Save the planet and be fashionable at the same time – has the time for fair trade fashion arrived? Fingertips’ Nikki Hunt finds out

I like to know where my food, my drink and my clothing come from.

A few years have passed since the controversy surrounding Primark being named the least ethical place to buy clothes in Britain. But what is ‘ethical fashion’ and does it really exist?

There a number of factors which go into making anything – not just fashion – ethical.

It should be locally sourced and use fair trade; wages given to workers should be fair; and they should be able to work in a safe environment. The actual clothing should have no negative impact on the environment and be recyclable.

Often more expensive to buy, stores such as Gap, Harvey Nichols and Urban Outfitters are stocking eco-friendly designer jeans and larger companies such as Timberland and Marks & Spencer have launched their own fair-trade lines of eco-friendly footwear and organic clothing.

Stella McCartney is renowned for her love and respect for animals. She refuses to use fur in her designs, another important aspect of ethical fashion, and has been quoted saying, “I frankly don’t think most designers have the balls to watch animals writhing and being slaughtered; they don’t want to admit they’re responsible for such suffering.”

Her clothing line does not use any leather or furs and her website contains 30 top tips on how to stay eco-friendly.

It can be difficult to know that what we are buying is in fact ethical but you can always start making a particular effort by visiting ethical stores such as the ones mentioned before.

A good way to recycle is by having a clothes-swapping party (not what it sounds like). Or have a night in and invite all your friends and their unwanted clothes over and do exactly what it says on the tin, swap! Any leftovers can be given to charity.

Many retailers are now fighting to make fashion more ethical, so that in the future we can help achieve a better way of life for people in disadvantaged countries and save the planet at the same time.

For more news and views on all things fashion, log-on to Fingertips.net

Flickr: Rachael Sian - http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelsian/

…walking, actually!  As a follow-up to an earlier post where I talked about investing in boots for the winter, I finally found a pair at the weekend in Next (fast on its way to becoming my favourite shop).

They did cost a bit – £80 to be exact – but if my experience in breaking them in over the last few days is anything to go by they will be worth it.Plus, in the grand scheme of boots, £80 isn’t really all that stomach-churning a figure to part with. I’ve done a fair bit of scouting over the past few weeks and some pairs – which don’t look the most hard-wearing may I add – are going for well over £100.

Anyway, back to my new beauties. Tan in colour, flat and knee-high they are slightly military in style, although not overly so. They look great with a skirt or dress/tights combo (long socks peeping over their tops look especially cute) and they work well with jeans, tucked in if skinny leg, over the top if not. They also go well with most of my clothes, which is essential – there would be no buying a pair of boots if nothing else I owned matched them!

Aesthetics aside, however, the main reason I had for buying boots was walking to work over the winter months. So the most important box to be ticked was that they were comfortable and capable of taking 15 miles per week in their stride (sorry, had to be done) plus a handful of extra miles at the weekend. I haven’t yet had them a week, but I have done a good bit of walking in them already, including a brisk jaunt up Blackford Hill on Monday. I can happily report that there are no blisters, bruises or other grievances to report thus far.

I haven’t actually left the house without them on since Saturday they are so comfortable…it might just be love.

Flickr: rmainuk - http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmainuk/

I had an especially thrifty day off work yesterday.  Not everything was free, but I spent very little money all told, got rid of piles of things on my to-do list and managed to have a lot of fun in my own company to boot.

First off, I went to the library to return some books and to browse for new ones.  I’ve been told on countless occasions to read some of Stephen Fry’s stuff, so I borrowed two of his books yesterday, to be started once I finish the one I’m currently wrestling with (I mean wrestling in that I’ve no idea what’s going on – I think that’s what happens when you read in bed until your eyes are properly closing on you).

After the library I popped into the National Museum for a look at the Scottish exhibits, it being St Andrews Day and all.  I only stayed for half an hour or so, but that’s the beauty of museums, well, the free ones at least – you can drop in and out as often as you like!

