Craft Hope

Help Provide Safe Birthing Kits to Women in Haiti

For Craft Hope's first project this year we are going back to Haiti. Project 11 will benefit Konbit Sante, a wonderful organization that has, for nearly ten years, worked to provide the education and resources necessary to improve capacity within the public health system of Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city.  Even before the earthquake, Haiti’s health statistics were dismal, and now the need is even greater.  Shockingly, one in eight Haitian children dies before the age of five, and their maternal mortality rate is 1,400 deaths for every 100,000 –a  reflection of the fact that the majority of the population lives in poverty/on less than a dollar a day. Only one in every 10,000 Haitians has access to a physician.
For the past three years, Konbit Sante has been spearheading a family planning and maternal health project in the most needy neighborhoods of Cap-Haitien that includes working more closely to support trained birth attendants (TBAs) who attend the vast majority of births in the community. They began supplying them with safe birthing kits to use in their deliveries. TBAs attend the vast majority of births in Haiti and have no formal medical training to speak of.  The kits represent a “value added” component to their services, offer a measure of status, and are well received. There is ample evidence internationally that the kits can reduce infant and maternal mortality.
When you simply need a clean piece of plastic sheeting, a clean piece of string, a new razor blade, an alcohol wipe, and hand sanitizer to save lives during delivery, it is humbling. When you can send a message of hope and solidarity with mothers in Haiti by including a hand made receiving blanket, it is empowering.  We may not be able to change much about the challenging reality faced by mothers and children in Haiti, but we CAN do this. And it will matter.
So for Project 11 we are going to provide safe birthing kits to Konbit Sante. This project will include some handmade items and some store bought. This is a great project for a group as many of these things are purchased in bulk.
Contents of safe birthing kit:

• 1 small bar of soap (updated 1/16/2011)
• 1 piece of clean plastic sheeting (3 feet wide by 4 feet long)
• 1 piece of clean string, 24 inches long
• 1 packet alcohol wipe
• 1 set of sterile latex gloves
• 1 packet (or travel container) Purelle
• 1 handmade tote bag

Optional:

• receiving blanket–36 inches square
• small “stuffy” toy

*** updated 1/16/2011 – We have received some great questions about the contents of the delivery kits. For more specifics about the contents, please go to this post where we have answered your questions. Thanks!
Konbit Sante is asking for pre-assembled birthing kits. You can buy the supplies (or request donations from local businesses), wrap them in the plastic sheeting, and put them all in a handmade bag. The receiving blanket and toy are optional, but are a very sweet touch that we hope you include. That blanket is the first blanket that sweet baby will be wrapped in. Both of these items are the handmade part of the birthing kits and show a little extra love for the newborn baby.
This simple bag will save lives in Haiti, and making the commitment to creating it will add meaning to your own. When the need is so great and our own lives are so full, it is difficult to know where to start.  The simplicity of this project gives us the perfect way to become involved–make a contribution to helping start out a baby’s life safely.
The deadline for Project 11 is March 1, 2011.
Please mail your complete bag to:
Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership
362 US Route 1
Falmouth, ME  04105
USA

What Is Slow Architecture?

If you’ve never heard of “Slow Food,” you’ve probably heard of “Fast Food.” If you’ve never heard of “Slow Architecture,” you might have heard the phrase “McMansion,” referring to cookie-cutter suburban sprawl. Slow Architecture is a movement toward building homes that are space- and energy-efficient, attractive, that harmonize with the surrounding area, and create a smaller carbon footprint.

What makes Slow Architecture “slow”? Literally, Slow Homes take time to build. Just like it takes time to cook food that honors the native flavors and ingredients of the region, homes that work with their environment take time to design and build. The main idea behind Slow Architecture is careful consideration of what both the home owner and the environment need. John Brown, the founder of Slow Home, says that Slow Homes are homes that people can afford. He holds that living within one’s means, rather than trying to buy the biggest house possible, is slow living. Therefore, the Slow Architecture movement is a movement away from size, and a movement toward quality and durability. It takes time to build quality, durable things.
A facet of Slow Architecture is reusing existing structures and objects instead of producing new ones. For instance, Slow Architects prefer filling in existing urban spaces to building up lesser-developed suburban areas. You’ll find many creative uses of old objects inside Slow Architecture houses. Used wood and recycled building parts might all become part of the structure of the house. Home furnishings might be made from creatively-used found objects, like tables and chairs made from cast off wood.
Slow Architecture aims to harmonize with the environment. “Harmonize” might sound flakey, but a home that agrees with its natural environment is the most cost-efficient option. Maximizing natural light and building a home that is appropriate to the climate can save you thousands of dollars in heating, cooling, and lighting bills. Just like there’s nothing hippy-dippy about a slow-cooked pot roast, there’s no shame in building and furnishing a home in a way that it will last for generations and serve exactly its purpose, with no frills.

