Saturday, May 9, 2009 is World Fair Trade Day this year, with the theme "Everything Is Better When It's Fair". The range of Fair Trade products has expanded from coffee, handcrafts, tea and chocolate to sugar, soccer balls, rice, wine & more. Fair Trade not only offers consumers the means by which to value the people who make our products, but also the opportunity to reduce our environmental footprint.

I found this article whilst browsing the Independent (UK) and it made me think about the downside of technology. Africa needs technology - but not the waste by-product. How will we ever be able to merge technology with sustainability for computers?

Water is the most valuable resource on the planet and it is gradually coming to the forefront as quiet global crisis. Not just access to clean, safe drinking water but also the volume of water required to meet the demands of industry and agriculture. We need to piece together the dots...no country's crisis is in isolation and the sooner world leaders realize this the sooner they can act.

Ok, so i have to credit Chad's hard work with Go Green Charleston for this blog entry....
10 great reasons to support the Local First Movement.
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Green Drinks is a dynamic group of individuals and organizations from around the Lowcountry who gather to enjoy cocktails, lively discussions, new friends, guest speakers, and good times. Green Drinks Charleston organized locally in 2006 and are proud to be the first chapter in the state.
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I am not much into ‘New Year Resolutions' however, recent articles made me think about how to enjoy a more environmentally sustainable 2009. Eat local foods and encourage more variety in our diets!
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Teaching children to take care of the environment is as important as them learning to read!
Our actions today as adults has a significant impact on how they will live in the future.
Learning about the environment can be fun, what child does not want to play in the garden!
Here are some ideas to get started.
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The holiday season is the time for family and friends. This is priceless! The best gift you can give those you care about is time. And good food!
I mentioned in the previous Christmas blog about using local and organic food: supporting local farmers and having fresh food.Why not bake a cake as a gift? Cookies, bread or a pie are always welcome when visiting those nearest and dearest.

It is Buy Local Week December 1-7th and there are various ways to support local businesses and events.
Buy Local Week is a national awareness campaign that emphasizes the importance of our local independent businesses on our local economy!

With many people looking for ways to save money, the holiday season needn't be one of extravagance and frivolous spending. These are many ways to find or make low cost, yet thoughtful gifts and ideas for a meaningful Christmas Season.
In the last blog I mentioned Low Energy bulbs. This year you can also deck the halls and boughs with the latest in energy-saving light: LED string lights.These use less electricity and last longer than conventional bulbs.

 
The Fair Trade African Sculptures that are featured here at Muenda Fair Trade are hand carved in Zimbabwe, Africa. Although there is information on the Origins of Shona Art, there is not much information on the stone per se. These are beautiful sculptures; people are drawn to their simplistic and rustic form. We have done some delving around and came up with the following information:

It is that time of year when we can think about conserving and building food resources for the following year. I grew up with my parents as gardeners and ‘composters, ' my mother would make jams and preserves for the winter months. We also used to collect rainwater in 'butts' for watering the garden in the summer.

 
On October 23rd this year Bono (supporter of the One Campaign) spoke at the California Women's Conference and passed along some startling Statistics (listed below) about women in Africa.
• Nearly two-thirds of adults with HIV in Africa are women. Young women (age 15 to 24) in South Africa accounted for around 90% of new  infections in 2007.
• In Africa, the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is 1 in 20 (compared to 1 in 2,800 in the US).
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Muenda Fair Trade is now a proud member of Coop America's Green Business Network!
After a very thorough screening process, Muenda Fair Trade is finally a member of America's foremost Green Business Network (GBN).
Co-op America's Green Business NetworkTM is dedicated to helping socially and environmentally responsible businesses emerge and thrive to form a global green economy.

Susie at Muenda has followed the ONE campaign for many years now and wanted to share excerpts of this article she found on the website.

Ambassador John J. Danilovich, writing for the Huffington Post, offered up an eloquent and concise argument for why foreign aid is more important now than ever.
The full article was submitted on October 23rd and is available at the online Huffington Post:
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