With my grasp on the history of Scotland a little firmer, I left the museum to walk home, stopping off for a take-away coffee on the way (it was so cold my hands were begging for something warm to hold on to).  I watched swathes of schoolkids milling about in their lunch hour as I sauntered slowly back through the Meadows.  Strangely enough, it was quite a pleasant sight.  My stomach was calling me by this time as well – there hadn’t been enough milk in the fridge for porridge.  I decided, however, to run a couple of errands before I went back to the flat – I wanted to get some black dye for one thing, and I also wanted to pay a visit to the local butcher which is regrettably something I seldom get round to doing.

I reached Bruntsfield and popped into ‘The Little Bead Shop’ on Bruntsfield Place for a browse (http://www.thelittlebeadshop.co.uk/about_us.php).  I have a vague idea about making some jewellery for upcoming Christmas and birthday presents, but I know I’ll be stumped as to what to choose if I do get round to buying some beads – they have so many different kinds!  The matter will require some further thought, that’s for sure.

After picking up some dye in the local hardware shop I moved along to the butcher where I got some lamb and chilli sausages for dinner.  Man was it satisfying to see them wrapped up in a single bag, as opposed to the raft of plastic packaging that usually accompanies supermarket-bought meats.  It also felt ridiculously good to be buying fresh food from a local trader.  These sausages were made right there on the premises, most probably by the very man who sold them to me.  They hadn’t travelled miles and miles by lorry, artificially refrigerated and packed as tightly as sardines with tens of other packets of exactly the same product.  There was no middle man, just a good honest bargain.  I resolved there and then to make more frequent dates with my local butcher.

With these boxes ticked, I went home for some lunch, which consisted of left-overs: pasta from Sunday’s dinner, bread, cheese, pâté and salad.  I quickly checked my e-mail (but did nothing else computer-related) and then set out again, this time in the opposite direction.  I popped into Oxfam to offload a bag of clothes and books that I had collected for donation and then headed off towards Blackford Hill to watch the sun set.

I have now decided that this is my favourite place to view Edinburgh (see above – it’s beautiful), probably because you can see absolutely everything and you don’t really have to go that far to see it.  The Pentlands are on one side, and the city sits on the other.  You can see all the way to North Berwick and out to the Lomond Hills on the other side of the Forth.  It really is fantastic and yesterday, with the sun setting low over the hills behind me, the light was just beautiful.  Everything was bathed in gold – I could have stayed there for hours had I had a flask of tea with me!

I came down, however, as the sun bid me goodbye, with fresh air in my lungs and the wind in my cheeks.  I felt a million times healthier for it.  I walked back to Morningside for a free hot chocolate from Caffe Nero, courtesy of a fully stamped loyalty card.  I sat there for a while, reading, writing, people watching and feeling blissfully content.  I left around 5.30, picked up a few groceries and then headed home where I put my dye to use on a pile of faded black clothes and made toad in the hole for dinner with my butcher-bought sausages, as well as a wok of soup for lunches at work this week.  The sausages tasted sublime and were pleasingly dry to the touch when raw, unlike the slimy pre-packed nonsense you buy in a supermarket.

I finished the day with a bout of energetic cleaning of the bathroom, and hoovering of the entire flat, before collapsing into bed to read, feeling more fulfilled, relaxed and generally content than I have done in weeks.

make mine organic!

Despite our reputation here at VegBox, you can rest easy – we’re not about to suggest that the only way to enjoy a tipple this Christmas is by making your own potcheen!

Because fortunately for us these days there are enough ethical suppliers around that it is relatively easy to source organic and even local plonk.

We wanted to share a few inspiring choices with you, but don’t forget to check out your local farmers market or to call your veg box supplier and ask them if they can deliver what you’re after or else make a recommendation.

Read the full article…

Read this challenging article by the ever provovcative and sobering George Monbiot, and draw your own conclusions.

One of the people whose name was mentioned a few times during the research for my book on New Monasticism in the Uk, was Tobias Jones whose book Utopian Dreams told of his journey around a number of communes, including Pilsdon in the south of England, which is one of the communities I look at too.

Tobias, it must be said, is a far better writer than me, and his book is very much worth reading if you are interested in community living of any sort.

Interesting to note by the way that he links Pilsdon directly to Little Gidding, which is a key place in the story of New Monasticism in the UK, I hope to meet up with James Stacey from the Jesus Army there in the new year.

