legacy.

If I ever have children, I want poverty to be just a bedtime story that I tell them.

I recently volunteered at the TEAR National Conference. It was a refreshing and inspiring time for me as it renewed my hopes for the future.

As I sat with my sister for lunch one day she introduced me to Marty ~ it turns out this wasn't the first time I had met him, but it had been more than 20 years. My family lived in community for the first few years of my life ~ with another young family, and Marty. I remember sitting with him on the driveway eating a smartie cake!

As we caught up on each others lives, he talked proudly of his daughter and her passion to make a difference in the lives of the poor. She's 13 and doing incredible advocacy and fundraising with her friends. She's eager to take a InDeep trip with TEAR or a similar exposure trip.

Shortly after I spoke with Marty, his daughter Tahlia and her friends presented TEAR with a massive cheque. They had raised $10, 000 for TEAR through baking, sewing, even weeding! It was so inspirational I have to admit, I teared up!

Yesterday my dear friend Ruth Lesmana posted this quote:

 “We are the next generation. It’s up to us to speak out about what is right. To learn lots about what is going on. I am still learning. Get involved. Get in there and start talking about what you feel strongly and passionately about. We can make a difference. They think ‘It’s just little me and I can’t do anything’. But with a few friends, you can make a big difference"

This is a quote from Marty's daughter Tahlia.
Just beautiful.
Thankyou girls, for your deep passions and aspirations to make poverty history.

The entire article can be found here.

At our youth group, we've been encouraging our young people that they have the power to make a difference and pass on a great legacy for the future. Talk about legacy!!! This bunch of people are trail-blazing a legacy of passionate, knowledgable change-makers. And its also thanks to their families, friends and community that inspire their visions and support their ventures.

It takes a village to raise a child.
~Ancient African Proverb

fair trade faith group.

This year, my church decided to become a Fair Trade Faith Group. What does that mean you ask? Let me tell you!

The Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand (FTA) have a way of recognising community groups and individuals for their support of Fair Trade. There are two minimum requirements for a Community Group to apply:

1. Supporting Fair Trade through using at least 2 products such as tea and coffee that is certified Fairtrade

2. Promoting Fair Trade to the community groups’ members

With these two simple minimum requirements, it’s easy to ‘tick the boxes’ and that’s that. But at our church, we wanted people to have a thorough understanding of why we support fair trade and foster a desire to expand on how we do that. I am really grateful that they wanted to get to the heart of what fair trade is all about.

In May this year, during Fair Trade Fortnight we held a Fair Trade Launch where we celebrated the start of our commitment to fair trade with a themed service, fair trade stall and taste testing during morning tea/supper. It was lots of fun, and wouldn’t have been possible without a fantastic team to pull it off! Massive thankyou to those people, who helped promote, decorate, sang, did a kids talk, brought tea/coffee/teapots & served. It’s because of you that we pulled it off!!! We would love more people on the team to make this happen so please let me know if you're interested!!! I am also greatly encouraged by our leadership who were key drivers in instigating this process.

Once a month we have ‘Social Justice Sunday’ where we focus on a particular Justice topic. This year we have started with the fair trade basics, drawing on the fair trade principles to explore ethical trade. We use Fairtrade certified tea & coffee, have the 10 fair trade principles on display and fair trade brochures available. We used a Fairtrade certified soccer ball for our church soccer game and very soon our youth group will start to fundraise with Fairtrade certified chocolates.

It has been a privilege to be a part of this process and have many people’s great feedback as they expand their understanding and start to promote fair trade themselves in cafes in our local area. I hope to see more community groups make this step and I am very excited by our church community getting on board with fair trade.

On Thursday the 11^th September I’m setting up a fair trade stall and guest speaking about fair trade at Turning Point Community Connections. I'll be sharing at the women's group which runs from 10am-2pm at 80 John St, Camden. We’d love to have you come along to taste test some fair trade tea and coffee, hear about some fair trade producer groups and some intriguing products, and then browse the range of fair trade handicrafts for sale. 

cultural textiles.

In my second year of my Bachelor of Design, I was starting to plan ahead for the professional placement that was to come in fourth year. I had begun to explore fair trade and was interested in pursuing a textiles career that empowered the poor.

I visited the office of the Head of Design, Liz Williamson.
“I’ve been considering where to do my professional placement and I wondered whether you knew where I could go for a fair trade internship?”
“In Australia?”
“…Yes?” (What a bizarre question, I thought, where else!)
“I know of plenty in India”

India! Of all places! Until that point I had never thought of going to India. To be honest, it wasn’t a place I desired to go. But as I left Liz’s office the thought started to tick around in my head.

Shortly afterwards, Liz was offered 12 places in a 3 week ‘Cultural Textiles Course’ in Ahmedabad, India. If it weren’t for the scholarships they offered that year I wouldn’t have even been able to consider going. But by this point I was completely convinced that this was what I was meant to do.

Liz took a group of COFA students, me included, to Gujarat in January 2012. We spent two weeks in Ahmedabad and one week in Bhuj, visiting a variety of textile artisans with a small group of Indian students from NID. Visiting India was honestly a big shock for me at first but as I got used to the environment I fell in love with the India and particularly the rich culture and history of Indian Textiles. I am sure I inherited this from Liz, with the way she explains and explores textiles, you are bound to be caught up in the admiration for the skill and detail of each piece in each artisan group or museum.

the weaver.

