Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Back from Ecuador ---> Back TO Ecuador?!

The Honeycutts returned from their 3 weeks in Ecuador two Tuesdays ago. Since then we've been frantically catching them up on what happened here in Chattanooga while they were gone, and hearing more and more about what happened on their trip.

As you may have read, they visited lots of different co-ops and artisan groups in attempt to make connections, build relationships, and find new and interesting products. I won't go too far into what happened, since you can read for yourself their firsthand accounts further down the page.

What I will mention is all the goods they brought back, and all the commotion that's arisen as a result. Jency and I went over to their house two weeks ago to see all the stuff. We saw lots of clothing for men, women, and children. We saw lots of bags. We saw lots of jewelry. We saw lots of scarves, toys, games, and even some hammocks! I'll post pictures when I get a chance. But the amount of stuff piled up in their living room was a testament to several things. It was a testament to upper body strength -- they lugged it through airports with their 3 kids! It was a testament to diligence and productivity on the trip. And it was a testament to the value of itemizing all your declared merchandise when going through US Customs on reentry!

Some of the coolest stuff was some tagua nut jewelry made by refugees from Columbia. Did you realize that there's a humanitarian crisis happening in Columbia? I sure didn't. I don't really pay a great deal of attention to the news, but I do pay enough attention to know that it's not really being covered. But then, many of the world's humanitarian crises don't receive much news coverage. But that's a rant for a different day. How we might fit in to the Columbian refugees' situation sheds a little light on the challenges of fair trade. These people live in very secluded rural areas where little infrastructure exists. Without things like electricity and telecoms, communication becomes a very big barrier to doing business. How would one place an order with an artisan community without phones or the internet, where the only communication happens by weekly mail? How would one ensure that the artisans receive their payment in full? How does one create sustainable, long-term opportunities for communities like this? Though business has been done for thousands of years without modern conveniences like the internet, the fast pace of business today creates big constraints when thinking about the developing world.

But I digress. As much as we'd like to work with the refugees, that project might have to wait for the less-than-immediate future. The most promising lead we're currently working on is... well... I think I should keep it a secret for now. But do let me say that if we can get things up and running, it could be something very good for Ecuadorians as people and for World Next Door as a business. We're planning a short trip to go back to Ecuador in the next couple months to explore things further. More to come on that as things develop...

We haven't put all the Ecuador stuff in the store just yet, but we're bringing more stuff in every so often. Stop by if you want to see some of it!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Chattanooga featured on CBS

Hello, blog readers. We've been in a bit of a whirlwind since Will and Kim returned from Ecuador and haven't had much time to post. More on that in a future post (sorry). First, I wanted to share a link that came across my email this morning:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3846807n

Somehow CBS News' Early Show got ahold of a magazine that features our lovely Chattanooga as a top destination for eco-friendly "green" travel, right up there with the Galapagos Islands, the Dry Tortugas, and Burlington, VT (what a sample). The show's host's response was, "Who knew?" Check out the video. It's always interesting to me to see what other people find interesting about the place where I live.

It makes me glad that our city is making a name for itself in this way. A couple weeks ago, Jency and I wrote an article for Natural Awakenings Magazine that discussed our perception of a rising level of global consciousness among Chattanoogans (I think it will appear in the March issue). Based on some events we've been a part of, and on comments we've overheard by customers in the store doing their Christmas shopping, we really think this is true. Seeing the CBS clip makes me wonder if it might have been good to talk about Chattanooga's environmental sensitivity as another aspect of this global consciousness. The clip mentions the waterfront renovation and the electric shuttle, but of course those of us who live here know that the list of Chattanooga's "green" institutions goes on and on. I think it indicates that Chattanooga as a city is positioning itself toward development along sustainable lines. That's a big part of what does it for me, why I like living here. At first glance, Chattanooga is just a beautiful place. But when you spend a little time here, you find a large contingent of people that think on a scale that encompasses more than their immediate surroundings -- it's one that encompasses global awareness as represented by environmental and social responsibility. I know that Chattanooga the city and Chattanooga the people do things that contradict those ideals, but overall I think we're headed in a positive direction. As a fair-trade business, we're all about sustainability. Seeing this attitude reflected in our community is a cool thing.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Homesick

