Archive for May, 2009

Voluntourism

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Voluntourism is the new term that I keep seeing popping up everywhere. It is the wonderful term that describes exactly what groups like Enchanting Challenge promote–tourism with a service spin. Voluntourism is the wonderful way to see the world while leaving a positive mark upon it. And the trend is catching on!

The other day while surfing through Idealist.org, my normal every-day wake-up routine, I came across an organization that seemed especially beautiful: SalaamGarage. I have to admit that it was the title that drew me in right away (I know, I know, don’t judge based on titles…). But how could I not be taken with an opener that begins with the beautiful word, Salaam, meaning peace in Arabic? It just takes your breath away and makes you stop in your tracks!

Upon further research, I learned that SalaamGarage is a wonderful organization and a leader in voluntourism. SalaamGarage organizes trips around the world where the participants visit a unique destination and partner up with an NGO in that region to work on a project that is calling for attention. The volunteer himself/herself CREATES the project together with the NGO, based on what they think is most pressing. This is really beautiful because then the volunteer is a real mover-and-shaker with this work; they are even a part of the creation stages.

While on their visit and contributing to their project, the participants become citizen journalists, or independent writers that transcribe their experience and pass the lessons on to others through their writings. This does not mean that SalaamGarage trips are limited to professional writers. No, it is open to everyone, and it encourages everyone to discover their own voice. You can write (or rather transcribe your experience) in whatever medium you prefer–whether it be through social media like Twitter or Facebook; your own blog or publications; or photographs; or anything else you can think of!! These transcriptions then become independent media projects that help to show the outside world what beautiful projects you are taking part in (helping to spread the word about what needs HELP!).

As their website points out, because of their profound relationships that have taken a decade to create, SalaamGarage is able to lead you to people and places that are not normally on a tourist’s radar. SalaamGarage gives you the chance to make an intimate impact upon a region and a people.

Alright, you sold yet? Wait til you hear the list of places you can travel to! Right now, SalaamGarage is planning an Indian Voyage, for which sign-up’s are being accepted until June 15th!! So hurry up and get your signature in, they are waiting for you!! The land of tea and sari’s is calling your name…I can just hear it…Can’t you?!

Check out what Max Gladwell (one of my Idealistic heroes) wrote about SalaamGarage in the Huffington Post on May 9th:

“SalaamGarage coordinates trips for citizen journalists (that means you) to places like India and Vietnam in conjunction with non-government organizations like Seattle-based Peace Trees. The destination is the story, as these humanitarian journalists report on the people they meet and discoveries they make. Their words, images, and video are posted to the social web to gain exposure and because these stories just need to be told.” Max Gladwell, The Huffington Post 5/09

Tags: Enchanting Challenge, SalaamGarage, Service Trips, Voluntourism
Posted in Service, Service Abroad, socially responsible travel | 2 Comments »

A Message of Hope from Young Pakistanis

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Last Monday I read a news story in the New York Times that I have not been able to stop thinking about. The story is called, “Young Pakistanis Take One Problem Into Their Own Hands,” and it is about a wonderful group of young people in Lahore, Pakistan who gather every Sunday to pick up trash in their city’s public places. The trash-pickers were organized by a group of teens and young twenty-something’s that are frustrated by the prevailing sentiment that all is lost. These youngsters refuse to believe that all is lost, and they are starting to set a new tone by showing that one visible problem that bothers everyone, TRASH, can be taken care of by a small collective movement. This they hope will help show people that other problems can too be solved with collective action.