Anyway, Tobias is now in the process of setting up his own woodland community, which sounds brilliant, you can read about it here. He is taking a very sensitive and pragmatic approach to it, which is to heartily reccomended. I wish him every success and blessing. Go for it!!

So I’m currently in India, where for the last couple of days I’ve been immersed in the world of garment manufacture, and trying to solve a nagging production issue, which has now been resolved – hurrah!

However, the world of business means that I’ve been living a very ‘unreal’ Indian existance, being picked up from one air-conditioned location and carried in an air-con car to another similar place. Even the factories are clean and well presented, with air-con meeting rooms and bottled drinks for ‘important’ western buyers like me.

It all feels really weird living like this, even the way I dress is required to demonstrate my separation from the poor and lowest parts of society, I must appear smart and well groomed in order that the factory bosses take me and my business seriously. I must deliberately differentiate myself from the urban poor, demonstrating my ability to be ‘worth something’ to them.

This afternoon I had a rare, and far too short opportunity to escape the clutches of business colleagues and anxious hotel staff and to get out for a change amongst the smells and dust of Mumbai.

One of the great joys for me in this kind of place is to travel by rickshaw, something I’m not often able to do as a business traveller, so I grabbed the chance this afternoon, and without realising it, scored a double whammy.

Not only did I get the rickshaw ride I wanted, but I got a driver with attitude and humour, not only was his ride ‘pimped’ with a large pop culture sticker which almost completely obscured the windscreen, but he also had a large brass hooter for a horn, something which is rather impractical but a lot of fun.

As if this wasn’t quite enough, he turned to me as we got in and said: ‘Magic?’

‘Magic??’ I replied, wondering what he was on about.

‘Magic!!’ he declared, before putting on the loudest music in the road, so off we went in his pimped out rickshaw, music blasting. Highly entertaining.

However, the reality of the separation between me and the people around me is not altered by one short rickshaw ride. From the fourth floor window of my hotel room, I look down on a collection of slum dwellings, where people are living in circumstances which for me are unimaginable. Kids walk blithely along huge concrete pipes, between which a stagnant sewer steeps.

Ragged homes are built of reclaimed junk, and men sit for hours sorting through piles of plastic litter, presumably looking for items which are worth reclaiming or have some other resale value.

This is India in the 21st century, beautiful hotels in which the priveliged can dwell in air-conditioned luxury, right next to abject poverty. Apparently I’m stuck in one camp, wanting to make a difference to the other, unsure as to how well I am managing it.

I’ve lived and worked in various countries in South America, Africa and Europe and have become acutely aware of conditions caused by social-economic inequality.  I have also experienced the self-pride that exists in people with disadvantaged backgrounds in the poorest countries that I have visited.

One thing is very clear to me: in general, people do not want to rely on charity. They need to be given fair opportunities to grow through their own efforts.  This is the reason why I’ve become so passionate about Fairtrade.  It ensures that farmers and growers of produce bearing the Fairtrade mark a FAIRLY paid for their work so that they can build their communities, live healthier lives, have better education and, at the same time, be encouraged to produce environmentally sustainable food, which is good for all of us.

We live in a dual world where the might of multinational corporations and commercial priorities rule.  At the same time, there are movements and organisations which seek to give the power back to people, which campaign for the right for a peaceful, fulfilling life. At a time when the ‘developed’ world talks about war, there are organisations such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, CAFOD, World Development Movement, Fairtrade and many others whose principles and ethics have the potential to change human condition in the whole world.

I believe that, on the whole, human beings who are contented with their lives, who have enough work and are fairly paid for it, who can provide education for their children and shelter for their families, have no interest in killing their neighbours.

To change this balance, I believe that all that it’s needed is to make people aware of the issues and choices; to make them aware of how powerful they are to make changes (and to believe in it) and help them realise how much they are personally and individually responsible for human welfare across the globe.

“Once we become aware of the issues, we have to chose between either personally sponsoring poverty, child labour and ill-health or to personally support empowerment of producers and farmers of all nations by paying a FAIR price for their work. We have to make a choice.”

