Fair Trade House Parties are all the Rage!

Global Daughter wants to give you the opportunity to make a purchase that matters....from the comfort of your own home, with the people you love. “Global Daughter Fair Trade House Parties” are a great way for women (and men!) to come together and learn about fair trade, purchase beautiful hand crafted gifts and hear the stories behind the product. These parties are an opportunity for women to meet socially and take a break from the ordinary. (Plus it is a great way to save money and the environment by “skipping the shipping” on a purchase!)

As a host of a Global Daughter Fair Trade Party, you will receive a tool kit with all the materials you need to have a successful and fun party. Included in the kit will be fair trade informational packets, guest sign-in sheets, order forms, product catalogues and fun stuff, like Nepali music CDs, fair trade chocolate and tea, snack and wine suggestions and a slideshow of Nepali women artisans. In addition, you will receive a free Global Daughter gift when you sign up to host an event. You can be creative and have a BBQ party, or an office party or throw a party at your church or at a restaurant. No matter where you throw your fair trade party, you have the opportunity to gather your family and friends in a warm atmosphere to spread the word about fair trade and support the work of women artisans around the world.

As socially conscience consumers we have a responsibility to ourselves and others to make sound choices when buying. Why not make a change and encourage others to join the movement with you! Contact Erika at erika@globaldaughter.com for more information on hosting an event or for a listing of fair trade house parties in your area.

Om Copper Tray

Rose Nettle Cushion Cover

Shanti Nettle Elephant

Erin Meets with U.S. Ambassador

I was lucky enough to be a part of a women's interactive luncheon with Nancy Powell, the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal. She invited women leaders of NGOs and prominent activists to discuss ways in which the U.S. government could help support women members of the new constitution-making body, the Constituent Assembly. She pledged the financial and technical support of the U.S. government for capacity building and training of the newly elected women leaders.

It was an honor to be sitting there with the most influential and active women in Nepal talking about the future of the women's "movement." The Ambassador has taken a keen interest in the participation of women in the political sector and it is encouraging to know that she has the support of the U.S. government behind her. Nepal will need their assistance, as well as the assistance of other countries if it is to be successful in drafting a democratic, inclusive and sustainable constitution in the next 2 years.

Website, Website, Website?

The Global Daughter on-line fair trade boutique is on the way. Promise. It has taken longer than we expected due to incompatibility between web systems in Nepal and the US. We look forward to being up and running as soon as possible. We will, however, be putting on Global Daughter Fair Trade House Parties in the mean time. If you would like to host a party at your house, please contact us at info@globaldaughter.com for more details. Stay tuned for the website and check back on the blog for updates. Thanks for the support!

Cleopatra Malla Necklace

Raw Silk Mini Bag

Something Stinks.

So, as Nepal is a considered a "least developed country," or socially inaccurately, "third world," one would expect some parts of daily life to be shocking. I do expect to be shocked, but rarely have I been as shocked than in the last week. In the last week, I have witnessed the failure of this country's leaders to protect the rights of citizens, manage infrastructure and diplomatically handle disputes. Among other problems, the garbage on the streets is getting unbearable. I am used to a little garbage here and there (although to most it would be jarring) but these days the piles of garbage on every corner are suffocating the streets, businesses and the air. The smell is beyond potent and the open sight of another man's garbage is never fun.

It is monsoon season so it rains daily and the garbage floats into the streets and sidewalks- it is a breeding ground for disease. The problem is, people eat street food that is prepared literally next to garbage heaps. The garbage is carried away in floods to water sources for drinking and is causing increased cases of jaundice, cholera, hepatitis, diarrhea and other water-borne diseases. It is heartbreaking to watch people rummaging through these garbage piles looking to salvage food, cooking materials and clothes. The ever-present street cows join them in stamping through the garbage looking for scraps.

