Ganesh Himal Trading

Category: Fair Trade Connections

Fair Trade is connected to all issues: environmental, social, economic, health, spiritual…. This part of the blog explores these interconnections and attempts to help us see how actions in one area connect to and effect all others.

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    Looking Backward, Moving forward

    16 months have passed since Ganesh Himal Trading and The Conscious Connections Foundation were plunged headlong into humanitarian aid relief due to the devastating earthquakes that rocked Nepal and our producer partners lives. We have been engaged in a crash course in humanitarian aid this past year which has given us a chance to see both direct aid and Fair Trade in action. The lessons learned have been phenomenal. For those of you who are Fair Trade retailers or are Fair Trade consumers, we cannot tell you how much our resolve to promote fair trade was strengthened through this entire experience. We deeply believe in the validity of this work because of how we have seen our Fair Trade partners rebound. Our son, Cameron, who volunteered thousands of hours in Nepal doing earthquake relief said it best…
    “Over the past year, I have spent months distributing immediate aid to the victims of the 2015 Nepal earthquake, rebuilding homes, schools, and healthcare facilities that had been destroyed, and working in refugee camps throughout Northern Greece for the thousands of people fleeing violence in the Middle East. When all said and done, we were able to accomplish amazing work, under stressful conditions, often with limited funding. Yet despite our success, this work brought home to me once again just how drastically different fair trade is from humanitarian aid, and how much more influential the former has the potential to be.  My return home was filled with such a deep appreciation for the Fair Trade work done by my parents and Ganesh Himal Trading because it so perfectly demonstrates how simple fair business practices produce the end results that all aid is meant to attain, often much better than aid organizations themselves. This is what I believe the result of Fair Trade to be: a community of equals given access to a way of developing their own lives, that of their families, and in turn their communities so that those affected can live secure in the knowledge that they and their children poses fundamental human rights & economic security through the hard times. Rights which so often are not afforded to those without a voice.Development aid is a very fragile idea; how can a community develop if there is no way for ideas to be melded, relationships made, ownership cultivated, and respect enforced? All too often aid is poured into a country by governments and multinational aid organizations only to create a dependency in beneficiaries, because as soon as the emergency food is distributed and the programs begun, the next crisis must be attended to, leaving those behind to cope with their new found projects alone, and with no partners to grow alongside.  My new found appreciation for fair trade revolves around its outcome of empowerment, where those involved are not beneficiaries of a program, but business partners invested in their future. Not someone in need but someone with power.”
    Never have we at GHT and CCF had to rely on others so much and in all humility each community stepped fully up to the plate: our community in Nepal were some of the first to deliver aid and persevered under unbelievable adversity, our staff at GHT stepped up their commitment to their jobs and to volunteer, CCF board members spent months of volunteer time in Nepal and our community of fair trade friends and stores stood steadfast by our side. Together we have accomplished so much through this unbelievably trying time and because of you many people’s lives have been relieved of much suffering and are slowly coming back to normal. We have an amazing community and together an amazing way of helping to transform the world. Fair Trade. Never doubt that it makes a difference. We have stood together through the worst of times and come out stronger on the other side.  Thank you for supporting Fair Trade from Nepal.

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  • Namaste

    Namaste

    Namaste from Nepal! 

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    Project4
    Read the whole newsletter here

    There is nothing like seeing hope for the future in the midst of hardship and devastation that seems insurmountable. But it’s here, alive and well in Nepal and it’s unbelievable.  The unbeatable Nepali spirit is a constant inspiration and makes me realize that perception can often help us beat the odds. For Nepali’s they have no option so they make the best of a very, very difficult situation and amazingly theydo it with a smile.  So we move forward into a New Year (literally, the Nepali New Year is in a few weeks) with the odds still difficult but the will as strong as the Himalaya!

