The opening ceremony will be majestic with the tolling of the Cathedral Bells, musicians on the Town Hall stairs and the City of Sydney Christmas Tree as a centrepiece in the square. The square will be a buzz with ongoing performances from the schools well known music department that has nurtured talents like world renowned pianist Simon Tedeschi and the chart topping Pre-Sets.

“What a better time to promote Fair Trade products in all their creative diversity and introduce the CBD to a new way to shop. Visitors can reach into the thousands…..”  event organiser Kristina Karasulas.

Breakthru Artz physical dance theatre will present two works reflecting the Fair Trade message and a fencing display to add some drama to the day! A bustling cafe, inter active art installations, circus playground and roving performers will all add to the atmosphere.

Where: St Andrew’s Cathedral School, Sydney Square, Sydney NSW 2000 (Ph: 02 9286 9500)
When: Friday, 20 November 2009
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Further Information: kkevents@ozemail.com.au

You will discover new ideas on sustainability and waste reduction, recycling bikes at the Bike Fest, community gardening, living locally and local food co-operatives, Sustainability Street as well as sustainability activities that local schools and childhood centres are taking part in.

At Kids’ Space, there will be guided astronomers to show you the sun by Sydney Observatory, animation movies about the environment, the Australian Wildlife Show, Hoola Hoops, the Bushtucker Show and the Eco-sculpture challenge.

There will also be the opportunity to make kites, beautiful community mosaics and to decorate your own mini-boomerang.

Kick off the morning with a free 1 hour Yoga class in the Main Hall starting at 10:30am.

When: Sunday, 27 September 2009
Where: Randwick Community Centre, 27 Munda Street, Randwick NSW 2031
Time: 10:30am till 3:30pm
Further information: Visit www.randwick.nsw.gov.au or call 1300 722 542

You can shop for a whole range of Fair Trade products including handicrafts, hats, scarves, cards, clothing, jewellery, handbags, shoes, sports gear, homewares, chocolate, tea, coffee, toys and more!

Visit Fair Trade Entrepreneurs who are working to make a difference including Cocolo, Ethica, Ethnias, Etiko, Global Conduct, Klong Toey, Oxfam, Pants to Poverty, Rise Up and Tribes & Nations.

There will be fun kids activities such as weaving, face painting, and some colouring activities that relate to fairtrade themes, as well as music and entertainment by the local school band. And make sure to enjoy the sausage sizzle and a devonshire tea with fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate!

Where: Baulkham Hills Baptist Church, 39 Sarah Cres, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153, Phone (02) 9639 1981
When: Saturday, 26 September 2009
Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm

All you need to do is invite your friends and colleagues over with their fashion and accessories items – clothes, shoes, belts, handbags, jewellery – they no longer want or love. Also, ask them to bring some gold coins. The way it works is, you swap your items and make a gold coin donation for each item swapped. All the money raised is donated by the host to Oxfam. Just make sure you do this before 30 September 2009.

To get started jump on Facebook and join the Exchange for Change group, create your own fundraising page and send out your invites. You can also purchase an Exchange for Change T-Shirt from Moral Fibre for $39, with $10 from each sale going to Oxfam.

Exchange for Change is a great shopping event for fashionistas with a conscience!

To help plan your event and to find out more visit http://www.oxfam.org.au/events/exchange-for-change/

Get along to the Fair and check out the stalls and watch demonstrations, listen and learn from guest speakers, sample delicious organic, enjoy the music as well as street entertainment with Circus Solarus. There will be a wide range of eco and fairtrade businesses and organisations including fairtrade entrepreneurs featured on Soul Economy, Rise Up and Ethica. Other exhibitors include Miessence, ProDive Manly, RP’s – Hungarian Pastry, Burt’s Bees Australia, Caravan Chef, Enjo, Organic Trader, My Ecofriend, Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service – Lane Cove River Tourist Park, Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Inc., The Wilderness Society, Tribes & Nations, Sacred Grounds Organic and Fairtrade, Renegade Cycles, Macquarie Amnesty International, Macquarie Environment Collective, Macquarie Food Co-op, Macquarie University Community Garden, Macquarie Oaktree, Macquarie United Nations Society (MUNS), Bushcare@MQ, City of Ryde – Catchment Connections, Ethnic Communities Council, Macquarie Alliance Darfur, One Water Naturally, Sustainable Transport @ Macquarie, Macquarie University Bike User Group, Eco Farms, Forest Coachlines, Sydney Water, 1 Million Women and Green Tomato Cars.