Shoaib Ahmed, one of the founders of the trash collecting movers and shakers

These young people are defying a suffocating sentiment in Pakistan, and despite huge obstacles, they are changing the way people think and behave. And they couldn’t be doing it at a more important time. For the past few years, news of increasing violence and Taliban insurgencies have been discoloring poor Pakistan. Then, 2 weeks ago, Swat Valley was evacuated, leaving so many without homes, missing family, and desperately vulnerable to violence, illness, and poverty. Yesterday, a suicide bomb rocked Lahore, a city that has remained proudly seperate from the violence sweeping through the border and tribal regions, and also the city where the trash collecting young people hail from. And, today, news reached the world of another bomb shaking up Pakistan, this one in Peshawar. Pakistan really needs a ray of hope to remind them of the potential power they have as a people to restore peace, and these young trash collectors are starting the movement…My heart is with them and I know your’s is too!!! Join their Facebook group here and start helping spread the word, spread the movement.

Tags: Enchanting Challenge, hope, Pakistan, picking up trash, Responsible Citizens, Young Pakistanis
Posted in Challenges, Community Volunteering, Service | No Comments »

Get Your Green Headlines!!!

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Hello hello!! I’m here again to remind you of all the good news hiding in our newspapers these days!!! Today I have read some REALLY hopeful stories that I would like to share with you now!

1. Right now, as we speak, the 2nd Annual Biofuels Summit is currently going on in Marina Madarin, Singapore. As the blogger Cecilia wrote in her post, “Innovative News,” the goal of the Summit is to “evaluate the latest developments and opportunities in the Biofuel industry as a real solution to climate crisis and ever-rising energy prices.” Of course, biofuel is controversial and there are arguments for and against it. Thus, it may not be the solution to everything, but at least major world powers–and polluters–are meeting to discuss ways that they can take action to green themselves. To read updates on the Summit, which ends today, check out their official website here: http://www.biofuelssummit.com/.

2. The Clinton Climate Initiative along with the US Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched a Sustainable Urban Development Program, meaning that they are going to build green communities, not just green buildings. Talk about ambition!!! And wait to you hear the details of this plan. First of all, this plan is hosting 16 projects that span 6 continents. The projects will strive to build and revamp (retrofit) urban developments that have a major reduction of on-site carbon dioxide emissions. As the website states, “when the initial 16 projects are completed, nearly 1 million people will live and work in Climate Positive communities.” Here is the list of cities hosting the projects:

Melbourne, Australia
Palhoca, Brazil
Toronto, Canada
Victoria, Canada
Ahmedabad, India
Jaipur, India
outside Panama City, Panama
Pretoria, South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
Seoul, South Korea
Stockholm, Sweden
London, England
San Francisco, USA
Destiny Florida, USA

3. Slow Food International is spreading like wild-fire through college campuses! And it is a GREAT phenomenon because it is teaching college kids the value of cooking, and the value of cooking with local resources unique to their region! This is arming young adults with the skills they need to then go out into the world and cook up a green household. One very special story is the story of Marquette University’s Slow Food Chapter. This chapter is very close to my heart because it is my alma mater. But I am so proud of these students, because they have banded together to teach each other the value of local cooking, and they really are learning how to be socially responsible adults through cooking! So far the Marquette Slow Food Chapter has hosted 2 events:

Friday Night Gourmet Meeting: members gathered at one of their homes and together cooked up a pizza using ingredients that were donated by a local business.
Cooking Class: a cooking teacher from neighboring Mukwonago instructed a class on how to cook hors d’oeuvres and appetizers!!! Good stuff!

Linda Menck, a professional-in-residence, said it best when she said,

I am so proud of these students. What they have done is more than create a Slow Food Chapter…They are poised to make social change on campus.

Go Marquette!! To read more, check out their write-up they received in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Marquette Slow Food Members cooking away their local pizza

Go Slow Food!!! We love you at Enchanting Challenge!