    Being in Nepal we get to see the spirit of the future in the brightness of the eyes of the 3 young women who received the Joy Attwood College Scholarship fund from CCF several days ago. Three girls who worked hard, even when they lost their homes.  Girls who had the tenacity to continue to work hard in school and apply for and win the CCF scholarships. They and their parents were so proud. The
           scholarship recipients
    y kept their hope alive through it all and see themselves becoming nurses and a cardiologist and returning to their villages to care for the poor. Their parents work with the Fair Trade organization, the Association for Craft Producers, which has had the foresight to organize stipends from CCF’s Power of 5 donations to enable the producers to keep their girls in school. It keeps hope alive. We have seen first hand the effect of your donations to Conscious Connections Foundation and the effectiveness that this money and kindness has wrought. We have been very deliberate with this money and have seen hope come alive in areas where we thought none could exist. We cannot thank you enough for that support, both monetarily and spiritually. CCF board member Cameron Conner and CCF volunteer Grant Gallaher have just completed an extensive evaluation of the work of CCF over these past 11 months of Earthquake relief so that you can see where your dollars went and how effective they were. We invite you all to take a look at this and realize how your donations have kept hope alive.
    Through these past 11 months we have also witnessed, in a very unique way, the value of economic partnership, through long-standing fair trade relationships. Fair Trade Federation members, in addition to Ganesh Himal, have kept producers hope alive and helped them weather an incomprehensible natural disaster. It strengthens my belief in the Fair Trade model even more and makes me understand how valuable it is in creating a future that is hopeful. There is a Hindu proverb that says it all “Help your neighbor’s boat across and lo, your own has reached the shore”. It really is that simple. We can help each other; it keeps hope alive.
    There are so many stories I could share with you but right now we have a clinic to build, a small rural K-3 school to finish, more food aid to distribute, producers to work with and new products to create!  Thank you for standing beside us and keeping our hope alive. I hope to have more amazing stories to share with you in the near future.
    Namaste,
    Denise & Ric

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  • A Day in Kathmandu

    A Day in Kathmandu

     

     

    Future Plans and New Connections

    We returned from our two week trek with a massive amount of information, amazing memories, and an entirely new understanding of the Nepali people and their current situation. Now we were faced with this question: with all this new information, how can the Conscious Connections Foundation most effectively help these people?

    As has been mentioned in several recent blog posts, the resounding message from the vast majority of the villages we visited was that they lacked permanent shelter and that their current temporary shelters were largely inadequate for the deadly, chilling winter. With this identified as the greatest need, we knew we had to do something to help the shelter situation. CCF, as a smaller organization, obviously can’t rebuild an entire village – no matter how much we wish we could. Different approaches were necessary to address this pressing issue. With this in mind, the organization is already putting into motion earthquake recovery programs that largely aim to achieve the following two goals:

    1. Spread new, innovative, earthquake resistant building techniques to villagers to promote sustainable rebuilding and to increase future resilience
    2. Supply villagers with warm, high-quality clothing and other necessary items for the winter

    This first goal seeks to provide a long term solution to the shelter crisis by empowering villagers with new ideas to build new homes and a better future. Cameron and I have done extensive research and contacted many experts on earthquake resistant building techniques such as earthbags, rammed earth, and gabion bands. All of these techniques have been shown to survive earthquakes, but again, CCF can’t build homes like these for every single villager in need. Instead, CCF’s shelter recovery programs will work to build sample homes in the villages using these techniques, giving villagers the opportunity to learn about and understand these new ideas, allowing them to decide for themselves what materials they want to use to rebuild their own homes. Additionally, these new ideas could also be applied in the villages in the rebuilding of permanent schools and health clinics (such as the one in Baseri!).

    See slide show here>>

    With our remaining month and a half in Nepal, Cameron and I are undertaking the project of building one earthbag house in Baseri. To prepare for this, we be heading back out into the field in the next few days to volunteer with another organization on an earthbag building project in the villages. We will then return to Kathmandu, gather materials and tools for our own project, and head up to Baseri to begin! Though it is unlikely that this house will be completed before Cameron and I have to leave in December, we will be working with experienced earthbag engineers and supervisors so that we can leave the project in capable, trustworthy hands. This first earthbag house will serve multiple purposes – being a model house for the villagers to possibly base their own homes off of, as well as being a test to see if earthbags could be a potential material for the future, larger project of rebuilding the Baseri clinic!

    The second goal is more of a short term band-aid for a much larger problem. Clothing and blankets won’t directly fix the shelter issue, but they may be the difference between life and death in the winter.  Almost immediately after returning from trekking, we set out to find a way to send warm clothes up to some of the remote villages we stayed in. This goal is already becoming a reality thanks to the amazing people and products of Everest Hardwear, a Nepali manufacturing company that produces excellent clothing and trekking gear! Sonam Sherpa and Ghyami Hyolmo of the company were generous enough to sell us 100 high-quality jackets at a ridiculously low cost, as well as donating 100 fleece hats to be distributed in the villages of Rasuwa! Even though it meant a loss of some profit for them, they were more than happy to partner with us in this endeavor to help those in dire need. I’m happy to say that out of this experience, we not only acquired this clothing to help people, but we also made some wonderful friends.