Paulo Quadros – leader of Strathaven Fairtrade Group (Scotland’s First Fairtrade Town) 2003

If you have some spare veg kicking around in the fridge, it’s extremely easy to convert them into a tasty crumble, hearty enough to keep out any winter chill.  Sweet potato, parsnip, leek, pepper, celery, carrot, pumpkin, squash, mushrooms…the list goes on – the dish will work with almost anything, and the combinations are endless.  Simply chop the veg into decent-sized chunks and gently fry in some olive oil or butter along with some onion and a clove or two of garlic.

While the veg is in the pan, prepare a savoury crumble topping with flour, margarine, a pinch of salt and some grated parmesan or cheddar cheese.

Once the veg has softened in the pan, add either a can of chopped tomatoes or a tub of crème fraiche and mix together.  If using crème fraiche, I would add a spoonful of mustard for extra bite.  Put the vegetable mix in an oven-proof dish and then sprinkle the crumble topping over it.

Bake for roughly 20 minutes at around 180 degrees, and then tuck into a big plate of hearty health.  A little goes a long way with this one, so there might be enough left for the next day’s lunch as well.  Thrifty food at its finest!

One for the girls

The other night, I emptied out every single one of my handbags in a bid to lighten the load of stuff I carry around with me every day.  I was pretty well surprised by the amount of useful stuff I uncovered in the process.

I found a stack of kirby grips, which I seem to be in perpetual short supply of.  The forgotten compartments of handbags are, I’ve discovered, breeding grounds for these things.  Same goes for hair bobbles, which, again, appear to elude me on a pretty frequent basis.

The other thing found to be in plentiful supply was pens.  I carry a pen with me wherever I go, but this didn’t explain why I found about five of them at the bottom of one of my lesser-used bags (where was I going that I thought I would need five pens?).

What hair accessories and writing implements are to one person, loose change and forgotten lipsticks might be to another.*  Unless you are super-organised or you travel very lightly, the chances are your bag might be hoarding some long lost gems as well.  What you find you will be saved from buying new, at least for a little while.  It also stands to reason that the bigger the bag the more crap it can hold, so fans of the WAG-style holdall, get rummaging!

*Health warning: these finds will undoubtedly be lurking amidst piles and piles of useless paper, such as receipts, flyers and shopping lists.  Sometimes you have to dig a little before you’ll hit on the gold.  Just make sure you recycle the junk.

Ok, so im terrible at blogging! I find it hard at this stage of my eco journey to justify writing regular instalments of what seems such a slow process with small milestones. I also just find it hard to be motivated!
but, nevertheless, here we are again and i do infact have a couple of milestones to note.

firstly, i’ll be happy to say that my goal of making a summer salad from my own produce has already been achieved!! i’ve had a number of salads over the last few weeks, and it’s been a highly rewarding experience. There’s something really special, really natural (dare i say, organic?) about eating food you’ve grown yourself. its wonderful, and it’s inspired me to keep going. As I speak (or type) more seedlings are growing in my sunroom that has become something of a hothouse. tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, cucumber, basil, spinach, carrots and strawberries have been added to my potted veggie garden. very. exciting. I also have an olive tree, but that won’t produce any edible fruit for a couple of years, or so i hear.

Other than that, i’ve been wrestling with some other areas of ethical living. Just today i signed up with Aussie Farmer’s Direct to receive weekly deliveries of bread, milk and cheese. I’m really happy with this decision, as i increasingly detest going to the supermarket. I like the idea of buying off the farmers directly and cutting out the middle man. i appreciate that Coles and Woolworths do provide thousands of jobs across the country, but still don’t like how much they dominate the realm of supermarkets. at a more personal level, i also don’t like the way i go to buy a couple of items, and somehow end up with all these extras that seem so appealing until i get home! so, i think this will be a great alternative.

I’ve also decided that in interest of REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE (ing) i’m going to try and purchase everything i “need” second hand. So instead of first turning to the usual and convenient retail giants, i’ve started going to op shops first. there’s something about the musky smell of an op shop that i find really inviting actually. And there’s always such a great community feel to markets and garage sales, so I think this is a positive move. Not only will i be saving usable goods from landfill, but will also avoid promoting further exploitation of people and land by purchasing products second hand. and hey, realistically – you can’t always find what you need second hand, particularly if you need it in a hurry, so, the retail option will be a guiltless fall back when necessary.

