2009 Women's Conference

Global Daughter recently participated in the California Women's Convention with the Unatti Foundation to help raise money for the Unatti orphanage in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The conference is held annually and was hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. It was an honor to be in the presence of amazing women such as Caroline Kennedy, Madeline Albright, and Elizabeth Edwards.

We are extremely thrilled that proceeds from Global Daughter Fair Trade product can benefit such a worthy cause so close to our hearts-the empowerment of women and girls in developing countries. The Unatti Foundation cares for 14 girls currently and is looking to expand their project so that they can make a self-sustaining life for the girls once they turn 18. We look forward to watching Stephanie's project grow and helping in any way we can. If you would like to help, you can donate directly via the Unatti Website.

Fair Trade Month

October is Fair Trade Month!

Fair trade helps people and our planet, providing a system that provides economic development for artisans, farmers and their families and sustainable development for our planet's future.

This month, give a minute to think about where some of the products you use daily actually come from. That would mean the coffee you drink in the morning, the piece of chocolate you savor with your red wine at night, the olive oil you use to dip your bread. The farmers that produce these products often are unpaid, isolated and live in a cycle of poverty.

Fair Trade Certified tea, coffee, vineyard, cocoa and vegetable farmers and workers come together to form joint bodies where they set fair prices for their products and make democratic decisions about how to best improve their business, their community and, of course, their product. That means they have decision making power over their land and therefore, the power to uplift themselves out of poverty. Purchasing fair trade sugar from small-scale farmers in Paraguay, for example, ensures higher incomes for sugar cane growers, who often face unpredictable swings in the prices paid for their crop.

Purchasing fair trade products is a lot easier than you think. There are plenty of resources that provide information about where you can shop fair trade products and how you can be a part of the Fair Trade Movement. The little effort it takes to be an informed consumer makes a BIG difference.

Start Here:

http://www.globaldaughter.com/ Fabulous fair trade handicrafts made by women in Nepal

http://www.equalexchange.coop/ Fairly traded tea, coffee, chocolate and snacks

http://www.groundsforchange.com/ All Grounds for Change coffee is 100% fair trade and organic certified

http://www.betterearthflowers.com/ A collection of fair trade flowers- straight from the farm

http://www.fairtradefederation.org/ The ultimate resource for all things fair trade

A Third Way to Think About Aid

The debate over foreign aid often pits those who mistrust "charity" against those who mistrust reliance on the markets. Jacqueline Novogratz proposes a middle way she calls patient capital, with promising examples of entrepreneurial innovation driving social change.

"If we take the notion of a global innovation fund we can invest not directly in government, though we will have the government's blessing, nor in international experts, but in the many existing entrepenurs and civil society members who are already building wonderful innovatioins that are reaching people all over the country."

GD now at Autopia in San Mateo!

Finding places to fill our biodiesel car up on road trips can often be a pain, which is why when we pulled into Autopia on a recent trip to San Franscisco we were pleasantly surprised. The fueling station had a pump right out of the 1950's, ready to fill our car with bio-goodness. The owner, Austin, is happy to greet you with an affordable organic beer or wine from her selection at the bar. As an added bonus you can shop for environmentally-friendly and fair trade gifts, drink in hand, while you wait. This space is a perfect neighborhood hangout, which will open your mind to everything environmental.

Global Daughter gifts are now featured in Autopia alongside other eco-friendly product. We are so pleased to be a part of Autopia's vision: "A Green Community Hub."

For more information, please visit: http://www.autopiabiofuels.com/home.htm

Baily Bennett Benefit

www.bailybennett.com

Global Daughter is proud to be donating gifts to a silent auction that benefits the cancer treatment of 4-year old Baily Bennett. Baily's family is a friend of the GD family and he is a beautiful and spirited little tiger.

Benefit for Baily

Sunday September 27, 2009

Join us for an afternoon of fun and show of support for Baily!
Time: 12:30pm – 5:00pm (silent auction 1-4pm)

Place: Life Center Church Gymnasium
1717 South Union Ave
Tacoma, WA 98405

Baily's Story:

'Our son Baily is the light of our life. He is a wonderful little boy who amazes us every day and brings a smile just by looking at him. He loves his family and friends with every little bit of his heart. He is a true joy to be around and that is why we are so very heart-broken to tell you what has happened to this amazing little boy.

On Tuesday April 7th his mommy took him to the doctor because of a terrible cold. By 10am we were headed to the emergency room because his pediatrician found a large mass taking over his left lung and heart. With the wind knocked out of us we learned that the mass was a tumor. Cancer. Our wonderful little light was diagnosed with Advanced Stage Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. Now that this nightmare has a name, it's so scary that it's hard to breath.

