It Was a Very Good Year..and all because of YOU!

In 2008, you were part of a lot of good work for a lot of women. Let's take a look at what women affiliated with Global Women's Artisan Alliance have accomplished this past year.

--Two dozen pairs of socks and eight warm sweaters to Navajo elders affiliated with Adopt-a-Native-Elder in Park City, Utah. The socks were knit by Kullakas cooperative, and the women received a fair wage for their work.

--Forty dolls went to the pueblo of Benito Juarez in Oaxaca, Mexico, and thirty dolls went to Chulucanas, Peru. Dolls going to Mexico were made at the Doll Making Marathon retreat at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Tampa. They were delivered by our friend and cooperative founder Pastora Gutierrez Reyes. The dolls going to Peru were made by the women of St. Anthony's Hospital, under the leadership of Audrey Steele. They were delivered by Anna Reschar on a Global Health Ministry medical mission trip.

--Kate Perez of Mount Airy Alpacas gave free web consulting advice to Cati Williams and the women of Yapuchiri and Kullakas for their new web sites.

--Payment for one fistula operation for a woman in Ethiopia, thanks to the generosity of the women of St. Anthony's Hospital, as well as a lovely blanket/wrap that was knit by the women of Kullakas to present to the patient at the Fistula Foundation of Addis Ababa, as a gift of hope and best wishes.

--Over $650 was raised for the Ugandan artisans of Bead for Life, and over $680 raised for ArtAidsArt through craft sales.

--Several women from St. John's, Newfoundland, under the leadership of Mary Mulrooney, donated seven dolls to go to South Africa children affiliated with ArtAidsArt. Carol Mitchell brought their dolls, and nearly eighty more handmade dolls donated by women affiliated with Dollies without Borders, to Cape Town, South Africa to personally be presented to South African children living in poverty.

--Over a dozen of you purchased Bolivian folk dolls created by the women of Kullakas, raising more than $300 in fair wages for the women.

--St. Anthony's Craft group sent over 60 handmade greetings cards to homeless and abused women in recovery, two dozen bracelets to teenagers at risk sheltered at Brookwood, A Home for Girls, five Christmas stocking loaded with gifts for Navajo elders, and a dozen dolls to the children of South Africa.

--The seniors at Bon Secours Place made five dolls for African children and did handwork for those in need.

--$3,000 was earned at the Fair Trade Holiday Craft Sale at the Franciscan Retreat Center of Tampa.

--Microloans were made to the following artisans and artisan cooperatives, through Kiva:

Zeby Solieva, seamstress, Tajikistan; Juana Gomez, embroiderer, Mexico; Halima Kiofonya, batik artist, Tanzania; Long Nhek, weaver, Cambodia; Mantillitas Sewing Group, Bolivia; Las Margaritas de Atitlan, weavers, Guatemala; Allah Ditti Baji, embroiderer, Pakistan.

Don't doubt for a moment that a few women, doing a few things here and there, can make a world of difference in helping other women throughout the world. Thank you for being one of those women in 2008. May 2009 be a time of peace and prosperity, for you and yours, and may you continue to know the deep joy found in giving to others.

With affection and continued best wishes

Karen Rushen O'Brien

The Things that Matter

This year, I'm getting a loom for Christmas. So is my husband, Stephen, although neither of us can weave.

We decided, with the way the economy is globally--which would be "horrible"--that we would hold off from buying a bunch of stuff at Christmas that we really don't need, and send the money to our "sisters" in Bolivia to purchase a loom with. Kullakas already has one loom, but really could use a second one, because their woven goods have been so popular and have sold well in the past. We're hoping that the purchase of another loom will help them get through these rough times by allowing them to make more of the products that sell particularly well, like their 100% alpaca shawls and scarves. 

We remain very grateful that, as of this writing at least, both Stephen and I have jobs that pay decently, and have relatively few expenses. We live simply enough; in fact, part of the reason I fell in love with and married Stephen is because he's an extremely "low maintenance" kind of guy in many ways. He simply doesn't need a lot of material things, and frankly neither do I. Now we're finding that a lot of the ways in which we've chosen to live over the past years are coming into vogue, as more and more people are asking themselves what's really matters in life, and how much do we really need to have.

Many of us are lucky to have a roof over our heads and three good meals a day, yet we see all around us many, many people losing their homes and their livelihoods. These are difficult times, and probably will be for awhile. I invite you this holiday season to remember those who are in greater need than yourself, and to ask yourself how you could perhaps make Christmas really special for them this year. Also, feel free to share with us what you're doing to have a "simpler" Christmas more focused on the needs of those who are not weathering this economic downturn very well. In doing something wonderful for someone else, I'm sure you'll find you're giving yourself a very special holiday also!

Do One Thing, and Do It Well

This is my I.D. badge chain for the hospital where I work, made with recycled paper beads rolled by HIV+ women from Uganda, who are affiliated with the not-for-profit bead for Life. The badge chain was made by Holly Dodson, one of the pharmacists at the hospital who is also an avid crafter. (Holly paints and makes beautiful jewelry in her spare time; check her out at www.lefthandedlibra.com ) Holly has made several dozen of these badge chains at this point, all of them out of Bead for Life beads, and all of them for hospital employees and their friends and family members. She just got the idea one day, looking at the packets of loose beads that Bead for Life sells, that she could use the beads to create I.D. badge chains, and before you knew it, everyone wanted one of her necklaces to clip their I.D. badges on to. Not only are they beautiful and useful, but they remind everyone wearing them that they've contributed directly to helping poor women in Uganda have a better life...