An example of a recent super op-shop purchase is the book ‘Shantaram’. Retail it sells for around $35 – i price i haven’t been willing to pay. however, i found it at an opshop for $3!! i was so stoked, it felt like Christmas! Another christmas-like experience occured a month or so ago at the Whitehorse Sustainability Festival. They ran a clothes swap where i scored a pair of jeans that have become a new favourite. awesome.

so, all is positive in the SHeco world. step by step, day by day, im slowly but surely creating a lifestyle that suits me and the environment much more.

peace love and mungbeans to you all

First prize in the silly sounding names for saints list goes to dear old Homobonus, whose name literally means ‘good man’.

But on his feast day (November 13th) we should remember the people he is supposed to be patron of.

Homobonus was a medieval tailor and merchant, a man who believed the wealth he had inherited and earned was there for him to look after others with, and he maintained scrupulously honest accounts and gave generously to the poor.

Today we are all rich over here in the UK, very, very few of us live on anything like $2 per day, but all around the world there are thousands, millions even, of others who do. People who are quite literally slaves to our lifestyles, working in conditions which are unacceptable and for wages which keep them just out of starvation but a long way from comfort.

Our determination to buy cheap clothing from unscrupulous retailers who think that signing the ETI is enough to give them ‘ethical’ status shows that we as a society have forgotten the ways of Homobonus, and have become a collective Homomalus, trampling on the impoverished producers of our clothing.

If you want to buy clothing today (or any other day), please act responsibly and avoid the attractions of cheap disposable clothing which is made by people enslaved to our whims. The best thing to do is to buy second hand clothing, if you have to buy new, then seek out good quality clothing which will last, is made of environmentally responsible materials, and which is made by people whom you can trust to look after their workers.

It’s come to my attention that some of the beliefs I hold- despite seeming like basic common sense and justice/human rights in my own mind.  - go somewhat against the mainstream in this society. I don’t know if it’s related to a background of faith (don’t think so), or a love of Eastern culture (clashes with Western patriarchy and control?), or maybe it is something in my parent’s backgrounds and thus, how I was raised.

Either way, I’m starting to think I’m in a minority and my opinions are not always welcome

Maybe I need to write a creed of beliefs. This is a creed related to a few issues that have arisen lately…

I do believe in God. I don’t know what else surrounding God I really ascribe to these days in relation to the Christian church, but I believe in God who is creative and creating and good.

I believe that people are not born into equal opportunities in this world but are equally valuable.

I believe that whatever way you sugar-coat it, hitting/smacking/slapping a child is abusive to someone who is powerless and deserves protection.

I believe that people seeking safety and a chance at building a life are welcome here, no matter how they managed to get here.

I believe that breasts are made for breastfeeding where it is possible and those who choose not to breastfeed because boobs are for sexual pleasure only need to re-evaluate creation and the wonders of it.

I believe that friendship in it’s true form comes to life in times of isolation and need. Whatever the alternative is shows its face at the same time.

I believe that children have a need to be close to their primary care-givers and that our society obsession with individual rooms, cots, prams, car seats, bouncers etc (and ultimate “they need to learn” attitude) – undermine a child’s interaction and closeness that they so desperately require.

I believe that Facebook is fantastically helpful for connecting with friends and fantastically full of crap if the 200+ people I seem to have listed as “friends” really are friends. Half of them don’t know me or anything about me….we’ve not talked on there and are unlikely to. We also don’t share much or any of my creed in common! So I’m deleting Sorry. It’s liberating though.

In spite of loving my medical friends as valued friends, I believe Western medicine has it’s head up it’s bum on oh-so-many issues. It is NOT wholistic and does not serve a whole person, no matter how life-saving it can be in a crisis. I believe our Western medics need a revolution of mind-expansion out of the world of fear and control and into the world of wholeness and flexibility.

So. That’s me for the moment I’m sure I’ll come up with more of the creedal opinions of Rah very soon, LOL.