The first time I went to India on a cultural textiles tour, I found myself in a rural village in the middle of a desert, in the home of a weaving family. That day I had chosen to wear a scarf that I had borrowed from my sister. The Master Weaver said to me ‘Where did you get your scarf?’ I replied ‘It’s from Australia but now I think it’s originally from India”.

“That’s my work!” He said to me. “Come and I will show you identical scarves”.

I was amazed that God had brought me to the exact place where that scarf was made. So I bought another one, exactly the same. I was shocked at how little I knew about the people behind the products I buy and use everyday. They are invisible to me.

But they are not invisible to God. And He had brought me face to face with this producer. This is my passion played out through fair trade, to bring consumers face to face with the people behind the products; to value and appreciate their work through both acknowledging their skills and by treating them equally ~ as if they were family.

‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ ~Jesus (Matthew 22:39)

Liz.

Liz Williamson's studio sale is today, Friday 22 and tomorrow Saturday 23 August. 

Liz has been instrumental in my journey of involvement with India and will be selling a range of scarves and wraps woven by a Fair Trade organisation in India and also items woven in her Sydney studio. I'm very excited to visit tomorrow, I'd encourage you to pop in if you can. Also Sydney Design is on this week so it's a great opportunity for a day out. 

the least of these.

A man was walking down a beach the morning after a storm. He saw that the storm had washed up millions of starfish, as far as the eye could see, stretching out in either direction.

In the distance he could see a boy, and as he got closer he saw that every now and then the boy was picking up a starfish and throwing into the ocean.

He approached the boy and asked “Why are you throwing the starfish back into the ocean?”. The boy replied, “The sun is up, the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them back, they’ll die”. “But there must be millions of these starfish, you can’t possibly make a difference!”

The boy picked up a starfish, threw it into the ocean and said “Well it made a difference for that one”

In the same way, everyone matters to God.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus said “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”. When Jesus said ‘the least’ he means the downtrodden, the poor, the oppressed, the outcast, the widow, the orphan. Followers of Jesus are called to love God and love others.

I shared this starfish story with my church on our Fair Trade Launch day, where we celebrated becoming a Fair Trade Community with a taste testing morning tea (& supper), a Fair Trade Handicraft stall and a Fair Trade themed service.

I am so excited about the potential that a community has when they band together for a cause they care about. I had some fantastic conversations with people who were eager to know more about the details of Fair Trade.

Together, we celebrated the difference that Fair Trade makes in the lives of poor and marginalised producers. Fairtrade certification ensures that the people that we don’t see in the production of a product are cared for properly.

Let us participate in making the world a better place for all, demanding fair conditions for the disadvantaged.

social impact.

This post has been almost week in the making because I've just been so busy! On Thursday night I was invited to a dinner for 'DESIGN for SOCIAL IMPACT' at the r.e.a.l store, Woolloomooloo. It truly was an inspirational evening. Starting with an exhibition of works by students from UNSW Art & Design (formerly COFA), guests sat down to a sustainable meal, heard from inspirational Designers and Guest Speakers, with a silent auction of works from local artists.

REAL Design for Social Impact Dinner
Feast prepared by John Montagu
The Gentle Deer, 2014

Student works included AU.thentic by Lucy Hoskin, Children in Protective Isolation by Sabah Asif, Coral by Ellie King, Anxiety by Zoe Jenkins, Dhaka by Ayusha Dallakoti, Gulp n' Give by Lauren Goritsas, The BARD Project by Simon Swalding, The Blue Marigold project by Tara Chatrath, Catharsis by Eliza Prescott and SEE SEA Change by Ann-Marie Rouhana. These students were mentored by Virginia Bruce through The REAL Design for Social Impact mentoring program.

I was particularly impressed by Lucy Hoskin's AU.thentic project about Fairtrade Gold. Fairtrade gold is still pretty rare in Australia. According to Lucy, only 2 companies are supplying fairtrade gold. AU.thentic is about being conscious consumers and being counter cultural in supporting a fair trade economy in place of one that exploits people in developing nations.

'It is my understanding that every consumer has a voice, just not every designer attempts to challenge their buyers to use it.' 

~Lucy, I couldn't agree more.

A small ball representing fairtrade gold fits into these three 3D printed & cast pendants. The ball also fits into a little book, cleverly poetic and beautifully illustrated. If I had the money to publish that little gem, I would!

Lucy Hoskin

Dhaka by Ayusha Dallakoti focussed on gender equality for Nepalese women through opportunities to learn new skills for income generation. She designed a beautiful homeware range of ceramics and textiles, naturally dyed using tumeric and tea.

Tara Chatrath has also used her major project 'The Blue Marigold Project' to focus on bringing dignity to the lives of the marginalised. 'If we are to realise a future we want, we must hear the needs and calls of the marginalised and underprivileged.' I am so excited about these students advocating for consumers to pay attention to the people behind the products.

Looking back on it, I think it's a shame that I didn't involve myself and my major project 'Advocate for the Artisans' in the Real Design for Social Impact mentoring program. But now I can let this night inspire me to continue pursuing my goals to create sustainable livelihoods for the poor and disadvantaged. And now that I've seen the value in this program, I would encourage any future students to consider this brief. 

Other Inspiring People ~ Sala Verde ~ Artisans of Fashion ~ WEFT Shop