This is really just a small thing, but then again, there are no small things in this life when it comes to helping others. Holly chose and focused on one way to help these women, and she has been able to contribute hundreds of dollars to Bead for Life, through buying the beads and then selling the badge chains  to her fellow employees. When I wear my I.D. badge chain, I'm reminded that I don't have to do a bazillion things to make a difference. It's OK to do just one thing, and to do it well.

A Special Visit from "Cati" Williams

We were very fortunate to have Catherine "Cati" Williams visit us this past weekend as one of our special vendors for the Fair Trade Holiday Crafts Sale. Cati is the American member of the Kullakas cooperative, and she brought with her a large variety of knit and woven goods that the Aymara women of the Bolivian altiplano make. Many of the women knit and weave out of their homes, in addition to growing food, working in the market, and a whole variety of other "income generating" enterprises, as is often the situation in the third world, where millions of people do not hold conventional jobs per se, but make a living in whatever piecemeal manner they can. 

We also spent time at a local yarn store looking at patterns for future products, and brainstormed about new products and colors. One of the items Kullakas is experimenting with are these beautiful double knit gloves that you see above. They are 100% alpaca wool, and although they feel quite cozy, and are much heavier than regular gloves, they are not in the least bit itchy. Of course, Florida is not a good "test market" for them, so I'll be sending this pair up to my sister-in-law in Newfoundland, so she can tell me what she thinks of them...

Cati sold nearly $600 worth of knit and woven goods this past weekend, and also received special orders. Cati is absolutely devoted to her "kullakas"/"sisters" in Bolivia and works tirelessly on their behalf. She can be reached at catiwilliams@gmail.com .

"Spending Less, Giving More"

"Spending Less, Giving More": this was the little slogan we placed on all our advertisements for last Sunday's fair trade holiday craft sale. This is a tough year economically for a lot of people, so while many of us will be "spending less", it was our hope that people would consider "giving more" by making some if not all of this year's holiday purchases fair trade crafts items. We featured food products from the Women's Bean Project, woven and beaded goods from the Guatemalan women affiliated with Maya Works, jewelry made by HIV+ Ugandan women through Bead for Life, hand knit goods from the Bolivian women of Kullakas, soaps and lotions from the Enterprising Kitchen--just to name a few of the not-for-profits we highlighted. All in all, we must have had over 200 people come through the door, and we raised close to $3,000, most of it for poor and struggling women. 

A team of us affiliated with the Franciscan Retreat Center in Tampa got together to hold the craft sale, which didn't take as much work as you would have thought, since many other people came out to volunteer to set up the booths, sell the items and even clean up afterwards. It really wound up being a lot of fun, and got everyone involved in the holiday spirit. Of course, the delicious, warm-out-of-the-oven cookies Roxanne made, and the festive music, added to the whole ambiance, as did the already peaceful environment of the Franciscan Center itself. We were pleased that all our vendors did very well, and all our customers left happy! 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I know this sounds hokey, but really, so many of us have so much to be thankful for, despite the tough times many of us are facing. When I get together and do something like this fair trade crafts sale with other like-minded women, I just feel good for days! And it reminds me of all the little things I have to be grateful for: a roof over my head, enough money for food, friends and associates whom I care for, meaningful work. Many, many women the world over--some of them right down the street from us-- do not have even these basic necessities, or are struggling mightily to provide them for their loved ones. In the spirit of the season, I invite each and everyone of my readers to remember this holiday season--a time of year that is all about hope, charity and gratitude-- to try and do even one small thing for someone in need. You don't need to go out and throw a holiday fair trade craft sale--although it was a blast and we'll be doing it bigger and better next year! A holiday sing-along at a hospital or nursing home, donating fruit to a food pantry, or giving a blanket to a homeless shelter, may well be the best holiday gift you wind up  giving...to yourself!

"Kullakas" Comes to Visit...

OK, actually, Kullakas isn't coming to visit per se, but Cati Williams, the American member of Kullakas who is also a Maryknoll lay missioner and currently on leave in Washington, D.C. , is flying down for a visit this weekend. 

Cati will be bringing some of Kullakas' beautiful handmade alpaca products to sell at our Fair Trade Crafts Sale at the Franciscan Center in Tampa Sunday (3010 N. Perry Avenue, from 2-5 pm for those of you in the immediate area). But the purpose of the trip is also simply to visit, getting to know one another better as well as brainstorming how to continue helping these indigenous Aymara women from El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia produce and market their woven and knit goods. 

The weather has turned mighty cold down here (maybe a good thing for selling alpaca wool items!) so I'm not sure what Cati's going to think of Florida (although it is supposed to warm up a bit this weekend). Regardless, we'll also try and stick in some "sightseeing" for her. More to report next week...and remember, keep fair trade products in mind for your holiday buying...

Out Picking Oranges

Today we went over to Carol Mitchell's and helped ourselves to four bags of her lovely oranges. So it's more marmalade--and fresh squeezed orange juice--on the way. Whatever we can't use we'll be donating to a local food pantry. Thank you so much, Carol, for generously sharing your bounty with us. 

