Melton Mowbray – our new home

After a frenetic week of packing our crate, preparing the contents of our house for auction and then finally packing the rest of our belongings in to suitcases, as we made our way to the airport in Springfield it all seemed just a little surreal.

The journey itself was pretty smooth going; a short layover in Dallas before the 8 hour flight to London Heathrow. The news in the days leading up to our arrival had been all about the riots in London and elsewhere in the UK but we didn’t encounter anything when we first arrived and haven’t directly encountered anything since, although the newspapers and TV featured little else fpr our first week or so here.

So here we are. Our new home is a market town in the middle of the country called Melton Mowbray. Melton Mowbray is known for foxhunting, pork pies and stilton cheese. It also happens to have a market that dates back over 1,000 years. More about all of that later.

Melton itself is pretty small, with around 25,000 people living in the town itself, and 45,000 in the borough (the immediate surrounding area). But – we’re in easy reach of Leicester, Peterborough and Nottingham. London is just 100 miles away.

We wanted to take this opportunity to break away from being car-slaves, and so are intent on using public transport (and our legs of course!). We’ve started being completely car-free – and will see how we fare with that as the winter sets in…..no promises!

The public transport infrastructure here is great. Melton has a railway station and numerous bus routes connecting to it. More blogs about that later, but a good example is the trip to London. It takes a little under 2 hours by train, and costs just £44 ($75) if booked a day in advance.

This weekend marks the end of the girls’ summer. Jilian started school on Thursday, and Marilian starts at her school this Monday. So now it really does feel like we’re here and settled.

“Cloud 9” Fair Trade silver and Murano glass pendants

We don’t carry many glass products, partly because one of our closest downtown neighbors is a glass blower  (if you ever visit Springfield, aside from coming to Global Fayre, you should make sure to check out Terry and Gabe’s work at Springfield Hot Glass.

But when we saw these beautiful pendants, we just couldn’t resist.

The maker is a woman from Coapango, Guerrero in southern Mexico, Guadalupe Ramos Rios. Our source, Tom Costello tells us that “As far back as the stories go, and as far back as Ms. Ramos Rios can remember, her parent’s parent’s parent’s were artisans who made dresses, shoes, chairs, flatware, jewelry, and other items for everyday use and for personal dress. I have worked with three generations of her family. Every pendant has six components. When the chain or necklace are counted, that makes seven. We christened them “Cloud 9″ because of there light, floating colors and designs.”

For the moment, we are selling them only in our store at 324 S Campbell, Springfield, MO – but in a few weeks we will add them to our online store.

They have arrived just in time for Valentines Day – and to celebrate, we are giving away a Fair Trade Rose with every purchase from Feb 10 to Feb 14.

Springfield Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration

It’s that time of year again!

This year’s Parade and Celebration will take place on March 19th.

Want to take part in the parade? Go to the St Pat’s website and register….it’s free!

Want to enter the Irish Idol Contest – click here!

We’re always looking for new sponsors….this year you will get space in the booklet PLUS a presence on the website / facebook…AND we’ll twitter about you!!!! If you want to know more, just add a comment here or send an email to info@springfieldstpatsparade.org

What’s the weather going to be like on March 19? Take our poll!

“Hiding in Plain Sight” by Kim Peterson, opening at Global Fayre on October 1st, 2010

Kim Peterson stays busy creating art and chasing her two young daughters with her husband. She likes to think of herself as an eclectic being, so she also spends her time obsessing over music, reading, being passionate about politics, and writing freelance articles for the Ozarks Moms Like Me Magazine. Kim grew up in Tacoma, Wa but has lived in Upstate New York, Wyoming and eventually landed in in the Ozarks three years ago. She now calls Springfield home.

"She's out on a Whim"

Kim says she “likes the idea of playing with the things that people do, what they think and dream. The unmentionable acts hidden by the subconscious or a spy like quickness. People are afraid to let others know who they really are. Hiding in plain sight is what we, as people, do everyday.” The pieces being viewed will be her interpretation of this concept.

This is Kim’s debut showing at Global Fayre and First Friday Art Walk. To see more of her work, you can visit “Kim’s Eclectic” on facebook.