Content Credit: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/what-is-slow-architecture.html#ixzz1CABl6d00

Newer, faster, smaller mobile devices hit the market every day. As one of the industry leaders, Apple’s products are highly sought-after by tech enthusiasts, which means unused, outdated electronics are starting to collect dust on shelves and desks all over the world. Sometimes people keep these older products just in case the new ones crash, but more often than not, they just don’t know how to dispose of them properly.
That’s why Take My Mac is an ingenious service. This online company provides a satisfying way to sell your iPads, iPhones and other Apple devices and to avoid going through the time and frustration of selling it yourself.
In a recent interview with Mark Evans Tech, Take My Mac’s Andrea Bebirian described the ease of her company’s process:
“All you have to do is visit TakeMyMac.com and click on the “get started” tab. From there, choose your device and fill out a form to provide details about your electronic device. Through email, the consumer will receive an excellent quote for the device and has the option to either accept or decline the offer. If the owner of the device accepts, a prepaid label is sent to them to ship out their device. Therefore, they aren’t charged for shipping.
“Once Take My Mac receives the gadget, it is inspected, and all personal and non-personal data is removed in a secure manner, if necessary. Once this process is complete, the previous owner of the device gets paid – and they’re done!”
Two things that set Take My Mac apart from other online electronics recycling services: they literally take everything–working or smashed–that bears the Apple label. And everything they take is recycled or reused responsibly: For reuse, your iBook may be seen at a hospital for patients to use during their free time. For recycling, conditions are controlled so there is absolutely no environmental waste left behind to harm our earth.
Learn more by following Take My Mac on Twitter or Facebook

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Newer, faster, smaller mobile devices hit the market every day. As one of the industry leaders, Apple’s products are highly sought-after by tech enthusiasts, which means unused, outdated electronics are starting to collect dust on shelves and desks all over the world. Sometimes people keep these older products just in case the new ones crash, but more often than not, they just don’t know how to dispose of them properly.
That’s why Take My Mac is an ingenious service. This online company provides a satisfying way to sell your iPads, iPhones and other Apple devices and to avoid going through the time and frustration of selling it yourself.
In a recent interview with Mark Evans Tech, Take My Mac’s Andrea Bebirian described the ease of her company’s process:
“All you have to do is visit TakeMyMac.com and click on the “get started” tab. From there, choose your device and fill out a form to provide details about your electronic device. Through email, the consumer will receive an excellent quote for the device and has the option to either accept or decline the offer. If the owner of the device accepts, a prepaid label is sent to them to ship out their device. Therefore, they aren’t charged for shipping.
“Once Take My Mac receives the gadget, it is inspected, and all personal and non-personal data is removed in a secure manner, if necessary. Once this process is complete, the previous owner of the device gets paid – and they’re done!”
Two things that set Take My Mac apart from other online electronics recycling services: they literally take everything–working or smashed–that bears the Apple label. And everything they take is recycled or reused responsibly: For reuse, your iBook may be seen at a hospital for patients to use during their free time. For recycling, conditions are controlled so there is absolutely no environmental waste left behind to harm our earth.
Learn more by following Take My Mac on Twitter or Facebook!

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/mac-users-get-a-new-way-to-recycle-old-electronics.html#ixzz1BUzziT5N

Bee Die-Off...What We Need To Know

Bee-Die off is a phenomenon that is so in our faces and up front and evident that the causes behind it simply must be addressed. Once in a while I do a rant and name names, push a position and ask you to take a stand.  Please read this information from CredoMobile. You can open the link, go to their site and sign a petition if you like.

Since 2006, U.S. honey bee populations have been in precipitous decline, with some estimates suggesting losses as high as 30% per year.1 While that's terrible, the problem is far greater than just the destruction of a species. Without bees, a big piece of our food supply is in serious danger. Pollination by honey bees is key in cultivating the crops that produce a full one-third of our food.