It's nice to know that, living in Florida, I'll still be able to satisfy my hunger for "food foraging" and time spent in nature, gathering things to eat. It's even nicer to know that I have friends that care enough to share what they've got--be it knowledge about a u-pick farm or produce from their backyard fruit trees. 

Giving Up "Stuff" Translates into Gifts for Others

Maureen Connors told me about a friend of hers, Barbara Rhode, who was holding a "holiday stuff swap" today at the local  YWCA, so I wandered over, with some stuff to swap.  Billed as an event that was "like shopping in your best friend's closet" and a way to "go green" by trading with other women, the swap featured snacks and cold drinks (it was 85 degrees here today!), comraderie amongst women (which Barbara explained to us is actually neurologically beneficial to us a women!) as well as a room full of shoes, purses, clothing, jewelry, books and assorted odds and end.  I learned that Barbara is semi-famous locally; the St. Petersburg Times did on article on her personal pledge to go from January through the end of December 2008, without buying herself anything new, and learning to live with the "stuff" she already had. Participants of the "holiday stuff swap" were encouraged to consider buying something not for themselves but for someone who really could use a  little something this holiday season: the women inmates of Goodwill Suncoast's Correctional Facility. Most of these women were asking for modest enough Christmas gifts, like a pair of gold loop earrings or a bottle of cologne. CD players and Bible concordances were popular requests.  I wound up leaving the swap with a brand new shirt for work and the name of another woman in need of a Christmas gift, for whom it will be a pleasure to make this coming holiday season a little bit happier...

Pickles and Marmalade...

If you're going to live a happy and productive life of activism and service for others, you need to be well fed! Here's some healthy recipes that are quick and easy--leaving you plenty of time to craft a better world!

Quick Refrigerator Pickled Okra

Wash fresh okra and trim off most of the stem. Stuff the okra vertically, stem up, into a glass jar with a secure lid. Figure out how much vinegar you're going to need to cover the okra to the brim of the jar, and put that much vinegar plus a bit more on to boil. To every pint of vinegar you use, you'll need: 3 Tbsp. sea salt, 4 gloves of garlic, 2-3 spicy peppers and a small hand full of pickling spices (optional). The pepper part you'll just have to play with in terms of which variety and how much you'll like personally. I throw in 1 jalapeno and a couple of small, sweet red peppers. Boil the vinegar and other ingredients for five minutes, then pour into your jars over the okra. Screw on the lid when cool; marinate 1 week. Be warned: You have only one more week, after the first week of marinating the okra, to consume your pickles before they start to "go off ", but don't worry--you'll have them all eaten by then! Delicious! 

Quick Refrigerator Marmalade

We use this quick and easy refrigerator marmalade recipe from the web site Recipezaar. It makes up a delicious marmalade in 20 minutes, and my husband, an Irishman who knows his orange  marmalade, swears by it and won't take store bought marmalade anymore (so be warned!) The only variation we do to this recipe is that we like more peel in our marmalade, so we dice a small hand full of peel into tiny pieces about 1/4" by 1/4" and add them to the mixture to cook for 15 minutes.

http://recipezaar.com/Easy-Orange-Marmalade-78925

Enjoy!

A Morning on the Farm...

Good okra, small and tender...

Bad okra, long and tough...

I had the day off, so I indulged myself and headed for the u-pick farm down in Bradenton my friend Holly had told me about to get okra to make up some spicy okra pickles. I had been meaning to make okra pickles for awhile, and somehow the season almost got by me. Not that I expected to find a place to go picking okra for 79 cents a pound; I figured I'd just buy a bunch at the farmer's market. By the time I got myself out to the farm early this morning--a cool, partially overcast morning so rare in Florida--most of the okra left on the plant was way too long. I did however manage to pick a couple pounds worth of tender little okra--much to the farmer's surprise--but it took me nearly an hour to find that much.

Actually, it was an absolute pleasure. The farm was out in the middle of nowhere and there were no other customers there yet. A Vietnamese couple with Ontario license plates pulled up to my row just as I was leaving--hope they weren't looking for okra! So there I was, for one hour, moving up and down the rows of vegetables, snipping okra off the plants, with only the sound of the birds, my snipping scissors, the breeze and my breathing, to break the silence. It was absolutely wonderful--so restful and restorative! I can't even remember the last time I was out of doors and it was that quiet!--not a single car to be heard, nor the buzz and whirl of air conditioners--as commonplace in Florida as oranges and snow birds! 

Of course, I got thinking about our artisans. Just before I got to the farm I took a wrong turn, and wound up on another farm--this one teeming with migrant workers. I got to practice my Spanish out on a shy but accommodating fellow who wasn't that good at Spanish himself, as many of the Mexican migrant workers are indigenous Indians for whom Spanish is also their second language. One of the reason we're helping the Vida Nueva rug weaving cooperative is because the women's village--and all the little pueblos surrounding their village, such as Benito Juarez, where we sent our dolls--are largely devoid of men. Many of them are in the United States working, and while many faithfully send funds back home to Mexico, many do not. The day to day struggle to make ends meet economically becomes "women's work" as it is in so much of the world... 

