Rocks Out of Water

The past week has been filled with Ten Thousand Villages events, 6 events in the past 8 days. The holidays are here and we have been making a push in the Pasadena community to talk about our project, speak about fair trade, and sell our products. We had a successful alternative Christmas sale last week on the campus of Fuller Seminary–I know, I agree, it’s still too early to talk about Christmas. In the three days we were open at Fuller we sold over $7,000 worth of fair trade goods. The event was a great encouragement to our store start-up team as well; we heard over and over from customers how thrilled they were that we are coming to Pasadena. I really believe, if given the choice, consumers will pay a little more for high quality products that ensure the artisan and/or worker who produce them a fair and living wage. The overwhelming success of this week’s events is a testament to this belief.

Fair Trade puts people before profits…
with dignity not charity

Our work in the fair trade movement with Ten Thousand Villages has encouraged us to continue to learn more about issues of environmental and economic sustainability. Last weekend, after hearing rave reviews, we decided to attend the Green Festival up in San Francisco, CA.

The purpose of the Green Festival is to promote all forms of sustainability. The mission statement of Co-op America, an event co-sponsor, sums it up nicely, “Our mission is to harness economic power to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.”

Over 200 “green businesses” filled a large exhibit hall, touting the benefits of everything from solar power, organic products (hemp, cotton, foods, tea, coffee, and more), to socially responsible investing. Each business was screened to ensure they met the green festival mission criteria. Even the disposable paper plates, utensils, and cups, used in the food court were 100% biodegradable.

In addition to the exhibits, over 60 speakers spoke on issues pertaining to social justice, fair trade, independent radio (Amy Goodman from Democracy Now), peace & nonviolence, corporate responsibility, and environmental issues. Alisa Gavitz, the executive director of Co-op American, delivered one of my favorite talks of the weekend. She gave a brief history of the evolution of corporate responsibility…who knew there was such a thing! She then went on to provide exciting examples of successful campaigns, prompted by consumer demand, to get large corporations, such as Home Depot, to incorporate sustainable business practices. Her biggest piece of advice – YOUR VOICE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Get involved! If you object to certain businesses practices, boycott them and tell corporations why.

If you are interested in learning more, Co-op America has a great website. It gives concise, simple explanations about the Green Movement as well as a list of green businesses. We highly encourage you to get excited, get involved, and believe that the way you spend your dollar makes a difference!

Dear Friends, Family, & Supporters,

We hope you are well! To begin, we would like to thank you for all of your support. Without you we would not have the privilege of working for Beyond Borders. We are truly grateful for your care, encouragement, and financial contributions.

We are quickly learning that new projects take time, patience, and flexibility! Our original goal was to leave from Philadelphia for the Dominican Republic a month or so after the Beyond Borders Annual meetings in September. Yet, after much work and planning, and coming very close to leaving on October 28th, we felt a little more time was needed to ensure the best experience possible for us, and our Dominican hosts. Last week, after spending 1 1/2 months on the East Coast, we flew back to Southern California.

While we are a little disappointed, we are not discouraged. At this time we are confident we have located a Dominican family willing to host us in January. We also have established a partnership with a Dominican woman who has agreed to provide us support during our initial few months through occasional visits.

We have decided to stay in California until the beginning of January; this will allow us ample time to work out the remaining details surrounding our home stay, as well as the opportunity to be home for the holidays. The decision to return home was not an easy one, but will allow us to use our time constructively. Leah will be looking for part-time temp work, while Tim will continue to work on Beyond Borders related projects. We will also be working on our Spanish with a Hispanic tutor, and helping our good friends Eric & Sarah Clarke (with a project we began with them before we left) open a fair trade, Ten Thousand Villages, store in the Pasadena area.

Finally, funds given in our name, to the DR expansion, are allocated to a specific account and will be used only for this project. Though we are not in the DR yet, the money you have contributed will be held until our time there begins.

If you have any questions about our plans or would simply like to catch up, feel free to contact us. Our phone number remains the same. We will keep you updated and send out another email before we leave for the DR in January.

Thank you once again for your support & interest in our work.

Sincerely,
Tim & Leah Murphy