The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard- this is a must see. http://www.storyofstuff.com/
so much to think about.
and really re-inforces for me the direction I am following- I do try and be very concious of how much stuff I accumulate and why.
I just lived for 4 months traveling living out of a suitcase weighing 15 Kg - with all my teaching stuff as well- I really did not miss much, yet had one of the smallest bags at the airport bag places!
Rather proud of myself really.
Here is a letter I am just starting to send out to all groups I can think of- please send it along to any mail lists and groups or individauls who may be able to help, thanks :)
Hello everyone,
I am looking for textile leads when travelling.
I travel quite a bit and am always on the look out for textiles [I also lead a tour company and like to show the best textiles to my clients].
I have seen in my travels in Developing Nations the difference in people's lives if they are part of a Fair Trade arrangement or Co-operative [same idea as us getting all the proceeds of a sale and not loosing the gallery commission- it really means a BIG difference but much more so!]

Lately I have had people contacting me asking for leads to visit these types of places on their travels- I am only too happy to share when I have the info...there are many places to see and I have not [yet!] seen all of them.

I have set up a new blog spot hoping to be able to share this type of info through it. http://tactiletextiletravels.blogspot.com/
Would you mind helping out?

If there are places you visited in your travels- that are Fair Trade - by that I mean the artisans get a living wage for their work, profit goes back into community development like health and education or Co-operatives where profit is shared back to all members OR where you can buy directly from the artisan, where the artisan perhaps runs classes or demonstrations.
Please share the info, I will post it on the blog, make a table of contents and others will be able to share the info.

By going directly to the source, in my experience you will find the BEST contemporary craft and artisan work- you are getting quality goods, often much better prices AND most importantly you are voting with your cash to keep people alive, well and prospering who are keeping the world's cultural heritage alive.

Please share any leads you have across the globe- I am paying particular emphasis to Developing Nations [or Third World as they are sometimes called where Two-thirds of the world's inhabitants live or struggle to do so]
Thank so very much
Fiona
fiona@creative-arts-safaris.com

Please pass this email along to anyone you think might have a lead…

I am sure there is a big thankyou coming from all the travellers who will be able to access easier quality textile fixes in their travels. I am very grateful.
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Fiona Wright
Gresford, NSW, Australia
+61 [0]2 49 389 410
Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
+91 98 68 080 318
fiona@creative-arts-safaris.com
www.creative-arts-safaris.com