Today it was a pleasure to have the time to pick my own food. Most days, however, someone else--most likely someone poor, most likely someone far from their native country--is picking my food for me, and that's something I think we must never forget here in this country, where so many of us are removed from food production and harvest. It did not detract from the good of the day, nor the rest and inner peace I found being out in nature. Still, it's sobering to remember...

Of Oranges and Art

Here's why we have women's crafts circles! Not only has our little crafts group at the hospital been a wonderful way to become proficient in a variety of crafts for charity  (we've "scrapbooked", beaded, made dolls and crocheted together) but it assures us that, at least once a month, we'll reconnect with and support one another. With everyone's lives as busy as they are, the promise of several hours of self care, relaxation and meeting with friends monthly is something to cherish.

Remember how sorry I was feeling for myself last week, missing my food gleaming and foraging days up north? These wonderful women have come to my assistance. Holly Dodson has found a lovely u-pick farm down in Bradenton that she's given me directions to, where this past weekend she picked two grocery bags full of fresh produce for twenty dollars. (I'll be heading to the farm in Bradenton, as well as posting pictures and directions how to get there, shortly!) And Carol Mitchell gave me the fresh oranges you see above, which came off her orange tree, so I can make home made marmalade for my Irish husband, who simply couldn't get through the day without his toast and marmalade each morning. 

Carol also graciously invited us over to pick oranges and grapefruit off her trees, which are producing far more than she and her family can consume. You can bet we'll be there.  I'm still working on some ways we can get our hands on so many of those oranges and grapefruit that go uneaten from people's front lawn fruit trees down here; I'll keep you posted. But in the interim,  see how good "charity crafting" can be for the heart? I know my heart--and spirit--are better with the help and friendship of  wonderful women like these...

You Can't Save the World Every Day...

Most religions and cultures set aside one day a week to rest, recreate and contemplate how very good it can be to be alive. Sunday is our day. So today, my husband, Stephen, and I went out for a walk at the nature center near our home. Here's some of what we saw...

An anhinga sunning himself....

A soft shell turtle, coming up for air...

Another anhinga, drying its wings after a swim...

A baby alligator... they're only so cute for so long...

A little blue heron stalking lunch...

A tri-colored heron on the run...

A little green heron, looking for nibbles...

A limpkin on the look out for apple snails

These photo are compliments of Stephen, who I like to tease is the man behind the woman behind this blog. 

Carol Mitchell: A Heart for Crafts, Women and the Poor

This smiling woman surrounded by happy children is my friend, Carol Mitchell, on a recent trip to  South Africa. She and her husband gave a workshop for South African journalists in Cape Town this past September, which allowed Carol to make a quick visit to our friends from the not-for-profit ArtAidsArt and deliver over eighty handmade dolls made by "dollie mamas" affiliated with Dollies without Borders. 

Carol Mitchell is all about crafts. Whether its teaching knitting and crochet skills to elderly women looking to use their retirement years to help others, or assisting economically disadvantaged women in Florida to start a crafts cooperative for friendship and supplemental income, Carol is tireless when it comes to teaching others the joys and benefits of crafting. Co-director of programming at the Franciscan Retreat center in Tampa, with a doctorate in psychology and years of experience as a retreat leader and spiritual director, Carol embraces crafts and crafting as a way to engage and empower women spiritually as well as economically.

Together with Maureen Connors, Carol co-founded the Midtown Circle of Hands, a women's craft cooperative on St. Petersburg's south side. The women, who are of various ethnicities and and ages, have built a supportive weekly community together, and sell their handiwork in local crafts fairs.

Carol is also instrumental in teaching crocheting and knitting to the seniors at Bon Secours Place, an assisted living center where many of the women are eagerly seeking ways to use their artistic skills to help others. Carol co-facilitated our Doll Making Marathon Retreat this past August, lending her spiritual expertise to the weekend's proceedings. She also volunteered to teach our crafts group at St. Anthony's Hospital how to crochet blankets for charity--a daunting task given the crocheting skill level (none!) of our group members. Carol is also in the process of trying to initiate a prayer shawl ministry for local hospital employees, so knitters and "crochet-ers" can make comforting shawls and wraps for the sick.

Carol incorporates crafting into respite retreat days she facilitates for caregivers, believing that crafting can be a way of praying as well as a manner in which to beat stress and relax. Caregivers respond enthusiastically to her patience, warmth and wisdom.

Carol has instigated what we hope will be an annual holiday fair trade crafts sale at the Franciscan Center of Tampa on Sunday, November 23rd. We will be featuring crafts and fair trade items from ArtAidsArt, MayaWorks, Heart Beats and Bead for Life, among others. We are also hosting Cati Williams, our American liaison and partner with Kullakas, the Bolivian women's knitting cooperative we support, and will be selling Juan Ana fair trade coffee from the mission at San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. It promises to be hard work, but also a lot of fun. I'm grateful to have a friend like Carol Mitchell--a crafty women with a big heart for others!

Creative Ways to Feed the Hungry...and the Heart

I received an email from Rose Berry of Tomah, Wisconsin the other day after sending out a query to some of the women who have been featured in the quarterly newsletter Global Women's Artisan Alliance, asking them for an end of the year "report" on what they're up to. (If you're like me, and you like to sit down and read "hard copies" of stuff over a cup of coffee, email me at karen_rushen@yahoo.com and I'll put you on my mailing list for the newsletter.) Rose is really a remarkable woman who, I regret, lives nowhere near me! She had just gotten finish baking 400 bagels and buns for two fundraising suppers; one to raise money for a church, and the other for a mission in Haiti! Rose says both these suppers usually feed 100 people and make about $500 each!