Join in the competitions. And, by recycling your old mobile phone part and accessories you will go in the draw to win a new Motorazr V6. So make sure to drop in to the Muster Recycling Station in the Central Courtyard, next to the Sustainability@MQ stall.

Where: Central Courtyard and U@MQ Atrium, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, Sydney 2113
When: Tue, 8 September – Wed, 9 September 2009
Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm
Further Information: Contact Belinda Bean at sustainability@mq.edu.au

On display and for sale will be new Weftshop textile products, featuring new designs and colours recently arrived from the Thai-Burma border.

Come and join WEFT for a drink after work. Take a look at beautiful costumes that NIDA students have made from WEFT handmade and traditionally loomed textiles. And, take a peek at the costume department where Emma and Ellen trained.

When: Friday, 28 August 2009
Time: 4.30pm to 7:00pm
This is an informal event. The Weftshop stall and NIDA costumes will be on display in the foyer throughout this time, so feel free to pop in whenever you like.
Where: National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington, Sydney NSW 2033  (opposite the University of NSW)
Program:
4.30pm: Gather in the foyer for tea/coffee
4.45pm: Take a tour of NIDA’s costume department with Emma, Ellen and others
5.30pm-5.45pm: Back in the foyer for a drink, nibbles and textile sale
RSVP (for catering purposes): Emma on glassbead7@hotmail.com, Ellen on eldisco@hotmail.com or Debra on maynardweiss@bigpond.com

Sustain Me Exhibition

Live Futures 2020 being held on Saturday, 15 August 2009 is an annual futures festival which is created by Global Youth Futures and Future Journeys to enable people to understand the future, and to start to co-create it with others. Now in its third year, they have partnered with the College of Fine Arts in Paddington to bring you this event in 2009. It is part of a major intervention to create happier, more creative, more just and more sustainable futures.

The purpose is to share one’s own passions and expertise with others to create something new. What will the world be like? What are each of us doing right now to create the kind of world we want to live in?

The theme for the 2009 festival is “A World of Convergence” and the symbol is “C” as in Convergence, Collision, Community, Collaboration, Collusion, Collection, Communication and Celebration.

Activities on the day include presentations by well-known speakers on the future including energy, service, food and humanity; the Sustain Me Exhibition; a film festival featuring documentaries such as Us Now and The Future Makers; future spaces including a Social Entrepreneur Space and SRDChangeX Student Sustainability Project UNSW; and workshops such as Live Futures Dreaming. Interact with the live local movement and urban forestry. Understand permaculture and transitioning to a low-carbon society. Explore interactive theatre and storytelling with The Theatre of Alternative Realities.

When: Saturday, 15 August 2009
Where: College of Fine Arts, Oxford St and Greens Rd, Paddington Sydney NSW 2021
Time: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Entry is Free
To RSVP and for full program details, please visit www.livefutures2020.com

Enlightened Elephant Sale

Sadly, Enlightened Elephant is having their final closing down sale this Saturday, 8 August 2009 from 10am till 4pm.  All beautiful Monkeybiz dolls and animals and beadwork will all be half price. These glass-beaded dolls and animals are made by artisans who are disadvantaged and HIV+ women living in the townships of Capetown in South Africa. The money they receive from their work helps them to empower themselves and care for their children and families.

The sale will take place in the previous shop location at 43 Erskineville Road, Erskineville in Sydney.

Come along and do your Christmas shopping early – and purchase a gorgeous gift that gives twice!

Ethica Accessories: Mary Mackillops Centenary Feast Day Celebrations

Ethica Accessories invites you to celebrate Mary Mackillops Centenary Feast Day Celebrations this Saturday, 8 August 2009. There will be a mass broadcast from North Sydney Oval at 11am, 264 Miller Street, North Sydney and at Mary Mackillop Chapel at 8am, 9 Mount Street, North Sydney.