    See slide show here>>

    Ram, who left on another trek a few days ago, took all these jackets and hats along with him to distribute them to the people of Rasuwa. Hopefully we’ll have some pictures of that to share once he returns! In the future, CCF will continue to work with Everest Hardware and other partners on this sort of project to provide potentially life-saving winter items to the people of Nepal who need them most!

    We are incredibly excited to be starting soon on this earthbag project and other CCF recovery programs – it’s an amazing and inspirational feeling to be doing this work! Stay tuned for more details and pictures in the future! Thank you!

    All the best,

    Grant

    Check out Everest Hardwear at their website (http://www.everesthardwear.com.np/) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Everest-Hardwear-371079756430780)!

     

  • Peace, Primates, and Productivity

    Peace, Primates, and Productivity

    Check out our very first vlog and some pictures from our adventures! Please leave a comment letting us know what you think! Thank you!

     

  • Frontline Fair Trade

    Frontline Fair Trade

    Never in anyone’s wildest dreams did we imagine that our small foundation, set up for rural health care and the education of Nepali girls, would be involved in one of the largest humanitarian disaster relief projects of this decade. Spurred on by the dire need of Nepali friends and their depiction of a country that came crashing down around them, there was never any question of if CCF would get involved, only how.

    On April 25th of 2015, CCF leapt into action. As news came to us, drop by drop, we broadcast it, far and wide, through every channel we had at our disposal. The kindness and generosity we at CCF observed during those hours of shocked silence on the morning of the 25th was overwhelming. Within hours of the news, your support came flooding in. Within days, that support was transformed into the most vital emergency aid: food, shelter, and medicine. Within less than a week, these resources were in the hands of the Nepali people. It is thanks to your prompt and generous actions that this, and much more, has been accomplished. It is thanks to you that CCF has been able to accomplish what it never before thought possible. Within less than a month of the earthquake, CCF had distributed $26,000 worth of food and shelter, and here is what that looks like:

    • Over 6,000 people immediately provided with food for one month
    • Approximately 1,200 people immediately provided with shelter 

    Thanks to the compassion of individuals hailing from every corner of the globe, CCF was able to rapidly reach thousands of people, spread through four Nepalese districts, all of which had been heavily affected and largely isolated from outside assistance.
    From June through August, we provided an additional $10,300 to the Association for Craft Producers (ACP) as a portion of our Artisan Relief Project. This money has been put towards rebuilding the homes of ACP artisans which were either destroyed or damaged during the Earthquakes.

    We Are Proud!
    The earthquake relief undertaken by CCF has been our largest project to date, both in number of resources expended, and lives impacted. As of September 10th, we have been able to raise a staggering total of $155,000! During the initial “emergency r elief phase” we distributed close to $40,000, now, with the need for immediate aid gradually diminishing, CCF has turned its focus on long-term rebuilding and recovery. Out of our remaining funds, we have set aside $60,000 for the reconstruction of the Durali Community Service Center (which houses the Baseri Clinic) and the remaining $55,000 for the process of permanently rebuilding homes, schools, and other vital facilities.

    Where Will We Go From Here?
    In light of all that has transpired, we at CCF felt obligated to fully explore and understand the impact of where we’ve been and where we will be going. To this end, in October of 2015, four representatives of the Conscious Connections Foundation (CCF), Chair Denise Attwood, Vice President Ric Conner, Research Associate Grant Gallaher, and Vice President Cameron Conner, will be traveling to Nepal. Our hope is that this work will result in a clear and concise list of recommendations, aimed at addressing where and how we can best help our Nepali partners begin to rebuild their villages, families, and lives. Ultimately, our goal is the restoration of these communities to the extent that there is no longer any need for any further earthquake relief and we can return CCF to its primary initiatives, including the Power of Five and Deurali Community Service Center.The Research
    The focus of our work in Nepal will be on the three primary Earthquake Relief Projects (ERPs) of CCF: Artisan Relief, Beseri Relief, and General Relief (check out CCFs upd ated website to learn more about each!). We hope to achieve the most accurate and useful information through a simple and elegant Nepali custom: having tea. By sitting down with those who have benefited from CCF assistance, or those who have played a key role in this relief process, we hope to have honest, open, and comfortable conversations. To find the most authentic idea of how and where CCF’s help is most needed, the four CCF representatives mentioned above will be trekking through the districts of Dhading and Ghorka for close to one month, visiting six CCF assisted villages. Following this initial month long stage, Denise and Ric will return to Spokane, while Grant and Cameron will remain in Nepal for an additional six weeks, continuing the research and evaluation and volunteering in the rebuilding efforts.Update!
    While in Kathmandu, Grant, Cameron, and fellow CCF partner, Ishwor Basnet, will also be attending a two day long course on the construction of natural, earthquake proof, affordable Earthbag houses, taught by former director of Builders without Borders, Dr. Owen Geiger. If practical, CCF hopes to propose rebuilding the Deurali Community Service Center in this style to the village committee of Baseri. If agreed upon, the clinic could then potentially be used as a model for other rebuilding projects in the area.Strength, Compassion, Resilience
    In my many trips to Nepal, I have seen many heart warming actions amidst unimaginable suffering. Through all this the Nepali people glide with a seemingly untouchable attitude of optimism. Perhaps the most stirring example of this came just days after the initial earthquake, days after the Deurali Community Service Center had been reduced to rubble. The story of the Baseri Clinic provides a fitting testament to the character of strength, compassion, and resilience possessed by the Nepali people, and a physical demonstration of CCF’s driving values. In this unique spirit of unshakable optimism, the villagers of Baseri unearthed the most useful supplies that were intact from the old clinic and, using what little materials they had, reopened their clinic on May 15th. With the supplies salvaged from the rubble, it now operates out of a makeshift tin hut. It was among the first buildings to be rebuilt. This new manifestation shows once again that, though the physical building of the old Community Center is no longer, its spirit lives on! Moreover, it is your support and compassion that has allowed for the cultivation of these channels through which this spirit now flows!