Now as if that weren't enough, Rose and a friend spent the last two days out at an orchard, where the owner told them to pick all the apples they wanted for a local food pantry. So Rose and her friend got eight children together--including a two year old!--and picked over a thousand pounds of apples for economically disadvantaged individuals and families! Luckily the weather in her part of Wisconsin was up in the high 60s--a lovely Indian summer spell! Everyone enjoyed cinnamon roll snacks with juice and coffee while picking apples. The adults got some exercise and the kids learned about helping others while having a blast!

Now I have to admit, when I read this, I got feeling a bit envious. First of all, I miss the days when I lived up north, and spent summers picking wild raspberries and strawberries, and foraging for black walnuts in the fall. I can remember going out picking blueberries with one of my girlfriends, or getting Michigan peaches off of trees in friends' yards and making the best jam with them! Here is Florida, this time of year, I'm often able to get a stray grapefruit that's fallen off of someone's tree and rolled into "public property", and every now and then I'll find an acquaintance who will let me pick leftovers off of their lemon or orange trees, but somehow it's not the same. There is something about gathering your own food from the wild that I find tremendously satisfying--not to mention that it usually tastes so much better. I miss being out in the bush and bramble in the summer, and I miss the crisp air and beautiful foliage you get up north this time of year. And I especially miss not having a friend down here with whom to go "picking stuff". Still, this morning I sat bare foot with my cup of coffee besides the lake outside our front door, and watched the heron and egrets hunting up their own breakfast from the shore. Florida too has its distinct advantages...

It's wonderful to have our little crafts group here in St. Petersburg, and to have a group of women with whom to make stuff. But Rose has inspired me to think of ways that maybe I could do something around food "gleaming"--taking the leftovers--for our own local poor and hungry. Now I just have to go dig up some "allies" among my crafty women friends. This is a tough year, and we're getting a record number of requests at the hospital for holiday assistance from folks that are just making it from day to day. Getting outside and gathering food for others would be a wonderful way to feed their tummies--and my heart and spirit. Thanks, Rose, for inspiring me to think a bit outside the box--I'll keep you all posted if I go anywhere with this idea.

Saturday Afternoon Sandwiches and Support for Women Victims of War

Cathy Naghitorabi and her family here in St. Petersburg opened their home this past Saturday to friends and guests for a sandwich buffet, followed by a presentation of a documentary about Women for Women International. 

Women for Women International is a fantastic not-for-profit started by Iraqi-American Zainab Salbi, assisting  women victims of war in healing from trauma, recovering their self-esteem and beginning new lives with the help of literacy training, business skills courses, micro loans--whatever it is the women need to begin new lives filled with hope and promise. 

It was a really nice afternoon of getting to know Cathy, her family and her guests, as well as a nice opportunity to learn more about a worthy cause and perhaps make a donation, which I don't think anyone left without doing since we found out our donations would be matched dollar for dollar through mid-November. Women for Women International offers those of us whose lives have not been touched directly by war the unique opportunity to reach out to victimized women in various countries through our caring and our contributions. 

Thank you, Cathy, for welcoming us into your home and giving us the chance to help other women make better lives for themselves. Since this was a buffet, we were invited to contribute sandwich spreads and condiments, so I brought along a bowl of my Amish curried egg salad. In the spirit of women sharing our resources with one another, here's the recipe for you to enjoy.

Amish Curried Egg Salad

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

1 Tbsp. spicy mustard

1 tsp. beau monde or celery salt

curry powder to taste

mayonnaise 

 2 Tbsp. chopped pickles

1 Tbsp. chopped green onions

1 rib of celery, diced

Mash up the eggs and mix in the mustard, beau monde or celery salt, and enough mayonnaise to get a nice, creamy consistency. Sprinkle in and mix curry powder to taste. (We like it spicy, so I add about 1 Tbsp.) Mix in chopped pickles, green onions and celery. Makes enough egg salad for 3-4 hearty sandwiches.

 

Check out Women for Women International at www.womenforwomen.org .

Giving the Same Gift...Twice

Everyone is concerned about the economy lately, wondering about the certainty of our financial futures. When the global economy gets chilly, countries like America may sneeze, but the poor of the world catch a cold, if not pneumonia. 

If you are looking for some nice--and reasonably priced!--gifts for the upcoming holiday season, consider giving fair trade gifts this year. That way, you not only give a gift to the person receiving your present, but you also give the gift of financial livelihood to the struggling artisan who made that gift. These artisans aren't looking to buy video games or new outfits for their children for Christmas--often, their sales mean the difference between heat or no heat in cold weather, or food on the table, or their child's school tuition.

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, consider attending our Fair Trade Holiday Market at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Tampa on Sunday afternoon, November 23rd. If you don't live nearby, or live up north, consider giving a handmade gift like these lovely "gloves-to-mittens" convertible mittens, made by our friends, the women of Kullakas. They're only $23, and every cent of your purchase goes to the women themselves. They're especially handy if you work outside at all in the cold, or like to have your fingers free for driving but need the warmth of mittens when you get out of the car. They come in a variety of nice colors, but the nicest thing about them is how warm you'll feel inside, knowing you've helped a woman like yourself continue to care for her family in difficult times. 