Mary Mackillop, first Australian Saint, co-founded the congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Mary was committed to supporting the poor and underprivileged in her time. Following her legacy, Ethica Accessories is helping underprivileged women in Peru. By buying one of these products you have a direct impact on the lives of the women in Peru, their families and in their communities.

Come and join the celebrations and buy some Peruvian products. Visit her tomb and see the museum. The grounds open from 8am to 5pm at 9 Mount Street, North Sydney. For further information, call Gina Bradley on (02) 8912 2716 or email gina.bradley@sosj.org.au

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with Peter Singer, fairtrade entrepreneur Bronwyn Darlington of Rise Up, restaurateur and Fair Trade Ambassador Kylie Kwong, Divisional Director Sustainability Programs at the Department of Environment and Climate Change Bernard Carlon and Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore MP.

When: Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Where: State Theatre, 49 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Tickets are free but bookings are essential. Call Ticketmaster on 136 100 or online at

http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/130042E9AA7A66A8?artistid=1269478&majorcatid=10005&minorcatid=104

1. Tell us a little about Carpets for Communities
Carpets for Communities (CfC) is a grass roots organisation aimed at providing immediate intervention to at risk children by empowering the mother to lift her family out of poverty by earning an income. Often children are taken out of school and put on the street to earn an income for the family. CfC aims to break the poverty cycle by helping the mother become financially independent by teaching her the trade of carpet hooking. All materials, training and support are provided to the mother, and the carpets they produce are brought into Australia and sold in local markets. All profits go directly back to the mother in the form of income and savings for the future.

2. What was the inspiration behind starting the company?
David bacon, the founder, went to Thailand for a holiday years ago, and did a day trip into Cambodia. He was shocked by the number of children working on the street at the Thai/Cambodia border, and particularly by the level of poverty in the Cambodian border community of Poi Pet. He made friends with a few of the children on the street, and eventually asked to be taken back to their parents where he assessed their situation and what he could do to help. He eventually came up with the above idea, and started making wool and silk rugs. The product has gone through many re-designs and trials, to arrive at the current product the women produce – the cotton t-shirt rugs.

3. Tell us about the product range. Which are the most popular products?
All rugs are made from off-cuts of material from the t-shirt factories in Cambodia (either purchased or donated) and used hessian bags. There are many sizes of rugs available. The standard ones are:

• 40cm x 50cm – $35 (small bathroom mat)
• 45cm x 65cm – $45 (medium bathroom mat)
• 70cm in diameter round – $55
• 1m x 70cm – $85 (small lounge room rug or bedroom rug)
• 2m x 70cm – $140 (hall runner)
• 1.2m x 1.6m – $229 (lounge room rug)

The most popular sizes at the markets are the $45 ones, followed by the $35 ones and the round ones for $55. We get a lot of enquiries for lounge room rugs, however generally don’t have any in stock and take specific orders. I have placed an order for 9 lounge room rugs primarily in browns and creams to arrive in November as I want to try to sell these at markets.

There are uncountable colour combinations available. I would say there are approximately 50 base colours we use, with a few more shades of each colour available also. Each shipment has a wide variety of colours available, with the most popular being blues, greens, browns, yellows and reds.

4. Where can we buy your gorgeous rugs – online, markets, retail stores?
In Sydney, rugs are currently for sale at:

• Paddington Markets on Oxford Street every Saturday
• Bondi Markets in Bondi Primary School every Sunday
• Narrabeen Markets on the Northern Beaches every 3rd Sunday of the month

They are also sold at the Rundle street markets in Adelaide every Saturday, as well as at a few retail outlets in Melbourne and Adelaide. Please see the website for further details (http://www.carpetsforcommunities.org/where-to-buy).

We are currently working on getting the rugs onto eBay also, which should be up and running by the end of July 2009. Shipping will be available Australia wide, at around $15 per rug.