Tags: 2nd Annual Biofuels Summit, Clinton Climate Initiative, Enchanting Challenge, Marquette University Slow Food Chapter, MU Slow Food, slow food international, Slow Food on college campuses, US Green Building Council, usgbc
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

Must-See Green News Programs

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

I know I’ve mentioned before that the news sites I choose to read often lean towards good news, so that I sometimes feel like there is no bad in the world at all (that is, until, I pick up a normal newspaper!). Which I know is not a very good strategy, as it is what the Ethical Man deems as seeing pregnant women everywhere. Okay, let me explain–in a post made in March on his wonderful blog, the Ethical Man talked about how when his wife was pregnant, they suddenly noticed all the pregnant women around them. It seemed like pregnant women were everywhere, but it was really that they were just acutely aware of anyone and everyone pregnant. So now the Ethical Man says he is doing the same with good green news–because it is HIS job to track green goodness, he suddenly notices the good news everywhere, so that he thinks that all news is good green news.

We know that can’t be the solution, and we need to be careful to be fair and balanced. However, a hefty dose of good news is good for the soul, and I want to cheer up all my readers today with sharing some emerald gems of news programs that you should really check out to perk up.

First: The PBS Program Planet Forward. Planet Forward is a web program that collages ideas regarding the energy future of our planet. The program features interviews, commentary, brainstormed ideas, and discussions. It is a great discussion forum, and very interactive with its community of viewers. Check out today’s interview with Van Jones, the founder of Green for All, and the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Check out the interview here! Van Jones on Planet Forward

THE program

: the man, Van Jones

Second: The Ethical Man, the BBC’s global warming correspondent. He’s STILL at it, and he is inspiring!! He is totally tireless as he traipses across the US interviewing people on their green initiatives. You can read his blog here and you can join his Facebook fan group here. ALSO, you can watch his BBC episodes online here! Check it out asap, it will make your day!

Third: The Carrotmob movement. The Carrotmob movement is an organization of like-minded people who vow to support local business within their community. If you visit their website, you can see how carrotmobs are sweeping the globe!! You can see how you can get involved with the carrotmob closest to you, taking part in all their cool endeavors! If it just so happens that your community does not have a carrotmob, their website can help show you how to start one! So go to it, visit their site and check out their awesome welcome video! It will convince even the staunchest cynic.

Fourth: The new amazing documentary, FRESH. Fresh is a powerful documentary about where the majority of our food comes from. It is frightening, but it is also very hopeful, in that Fresh also documents the rapidly-gaining steam movements spreading from coast to coast to promote natural, toxic-free, and local food. In the creator, Ana Sofia Joanes’s own words,

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Check out their website today to become informed. I promise it will empower you!

Okay, troops!! That reading/viewing material should keep you busy for a little while! Please let me know if you check out any of the sites–give me your thoughts, feelings, and personal endeavors!! And if any of these sources motivate you to make your own personal green goals, don’t forget to list them on http://www.enchantingchallenge.com to open up the dialogue and spread-the-word!!

Tags: carrotmobs, eco news, Enchanting Challenge, Ethical Man, fresh the movie, green movement, green news, pbs, planet forward, van jones
Posted in Environment, Local Food Movement, Service, Social entrepreneurism | No Comments »

The Discussion About Costa Rica Continues: Words of Inspiration from Kelly from GreenSpot.Travel

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Kelly Galaski has an eye for the insider’s scoop. While she was working on her master’s research in Costa Rica, she realized that there was a growing movement towards ecological and rural/agricultural tourism. She saw small, pesticide-free, family-run farms, serving as bed-and-breakfasts where the guests sleep in a cabin on the farm and eat meals prepared by the farming family (serving their home-grown food, of course!). She also saw coffee farm owners offering educational tours of their shade-grown, organic coffee fields.

But, being a good detective, Kelly also saw that these eco/agritourism endeavors were often not able to survive simply because they couldn’t get the word out. These farms and coffee fields were often located in far-away, remote areas, where cell phones and wi-fi connections don’t exactly come a dime-a-dozen. So Kelly went to work helping these guys out in their eco/agritourism endeavors.