We arrived safe and sound and all the better from our rich adventure! We are in the midst of unpacking all of our treasures. It's quite an explosion from our 8 bags. We made it through customs without having to unentangle our carefully arranged puzzle of luggage. The extra packing tape went thankfully unused. It felt a little like making it through Russian Roulet. I'm afraid we were quite a spectacle.

As we survey the diverse piles of Ecuadorian artisan wares it is hard to let it all sink in. Each bag, scarf, hammock, bracelet, article of clothing...has such a story attached. We feel like soaked sponges. Long after our bags are unpacked we will still be chewing on and digesting this great experience. We are extraordinarily thankful for the opportunity we have had and hope we put it all to good use in our hearts, lives and in the shop!

A closing anecdote:
I think we may have failed to mention that Jessie (3), tossed her cookies in every province of Ecuador that we visited. Quite a feat. Last night we arrived at home after 15 hours of travel and the poor girl upchucked right here in Hamilton County. (She's very equitable in her distribution.) So its after midnight, we're sitting on the bathroom floor and she's crying, "I'm sick. I'm home. I'm homesick! I'm so so homesick!" Welcome home!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Fair Trade Learning Curve

Hmmmm...how to get all this great stuff back to the States. Will and the children have gone to Claire´s (our host-friend) 6th birthday party at her Spanish speaking school and I´m attempting to pack up all of our wonderful finds. It occurred to me that we haven´t explained much about Fair Trade and the shop.

Our friends, Chris and Trish, are with the Episcopal Church here in Ecuador. Not only have they been wonderful hosts (allowing us to use their apartment as home base, feeding us, sharing their washing machine...), they have graciously facilitated artisan connections as though it is their full-time job. They know folks all over Quito and Ecuador who know artisans in need of a US outlet for their goods. Most of our travels have been to go meet with people and see their wares. Because of their relationships we are able to pursue trading in a fair, just sort of way. Its a lot harder than we even thought!!!

We have met with a group of disabled folks who do all sorts of weaving (baskets, hats, bags, belts), some Columbian refugees who are making jewelry out of Tagua nuts, a few women who weave the most exquisite bags called Chigras (they are more art than bag), villagers way up in the green mountains an hour or more by dirt road, a family who works with fired clay, women who do unbelievable embroidery and crochet, a man and his family who weave bags on their looms in their ¨dining room¨...just to name a few. Without exception people have been friendly, kind, generous and a joy to meet. We have had the unusual opportunity to eat in people´s homes more than a couple of times and have had to decline invitations because of time.

One story to illustrate the kind of treatment we have received. Saturday, one the Episcopal priests who works several hours south and spends 2 weekends a month with his family in Otovalo invited us to his home. It was about a 15 minute walk out of town to a small building that his family (wife and 4 children), his brother´s family and his father and mother share. It is also an instument workshop, a music school and a bar. They fed us generously while the 2 brothers played all sorts of traditional music for us. Our children enjoyed pulling water from the well, watching the parrots in the trees, walking through their garden plot and kicking the soccer ball with their children. What a rich experience with lots of laughing while trying to communicate mostly with our hands and minimmal spanish words. Definately a memory to cherish!

Our hope is that these budding relationships will allow us to begin to do business in ways that are genuinely fair, just and helpful to everyone. We have bought LOTS of samples and some things in bulk to put out immediately. Many many seeds are germinating and we´ll wait to see how this all grows. Lots and lots to think about!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Brothers






We talk to our boys alot about being friends together. That is, not just simply being genetically related, but becoming two individuals that care for each other and stick by one another. This is not always an easy concept to articulate and even harder to see implemented.

Sometimes brothers seem born to fight.

