Between 1987-2007 much of Northern Uganda was engaged in a civil war that left the rural nation closed off to development and investment. It also left the population with a serious food insecurity issue. Now USDA’s Food for Progress Program, along with The National Cooperative Business Association-Cooperative League of the United States of America International (NCBA-CLUSA) and Mercy Corps are teaching small farmers in the area farming techniques to increase their yields.

Ugandan farmers like Grace Opono have implemented farming techniques that have helped her double her yields in just two seasons. Now Opono has also created a second income by providing tilling services to her neighbors. She can also afford to educate her kids and still has income left over to reinvest in her land.

The Food for Progress Program is being administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service to help developing countries expand their agricultural sectors. It’s one of 19 countries that are part of the President’s Feed the Future Initiative to improve food security globally through the development of crops like maize, coffee, and beans.

According to the USDA:

Farmers showed off their fields of tall maize stalks, which had flourished despite a delayed rainfall because the technique allows the topsoil to retain more moisture. More than 4,244 farmers have realized increased yields and are now sharing their knowledge and training with over 55,000 more growers.

Food for Progress and Mercy Corps are also working with Postbank to provide microloans to small farmers in the country. USDA’s Lindsay Carter spoke about some of the farmers:

“I had the opportunity to hear from a group of female farmers who had just taken out their second agricultural loan from Postbank. They paid off their first loan after using it to buy improved sesame seeds, which gave them a larger harvest and more earnings.”

What do you think of the USDA Food for Progress Program?

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Image: Department of Foreign Affairs

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Win this gorgeous necklace from ethical jewelry brand 31 Bits. 

Jewelry that helps empower women, contributes to sustainable development and is 100% recycled? 31 Bits is an ethical accessory company that walks the walk. Their are more than colorful jewelry, they are an example of a business model that contributes to sustainable development and empowering women.

In 2007, Kallie Dovel traveled to Northern Uganda, while there she met women who made paper beads, but had no market to sell them. Dovel brought a box of jewelry back to the United States, and after brainstorming with friends soon came up with the concept for a new type of development organization. 31 bits was born, working directly with 6 Ugandan women, buying their jewelry and selling them in the U.S. market.

Indentity from 31 Bits on Vimeo.

The company now works with over 100 women in Uganda, giving them the necessary tools for economics and sustainable growth, while at the same time fueling their creative skills and giving them access to the international market. The women’s wage is comparable to that of a schoolteacher in Northern Uganda, and profits generated from jewelry sales are invested back into 31 bits for operations, purchasing more jewelry and developing programs for the designers such as English lessons, finance training and vocational training.

In the line, you’ll find beautiful necklaces, all with beads made from recycled paper. Fashion that gives back.

We’re happy to partner with 31 bits to offer an exclusive EcoSalon giveaway. To enter to win a 31 Bits Acorn Layers necklace, all you have to do is be subscribed to our weekly newsletter. It’s a weekly roundup of all the top stories at EcoSalon, plus a few that you may have missed, we promise you’ll like it. Not a subscriber yet? Subscribe below!

We will select a winner at random on September 12, 2012. Please note that we can only ship to U.S. addresses.

Editor’s Note: This giveaway has ended.

The post Empowering Women in Uganda: Win a Necklace from 31 Bits appeared first on EcoSalon.

A new collaboration between Vans and Krochet Kids international features hand crocheted shoes that help lift women in Africa out of poverty.

Krochet Kids international and Vans have joined forces for a special summer collaboration. The mini collection features two styles of Vans’ popular Bixie shoe, adorned with colorful crochet panels.

Krochet Kids international is a non-profit organization that teaches women in developing nations how to crochet hats, scarves, bowties and more, and enrolls them in a comprehensive program that teaches them to rise above poverty. This is the first time the company has tried their hand at making shoes, which are all, like the beanies Krochet Kids are famous for, hand crocheted in Uganda. Each piece features the signature of the woman that made them, and you can go to Krochet Kids’ website to find out more about her.

Besides these shoes being perfect for summer, we love that the body is made with 100% natural hemp and canvas, includes a removable and washable foot bed (which makes the shoe last longer) and is made with water based inks and glues.

The shoes are available in select stores across the country and online at Nordstrom. Watch this video to learn more about the collaboration.

The post Krochet Kids X Vans: Empowering Women Through Craft appeared first on EcoSalon.

Column“Best regards and please continue to bark up the right tree.”

These were the closing words of wisdom I received from Oliver Heintz, founder and managing director behind BARK CLOTH®. His email salutation is potentially playful or maybe meant to leave a mark on your memory. Regardless, through this signature, I was inevitably inspired to trek deeper into deconstructing the fibers of the forest, to uncover the origins of two sustainable materials in particular: bark cloth and Lenzing’s tencel.