Why is the garbage not being picked up by the city? Well, first and foremost their have been transportation strikes in the city due to an increase in petrol prices. Drivers have been striking to demand higher fares for public transport and delivery services. One of the main reasons, though, is that people are obstructing the city from dumping garbage at nearby landfill sites. That means that people are standing at the gates to the landfill and not letting trucks dispose of the garbage. They are creating obstructions on roads leading to the landfill site demanding that be provided money for the repair of local schools and the construction of new roads. Are you kidding me? Nothing should surprise me anymore, but this is incredible. So the city's inability to dump the garbage spawns from its inability to provide adequate education for the people. The striking culture in Nepal is out of control. Groups hold protests and call city-wide strikes on a whim. It cripples daily life and sets the country's development back two fold. I am thinking about protesting my right to clean air in Kathmandu. I am going to threaten to create green spaces in the city. They will hate that. It is almost crazy enough to work- only in Nepal.

As the garbage piles up and stench and disease spread, life goes on in the city. People, including myself, just step around the piles and continue with a polite hand-cover of the nose. I hope this thing gets sorted out soon. It is a public health disaster and it certainly effects the tourism industry. "Hey, welcome to Nepal. On your right you can see Pashupati Temple, one of the most famous temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in the world. And on your right you can see a Himalayan-size garbage heap that is about one month old. Enjoy your stay." T.I.N." This is Nepal.

The King Has Left The Building

Nepal's king has left the thrown. After 240 years of monarchy in Nepal, as of today, the former "Kingdom of Nepal" no longer has ties with a king. It was a long time coming and most people in the country are happy. The king now becomes like any other citizen. He had to vacate the palace and return property of the state (like the crown and scepter). The story of the ruling families in Nepal is fascinating and dramatic. Much like the king's exit on Wednesday.

It is the beginning of a new era.

November 1991: King Birendra becomes constitutional monarch and reintroduces multiparty democracy
June 2001: Crown Prince Dipendra shoots nine members of the royal family before killing himself. Gyanendra succeeds to the throne
February 2005: Gyanendra sacks government and assumes full executive powers
April 2006: Mass protests force reinstatement of parliament and king is stripped of most powers
April 2008: Maoists win most seats in elections to constituent assembly
May 2008: Nepal declared a republic, ending 240 years of monarchy
June 2008: Gyanendra leaves his palace in Kathmandu, home of his family for more than a century

Global Daughter's ❝Carbon Footprint❞

In the spirit of World Environment Day, Global Daughter has taken the time to access our "Global Daughter Carbon Footprint." First and foremost, our products are all handmade, no machine or assembly line production is used. They are made in workshops, homes and rehabilitation centers as well as produced by women just sitting in the grass. In this day, hand made and homemade products have been pushed out of the market by large-volume, cheap-labour factories and companies. The impact these companies have on the environment well exceeds the mother in her backyard beading jewelry or handspinning natural fibers.

Our products are wrapped in plastic when shipped, yes. But this plastic is a special type of low-impact, low-density (P.P) plastic. All our gift wrapping is done with recycled paper and we use natural dyes to color our handmade paper products like photo albums, journals and wine bags. Our tea is produced organically, meaning it is hand-picked (no farming machinery) and processed in what is called "orthodox" techniques which are natural and enviro-friendly.

Women hand plucking tea leaves in the hills

We use "aloo", a giant nettle plant that grows in the Himalayas at 6,000-10,000 feet, in our cushion covers, photo frames and hand bags. This plant, standing 10-16 ft. tall naturally regenerates itself and is resistant to bugs, therefore making it unnecessary to use pesticides in its cultivation. It is a sustainable resource that we use not only because of its beauty, but because of its durability and abundance in the mountainous regions. The elephant grass we use for our table runners and place mats is hand woven. No machines are used in the process. This dense and very tall grass flourishes in the jungle region of southern Nepal.

Elephant Grass

We will also offer a 100% cotton shopping bag at our on-line boutique. This sturdy and enviro-friendly bag can be used for groceries instead of plastic. It is an easy and stylish alternative to walking out of the grocery store with 5 double-bagged plastics. It is a way to show that shopping with a cotton, re-usable bag is cool and shopping with a harmful, ugly plastic bag is not.