Baily started an intensive chemotherapy regimen and about one month later we were thrilled to learn the tumor had shrunk from 11cm at diagnosis to 3cm. The doctors had positive comments about Baily’s progress and we celebrated his fourth birthday in style with the help of the Tacoma fire department!

Then, on the day of our first family summer vacation, June 25th, Baily got a fever of 103. After being admitted to the hospital, we learned that the tumor had regrown to 7cm and Baily had pneumonia. A new chemotherapy regimen was started but just recently a PET scan revealed that the tumor remains very aggressive. Baily is currently receiving intensive chemotherapy in hopes of achieving remission and is in process to have a Stem Cell Transplant in the next couple of months.

During this whole ordeal, Baily has been a trooper. He knows that he is sick and cannot do most of the things that he loves; zoos, petting zoos, church group, preschool, train store, library, even riding his bike can be hard for him because of how weak he is. He tells me that “it’s okay mom, I know I can’t do that because I’m sick.” and it breaks my heart. This is his “normal” life now and he has accepted it. He says that he will never leave us and that he will get better. He is a good strong 4-year old boy who is fighting for his life.'

You can learn more about Baily and ways to help at www.bailybennett.com.

GD @ Amrithika Art & Craft Bazaar Friday Night!

Erika will be representing GD at the Art & Craft Bazaar at Amrithika in Palo Alto, CA from 5-9PM Friday, September 11th. If you are in the San Fran area swing by and check out local artists, and of course Global Daughter! Hope to see you there!

*Amrithika is located @ 248 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Phone: 650.462.1980

GD Booth at the Kirkland Art Walk, Sept. 10th!

Global Daughter will be participating in the their second Kirkland Art Walk this Thursday, Sept. 10th. It is sure to be a lively event featuring music, local artists and hopefully...sunshine!! Come visit and check out our Fall Earring SALE! Up to 30% off!

Thursday Sept. 10th, Park Lane in downtown Kirkland will be shut down to vehicle traffic for live street jazz performances by local jazz musicians along with extended outdoor seating from restaurants located on Park Lane. Other businesses located on Park Lane will be extending their business hours 'til 9 for this once a month event.

Directions to Parklane Gallery:

Via I-405 North or South
Take exit 18 (Kirkland/Redmond). Follow signs to Kirkland, heading west to downtown. Turn left at Lake Street, go one block, turn left onto Park Lane. This road will be clossed off for the event as booths spill onto the street. You can park around the back or in the library parking lot.
The Global Daughter booth will be outside Simplicity Decor across from the Cactus Restaurant.

130 Park Lane, Kirkland, WA

Happy Teej 2009!

Teej is an important Hindu ritual observed by Hindu women. Teej in Nepal is observed on the third day after the new moon in the Hindu month of Bhadra or Bhadrapada. It is dedicated to Goddess Parvathi and Lord Shiva and is observed for three consecutive days. This Teej is widely known as Hartalika Teej in India. In 2009, the Teej festival in Nepal begins on August 23. The last day of Teej is observed as Rishi Panchami.

A fast is observed on the Teej day by married and unmarried women. There is a belief that those unmarried women who observe fast on this day will get good husbands. Married women undertake fasting for a happy and prosperous married life. The importance of this fast is mentioned in several Puranas and it is also said that Hindu women observe Teej to commemorate the intense austerity observed by Goddess Parvati to get Lord Shiva as husband.

In Nepal, Teej is also the period when married women visit their parents. The night before Teej day is known as Dar khane Din and women prepare different varieties of food and have a lavish dinner. On Teej day, many women go without food the whole day.

The day after Teej is Ganesh Chaturthi and special prayers are held. Women also break the fast on this day. The next day is Rishi Panchami and special prayers are offered to the Sapta Rishis.

Global Daughter for Unatti

A fundraising event the whole family could enjoy!

Mary came all the way from Seattle to lend a hand.

Founder of Unatti, Stephanie, and her daughter Shriya.

Global Daughter has recently made an amazing connection with Stephanie from the Unatti Foundation. The Unatti Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to provide food, shelter and education for the multitude of orphaned and underprivileged children of Nepal.

Stephanie opened an orphanage for young girls outside of Kathmandu in one of our favorite places, historic Bhaktapur. Currently, Stephanie is raising money to create an orphanage/group home where the girls can learn to care for themselves, both financially and physically, by implementing income-generating programs that will also aid the community. One of those income-generating programs is handicraft development, which is the perfect avenue for Global Daughter and Unatti to pool their resources.