But this trip has drawn their hearts together in some beautiful ways.

They are learning to be friends.

I hope that when Simeon and Eli are old men, they will sit in some hole-in-the-wall cafe in some distant country and recall their adventures together with their grandchildren.

Jessie enjoys life






Simeon in his element(s)






Eli likes to have fun






Things you get used to


Well, we fly home in two days. So much more is in our heads and hearts than we have had time to write during our time in Ecuador. Simeon said yesterday that ¨we are having lots of small adventures while on our big adventure¨. I think he is right.

In many ways we are just getting settled in and now we have to leave. I am used to putting my toilet paper in the trash can instead of flushing it. I am used to not drinking water out of the tap. (On the occasional time of forgetting and drinking, a shot of Ecuadorean moonshine is said to kill anything that might live in the water. We have received a couple bottles as gifts and it has come in handy twice. I do not think it would pass customs upon our return. Our host Chris takes the concoction out of the Sprite bottle that it is usually ¨packaged¨ in and puts it in a glass bottle because it has been known to melt the plastic. ) I am used to chilly nights since no one has central heat. I am used to sleeping in the same room with my wife and three kids. And I am mostly used to taxi drivers using their left hand to talk on the cell phone while shifting gears with their right hand while passing a car on a curve in the road going uphill.

I am still not used to the majestic views of the Andean mountains and volcanos, the generosity and hospitality of our new Ecuadorean friends and the poverty that presents itself each and every day.



Friday, February 8, 2008

Adventure in Otovalo

We´re spending our last few days in Otovalo, a historic town known for centuries for being traders and expert artisans. We´re armed with a Spanish ¨cheat sheet¨that we carry in our pocket. So far so good. Thankfully, we´re pretty good at charades and smiles and laughter go a long way while we are butchering the language. The children have been fantastic at greeting folks and introducing themselves. Jessie regularly hollers ¨pero¨, spanish for dog, at the many specimens roaming the streets.

Today was quite an adventure. We took a taxi an hour or so north to pick up the goods we ordered last week from a woman running her own microenterprise out of her house. We didn´t realize quite how remote her bario is. We finally found her and our fun Ecuadorian blouses for women and girls. What a talented, gracious, creative woman! She employs many women from her neighborhood in a sunny workshop behind her small home. Her husband is permanently in a wheel chair from a bike robbery, but she is perservering in a beautiful, hopeful sort of way. We are thankful to have met her and to be able to bring her wares back to the shops.

Tomorrow we will rise with the sun to go to the local animal market, then hit the largest artisan market in all of Latin America. I´m sure it will be something to behold! More later on our plentiful Otovalian adventure.

The Blob

We´re feeling a bit self-satisfied that Will figured out how to upload a few pictures! For those of you who know us well, this is quite an accomplishment. Simeon´s quote is pretty telling of the state of the family as far as technology goes, ¨Mama, are you going to put this on THE BLOB?¨If you´re interested look back and see some images to get a bit of the flavor of things.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Our visit with Caroline


So much to tell. We´ve had a great few days in Quito that has allowed for at least a little decompression time.

Meeting with Caroline, our sponsor child from Compassion, was a beautiful experience. Despite the language barrier it seems as though we all were able to make a connection. We had an excellent translator who spent the day with us. We met at a mega-mall, which made Hamilton Place look rather quaint. Caroline had never been and may never go again. Apparently, this was to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her. So, as non-mall folks we decided to go with gusto.

Initially, we played UNO and talked together, getting to know her, her mother and her little sister. Then we went to the game place, rode bumper cars, ate Happy Meals and KFC, had ice cream...Simeon commented that Caroline didn´t stop smiling all day. A little weird to be the gringos with the cash but we hope she could see our genuine interest and enjoyment of her.

Afterwards we visited the afterschool program where Caroline is tutored and cared for three afternoons a week. This is also where she gets three good meals each week. We were overwhelmed by the hugs of all the joyful, friendly children. Out of four hundred kids in this particular program sponsored by Compassion, about five kids a year get visited from their sponsors. We wondered what it was like for the other children to observe us as Caroline´s sponsors.