Check out Kullakas web site at www.alpacaartisans.com . This is a new web site, and if you're experiencing any problems trying to put an order through, don't hesitate to email me at karen_rushen@yahoo.com, and I will be sure you get whatever it is you need. 

You may not be able to depend on the stock market or any given bank, but you can rely on the fact that when you help those far less fortunate than yourself in a generous and compassionate manner, you WILL find your own life blessed! 

A Creative Spin on Addressing Hunger

Debra McMasters of Clearwater, Florida is truly a creative soul.  She creates beautiful beaded jewelry to wear and sell, and she holds monthly spirituality evenings at her home where she facilitates viewing and creating art for spiritual growth and discernment. Debra is studying spiritual direction at the Shalem Center in Washington D.C. (she commutes for their distance learning program that meets throughout the year) and is especially drawn to the labyrinth as a spiritual tool. In fact, Debra has designed and facilitates canned goods labyrinths, whereby she works with a faith community to collect and lay out canned goods donations in the pattern of a labyrinth. Not only do people have a powerful sense of their collective efforts viewing all the canned goods laid out, but they are able to literally see how care for the poor and disenfranchised is integral to their own spiritual path as they walk the labyrinth. Walking the canned goods labyrinth, people are able to meditate on the reality of hunger in their communities, and what their possible response to hunger might be. Recently Debra held canned goods labyrinths at Church of the Ascension and Prince of Peace Parishes in Clearwater. Over three thousand pounds of food, and over a thousand dollars in financial donations, were collected.

Dollies Delivered to the Village of Benito Juarez

Here are some photos that were sent to me by our dear friend Pastora Gutierrez Reyes, who is the founder and leader of the Zapotec Indian women's cooperative Vida Nueva in the village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca State, Mexico. Pastora and the women of the cooperative have a heart for the poor, and from their modest earnings, fund many project to provide for the indigenous Mexican people in the surrounding pueblos. Recently, Pastora (above holding the bag of balls) and some of the women of the cooperative visited the tiny mountain pueblo of Benito Juarez to hand out the forty dolls our women made in August at the Doll Making Marathon Retreat.

Pastora writes, "Dear Friends, Many thanks to you for the gifts you sent us at Vida Nueva Women's cooperative. We planned a meeting to bring the dolls you sent along with the games we purchased to the girls and boys of Benito Juarez elementary school and kindergarten. The children's parents and teachers wanted to know about who sent the gifts, and we told them about you and the project between yourselves and the cooperative. They send their thanks to you and your community, and wanted to let you know that you have friends in the pueblo and are always welcome there. You have done a lovely thing, and every doll you made by hand is now in the hands of a child in the mountains of Oaxaca. The children were very happy, grateful for your generosity, and thought the dolls were beautiful. It was a privilege for the women of the collective, myself included, to deliver you gifts, and to see the children's happiness at receiving them. Thank you from all of us at Vida Nueva, Pastora.

Of course, it has truly been OUR privilege to be involved in this sort of exchange, and we are indebted to the women of Vida Nueva for giving us the opportunity to do something for the children of this poor and tiny village. In looking at these lovely photos, we've certainly received far more than we gave.

Another Doll Making Marathon....

It was doll making marathon number 2 at the home of Audrey Steele, where the goal was to finish 30 dolls to accompany Anna Reschar, RN, on a medical mission to Chulucanas, Peru in November. By 6 pm, the women had secured 31 handmade dolls to go to the Peruvian children. Everyone had a great time, there was more food than we could have possibly eaten, and several women brought their moms or daughters with them for a little mother-daughter bonding time. A lot of us learned we have more creative talent than we would have dreamed. Thank you once again to Audrey Steele, who worked with Anna Reschar to come up with this idea of making dolls for the children of Chulucanas, and for then opening her home and her heart to this project, and to the following women, who all contributed: Nancy Alonzo, Venisa Alonzo, Mauri Barnes, Holly Dodson, Sara Gallet, Jennifer Hall, Judy Hall, Charlotte Hoo, Cathy Naghitorabi, Carmen Ruiz, Pat Sams, Ellen Shelby, Christina Smith and Sonia Smith. 

Warm Wishes from Bolivia

The women of Kullakas knitting cooperative are sending a warm and cozy gift of hope and love to a suffering woman in Ethiopia. The women, from the impoverished district of El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia, prepared and sent this gorgeous hand knit blanket to an Ethiopian woman undergoing surgery for an obstetric fistula at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Patients are typically in residence at the hospital recovering for two to three weeks, and use blankets as wraps and throws over their shoulders to shield them from  the chilly weather. Kullakas' mission statement states that they are committed to responding in solidarity to the situation of marginalized and discriminated women everywhere. Few women suffer marginalization and discrimination to the extent of fistula sufferers. A special thank you to "kullaka" (sister) Maria Villa, who knit this blanket with affection and best wishes for a rapid recovery and new life for its recipient.

www.alpacaartisans.com  

News from Marcela of Minerva's Circle

Look at the beautiful picture I received from Marcela Andrades Alfaro from her trip back to Chile, and her visit delivering handmade dolls and toys, made by the women of Minerva's Circle, to a children's home. 