BARK CLOTH

Derived from the Mutuba tree (wild common fig), Heintz’s BARK CLOTH® is the pioneer in developing fabric from this wood-based material; they have been cooperating with small-scale organic farmers in Uganda since 1999. Traditionally, bark cloth is manufactured by the Baganda people; in their process, the inner bark is harvested during the rainy season, and then transformed into a soft fabric by using various wooden hammers. With such an organic creation process, bark cloth can have extensive varying textures and shades of brown.

It may seem perplexing to imagine bark as a material that you could actually wear. But remarkably, the process of stripping bark from trees and removing the soft inner layer to make it into softer, wearable garments – like loincloths and purses – is thought to have been around since 4,000 B.C., where it began in southeastern China. For the Ugandan-Germany family venture BARK CLOTH®, the material’s essence is undeniably distinguished: “Its strong contrast between archaic authenticity and state-of-the-art textile finishing processes generates a convincing effect for nearly unlimited applications.”

In the nineteenth century, bark cloth production slowed with the introduction of cotton cloth by Arab traders. However, the Baganda people have continued to embrace this traditional craft, particularly for their cultural and spiritual functions. UNESCO even named “the art of bark cloth making in Uganda” as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2008.

Bark Cloth – available on Source4Style

With roots of holistic capacities, the source – the Mutuba tree – serves as a significant sustainable resource in East Africa. It is considered one of the most multipurpose plants, especially in areas where intensive banana-coffee lakeshore land use systems are in place. Its roots transfer nutrients from deep soil areas closer to the surface, while its canopy above shades the banana and coffee shrub. Not only does the Mutumba’s presence boost crop yields, but it also serves as construction wood, fast growing firewood, its leaves rot quickly and function as an excellent fertilizer, and it also possesses medicinal properties – tea can be made from its leaves to treat a sore throat, while the tree’s latex is a skin ointment to cover wounds.

A refined, more “finished” variation of bark cloth, BARKTEX® seems to be proving just as multifaceted as its mother tree. Currently, DLR Aerospace Centre is testing it for use in airplane wings, while the company is also cooperating with the Freiburg Rainforest Institute in an effort to develop ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable materials for use in sports equipment and outdoor gear.

Bark cloth belts at Christian Siriano SS11 at NYFW

And, yes – bark cloth has now pounded its way into the high-end fashion sector as well. As one of the earliest members of Source4Style, Christian Siriano discovered the material through their sourcing platform, and designed a collection of belts that were featured in his Spring 2011 Collection at New York Fashion Week. Others have fashioned bark cloth into trench coats, shoes, and mind-blowing gorgeous dresses.

DIY extraordinaire and author of P.S. I Made This, Erica Domesek, recently acquired a bundle of bark cloth.

As she tells EcoSalon, “One of the beauties of what I do is that I’m attracted to materials. It’s kind of like when you buy a really nice dress, and you save it for a special occasion. I’m that way with materials – I hold onto them until I know exactly what I want to do. The bark cloth is definitely not an everyday material – it’s something special.”

We can’t wait to see what fabulous creation Domesek evolves from the wood-ware, when the time is right to let it shine.

TENCEL

TENCEL® is a fiber procured from the wood pulp of eucalyptus trees, and produced by Lenzing, the only fiber producer in the world to possess the European Union Eco-label. So, to chop it down to the basics: excess wood pulp is processed into a thread that can be woven into super-soft tencel fabric.

U.S. Marketing Manager of Lenzing, Tricia Carey tries to break it down for us. Basically, Lenzing purchases FSC-Certified wood pulp, then adds a non-toxic solvent called amine oxide. This solvent goes through a closed loop cycle and then the fiber is extruded through the spinnerettes and cut into specific staple lengths.

Not only is tencel biodegradable, its fibral makeup is innately formatted for comfort. As you can see by the above image, the surface of tencel is smoother and more supple; wool tends to be more scaly, while cotton is irregular and rough in texture.

“Tencel has been commercial for 20 years and in that time the expansion has been amazing. Most recently we have seen more use in activewear garments and denim. Tencel is used at retailers like J. Crew, Banana Republic, Gap, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, Ann Taylor, Club Monaco, Target, J. Jill, Macy’s and more,” Carey tells EcoSalon.

J.Crew Tencel Shirt

As cotton production becomes more difficult to keep up with due to population increases, economics, water waste, and inconsistent climate shifts, man made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) may be the fabrics of the future.