One  chemical, called clothianidin, could be the cause.  It is produced by the German corporation Bayer CropScience. It is used as a treatment on crop seeds, including corn and canola, and works by expressing itself in the plants' pollen and nectar. Not coincidentally, these are honey bees' favorite sources of food.

Shockingly, no major independent study has verified the safety of this pesticide. While clothianidin has been used on corn -- the largest crop in the U.S. -- since 2003, it was officially approved by the Environmental Protection Agency last year on the basis of a single study, conducted by Bayer. However, recently leaked documents show that the study was actually debunked by the agency's own scientists, so the pesticide was effectively approved with no scientific backing.2

Additional independent studies have shown that neonicotinoid pesticides like clothianidin are highly toxic to honey bees, providing compelling evidence that they should be immediately taken off the market until the E.P.A. can conduct a full and valid scientific review.

This appears to be a case of the E.P.A. catering to the needs of a large chemical corporation at the expense of a lynchpin species in our ecosystem. France, Italy, Slovenia, and Germany -- the home of Bayer -- have already banned clothianidin.

The stakes are simply too high to continue the use of this chemical in the absence of any scientifically verified evidence that it is safe to use. Tell the E.P.A. to immediately prohibit the use of clothianidin and conduct a full scientific review to determine its impact on honey bee populations.

___________________
1 secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
2 www.grist.org/article/food-2010-12-10-leaked-documents-show-epa-allowed-bee-toxic-pesticide-
3 www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf

Note to readers:  I have not closed comments for this post, but since this is my own personal rant  I do not intend to engage in arguments over the facts presented here.

Minimalist

On the zenhabits site  Leo Babauta talke about paring down and trying to be a minimilast and shares tons of thought provoking ideas and new thinking.  I suggest you wander around over there http://mnmlist.com/ .... a lot of this mindset falls in line with our job as caretakers of our planet.

In France a small company called Teddyfish makes bags by hand following the handmade tradition much like we who sell on handmade marketplaces such as Esy.  Their philosophy of production is beautiful: “We believe in ‘petite-production’, which means the willingness to work on slower rhythm and scale. Through creating and hand-making by ourselves, we are aiming to flavor our products with the warmth of the craftsmen’s hands, instead of the gasoline from the machine.”

Imagine if our world of mass-production was turned into a world of petite-production. People would hand-make clothing bicycles furniture food.

We would produce less and consume less. Things would cost more but people would make more for their labor.

We would love our work more. Produce quality things that last. Love our lives more. Call it Anti-Walmartization.

What is mnmlist.com?
It’s a site by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.
It’s about minimalism, and why it’s important today.
It’s about stuff, and how it has come to overwhelm us.
It’s about distractions and commitments and a neverending task list.
It’s about the culture of more, of bigger, of consumption.
It’s about how less is the answer.

The Bottlehood..the worst kept secret on Etsy

I have become a fan, addict and good customer of the folks at The Bottlehood....I want to let you in on the worst-kept secret on Etsy. Our cupboard is now home to wineglass tumblers and coke bottle juice glasses. Sturdy, pretty and interesting. Recycled glasses from wine, beer, soda and liquor bottles.  According to Bottlehood.com a glass bottle takes more than 4000 years to decompose in a landfill! I would much rather re-use if it can't be recycled. Glass will be with us for a while, so until there is an alterntive that isn't plastic...I am with the folks at Bottlehood::

On my table, a soda in a re-purposed wine bottle reflecting the winter sun!

Our juice glasses.....

BottleHood was founded by a couple of folks in San Diego who took their concerns for the environment and decided to “do” something about it. BottleHood is a collective team of neighborhood craftspeople (jeweler, weaver, graphic designer) who share an interest in today's environment.

BottleHood has taken a stand on keeping bottles which have no California Redemption Value (CRV) out of California’s landfills or sent overseas to be recycled.


It  is just really all about theneighborhood and helping extend the life of discarded glass.

Absolut Vodka bottle (now a vase)

All BottleHood glassware was created from wine, liquor, beer, soda and water bottles from local San Diego restaurants, bars and events.



No part of the bottle goes to waste....jewelry, beads, spoonrests,  etc.   etsy recycled glass jewelry and etsy BottleHood beads