Find out what else is happening on First Friday here.

Check out the latest with Global Fayre here.

Global Fayre and the Missouri Prairie Foundation

One of the core elements that we sign up to as Fair Traders is  to cultivate environmental stewardship.  “Fair Trade seeks to offer current generations the ability to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Members actively consider the implications of their decisions on the environment and promote the responsible stewardship of resources. Members reduce, reuse, reclaim, and recycle materials wherever possible. They encourage environmentally sustainable practices throughout the entire trading chain.” (Fair Trade Federation)

Environmental stewardship is just as important to us at home, and we are always keen to support the many local groups that work so hard to protect what we have and/or restore what we have lost.

So we are excited this month to be working with the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

The mission of the Missouri Prairie Foundation is to protect and restore prairie and other native grassland communities through acquisition, management, education, and research. For 44 years, this nonprofit organization has advocated for prairie conservation. Its advocacy has played a significant role in the purchase of prairie by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the 1970s to the present, as well as the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ purchase of Prairie State Parks.

The Missouri Prairie Foundation currently owns 2,400 acres of high quality native grassland throughout the state and manages an additional 1,500 acres in cooperation with public partners and private landowners. It also participates in conservation decision-making with other state leaders. At least 15 million acres of Missouri, covering more than a third of the state, were prairie at the time of European settlement. Fewer than 90,000 acres remain. Tallgrass prairie is one of the Earth’s most biologically diverse and now rare ecosystems, and we have it right here in Missouri. It is ours to conserve for the benefit of future generations.

So here’s what we have planned with the Missouri Prairie Foundation for August:

August 6 to 31: An exhibition featuring the photographs of Glenn Chambers (more about Glenn in a future post).

August 6th: First Friday Art Walk – showcasing Glenn’s photography and raising funds for the MPF at the same time. 10% of all sales on the night will go to the MPF!

August 1 to 31: Fund raising with MPF members – all members purchasing in the store during August (or in our online store) will do so knowing that 10% of their purchases will go directly back to the Foundation.

Another great roast from Kickapoo Coffee

We’re really pleased that we found Kickapoo Coffee last year.

We started with the Organic Colombia, which they describe as “syrupy sweet and aromatic with an effervescent intensity and a core of candied red fruits and dark chocolate”. How do we describe it? “just a GREAT coffee”! It quickly became our best seller, with a steady stream of regulars bringing their cans back for a refill.

After that we added the Organic Guatemala; “Deliciously fragrant and complex with juicy sweet acidity and notes of lemon and berry in the sweet finish”. Another hit.

So this week we tried our third, Organic Peru AA.  This roast is described thus; “Impeccable depth and balance with notes of mandarin and toffee, a chocolaty core and a clean, sweet finish. The producer is the Cenfrocafe Cooperative – more of that in a later post.

Team World Vision Ozarks hosts an Urban Orienteering Challenge at Global Fayre!

Who is Team World Vision Ozarks?

Team World Vision Ozarks is a local marathon team that trains to run the Chicago Marathon in 2010.  The group raises funds locally for clean water in Africa.

How your donations go to work?

TWVO is a sub group of Team World Vision in Chicago IL.  In Chicago they will meet up with a 1000 other runners that share the same passion for Africa.  The funds Team World Vision Ozarks raises go directly to World Vision Organization.  World Vision is a Christian Humanitarian group that that helps poverty stricken countries around the world for more information visit www.worldvision.org.  In the past years, Team World Vision has raised close to two million dollars.   Team World Vision Ozarks has raised close to 30,000 in the past two years.  World vision has taken the money raised and works in Zambia, Africa to build water wells which service 600-900 women and children in a village.  World Vision has also built medical clinics in the same region.  This year Team World Vision’s focus is now in Kenya, Africa because their need for clean water is greatest.

How your Team World Vision Ozarks raises funds?

