s mummy and we were pointed to an upper gallery. We first wandered past the dinosaurs (Dr. Morgan examining the teeth in the giant skulls as we passed.)  The Hope Diamond was in a special birthday display. We watched it sparkle wondering how something like that can be so valuable.  We made our way to  the Egyptian collection to view the mummy.  Having satisfied Max’s curiosity, we wandered on and ended up in the collection of skeletons dug up in Jamestown.  It seems many of them died of afflictions coming from bad dental health.  Max earned his certification as a dental assistant during this stay in the U.S. so there was a lot of tooth examination in that very morbid exhibit as well.

After enough natural history, we went onto the mall in the beautiful fall weather and saw the Solar Decathlon, a global competition of small scale solar houses. Though they weren’t all open yet, we were able to tour the ones from Tuft’s University and Germany.  Dr. Morgan was intense on seeing if there were possible applications of the new materials and technology which might help electrify rural Zambia.

At the Green Fest we were able to sell some Tribal Textiles and spoke of the connection of the sale of the textiles to two villages – Mfuwe and Muchila.  Options for Children in Zambia buys the textiles at fair cost from Mfuwe which is how that village supports itself, and then those textiles are sold in the U.S. and the profits go toward aid in the village of Muchila.  Via Creativa sells the Tribal Textiles at no profit and the benefit is in knowing we are trying to make a difference.  We encourage other shops to retail at least line of merchandise which sponsors a not-for-profit initiative.  One line where all of the money made would go back to the people who need it most.

Having a day in DC to spend with Max and Dr. Morgan was worth the whole trip.  We also got to meet with Pat Campbell, who is also from Tufts University and a big part of Options for Children.  My son and I returned home on Sunday with the new textiles stuffed in the van with our booth and our hearts and minds buzzing. Going on the road to Green Fest and other such conventions is such a great experience.  It helps us see other people who, like us, are trying to make a difference for people all across the globe.  Dr. Morgan has coined a term Gift Squared (squared is meant exponentially): purchasing one gift that in turn helps two villages.  I like the concept.  Now we just need to get the word out.  We hope you’ll help us.

left to right: Johannes Speckheuer, Pat Campbell, Max Galaba, Lyman Speckheuer, Dr. John Morgan

Via Explains Gift squared

Gift² =  Gifts that Give Again (and Again!)

You wake up in your warm bed to the sounds of laughter and the stomping of stocking feet. It smells like an apple cinnamon ‘Yankee Candle’ was lit down the hall and you breathe in deeply. You have a turkey and a pecan pie to put in the oven, so you drag yourself from your king sized nest and say a quick prayer that the spiral cut ham isn’t still frozen. The kids have already torn through their gifts and you hear someone fighting over double A batteries. You hope to yourself that your honey remembered to buy your favorite designer fragrance this year, and not another knock-off, because everyone knows what poor quality fragrance does for your allergies. As you stumble over the wrapping paper, discarded 6 packs of underpants and bold holiday sweaters you’re reminded; it’s another average Christmas morning in another average American home.

Across the ocean on the very same Christmas morning, the Fulani family in Zambia is getting ready for their holiday. Their village is having a nativity play at the church 10 miles away and if they’re going to make it there on time, they’d better start walking. Usually on Christmas, if it has been a good year, each family purchases one chicken for Christmas dinner. They usually eat beans and peanut powder for protein, but it’s the holidays, why not splurge?! The Fulani’s have adopted three more orphaned villagers this year bringing their family head count to 15, so Auntie is going to have to find a way to stretch their five pound hen. There are no presents this year, as it was the year before, but one of the Fulani children is going to school this January and needs books and shoes, so Auntie awards Kasune with the only gifts she’ll receive this year. Yet despite their extreme poverty; the men, women and children in Zambia are going to sing, rejoice, and celebrate the birth of Christ in a church miles away. For they know that, although they are poor and ailing, their songs and smiles are the only gifts most will be receiving this Holiday season.

Many of us are fortunate enough to have experienced the satisfaction of receiving what we wanted for Christmas, and some of us might have only gotten the things we needed. Still, we had a “holiday.” Courtesy of the internet and cable television, the American people aren’t blind to the poverty that infests our world. Some of us are even generous enough to donate money, clothes or rice to people whose names we can’t pronounce in countries we wouldn’t ever dream of seeing. These days it isn’t a rarity to purchase a goat or 10 chickens in someone’s name. In fact, many people are using these charities as a substitute for average everyday gift giving. The recipient only gets a card stating that the gift giver spent money to donate livestock or grain to a suffering ‘third-worlder’ so that they may feed their families. Usually, the recipient says ‘thank you’ and mentions what a nice thought it was, while promptly tossing out the card and raising an eyebrow at you when the check for dinner arrives. Your kind gesture was somehow cast aside because the gift itself made no real impact on the recipient.

