we're just living people

-image courtesy of oxfam

ive been in the worst slump since november, but after having a talk with my sister realized i need to dispose all of this negative energy and concentrate on saving the world. its a huge task, that will take up a lot of time and thought, which is perfect.

start time: April 12, 2009

have you heard the term fair trade before? i heard it my ninth grade year due to coldplay's lead singer chris martin who was a huge spokesperson for the make trade fair movement.

fair trade is the idea that every farmer and merchant is able to produce and sell their goods equally around the world. fair prices, fair wages, fair products, fair business practices. all very hard things to accomplish when the world is driven by money, and if you can buy the same product for an unfair price through cheap labor then why not?

Thom Yorke, lead singer with Radiohead, said, “How sweet does your chocolate taste when you know the producer in a country you will never see did not even get paid enough to feed his family? How sweet does it taste, exactly, to know our own governments prevent these countries from ever getting off their knees & from ever being able to compete and get PAID, erecting barriers and then DUMPING on them from a great height whilst feigning concern?”

-the inspiration room

luckily, there is a ten thousand villages located in richmond. i began volunteering there in october and really wish i could be there daily. i learn something every time im there about a new village or organization. its pretty crazy to me that there are so many organizations out there trying to do good and no one knows about them. 

ten thousand villages was actually founded by Edna Ruth Byler who visited puerto rico in the 1940s. while there she fell in love with the handicrafts made the locals and purchased pieces to sell back in the states. it expanded enormously and now there are 170 stores selling ttv products in the states and canada.

ttv works with more than 110 artisan groups in 32 countries offering fair prices to artisans for their work and enabling them to provide for their basic needs and plan for their future.

Oxfam International is a sister organization of ttv, it started in europe and has worked on many issues other than fair trade.

volunteering at ttv is just one step in saving the world, many steps to come i hope.