Carey tells EcoSalon, “We can clearly see the demands on the earth will continue to increase as the global population continues to grow.  Land will be needed for food crops and water for drinking. There is a ‘Cellulosic Gap’ where there will be a demand for more regenerated cellulosic fibers, like viscose, modal and TENCEL®.”

So, what does the future of fashionable fabrics hold for us? And, will cotton no longer be the fabric of our lives?

ALSO READ:

THREADED: The Awamaki Lab Places Peruvian Handwoven Textiles Front & Center

THREADED: Julia Ramsey Sheds Her Skin About ‘Pelt’

Image: Raymond Meier

The post THREADED: Wearable Woods – From Forests Into Fashionable Fabrics appeared first on EcoSalon.

How a visit to a small devastated community sparked a big change in my understanding of life.

Article and photos by Ethan Zohn, first published March 2010 at Tonic.com.

I was 15 years old when I traveled to my first international location. Actually, I jumped in a car with some older buddies, headed north and crossed the border into Canada. We found ourselves in Montreal and it was an epic couple of days. This was a perfectly executed field trip that cemented our friendship for eternity. I’ll save the details for a password protected website because I’m pretty sure my mom reads Tonic. Since my bright, but brief moment in Montreal, I have been extremely fortunate to travel extensively around the globe. More importantly, I have made a conscious effort to fearlessly immerse myself in the culture and traditions that exist in each foreign land. And because of this choice to take the unbeaten path, I have been blessed to learn so much about myself just by experiencing the way others exist.

During a trip to Africa, I visited Zone B Namuwongo, a community of 5,000 residents located in the Bukasa parish just outside Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The extreme poverty I witnessed within Namuwongo cemented me in my tracks. I was scared. I was afraid to breathe the polluted air, nervous to slosh through the infected mud and fearful to even touch all the children I was there to help. There was actually a full-blown train track, complete with huge cargo bearing rail carriages that would slice through and shake the town multiple times a day. It’s like I had been transported to an alternate universe. I couldn’t believe people lived like this. The lack of clean water, sewerage-filled streets, poor housing, lack of adequate medical services and malnutrition almost had me fleeing back to air-conditioned hotel.

Additionally, a large portion of the Zone B population is internally displaced from the conflict in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. These internally displaced persons do not have family, have lost their homes to destruction by rebels and have no stable income. I quickly realized that they are dealing with the physical, social and psychological impacts of their experience with conflict in Northern Uganda.  In short, this is a messed up place sinking deeper into poverty by the millisecond.

I was the first white person many of these people had seen before. The little kids would touch my white skin and tug at my curly afro. They were shocked that my hair could be so black, but my scalp was still so white. The beeping sound on my digital watch made them giggle and my picture-taking cell phone elevated me to hero status. The girls stole my aviator sunglasses and pretended to be “Beyonce Hollywood”. The cultural divide was as big as the Grand Canyon, yet I was welcomed with open arms. I was the honorary distant white cousin from America, and it felt really comforting.

Many of the residents of Namuwongo are faced with the challenge of deciding how to allocate their families’ income between health, nutrition, or other basic needs, yet they invited me into their homes and offered me tea and biscuits. Let me rephrase that, theses struggling, poverty-stricken angels proudly welcomed me into their dilapidated shacks and showed me their life like an Olympic athlete shows off a gold medal. How could they be so happy? Didn’t they realize their life was horrible? And that’s when it hit me, a sense of calm filtered through my anxious body. These folks are doing OK; they are happy to be alive. This community does not have any choices in life – they have been dealt a crappy hand. But collectively they have chosen to be happy for their existence on this planet, in whatever form that may take. This was my refresher course on life. These people celebrate the things that matter in life: family, laughter, a handshake, shelter and a decent meal. There were no professors or textbooks in sight.  No documentary film crews or YouTube videos campaigning for help. I needed to be right there and then to learn something so colossal from a community that didn’t even realize the hope they were transmitting to the world.

As I sit in New York City dreaming of a trip to another extravagant foreign neighborhood, I often get lost in all the insignificant stuff. There are times when the presence of more choices can make us choose things that are not meaningful for us. I’m just as guilty as everyone and easily get sidetracked by the little things in life. How essential to my survival is a new TV, specially blended coffee, a window seat, or the unique visitors on my fan site? It’s OK because that’s human nature. On that first voyage to Montreal I was the guy who constantly wanted to know how long until we arrived or how much more time until we could stop to get food. I was so hurried to get to the end, that I forgot about all the fun we were having along the way. Life is always changing from one moment to the next and is never the same; each moment that passes cannot be captured. It’s important never sweat the small stuff. Lets all make a choice to appreciate the joy that every moment can bring and celebrate all the things that truly matter in your life.

Editor’s note: Article and photos by Ethan Zohn. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

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