It’s the Holiday season and people are scrounging up money for gift cards and plastic toys, why can’t we serve several purposes with our American dollars? My friends may not want yaks donated in their name, or perhaps they don’t believe feeding a man a fish is better than teaching him how to do it on his own. Yet, how can we satisfy our taste for knick-knacks and holiday gift-giving, while still quenching our thirst to ‘do good’ and change the world?

Fair trade is the answer to that very question. Countries all around our globe are utilizing indigenous resources to manufacture a variety of different products. These products are harvested, assembled, and packaged by everyday men and women in third world countries and then sold. Profits received from the sale of these goods will go back to the tribe or village who produced them and literally; put clothing on their backs and food in their mouths.

In many communities in Africa, Christmas is looked forward to all year long. Many villages coordinate dances, nativity plays, and sing-alongs; while gift-giving (if done at all) is done by way of school supplies. So before you buy your significant other that ‘nose hair clipper’ they don’t want, why not purchase a gift that makes them happy, makes you feel great, and makes a difference in the life of a complete stranger who lives countries away?

Gift (squared) is a concept that encompasses our desire to make purchases while satisfying the need to ‘do good’. What if, instead of the free calendar or the complementary address labels you get for your donation to a charity, you actually bought something you wanted and it worked just as hard (if not harder) than those cash donations you make each year? Try it on for size this Holiday and we promise you won’t be the only one smiling!

(This article will be featured in Virginia Beach Woman… a FREE publication that can be picked up in local doctors’ offices, Farm Fresh, and Harris Teeter! Pick one up and support small businesses in Tidewater!)

Gift Squared

It was nice to be in DC and get to spend some time with the people who run the Options for Children of Zambia not for profit.   In trying to let people know what we’re trying to accomplish, Dr. Morgan came up with the term Gift Squared to described the dimensional quality of bringing health initiatives to Muchila, Zambia.

It is a Fair Trade/Not for Profit/Retail association with Tribal Textiles representing the Fair Trade; Options for Children of Zambia being a not for profit initiative and Via Creativa Gallery sponsoring the sale of the Tribal Textiles at no profit to benefit the not for profit which in turn benefits the Fair Trade.

If only we can spread the word a bit more.  Any ideas?

Our Booth at Green Fest

Green Fest booth

The Farm Project

Zambia Farm Project

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Invitation to Booth 449 at Green Fest in DC

Dr. John Morgan, of Tufts University, who leads teams going to Zambia on health missions and who is very passionate about bringing aid to residents in Muchila and elsewhere, will be bringing Max Galaba, who is from Muchila and is a joy to the world, to the Green Fest in DC.  They will be in booth 449  helping us to show and sell the beautiful handmade Zambian Tribal Textiles.  You can read in the other posts how the sale of the textiles benefits Options for Children.  I am going to add some pictures of Max and the farm project that Options has been working on over the last few years.  If you’re in the DC area and want to come to Green Fest, I will receive some complimentary tickets.  Let me know if there is someone out there who would like to come and spend a few minutes talking with Max or Dr. Morgan.  They’ll be blessed.

Check out www.optionsforchildren.org to see more and to donate to this worthy cause.  I personally am hoping that we can be of help toward raising money for a birthing clinic in Muchila which Options for Children is working on.  I thought it traumatic enough that I gave birth to my two children in a foreign hospital–Germany.  But I can’t imagine giving birth without electricity, clean water and basic care.  I had no complications and didn’t have to travel days to get there over difficult terrain.  –Lyman

Taking Via Creativa on the road — to Green Fest! in DC

I learned when I first started doing restoration projects (that’s my real job…see www.fineartspecialists.info) that if something wasn’t right–it needed to be changed–to be made right, before continuing the repair or the problem just got bigger.  No amount of good work was really going to cover the error successfully.  Just go back a few steps, make it right, and then keep working.