We ended the day with a visit to Caroline´s home. Her home was very simple. We have had the opportunity to be in a number if Ecuadorean homes and Caroline´s was the roughest. We were welcomed and hosted well by Caroline and her cousins. We sang songs and laughed a lot together.

We have had an ongoing conversation with our kids since we have been here: What is the difference between poverty and simplicity? Is there a line to be drawn? Where is it gray? When are conditions absolutely unacceptable by any standards? When am I imposing my own standards that might have very little bearing on the cultural context before me? When is simplicity misunderstood as poverty? What is it like to be in a place of material wealth and be totally impoverished? Many questions have been asked. We are struggling through the answers.

So so much to unpack about this day. Caroline walked us all the way to the bus and waved and waved until we were out of sight. It really was a weighty, beautiful priviledge to be together.

We are convinced that sponsoring a child through any of the credible organizations available is some of the best use of our financial resources...and it has sparked some wonderful conversations with our kids.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

togetherness




Not really sure how to write. I´m so extraordinarily thankful to have my sweet husband back in our room telling the children a story. Car accidents can happen anywhere, but this was a sobering day. We´re thankful to have at least one more day together and hopefully many more. Its good to be reminded of good gifts.

Not surprisingly, I´m thinking a lot about togetherness. While we´re here at Chris and Trish´s apartment, we´re all sleeping in one room, with the children on the floor on mattresses. Its pretty cozy. For several mornings I´ve walked past them all piled together on 1 little mattress entangled like a litter of puppies. We´re reminded of the beauty of simplicity. Its also good to know that the 3 children and I can all fit in one seat on the public trolley. 3 coloring books, one set of markers, a deck of UNO cards and some bubbles have been our main source of entertainment.

The entertainment highlight, however, is Daddy´s story that started in Chattanooga the night before we left. The basic premise is that some bad guys have stolen all the smiles of all the children in Ecuador and it is up to the Honeycutt children to solve the mystery and restore the smiles. The story has developed in installments depending on the day, the situation and the need for distraction. (You can really develop a plot on the 2 hour drive to Atlanta.) It weaves together the places we´ve been and the people we´ve met. And the children are passionately involved as they give suggestions of how to get out of sticky situations or where to go to next. Will is a deep well of creativity these days!

One other quick thought. We´ve been trying to keep a journal and let the children, particularly Simeon dictate. Its been a great way to debrief and help him process through the things we´re experiencing. You never know what strikes them, or confuses them, or captures their heart unless you take time to stop and ask. Tonight I´m reminded of the gift of being together.

Unpredictability


We have been staying in Quito with our hosts Chris and Trish Morck. This morning Chris and I left early to head three hours south to investigate some possibilities with a denim cooperative. Kim was to go with Trish to meet with another set of artisans. It was to be a divide and conquer sort of day.
The roads were wet from the rain and the car next to us drifted into our lane as we rounded a bend in the road. Chris breaked and honked as is the usual custom down here. Things would have been fine but the other car came even further into our lane bumping the front right panel. Hitting the curb of the median our truck flipped and we landed up-side-down, hanging from our seat belts, the cab crushed above our heads. I waited to be hit again by cars coming from the oncoming lanes or from behind. Little did I realize that we landed perfectly on the grassy median in a section with no trees.

We walked away from the accident.

Our lives were preserved for another day.

The scenario could have been very different.