Saint Martin of Tours, whose feast day is November 11th (tomorrow) in the West, as well as being something of a big noise in France, is also officially the patron saint of soldiers, but might I reckon  just as well be the patron saint of conscientious objectors.

He was around in the fourth century AD, and was a real European, born in Hungary, growing up in Italy and ending up in France.

Martin, a forced conscript at the age of 15 into the Roman army in which his father had served as an officer, was hardly a model soldier.In fact there was not much that Martin of Tours modelled which had anything to be said for it in worldly terms.

Martin of Tours was a youngster when he decided that against the ways of his family, he wanted to join the Christian church. He secretly became a believer, and when in his mid teens he was conscripted into the legion, he apparently had to be chained up before he would take the oath.

Once taken though, Martin felt he must uphold his oath, and faitfully carried out his mainly ceremonial duties as a soldier, albeit an unconventional one.

One of the most famous stories concerning Martin’s unusual behaviour is from his time as a soldier, it has the young officer riding out on his horse when he saw a beggar half frozen in the street. Instead of ignoring the man and riding on like his fellow officers, Martin jumped down and slashed his own cloak in half, giving one half to the poor man, and keeping the other half for himself. It seems as if this was a turning point for him, he is said to have dreamed that night that he had given the cloak to Jesus, in a stark reminder of the words of Jesus…

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

It was about two years after this time that Martin was finally sent out to war, when nomads invaded and he was called up to fight in the front line. His previous determination to fulfill the oath he had made seemed to have waned and become replaced with a determination to follow Jesus’ ways, and rather than fight he said:

“Put me in the front of the army, without weapons or armor; but I will not draw sword again. I am become the soldier of Christ.”

It was with these words that he became for me, the patron saint of the conscientious objector. Not a coward, not a desertor, just someone who refused to fight.

He went on to become a sack-cloth clad monk, and to live his life in a way that should stand as an example to all of us, eventually being buried in a paupers grave despite his family’s social standing.

Among other things he can be credited with is the establishment of monasticism in Gaul (France) and a missionary career marked by going to meet people in their homes, rather than demanding they come to him in a church or temple.

Martin of Tours was faithful to his beliefs, famously he got things wrong and wasnt always well recieved, but he was faithful and carried on anyway.

All of which reminds me of a prayer which Mark Berry posted the other day, written by another soldier of Christ, Thomas Merton, which neatly sums up the attitude which I think we each should take to this life of Jesus following:

My Lord God I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

(Thoughts in Solitude.  Thomas Merton)

Visit either of these two sites for more of a biography of Martin of Tours.

The Economist recently published an article about recent inter-faith conferences to tackle climate change.

Most interestingly, I think, is the idea that the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, is frustrated with politicians to put themselves on the line at next month’s Copenhagen summit, and is turning to religious leaders instead.

For me, caring for Creation is a spiritual imperative, and underpins much of what Hands Up Holidays does with its voluntourism trips (small group sizes, carbon offsetting, using locally owned hotels where available, offering environmental conservation volunteer projects, such as turtle conservation in Australia, coastal clean-ups in the Galapagos Islands, or brown bear surveying in Slovakia).

You can read the whole article (http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14807115), and here are some excerpts:
“Departing often from his script, Mr Ban told an audience of gorgeously attired Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Daoists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Shintos and Sikhs that “you are the leaders who can have the largest, widest and deepest reach” when warning people about climate change. Religions, he said, had established or helped to run half the schools in the world; they were among the world’s biggest investors; and the global output of religious journalism was comparable at least to Europe’s secular press. People close to Mr Ban say he is frustrated by the reluctance of politicians to stake political capital in next month’s Copenhagen meeting; perhaps spiritual leaders are his last hope.

Prince Philip—whose wife, Queen Elizabeth, is head of the Church of England—and Mr Ban (see picture above) formally approved plans presented by all the religions present to cut their own emissions and promote green ideas. These ranged from a Muslim initiative to make the haj or pilgrimage to Mecca less environmentally wasteful to a Daoist pledge to burn less incense. The Church of England spelled out its programme for cutting carbon emissions (from churches, halls and vicarages) by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.”

