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