How did she help these farming/tourism pioneers? Well, first she aligned herself with TURE-CoBAS, a small community association for rural community tourism in Costa Rica. CoBAS strives to gear tourism in Costa Rica towards the country’s biological havens, increasing awareness of and increasing income to Costa Rica’s most ardent ecologists–the small farmers.

With TURE-CoBAS, Kelly helped in the planning processes involved in the push towards what she calls “community-based tourism.” Let her explain in her own words what this entails:

My work with [TURE-CoBAS] was to help with the community-based tourism planning process. This started with a mapping exercise to define all the touristic attractions, services, infrastructures, farms for coffee tours, and more. Then we analyzed the strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses and threats of the area as well as the group’s vision and mission to help us determine what we had and what we could build upon. We also looked at all of the other factors that would affect tourism such as available human resources, financial resources, public services, accommodation in the area including homes with rooms available, built infrastructure, small family restaurants, farms, natural resources, waste management abilities, and more…With all this information, the members of the association have begun business plans, a tour guiding course, English lessons, and research for small grants for financial support.

Needless to say, Kelly & TURE-CoBAS are endeavoring to change lives in this rural part of Costa Rica, and have significantly helped to change the face of tourism. But Kelly’s not stopping there. Always looking for ways to strengthen her mission, Kelly discovered GreenSpot.Travel, a site that promotes and helps to coordinate ecological travel (what wonderful blogs our readers have brought to our attention lately! First Mindful Tourist & now GreenSpot.Travel!). With GreenSpot.Travel, Kelly and TURE-CoBAS were able to form an eco-travel itinerary that has travellers take part in activities with residents like baking tortillas with a Costa Rican family, touring primary forests and family-run farms, and sleeping in a cabin on a farm rather than in a hotel. GreenSpot.Travel makes it so easy for potential travellers to Costa Rica to make their travel an eco-vacation with an eco-itinerary.

With a little help from all our friends, we can help to make GreenSpot.Travel and other eco-sites like it, the go-to sites for travel, as common and as popular as Expedia and TripAdvisor! So let’s all do our part and spread the word.

ture-cobas ture-cobas2 ture-cobas3

Tags: agritourism, Costa Rica, ecotourism, Enchanting Challenge, family-run-farms, GreenSpot.Travel, kelly galiski, mindful tourist, shade-grown coffee
Posted in Environment, socially responsible travel | No Comments »

Costa Rica: A Debate Over Its Environmental Morality

Monday, May 18th, 2009

My goal with this blog is to open up a DIALOGUE on service, to open up these posts to be commented on and added to by my wonderful readers.

And I am so lucky, because that is just beginning to happen…

About a month ago I wrote a blog post about Costa Rica, entitled “The Model in Ecotourism.” I was excited to write this post and share the beautiful and inspiring green news I had read about regarding Costa Rica.

Then, Shadia Garrison, a writer for The Mindful Tourist , a self-described blog of “socially conscious travel with a bit of snark,” commented on my blog post. I LOVED her comments because she has so much insight into this topic, and her comments open up the dialogue I wish to start with my blog. Remember, I am NOT an expert, only interested, and desirous of others’ knowledge. Here are Shadia’s insightful thoughts about Costa Rica:

Costa Rica is commonly referred so as the be-all, end-all of ecotourism but I’m not sure it’s as cut and dried as that. Yes, Costa Rica has used its wonderful natural beauty and resources to establish itself as a leader in the ecotourism industry but there are still hurdles it faces. We recently traveled to Costa Rica; in conducting some research in preparation for our travels and while there, we came across some decidedly eco-unfriendly practices:

There is a very large percentage of foreign land owners – especially along the coast and other desirable areas. This drives the cost of land up for everyone, including Costa Ricans. As part of ecotourism concerns the local people and their welfare, putting more restrictions on land ownership may be something CR needs to look into.

Infrastructure – the road and bridges are in dire need of revamping. It takes probably twice as long as it should to go anywhere by car or bus because the roads cannot handle the amount of traffic. All those cars waiting around on the highway cannot be good for the environment. One bridge we went over was dubbed the “Oh My God Bridge” by the local people because as you’re going over it, you’re praying to God that nothing will happen to it to land you in the water below.