If you want to get further details about Marcela's trip and be truly inspired to new crafting heights by an exciting site, visit Marcela's blog www.minervascircle.blogspot.com. The stuff these women are doing is so gorgeous that three of us are doing a road trip this winter and driving from St. Petersburg to Gainesville to finally meet these crafty women face to face and, hopefully, share crafting ideas (we'll come out the winners on that one, I'm afraid.) 

So many wonderful women doing so many crafty things. Let me hear from you if you have anything you want to share with us.

More Crafting with the Crones

A blogging rule of thumb appears to be that the more you have to report, the less time you have to sit down and write about it. 

Back from a summer hiatus, eight women from our craft group sat down with Carol Mitchell to learn how to crochet this past Monday evening. We have this idea that we're going to crochet blankets for charity as one of this year's projects, which may wind up being more a dream than a reality. But Carol, who very generously gave three hour's of her precious time to teach eight novices basic crocheting techniques, is encouraging us to think big. We shall see where it all goes. In the interim, the women are collecting items for Christmas gift stockings for five elderly Navajo women in Adopt-a-Native-Elder's Christmas program (www.anelder.org ). We are sending them, among other things, mittens knit by our dear friends and sisters at Kullakas (www.alpacaartisans.com) . At least the Navajo women won't have to wait three years for something warm and cozy.

On Tuesday, Carol Mitchell and Olivia Hurst came with me to teach crocheting to my senior crafting group at the assisted living home. Two of the women sat down to learn crocheting for the first time, and two others took to this neglected skill with a sense of renewed purpose and energy. One woman left our group with three skeins of yarn tucked under her arm, to head back to her room and continue making a lap blanket for someone in need. It never ceases to amaze me what generous lives most of these elderly women have led, and how much they still long to give back and be productive, even in old age battling a laundry list of infirmities.

Olivia herself is a remarkable woman. Not much older than me, she has had severe arthritis for years that has led to numerous knee and hip replacement surgeries and has left her hands bent and crippled. Olivia, however, is a demon with a crochet hook, and has produced some absolutely gorgeous crocheted items that look like they came out of a designer boutique. A lovely, gentle and grounded individual, it was touching to watch her work patiently showing our elderly women how to hold the crochet hook in their arthritic hands. I kept thinking to myself how wonderful it would be to get her working with patients in long term rehab, whose hospital stays can be one to three months and often very boring for them. We'll see where that all might go...

The Home of Our Dreams

This is the home of Evalina Peksowa, who is a well-known reverse glass painting artist living in Zakopane, Poland. (here's an example of her work to the left.)  I had the good fortune to visit Evalina last summer while I was in Zakopane teaching English to Polish teenagers at an English language summer camp. Evalina is 87 years old, so she has lived most of 

her life under economically trying and emotionally and spiritually stressful conditions; first, enduring the sufferings of the Second World War and then under the cloud of over forty years of communist occupation of her country. Poles suffered under communism: from food shortages or severe lack of variety in food items, from the inability to travel freely or choose a particular course of study, from limited economic opportunity, and from, perhaps worst of all, from a lack of freedom to express themselves politically, spiritually and through the written and spoken word, and to have a say in the destiny of their homeland.

The amazing thing is that when you travel throughout southern Poland, you see one remarkable house after another, just like Evalina's, belying any sort of oppression. (Not so in neighboring Slovakia, which looks far more run down and derelict, as if communism departed in a hurry, leaving the people at a loss as far as what to do next.) The people of the Tatra Mountain regions in southern Poland are extremely creative and capable artisans, working primarily in wood. Many of the homes you see were constructed without a single nail, which, the Poles told me, where hard to get under communism. Wood, however, was plentiful in the surrounding mountains, and much of people's creative energies went into constructing fine homes.

I often dream of a house. For now, Stephen and I live in an apartment facing a lake in Feather Sound, as he is in a training program, and we aren't certain where we'll be a year from now. Home ownership just isn't a good thing for us right now, given the uncertainty of our situation.   

More often than not, I find myself remembering Evalina Peskova's home. Every inch of her modest home--including the ceiling--was lined with and occupied by folk art. Her garden, as you can see, was absolutely stunning. Even the exterior of her house was charming, down to her lovely glass painting of the Holy Family--the iconic "happy family" of the Christian tradition--graced by a flower box. 

Like many women, I want to build that kind of a home; a beacon of beauty, hope and creativity fashioned from modest means; an inspiration to others, and a light in dark and dreary times and circumstances. Women like Evalina remind me that building a thing of beauty--creating the home of our dreams-- doesn't have to wait for a good economy, or an idealistic and perfect "some day" when everything will work out or fall into place. Building the home of our dreams happens NOW, every day, in the grittiness and reality of daily living. Then one day, perhaps when we are older, we'll look back and see the magic that was the journey, and reap the years of our labors in savoring the beauty and goodness we put into this world. I try to keep this vision before me, of a woman who didn't let war, communism and economic insecurity keep her from fashioning the home--and the life--of her dreams.

(Note: Evalina's home is at Ulica Cichej Wody 8, Zakopane, and is open to visitors by appointment.)