The New York Times recently published an article about the plight of women in Pakistan, focusing in particular on the story of Saima Muhammed – a woman who failed to produce male children for her out-of-work husband. Despite the fact that we know men are genetically responsible for determining the sex of a child, Saima’s husband took out his frustrations on her and beat her – along with threatening to take a second wife. In Pakistan, this is culturally acceptable and in line with the laws and codes that stratify the society, keeping women firmly under the thumb of men in the country.

Using a microloan from the Kashf Foundation, Saima was able to get back on her feet, pay off her husband’s debts, and start a small business. Now, there is no doubt as to who is in charge of the household, and Saima’s husband works for her.

It’s this kind of success story that makes everything we do worthwhile. Through our micro-credit loan program, we enable people who would normally be denied a loan to get back on their feet and move forward. The amount of money that these people require is but a pittance to most of us; all it takes is someone willing to listen. The Fair Trade system does not discriminate when it comes to who we have stitching our sports balls for us; the third-party certification teams make sure that we employ just as many women as we do men and that they both receive a good living wage.

It’s good to see a large paper with a huge readership like the New York Times paying attention to this cause, but there’s still a lot of work to be done!

About a year and a half ago, or perhaps a bit more I began to be intrigued by a guy called Saoirse who was planning to walk to India in a kind of pilgrimage to spread the word of the ‘freeconomy’ where people give things to one another without using the usual trading mechanism of money.

Poor old Saoirse you may remember got as far as France, where unfortunately his caper came to a sad end when he realised he couldnt speak French, and the French realised he had no money to travel with. I always thought this plan was a bit thin, I couldnt see how he was going to get Visas for one thing, but anyway, he came back to the UK.

Not one to be daunted by a knock back of this sort Saoirse reverted to his old name of Mark Boyle and began a year long experiment of living with no cash. Admittedly there was a bit of compromise involved, he lived off the cast offs of a cashfull society, food thrown away, land that belongs to someone, an old caravan and so on, most controversially of all he used a mobile phone and a laptop, to allow him to publicise his adventures. The truth is of course that living in a truly money free way, is, like living in a truly vegan way, basically impossible in this society.

To a degree I am now a bit suspicious of Mr Boyle, not that I’ve ever met him, but I recognise in him the trait I’ve seen in others, of a strong self publicist who will use stunts to get attention. I agree that his cause is an interesting one, and I am as you know very much pro the anti consumption/simple life message, busy living it as best I can in fact.

However, aside from being a good publicity stunt, do I think there’s much value in what Mark’s done? I dont know, but I think perhaps not. The good thing is that he’s stirred up a lot of people, his two posts  (1& 2 )on the Guardian Blog have got lots of comments from people defensive of thier own lifestyles, well that’s to be expected.

But the evidence shows that those people arent likely to be converted to a lower impact way of living by Mark’s efforts. There are understood to be three groups of people, a minority of people who are ‘true believers’ who will do everything in their power to live according to their beliefs, in this case, they will live on as little as possible, consume as little as they can and so on.

Then there’s another minority of people who are really anti – who will argue against this or that, in this case they will slate the very idea of living on less or nothing. The sight of someone doing something extreme like this will not help or encourage them to change their opinions.

The majority of people sit in the middle, they are largely ready to live more ethically, but will only do so if it is easy and uncomplicated, the prospect of living on nothing is neither of these. Most people are in the system, they arent able to opt out completely, they may have families or debts which they have to consider, its too simplistic to expect them to change radically.

What would be more welcome are more straightforward role models of alternative lifestyles, living a lower impact lifestyle in a quiet way, chipping away at the man rather than batting him in the face with a hammer.

I now feel a bit flat by the Cashless man thing, I feel like its a bit of an empty stunt, an interesting if tame (no real danger) experiment perhaps. I’d like to see more people doing ordinary things in a radical way, lets have more people living on much less, giving more away, being more committed to simplicity as a virtue, and fewer publicity stunts.

Yeah ok, it doesnt quite have that same Christmas time ring to it, but unless you happen to have an open fire handy (not in this flat mate) it’s a good deal more practical.