We also passed by a large river where tourist vans and buses were parked on a bridge and below their drivers were throwing chicken parts to the crocodiles in the water. This almost circus-like atmosphere is nothing we saw again on our trip but was not something that should be such a common tourist attraction.

I’m not an expert on Costa Rica so take what I say here with a grain of salt. I’d be interested in hearing what others have seen and what they think about ecotourism in CR and other places. Overall, we loved our trip to Costa Rica and thought that the Ticos were one of the warmest people we’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Read more at The Mindful Tourist.

Remember, if you have any insight into this post or others, please feel free to comment or email me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com with your thoughts!! I’ll publish away!

Keep your eyes peeled with tomorrow’s post regarding Costa Rica from the emerald eyes of GreenSpot.Travel!

Tags: Costa Rica, ecotourism, Enchanting Challenge, GreenSpot.Travel, socially responsible travel, the Mindful Tourist
Posted in socially responsible travel | No Comments »

Casita Linda: Pretty Little Altruistic Houses

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

One of my favorite things about my job is that everyday I get to interact with really amazing and really altruistic people & organizations. Sometimes I think this makes my glasses a little too rose-colored and I end up thinking that there is only good in the world! But I have to say that all of these people that I collide with on a daily basis really make me believe in the power of all of us to truly make the world a good, good place…

One of these people is Saul Whynman, and the wonderful organization he is involved with, Casita Linda. Casita Linda is a Mexican-based nonprofit that works to build houses with and for impoverished communities. Not only is this mission awesome in and of itself, but the way Casita Linda carries out their mission is also especially awesome. Listen up.

Casita Linda uses natural materials that are native to the area around San Minguel de Allende, Mexico (where the organization is based). Specifically, this means that the houses are built from adobe, which is amazing because it is natural, non-toxic, and keeps in heat during the winter and keeps it out during the summer! It’s a pretty much win-win-win material!!

Moreover, Casita Linda then uses other recycled materials to build furniture. For example, they make mattresses out of used plastic bags which are then covered with sturdy fabrics. AND, get this: they equip the homes with solar panels to provide electricity! Pretty amazing, don’t you think?

We think so, too, at Enchanting Challenge. That’s why both Nick and I are blogging our hearts out for them, and Tweeting like birds for their mission. Casita Linda is currently in the process of constructing its 23rd home! That means that 23 families have been directly helped, have been saved from homelessness, because of this one organization. And who knows how many families have been given the gift of hope because of them!!!

But the crisis is taking its affect on Casita Linda, as well. Fewer people have extra money to donate, and that means that Casita Linda funds are running low. We can’t let the hope they have given to hundreds of impoverished Mexican families dry up. Even a tiny bit helps, as microfinance organizations like Grameen and Kiva have proved. Click here to donate, or email me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com to learn of other ways you can get involved.

casita-linda-3

Posted in Community Volunteering | 2 Comments »

All the Good News Fit to Print

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

a Sufi dancer joyfully dancing in Egypt

I remember Thomas Friedman once saying something along the lines of when he opens up a newspaper, he sometimes feels like he is reading The Bible. And so often it’s true! When I wake up, the first thing I do is bring up the online version of the New York Times. So often it’s all the dark news about the crazy things that are swirling around in our world today–wars, economic crises, environmental problems…

Don’t get me wrong–we need to know the dark facts so we can all be armed with knowledge and then light our candles to drown out the darkness. But we need HOPE, and we need bits and pieces of good news to motivate us to light our candles; we need to be reminded that we CAN and DO make a difference. There IS a world of good news out there that often gets over-looked. That is the world that people like Thomas Friedman advocate, and write books about, like Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Books like Hot, Flat, and Crowded have the bad and scary news in them in order to inform you. And then they always go on to include news about the good being done to outweigh the bad, and of course offer up their advice to help guide us all to the more optimistic path.