I think we’ve gone too many steps forward in our “I want to have” mentality with terribly flawed foundations.  I want Via Creativa to be a way to smooth out some errors.  I’m sure I’m naive in that hope.  But if we Americans with all of our money would indulge ourselves in a contemplative way and buy the unnecessary things, some jewelry, a cushion cover, a glass bauble, our indulgences, but buy them so that the money does some good on a cellular/individual level–that my be a step in the right direction.

But I am veering from the point of the title.  GreenFest in Washington, DC, October 10-11, 2009.  Perhaps, we could introduce the Buy Tribal Textiles/Help Options for Children of Zambia concept.  Perhaps we could raise some money for the birthing clinic.  We should have our online store up by then.  It would be a goal.  So I signed up.  Dr. Morgan was in Zambia at the time doing good work and finding new designs in the textiles from the little business in the village of Mfuwe.

FAIR TRADE.  That’s the section where our booth will be, #449, I believe.  It’s good to buy fair trade, but the routes can be a little murky.  I look for clear waters.  That’s why we carry Tribal Textiles.  I know where they come from and why they’re here.  The Options for Children connection being run by health care professionals seems to create a broader vision in commerce. That’s why we carry Paper to Pearls necklaces and beads made by the ladies in the refugee camps in Northern Uganda.  We get them from the Visions for Global Change director who knows the women in Uganda and brings them back here.

GREEN STUFF.  It’s an investment for me to sign up for a booth at Green Fest.  I am very fortunate that some of the wonderful American artisans who create their works in a “Green” way which qualifies for sale at the festival will let me represent them at the festival.  That will allow me to try to make back the booth fee so Options for Children will get all of their proceeds.  Thanks to Rhonda Wyman of “Figs and Ginger” and Josie Lamb Williams of “Mayapple Creations” for their help and beautifully “green” jewelry.  We will also sell the Green and Fairly Traded “Ethnic Pride Jewelry” from Columbia and the Fair Trade KAZURI jewelry from Kenya to help make back the booth fee.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT. The health care/social development aspect of Options for Children in addition to the promotion of the Fair Trade Tribal Textiles will be highlighted at the Fair Trade Pavilion on Saturday between 3 and 4 pm, I believe.  I was delighted when they called to ask us.  Even better is, I think Dr. Morgan will come down and Max will be here visiting from Muchila, Zambia and may be with us as well.   More to come.

The link between Tribal Textiles and Options for Children of Zambia

Via Creativa sells handmade items.  If you’re ever looking for a unique gift for someone, you should really look here first.  Everything is FAIR TRADE or American Made (plus the lone German artist).  Our FAIR TRADE includes the Paper to Pearls beaded necklaces which are made in Northern Uganda by women in the refugee camps there.  We also have the KAZURI ceramic beads made by women in Nairobi, Kenya.

And we have carried TRIBAL TEXTILES from the beginning.  We get the handpainted, Zambian made cushion covers, wall hangings, placemats, purses, etc., from Dr. John Morgan who represents OPTIONS FOR CHILDREN OF ZAMBIA (see www.optionsforchildren.org).  He works at Tufts University in Boston does dental clinics in Zambia.  Being a very kind and intelligent man, he along with other kind and intelligent Bostonians, brings back these beautiful textiles and allows me to show and sell them.  When we sell them, Options for Children of Zambia, the not for profit 501-c, receives money to work on the farm project in Muchila which helps to feed the orphans there.  Now they’re also taking on the raising of money for a birthing clinic in Muchila.

The birthing clinic would serve a population of over 20,000 people.  Options for Children was approached by the village of Muchila to work with the Ministry of Health and the local Health District of Namwala to help fund the consturction of a birthing center in the rural Zambian community in Southern Africa.

Recognizing that WOMEN BEAR A LARGE PORTION OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMUNITY STABILITY, the village identified that women’s health issues are a priority, including the need for a birthing center, women’s education and the development of a woman’s community center.

In Zambia, one in eight children die before the age of five.  There are over 800,000 orphans in a country of 12,000,000 people and of every 100,000 women who give birth, 830 die.  There is one physician per 10,000 Zambians as compared to the US where there are 26 physicians per 10,000 Americans.  The percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel in the US is nearly 100%.  In Zambia the percentage is estimated to be 43%.

The new birthing center will provide clean water, adequate lighting, and space for women to come for prenatal and birthing care–especially those with high-rish pregnancies.  Often women arrive by ox cart having travelled long distances to seek this type of care only to find one cramped room without light or water.

If you want to know more, just ask.  If you want to see the textiles, just ask.  If you want to see other things, I want to be a link between Options and folks who want to help.  More to come.