If you are living tramp style, with a campfire and a load of chestnuts, try sticking them in a pan over the fire and cooking them like that, yum yum.

Anyway, for those of us without campfires to hand… So you want to know what to do with those windfall chestnuts you scrounged?

In fact there’s plenty you can do, boil them, roast them, microwave them, or as in this example – toast them.

No, don’t go sticking them in the toaster, that’s a recipe for disaster, instead use the grill, think cheese on toast, not pop tarts.

First, get your chestnuts:

They come out of little spiky shells, like a cross between beech nuts and conkers I suppose…

Then you need to score them, cutting through the shell, but trying not to cut into the ‘nut flesh’ (ouch!) We do this to ensure the little fellas dont explode while being toasted (holy exploding chestnuts batman!)

Then toast the beggars, bung them under the grill and toast them as if they were pieces of bread, you want them in there until the shells are kind of dark/blackened and peeling off.

In the above peculiarly bad picture, you can see one well toasted chestnut, and two others which seem less well done. They all tasted nice though.

Toasted chestnuts make a good snack, the sweet chestnut was actually introduced to the Uk by the Romans, who brought it in as a high calorific staple, which was handy really. Apparently they don’t germinate very easily, so if you fancy a chestnut tree of your own (me too, me too) then you’re most likely best off buying a young tree from a reputable supplier.

If you’re serious about growing your own food, then chestnuts can be an important part of a diet, providing as they do those necessary calories, which other things just dont have. Also trees are very important for bees, the amount of flowers on a tree is much greater than you might think, and can make a massive difference to the amount of nectar and pollen around – got to keep those bees busy!

Following on from reflections on pioneer lifestyles and ministries over recent months, I read that David Hieatt is leaving the company he founded, Howies.

For those who dont know, Howies is a kind of Green Urban Sports clothing company, they make stuff for cyclists, skaters and so on, and perhaps most notably for those who want to look like cyclists and skaters.

The great thing about Howies was, for me, their independence, their ability to stick it to the man while still working inside the system. More recently though David and his wife Clare sold a proportion of the company to Timberland, a multinational fashion chain. I think that was a point when Howies lost something of their edge, they still make good clothes, with great design elements, but something changed at that time. And it wasnt just that the Anti American rants disappeared.

Somehow they were more comfortable, more able to do thier thing without worrying about the cashflow, and the Hieatts were no doubt glad not to have to remortgage their home over and over just to keep the company afloat.

But now David is leaving, which he reflects upon briefly here. Its an interesting and bold move, he seems a very creative and challenging character, and is a great writer.

He and Clare pioneered Howies, Clare remains with the company, but David has left, what will happen now to this thing they built? I’ll be watching with interest. And best of luck David.

some pictures from the allotment – it’s all the rage you know!

up first my carefully cloched broad bean crop, already enjoying the benefits of the last of the sun.

Here you can see some of the little blighters growing away happily in what has to be one of the cheapest forms of cloching around, some scavenged/salvaged corrugated plastic and some bits of garden cane.

They need regular watering, and I have fed them a wee bit.

Then there’s the garlic, this is hard necked garlic which should overwinter fine. It only needs poor soil, but I like to give it a bit of organic onion/root veg food. It is enjoying the still warmish soil, but will need the cold to really get to work.

I’ve kept these garlics by themselves, but apparently aliums companion plant well with brassicas, so I’ve just interplanted some red onion sets with the winter cabbage which I put in a couple of weeks ago. I’ll be planting some soft necked garlic in the spring, Solent Wight I’ve found to be particularly good.

Over in the greenhouse the tomatoes are coming to an end, but the hanging salad gardens of babylon are still very happy, just a length of gutter with drainage holes propped up with string, bits of cane and etc, this kind of cut and come again salad doesnt need much by way of growing depth, so this is ideal.

From memory I think these plants came from an oriental salad leaf mix, just keep snipping away… yum.

It’s not all about food for us, the borage has passed its best but is still providing interest to bees, and this ma-hoo-sive spider among other critters, I’m encouraging it to self seed so I dont have to grow the plants next year.

And in return for letting the bugs have some space, God sent me this little love message:

Which was a nice gesture I thought.