Chris and I are doing alright. Chris took a cab to the hospital to get his head and neck checked out. He returned with a neck brace.
Other than being rattled and emotionally exhausted, often finding myself just tearing up, I am doing good. I sure savored the hugs from Kim and the kids when we finally returned home.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Piranha Fishing


In the Amazon we were priviledged to see lots of amazing animals and plants. We were only ten minutes into our first canoe paddle when we came upon a sloth making his way up a tree. Unlike a zoo, the animals never remain in the same place. So, you find yourself wanting to stay and stay, just looking at something you may never see again. Sure enough, it was the only sloth sighting in the last few months.
On the first morning, I took the boys on a nature hike. While we were out Kim lounged in the hammock with Jessie. Three Giant Otters swam up to the dock and wrestled for a while before setting out again. What makes this rather extraordinary is that this view was even rarer than the sloth. Only 2,000 of the endangered otters remain in the world and Kim enjoyed three of them. Needless to say, the other guests were more than jealous.
We saw four types of monkeys, many of which played tag in the trees above our lodge. We saw around seventy bird species that we have never seen before. And we observed the Blue Morph butterfly darting about the river banks.
We had two sort of ¨rights of passage¨ experiences for the boys. The first entailed going out at night looking for caimans, alligators. During the day, for the most part, they hide in the marshy edges of the lagoon and creeks. So, with a big battery operated flashlight we set out to spot the red eyes of caimans lurking in the water. Nothing like being in a low canoe, with fifty red eyes all about you. Both boys were between my legs as we paddled up (within reason, Grandmas and Grandpas) towards the caimans for a better view. A portable blood-pressure indicator would have revealed increased pulse for all of us.
The day before we left I went out with the boys for a little pirana fishing from the canoe. Just a bamboo pole, line, a hook and some red meat is all you need. Drop it in, wiggle the line and pull up when you feel a tug. Up close, those little guys are pretty cool. And, yes, their teeth appear really sharp. Since it was catch-and-release, it was nice to have the guide in the boat to do the ¨release¨part. However, I did not anticipate the fiestyness of the pirana, enough to get itself free of the hook and flip about the floor of the canoe... one of those times you wish you were not in your sandals.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Deep in the Amazon


We will spend alot of time refering to and evaluating our time in the Amazon jungle.

East from the slopes of the Ecuadorean Andes is the headwaters of what becomes the Amazon River. We began the day with a 30 minute flight over the Andes mountains, leaving 50 degree overcast weather and greeted with sunny 85 degrees and a bit of humidity . After a quick ¨bus¨ride to the Napo River we boarded a motorized canoe for a two and a half hour ride east down the river. This was our first upclose view of the Amazon region. Very lush and green as one might expect, the beauty only broken by the obvious influence of the oil industry. We slowed to enter a small tributary and transfer to a dugout canoe, literally carved out of single tree. The last leg of this trip involved a one and a half hour paddle (by our native and biligual guides) up a creek to the lagoon which we would call home for the next five days. We would have been exhausted if it was not for the sheer granduer of pure, endless rainforest.
For those who enjoy GoogleEarth, type in ¨Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador¨. This will give you a sense of the remoteness of our experience.

Visit to Carolina


Today we get to spend the day with Carolina. Last August we were encouraged by someone to begin sponsoring a child through Compassion International. We could have just sent our name in to the organization and get assigned a boy or girl, but Ecuador was on our minds. We went to the Compassion website and did a country search thinking we would narrow down our options significantly.
It is difficult to look at picture after picture of beautiful children, everyone of them needing assitance to attend school and receive some of the basic necessities of life. How does one ¨pick¨ a kid? What is the criteria? How were the five of us going to decided together?
In the midst of wrestling through these questions with our kids, our oldest said ¨Hey, look, it is that girl´s birthday!¨ In that moment we all agreed that we could give Carolina a fun birthday present.
So, today we get to meet her. Kim and I are a little nervous. We realize that relationships like this one with Carolina are often skewed. We are seen as the Givers and she is the Receiver. The rich Westerners are making things better for her. It is always more complicated... and potentially more beautiful.
We have much to learn today. I hope we ask good questions and have ears to hear. I hope we can love on her with our presence and not just the money we contribute from afar each month. I hope we can learn about her context and know how to enter into it for a brief moment of time and in the future. I hope today that Carolina is the Giver and we are the Receivers.