the Young Global Leaders Dead Sea Summit, presided over by lovely Queen Rania of Jordan

So today as a little motivation to all my readers, I want to do a little re-cap of the really positive news stories I have read in the past week. I want the positive news to help remind our readers and Enchanting Challenge members and volunteers that our world is BEAUTIFUL, and that together we can heal all of its wounds.

the Pope and President Shimon Peres planting a tree of peace

First of all, I’d like to give a giant shout-out to IdealistNews. Idealist’s awesome collaboration with Reddit allows Idealist users to mesh together all their favorite news articles. What is the result? A beautiful and informative collage of nonprofit news. This week, IdealistNews told me two A-MAZINGLY beautiful news stories that I would like to share with you now:

1) The Obama administration has pledged $100 million towards microfinance! Such an investment stimulates small and socially-minded entrepreneurs…It lets companies like Kiva grow and expand, and increase the help they give to struggling potential business owners around the world. I think efforts like this give everyone a fair chance to live out their potential…

dancers in Brooklyn celebrating an anniversary of a seminal moment in the Fall of the Iron Curtain

2) The Ford Foundation has pledged $50 million to help struggling municipalities buy foreclosed homes in their area. This endeavor is such a grand gesture of giving towards one of our country’s most in-need areas–the housing market. This one gesture of goodwill has the potential to single-handedly help to alleviate the housing crisis…Its affects will be rippling, without a doubt.

jumping for joy in nyc

The other news source I would like to give a shout-out to is the New York Times Idea of the Day Blog. This blog is penned by Tom Kuntz, editor of Week in Review, and the idea is to start a dialogue regarding interesting ideas that are floating through the web. As a result, one cool idea gets published a day, along with a list of suggested reading from a variety of news sources spanning the ideological spectrum. Although it is fair and balanced and covers ideas good, bad, and ugly, the point of the blog is to start a conversation, which always brings along positive ideas to solve any dark realities. And many of the ideas of the day are indeed very bright and provide so much hope! Take for instance the idea of the day on Monday, May 4: White as the New Green. This was a fun and enlightening post about how simply painting roofs white in very warm areas can reflect tons of solar radiation, helping to offset carbon emissions from cars. Something so simple!! Thus, many scientists are asking that some of the government stimulus money be given to help paint roofs white, which would of course also create jobs for house painters and roofers alike! A really win-win-win situation!

a car-free zone in Germany

So, as you can see, there is tons and tons of lovely news floating out there. And I think it’s important that we take a minute to soak up all the good stuff so we are invigorated to make a difference, and then we can make a difference with the knowledge that we can and do help!

a run for a children's charity along the River Thames; all the runners dressed as nuns!

Tags: bbc, charity, Enchanting Challenge, ford foundation donations, good news, idealist news, national geographic, new york times, Obama, week in pictures, white house donations
Posted in Joy | No Comments »

The Muscle Behind Our Mission–Meet Our Volunteers!

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Idealist’s mention of National Volunteer Week a few weeks back reminded me that every week should be National Volunteer Week. Volunteers are, after all, how it all happens. They are the muscle behind the mission, so to speak. so right now I want to give all past, present, and potential Enchanting Challenge volunteers a GINORMOUS shout out! Thank you to Maria & Aleigha for spending your senior year spring break planting trees with the Flora Fauna y Cultura organization in Tulum! Thank you, Li Chong, for seeking out Challenge and expressing desire to work with Mayan communities this summer in the Yucatan Peninsula. And thank you to Brian, Elisa, Angelica, Laurie, Kath, Jacqueline, and Giannina for showing so much interest and promise in the Forum of Healers in Mexico next October!