5.What have been the greatest challenges in setting up Carpets for Communities?
Getting it off the ground and making it sustainable. There were numerous times then the founder hit road blocks in the form of lack of funding, lack of materials, regulations preventing exportation of the carpets, and in-country corruption and the demand of bribes etc. The founder went into debt to pay for the carpets up front from the women, then paid thousands of dollars to ship the carpets into Australia, then had to wait months to get the money back from market sales. Because of the lack of funding, only small quantities of carpets could be bought at a time, meaning that the shipping cost per carpet was higher, and the cost of the carpet became higher, meaning less sales. Eventually he gained funding and won a few awards and grants, so larger amounts of carpets could be purchased and shipped at a time (approx. 700), which brought down the price of the carpets.

6. What have been the greatest successes?
There are 20 women currently in the program, and they have around 63 children between them. Each of these school aged kids are back in school and have the prospect of a brighter future. There have been 63 women move through the program however. Some of these have left because they have earned enough money to buy a piece of land, or start their own business.

7. Can you tell us a little about the communities that you work with in Cambodia? Do you have some good news stories to share about positive developments in these communities since you have been working with them?
The only community we work in Cambodia is called Poi Pet which is right on the border with Thailand, and is a high traffic area for tourists moving between countries. The poverty level in this community is far worse than many of the other large cities in Cambodia, and the education level is much lower. Many of the men work in factories or in manual labour positions with little regard to OH&S, and often injure themselves and are unable to continue to work. Women are often left widowed by AIDS or natural diseases, and often grandmothers inherit their grandchildren with their children die of AIDS. Because of Cambodia’s brutal past and the lasting effects of the Khmer regime, there are little education facilities available and the majority of locals rely on farming to feed their families. Because of these factors and many more that are inherent in developing countries, the cycle of poverty is never ending. Mothers need to feed their families – but when the father is unable to help or no longer around, it is up to the children to help. They are taken out of school and sent to the streets to work – often holding umbrella’s for tourists for 3c a day, or begging on the street. They receive no education, and grow up to be unskilled and unable to earn an income for their family. So the cycle continues.

However, there are multiple good news stories. Besides the 63 women that have benefited from this program, the greater Poi Pet community benefits also. The women earn more money and are able to make repairs to their houses, buy school supplies for their children, buy clothes, and food.. therefore supporting the local community also.

8. What advice would you give others keen to start their own responsible businesses?

• Start small and be realistic. Making a difference to even one family is still a fantastic achievement. If that works, bring on a second family. It will grow naturally.
• If you are passionate about what you are doing, tell people about it at every opportunity you get! You will be surprised by how willing people are to help, and how your passion and excitement will inspire them. You never know the connections people have and what chance phone calls/meetings/discussions can bring.
• Work on what the core aim of your organisation is and plant that as your mission. Always keep in mind the big picture and what you want to work towards, then break that down into more achievable smaller goals. If that small goal is aligned with your core, then it will be successful in building the organisation.

Now we here at Soul Economy like to get to know our soulful entrepreneurs a little better, so on a more personal note we have 5 questions:

1. What are you passionate about?
Travel. I spent a year in London and backpacking Europe when I was 19 and did 3 months of aid work in Kenya at 21. My entire life is planned around holidays! But I don’t want to just do a Contiki tour and see the sights – I want to get off the beaten track, explore areas where most people don’t go, and really connect with the locals and see how they live and their view on the world. Third world countries that are entrenched in culture and history interest me most.

2. What was the last movie you saw and really enjoyed?
‘The Hangover’. Loved it! Laughter is so important, and I didn’t stop laughing for the entire time in this movie!

3. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I really don’t know! I absolutely love Manly where I live now, and I think that will always be home. However, I would love to do 6 months living in lots of different places. Cambodia, Brazil, Switzerland, Kenya, Russia, Thailand, Chile, Spain, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, India…everywhere! I plan on moving to Cambodia in 2013 to work with CfC for a year, so that’s a good start.

4. What do you do to relax?
Read a book, go for a walk, go to the beach with friends, listen to music.

5. What one change would you like to see in the world in your lifetime?
The end of female subjugation in many developing countries.

Carpets for Communities
M: +61 (0) 403 425 649 (Belinda)/ +61 (0) 424 511 155 (David)
E: davidbacon@carpetsforcommunities.org
W: www.carpetsforcommunities.org