Stephanie was kind enough to invite us to participate in two events in Los Angeles over the past couple Sundays. The fundraisers were a huge success and Global Daughter was thrilled to be able to fundraise for Unatti's current project through our product. We love meeting women with the like mission of empowerment through education, and even more than that, we love to connect with those who have a shared love for Nepal. Please visit http://www.unattifoundation.org/ for more information and to see how you can help.

Join Global Daughter at the Kirkland Art Walk tomorrow!

Global Daughter is pleased to be a part of the 2nd Annual Kirkland Art Walk. Erin will be there tomorrow, Thursday, August 13th from 6PM to 9PM on Park Lane in downtown Kirkland. Stop by to say hi, treat yourself to a handmade Global Daughter gift and enjoy the work of local artists. See you there!

GD now in Princeton, IL at Beetz Me!

Global Daughter has made it to the Midwest! We are now featured in the lovely and unique gift shop Beetz Me in Princeton, Illinois, only two hours outside Chicago. Beetz Me on Main Street offers fabulous gifts ranging from wine to handmade soaps, and of course Fair Trade from Global Daughter.

As one emphatic customer states, "If you are looking for that special gift you will find it at Beetz Me. In a charming store on Main St. Princeton. You will find that small town hospitality, and that very special gift that not everyone else will have."

Global Daughter is very proud to be partnering with such an amazing woman-owned independent shop. If you are ever in the Princeton area, please stop by!

Nepal's Government gets it Wrong...Again.

Widows in Nepal are treated like second class citizens. Upon their husband's death they are ostracized by their community and literally referred to as "husband eaters." In Nepal, there are thousands of young widows, who have no job opportunities or assistance from the government. To remarry a widow is considered taboo- many widows, some as young as 9 years old, stay single for the duration of their life and carry a social stigma they can never live down.

In the following press release from Women for Human Rights, a NGO in Kathmandu working for widows and single women, we see that the government has implemented a monetary incentive for men to marry widows. If a man marrys a widow he will recieve over $700 from the government, a huge sum of money in Nepal. This is not a step forward and obviously a policy thrown together with no thought for a longterm solution to the appalling status of widows in the country. It is blatantly offensive and dehumanizing to widows in Nepal.

This is an issue Global Daughter has been very involved in from the beginning. We work with many artisans who are widows. We engage them in a positive way and allow them the opportunity for stable and sustainable employment so they can continue to provide for their families and get out from under the thumb of their in-laws. This builds confidence and serves as an example to communities that widows are contributing members of society with the same desires and needs as anyone else.

The way forward is empowering women, not incentivizing men.

Dear All,

In the Budget speech of the Government of Nepal dated Ashad 29 2066 B.S., under the social security schemes, it has been mentioned that a person who gets married to a widow will be given a reward of NRs. 50,000 ($700+) as motivation. Women for Human Rights, single women group (WHR) would like to say that this policy of Government of Nepal has further humiliated and insulted single women of Nepal. This decision will further bring about unwanted social impacts and bad consequences in society. It seems that Government has failed to take into consideration the long term impact of the monetary incentive. Because of this, WHR strongly condemns this decision of government and urge the government to immediately nullify the monetary incentive mentioned for remarriage of single women and rather should focus on removing age bar while getting monthly allowances, reservation in health and education facilities, tax exemption while registering property in the name of single women, provision of ration card and job opportunities.

GD now in The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach!

Some of you may not know that among many of our handmade gifts are the beautiful and eco-friendly wine bags. On a recent trip down the Oregon Coast I stumbled into the adorable and earthy Wine Shack in search of the perfect Pinot Noir. Not only did I end up with two unique Oregon Pinots, but a new client who now carries all three of our wine bag styles. Our Lokta wine bags are the perfect compliment to the design of The Wine Shack and the quality selection of local wines. Erin and I could not be more thrilled to be in Cannon Beach, the town in which the idea for Global Daughter began, and we hope next time you are there you'll stop by and enjoy some wine!

Global Daughters Unite!

Erika came up to Seattle from LA for a week of Global Daughter fun and frenzy. It was a week of spreading the word and uniting our Global Daughter forces! We have found that when we are together we are an unstoppable team of strength, passion and creativity. The train is moving....all aboard!

We were able to do our first Fair Trade Home Parties together and connect with new and old GD supporters. Thank you to Karl, Bev, Steffen and Caryn for hosting parties and lending their beautiful homes to Global Daughter for the afternoon. Summer is in full swing and people are ready to celebrate and join in on the fun with Global Daughter! To get involved, click here to book your party today and receive a free Om Copper Tray and 25% off your ENTIRE order!

Thank you Bev!

Thanks, Kaaaaaarl!