The group raises funds in various ways:

1. Child Sponsorship- They will have sponsorship packets available at Global Fayre on April 2^nd from 6:15-9:45pm.  When a child is sponsored you directly make a connection to the Kenya community.  You will receive information about your child; receive a progress letter, and child communication every few months for a small monthly fee of $35.  Our team in return will receive a credit of $420 for your sponsorship of the child.
2. On April 2^nd Team World Vision Ozarks will be hosting an Urban Orienteering Challenge called Time Talent and Treasure.  The race consists of a $10 per person registration fee and forms can be found on our blog spot www.twvozarks.blogspot.com or at www.omrr.org. under events.  The group will have a sponsorship table inside Global Fayre and outside in the patio area on the corner of Walnut and Campbell St.
3. The group will also take cash donations as well.  Global Fayre will also donate $1 for every purchase made in the store during the evening.

Haiti Houses

We’ve been delighted to play a small part in a project by the After School Artists at Wilard South Elementary.

The images below are just some of the pins and magnets that the kids have made to help people in Haiti who have lost their homes.

Materials for the project were donated by National Art Shop and Lowes, and 100% of the $3 for each piece goes to the people of Haiti.

They are available at Global Fayre – but hurry, they’re going fast!

Oil Drum Wall Art from Haiti

It’s heart warming to see the contribution being made by so many people to the relief effort for Haiti.

A concern, of course, is what happens after the media attention switches to another story, when the relief agencies have another crisis to rush….when people just forget and move on.

That’s why Fair Trade is so critical. Fair Trade is not about short-term fixes and fire-fighting (important though those things are); Fair Trade IS about empowering communities to make a difference in the long term, to break their cycle of poverty.

At Global Fayre we don’t have many products from Haiti, but what we do have is simply stunning, especially the oil drum wall art. The cut metal ironwork from Croix des Bouquets, a small village outside of Port-au-Prince is one of Haiti’s most original art forms.  In the early 1930s Georges Liautaud formed imaginative cemetery crosses from recycled metal cut from oil drums. An artistic tradition has grown from those humble beginnings and now the village has become a center for this art, with more than 60 workshops.

Cut metal artisans cut open 55-gallon drums, hammer them flat, and then mark designs on the black metal with chalk. Using a hammer and chisel, they pound and cut through the metal to make designs. Some are left black, others are painted with bright colors.

We source our oil drum wall art from the Haitian Committee of Artisans (CAH). Since 1972, the nonprofit CAH has marketed and exported crafts made by Haitian artisans, cooperatives and craft groups. The craftspeople whose work CAH promotes have organized themselves in a variety of ways. Some are cooperative associations, some are family workshops and some are independent artisans; all depend on the efforts of CAH to market their handicrafts for a fair wage. In 1999 CAH became part of the “Fondation pour le Developpement de l’Artisanat Haitien.” CAH provides marketing and promotional expertise, other sections provide training for artisans and reference resources on handicrafts.

Here’s just a few examples:

These pieces are available in our store at 324 S Campbell, Springfield, MO and online at http://www.globalfayre.com.

You’ll find the Haiti pieces here.

20% of the proceeds from these beautiful works of art is being contributed to relief agencies working in Haiti.

Latest Kiva loan from Global Fayre

We’re always excited to reach the point of making another Kiva loan. Of course Haiti is heavy on our minds at the moment – all the more reason to get excited about being able to make another micro-loan. These loans are making a substantial long-term difference to the borrowers and their community.

Our newest loan is to Benita Lopez and her group.

Benita Lopez is from the village of Villa Concepcion, Cauayan City, Isabela. She is 52 years old. Benita is the group leader of a fifteen-member group loan offered by ASKI. While each member of the group receives an individual loan, they are all collectively responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.

Benita is married and has two adult children. She owns and operates a business selling bananas and vegetables. She has been engaged in her business for over twenty-six years and earns approximately 1,000 PHP a week.

In 2008, Benita joined ASKI to gain access to financial services to help improve her living situation and her ability to engage in business activities. She is requesting a new loan of 20,000 PHP which will be used to purchase more products to sell. This loan will be her fourth from ASKI. She plans to use the additional revenue generated from the business to improve and expand her business.

About ASKI:
ASKI is one of the most successful microfinance institutions in the Philippines. It has twenty-one branches covering the Central and Northeastern areas. Its clients are mostly of farmers, fisherfolk and small entrepreneurs.