  • Light Up Rural Nepal!

    The Conscious Connections Foundation (CCF), a registered 501(c)3 EIN# 471602190 founded in 2014 by Ganesh Himal Trading, is working with Alison Thomson, Third-Wave Volunteers and Solight Design to bring SolarPuff lights to remote areas in Nepal where CCF has been working.  SolarPuff has committed to  donate between 100-200 lights that CCF can distribute to the areas where we have contacts and where there is dire need. In the future we are discussing the possibility that they ship the lights directly to Nepal for a low cost and then hopefully together we can help someone set up to sell them in Nepal, preferably in the remote areas.  Fully waterproof and shatterproof, with a built-in rechargeable battery, all-in-one SolarPuff lanterns hold a charge for up to 12 hours and stay bright all night. The small solar panel is viable for 10 years and the LED lights last 2-3 years. http://www.solight-design.com/#solarpuff These lights will be invaluable to people who have no electricity and in areas where electricity is erratic. To find our more about their fundraising to bring more lights to Nepal please visit https://www.crowdrise.com/lettherebelight/fundraiser/lahafinc

    Watch their beautiful video here:

     

  • Back to School Fair Trade Style 2015
    Denise Attwood
    Co-Owner
    This is the time of year when we in North America think “back to school”.  There’s a bit of excitement in the air as we anticipate minds filling with new ideas and dreams of a brighter world to come.  I have been thinking a lot about education of late as we delve deeply into learning about earthquake relief and the best way to distribute resources to those who are in grave need. I think about the learning required to rebuild lives and yet carry on tradition; the learning behind how to work with partners who are suffering great loss but who must still strive to support themselves and their families. Once again I am brought back to the importance of relationships and how it is through interaction and love for each other that we learn and accomplish the most.
    In the past few months since the earthquakes we have allocated resources to many of our producer partners through both Ganesh Himal Trading and through the Conscious Connections Foundation’s Artisan relief fund.  We have watched as these funds have been put directly into people’s hands and used to provide monetary relief, emergency food, tin for roofs, tarps, medicine and more. These resources were provided to directly address the self declared needs of those affected by the earthquake.  Having up to 30 year long relationships with the individuals dispersing these funds and knowing that we could trust their judgment has helped us learn and further appreciate how listening to your friends and trusting them to control resources results in amazing accomplishments. People are now beginning to rebuild and restore, and, in order to catalyze this process, as you have seen through our recent shipments, they are getting back to work.
    We are poised to learn more in the months to come as Ric, myself, and our son Cameron together with his friend Grant travel to Nepal, at our own
    Food and supplies delivered to Baseri, Nepal after the earthquake

    expense, to explore further how CCF and GHT funds have been used, evaluate their effect, learn about how to do it better and discuss with our partners in Nepal the next best steps in moving toward permanent rebuilding and what our role in that can be. We will spend a month visiting the villages and producers who received relief as well as talk with the village council in Baseri about the rebuilding of the clinic there. Then Cameron and Grant, taking a bridge year before they head to college, will spend the next 2 months looking at other small, medium and large scale aid to try to learn about what worked best and where.  Follow along by visiting the Conscious Connections Website. They will be writing a blog on our findings and we’ll post that on the CCF and GHT Facebook pages as well. This is a huge learning curve and you can be right there learning with us!