Palettes for Peace Project

Yvonne Lucia has a vision of staging an "art attack" on Washington, D.C. She wants our next president, whoever he is, to know that Americans want peace instead of gross military spending and long term occupation and conflict overseas. Lucia would like to send "peace palettes" to Washington, reminding our government that we can "create" other options to military spending and aggression. She is inviting all artists to create "peace palettes" which she will bring to the White House in early 2009. Check out her web site www.lobocreations.com to see how you can become involved in this project.

Sock Campaign "Kicks" Off

Some of our "Kullakas" (sisters) in the community of El Alto, Bolivia

Winter's coming--consider giving a gift that will warm both heart and feet, and a donation that will do "double dollar duty". Once again, we are collecting contributions that will benefit two worthy causes; paying the women of Kullakas a just wage to knit alpaca wool socks (www.alpacaartisans.com) , and giving wool socks to the elderly Navajo weavers cared for by Adopt-a-Native-Elder ( www.anelder.org) .

Many of the women supported by Adopt-a-Native Elder are former rug weavers--and many STILL weave rugs, even in their "retirement years". For them this is not merely an income generating scheme; it is a spiritual practice and an expression of their Native beliefs and values. It is their way of life and belonging to life. Many of the women suffer from the cold during the winter, living in homes without central heating. Many Navajos continue working out of doors in the winter caring for their wool-producing sheep, and some have even died of exposure.

Contact me if you are interested in donating a pair of 100% super warm alpaca wool socks to an elderly Native American artisan (karen_rushen@yahoo.com ). EVERY CENT of your $25 donation goes to Kullakas cooperative, and helps them live their own mission of assisting and empowering indigenous women everywhere. (Maybe $25 sounds like a lot for a pair of socks, but they are 100% super warm, long lasting, hand knit wool. Postage from Bolivia is included in the price. Think of what $25 can mean to an indigenous woman living on $2 a day!)

You are encouraged to send a note expressing your best wishes to the Navajo elder who will receive your lovely gift of socks. It will be included with YOUR pair of socks and mailed out to a deserving elder of the Navajo nation. Last year we sent over two dozen gorgeous pairs of socks in a veritable rainbow of colors, and this year I'd love to double that amount. If you'd like to indulge yourself and order your own pair of cozy, alpaca knit socks, visit Kullakas new web site at www.alpacaartisans.com .

Rose Berry Empowers Women Through Crafts

Rose Berry (in red) teaching basket making

Rose Berry of Tomah, Wisconsin always loved cooking from scratch and making crafts. She learned self-sufficiency from her mother, and developed a real "can do" attitude growing up on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. Rose's mother also instilled in her a sense of concern for the well-being of others that led Rose to become a nurse, serving in rural Kentucky, Nicaragua and Panama, among other places.

While taking care of her 88 year old aunt may keep Rose, for now, from working in more exotic destinations, Rose has found a way to do the things she loved AND help others right in the small, rural town of Tomah where she and her husband John are raising their two daughters.

Based in her own kitchen, Rose invites local women to come and learn crafting and cooking skills such as basketry, soap making, preparing all natural hand lotions and even how to cook bagels from scratch. The intergenerational women's gatherings promote friendship and support, as well as self-sufficiency and crafting skills that help women thrive in these financially challenging times.

"I used to think I was born in the wrong generation, " says Rose. "While other friends were going to dances, I wanted to have taffy pulls like my Grandma and Mom had. Now I think I was born in the most fortunate generation. I hope to take the best of the past and merge it with the best of the present and create an even better future.

"When women are busy with their hands, their tongues are unleashed and their hearts can come out. That's what I love, and so do many of my women. It's also a way to stimulate great conversation about things that really matter. As we weave, make soap or bake bread, we are generating money for charities that I am passionate about. For me, these charities are usually medical or agricultural, because it's my nursing, farming and mission backgrounds that have shaped me."

Rose charges $10 for each of her classes, and all the proceed go to a worthy cause. Rose believes the $10 donation provides the women with the freedom to choose which classes to attend, rather than feeling obligated to yet one more commitment in their busy lives. The crafters have supported Habitat for Humanity, a local library, a hospice and a medical mission in Haiti. If the women prefer, they can donate four hours to a charity in lieu of a cash donation for the classes. 

After the Doll Making Day...

...some of us were just a little bit tired...but ALL of us glad we came!

Making Dolls to go to Peru at Audrey's House

Carmen's "hoochie mama" gets ready for Peru
Pat Sam's gorgeous little "girlie" doll!
Jennifer's little friend...

Charlotte's "mu'u mu'u" mama

Christina (above) and Audrey and me (below) 

Nancy and her daughter went to town!

Pat Sams and Audrey Steele

Nine of us gathered at the invitation of Audrey Steele to make dolls to go to Peru. The dolls will accompany Anna Reschar, RN, to Chulucanas, Peru when she travels there with a Global Health Ministry medical mission team in early November. Our goal was 30 dolls (!) and, believe it or not, we're nearly half way there with fourteen dollies assembled today. We'll meet again in October to complete the rest...

Audrey knows how to entertain and, as always, had lots of wonderful goodies to help sustain us throughout the day. Thank you to everyone who came and made a gorgeous little doll, or two, or three (!) for a lucky little child in Peru: Carmen, Jennifer, Christina, Charlotte, Pat, Karen, Nancy, Nancy's daughter and of course out wonderful hostess with the most-est, Audrey. Great job for a great cause, ladies!