When we ship our goods to the US from Nepal, we do use air freight. This means that we are contributing to carbon emissions by fueling planes. But if we could, we would deliver the stuff to Seattle via kayak. That, however, is not possible. As a new way to provide our product to customers, we will feature fair trade house parties. At these parties the customer, or "guest," can purchase items instantly and save money and the environment by "skipping the shipping."

Erika and I also have personal commitments to doing our part. I ride my bicycle, "China Blue" around Kathmandu and she has dusted off her old "City Express" to take to the park and ride. This is partly because we are broke, but mostly because we want Global Daughter to embody the grassroots spirit of the women we work with. If they can walk for miles up and down hills with 40 pounds of fodder on their backs and no shoes on their feet, we can certainly ride a bicycle to the Namaste Super or the Albertsons! We can only do what is realistic. This is at least do-able for us.

We just want to do this all right....from the beginning. We want our project to have a low-impact on the environment, but a high impact on the world! Hopefully the Global Daughter "imprint" is left only in the places where it should be- in the hearts and minds of women around the globe.

NEPAL- N.ever E.nding P.eace A.nd L.ove

Tiny Nepal is in red.

Global Daughter works with women artisans in Kathmandu, Patan, Janakpur, Dharan and Pokhara

Nepal is located in between the two giants, India and China (Autonomous Region of Tibet) in South Asia. It is not the same as Napoli (in Italy) and it is not a part of India, contrary to popular belief. It makes up .01% of the world's land mass and has eight of the ten highest mountain peaks in the world. It the approximate size of England in the UK or Michigan state in the US. It is home to over 101 ethnic groups and 123 languages, making it one of the most domestically diverse countries on the planet. Ethnic influences from Mongolia, Tibet, India, China, and Bhutan mix together to create all the beautiful and different faces in Nepal.

This Stuff is Really Happening...

The newspaper here sometimes reads like a science fiction horror novel. In the last two weeks there have been two extremely terrifying news stories about domestic violence and abuse. Two weeks ago, just outside Kathmandu a woman was beaten and left for dead by her in-laws and her husband for getting a job outside of the house. Initially she was abused and mentally ridiculed by her in-laws for not being their first choice for their son to marry. They banished her from the house to a small shack in the back, kept her from her son and gave her no food. After staying in their without any provisions, she got a job to make money to survive. When her husband found out, he and his parents beat her to near death and stashed her body under the living room couch to die. She was barely alive when she was finally found by other relatives and taken to the hospital.

Abuse of wives by in-laws is very common here and cases like this go unreported all the time. Just a few days ago a woman was doused with kerosene by her husband and set on fire. Why? Because she had not produced a male child. Her husband attacked her and set her ablaze with the intention of "punishing" her. She was taken to the hospital, but her body was covered with burns and she died at the hospital shortly after arriving.

This is sickening and people need to know that it is happening here. The villages have very backward practices and domestic violence is a major problem. Women simply do not report their husbands or family members. One, because they are afraid, and two, because there are no laws to protect them or punish those involved. It has been reported that no husband has ever been convicted of a crime against his wife in a court of law. Usually the husband or in-laws are brought to authorities and they sign a piece of paper saying they will never again abuse the woman. It is a joke.

Listen to what authorities had to say about the case of the woman found under the couch- "Even though there is no specific law to deal with domestic violence, culprits can be charged with attempt to murder because they used a weapon, lathi (stick) in this case and left the victim in an unconscious state, " said Superintendent of Police. No laws to deal with abuse by a man upon a woman. It is the reality here.

The man who beat his wife for getting a job represents the mentality of some men towards a woman's role in society. He knows financial independence and freedom leaves him unnecessary and creates confidence so that the woman can leave him, with her child, and use her own resources to survive. That is why it is so important to instill confidence in the women here to take a stand and speak out against the abuse of their human rights. Obviously, the law or the government is not going to protect them. By creating job opportunities and providing sustainable skills training, Global Daughter hopes to reach some of these women and put them on the right path to freedom and give them hope for a better way of life for them and their children.