To give you a small glimpse of the awesomeness behind our volunteers, here’s a little look at one of them, Jacqueline:

Jacqueline is an amazing activist with a mile-long list of social justice feats. Among her many contributions to society include planning walks to raise money for AIDS victims; taking part in HIV/AIDS prevention outreach; and acting as a field organizer for the Green Corps, where she worked for Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Now campaign in California. She now coordinates and helps to provide health care, social service, education, and environmental outreach to youth & women through the Center for Adolescents in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. She is honestly a tireless social activist who has already changed the world in many ways. We are so thankful to have her on board for October’s Forum of Healers volunteer opportunity!

And of course, we are always looking for more volunteers, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you are interested in an Enchanting Challenge volunteer opportunity, whether it be in the depths of the Mexican jungle or the end of the world in Chilean Patagonia! Just email me at sarahannmaxwell@gmail.com with any questions!

Tags: eco service, Enchanting Challenge, Enchanting Challenge volunteers, Forum of Healers Volunteer Opportunity, National Volunteer Week, Volunteer in Chile, Volunteer in Mexico, Volunteers
Posted in Forum of Healers Volunteer Opp, Service, Service Abroad | 1 Comment »

Why Crafts are Good for the Soul & the Environment

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Today while I was doing my work, I had NPR playing in the background. I was floating in and out of listening when I heard the All Things Considered co-host Michele Norris’s say in her lovely and soothing voice, “Somewhere along the way, we all were artists.” Those words of wisdom pulled me right out of my reveries and right into the program.

The guest speaker on the broadcast was Mo Willems, a children’s book author and cartoonist who explains how people stop drawing when they become convinced that they are not good at it. But here’s the punchline– it is a false conviction, because anyone and everyone can doodle, and that means they can draw. Anyone and everyone can and should doodle. Why? Because doodling is good for the soul.

I can’t help but agree with Mo. Maybe it’s the inner kindergarten teacher in me coming out, but hearing Mo talk reminded me of the pages upon pages of colorful doodles I made all the way through high school. I can’t seem to remember why or exactly when I stopped, but remembering those sketches made me smile.

And I am not the only one. Mo made Michele Norris doodle her favorite stuffed animal, which just so happened to also be her favorite character in her favorite children’s book–Curious George. Check out her drawing:

So cute, right?! As she doodled away right there in the studio, she said the drawing made her happy and made her remember Curious George and all the great Curious George characters. Doodling made Michele’s day better! So if you are reading this right now while sitting at your office, take a minute to sit back and doodle. It will revitalize you, I assure you!

You might be wondering why I am taking up so much space on a service blog talking about doodling. Well, it’s because art projects can be good for the environment, as well as good for the soul. What?! Well, let me elaborate. I don’t mean doodling, persay, unless you are doodling on recycled paper using a pencil made from a rapidly-growing plant. What I mean specifically are green crafts.

A few days ago I was pointed in the wonderful direction of the Crafting a Green World blog, a fabulous blog that collages ideas for eco-friendly crafts.

One of the recurring themes of this blog is recycling your clothing by taking pieces from a variety of old clothes and sewing them together to create something new. Skeptical, are you? I totally know what you are thinking–how could that old, holey skirt ever be transformed into something remotely wearable, much less cute?! Well, if you take some preserved, hole-less pieces from that skirt and sew them together with hole-less preserved pieces from an old shirt, voila, you have something brand-new and adorable! Like this bag I just made from exactly that–pieces of an old shirt and pieces of an old skirt:

Cute, huh? Well, you can totally do it, too! It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new purse. PLUS, it’s better for the environment, as no material is wasted. AND, moreover, it’s FUN! It’s good for the soul. So go on and go through those old clothes in your closet and piece together some new duds. It’s good for the wallet, the world, and your well-being.

Tags: All Things Considered, Crafting a green world blog, Enchanting Challenge, green art projects, green crafts, Michele Norris, Mo Willems, npr, recyclying clothing, sewing your own clothes
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

Service Trips – The Enchanting Challenge