    Just as there is a need to restructure the trading system through relationship, partnering and Fair Trade, we believe that as the world deals increasingly with disaster we must learn to restructure the “aiding system” as well. It is imperative that we begin the discussion about relationship in aid, learning from those on the ground who we believe have much to teach us.

     

    Thank you for all of your help!
    Denise

     

  • Fair Trade Retail Support Q & A Online Event

    Fair Trade Retail Support Q & A Online Event

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    Kevin Natapow, founder, Creative Retail Solutions

    Ganesh Himal Trading is hosting a Fair Trade Retail Support      Q & A event online. The event will be led by Kevin Natapow, former owner of a successful fair trade retail business in Boulder, Colorado. If you are a fair trade retail shop owner, manager, or staff member and would like to be apart of this event, make sure to join our Fair Trade Retail Support Facebook Group where we will be posting more information. Join the group here>>

    Before opening Momentum, a Fair Trade shop in Boulder, CO with his wife Jenny in 2007, Kevin worked in the non-profit world for over 10 years. Kevin and Jenny recently sold Momentum and Kevin is focusing his time and effort into helping existing Fair Trade shops increase sales and maximize efficiency through inventory control, marketing, merchandising, buying and customer service. He is also working with those seeking to open a Fair Trade shop with the above, as well as location, business structures and plans, financing, and management systems. Kevin has Master’s in Sustainable Development, with a special focus on socially Responsible Business Management.

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  • Erin’s Teenager & Fair Trade Survey Update!

    Preliminary Results are in on my Teenagers and Fair Trade Survey!

    So far I have about twenty responses on survey 1 and about fifteen on survey 2. Even though there

    are not many responses, there is an apparent trend.

    Survey 1:

    The results of this survey made me extremely happy. For starters, all teenagers say they care about what

    fair trade stands for and would mostly make a fair trade purchase over a non fair trade purchase if the

    products are similar. The last question asked if you would now purchase a fair trade item, knowing what

    a purchase represented, and all said yes.

    Survey 2:

    The most interesting results we acquired from this survey is that most people do not know of a fair

    trade store in their city and the number one factor that drives teens away from a fair trade purchase

    is availability. Another interesting piece of information was found when asked if they can tell the

    difference between a fair trade product and non fair trade product. About 35 percent said yes, 28

    percent said no, and 35 percent said sometimes.

    I hope to get more responses soon!

  • Power of 5 Update

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    We recently had the great joy of sending $15,000 to The Association of Craft Producers for the their Child Education program. Thanks to everyone who helped raise this extraordinary amount of money in just a few months! In particular we would like to thank Ethical Choices, 10,000 Villages Austin, Just Creations, The Bridge, Kizuri, Garuda, Peacecraft, Momentum, Gaia’s, Jubilee, Greater Goods, Yesterday Today & Tomorrow, Sphere of Influence, Made by Hand, Work of our Hands, One World Fair Trade, Trinity Lutheran Church for their recent contributions. And we would like to thank everyone who sponsored a Power of 5 Fundraiser in their stores over the past 13 months! We continue to be so humbled by the generous spirit of all of our customers. Thank you for helping girls in Nepal stay in school!

    Below is a message from our good friend who is the director of the Association for Craft Producers who organize this scholarship program in Nepal!

    Meera Bhatterai, the Executive Director of ACP, wanted to share her gratitude:

    Dear Denise,

    Greetings from ACP!

    You are amazing! You have made it happen!! Congratulations to you and all those who have joined hands together for the Power of 5 Project. It is a remarkable achievement. Our salutation to you and the team! We admire your zeal and untiring efforts.

    We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to you and all those kind hearted individuals who have actively canvassed for this noble cause and contributed towards our Child Education Program. Your support has demonstrated your faith in us and enabled us to provide our children their basic right- Right to Education.

    With your generous support we have been able to double the Education Allowance from this year. This has been a tremendous help to our producers to weather their economic difficulties and keep their children in school. We intend to extend the allowance for another two years from next year.

    Once again our sincere thanks to all of you for your willingness to help our children go to school. Your help for today has provided a hope for tomorrow. This is the difference you make!

    Warm regards,
    Meera Bhattarai
    Executive Director

    For more info, visit www.ganeshhimaltrading.com/poweroffive

    The Power of 5 has sent $35,000 to Nepal over the last 13 months