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This Is Mitch
Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005
This Is Mitch Hello All,
Well, I owe an update. Many of you I told about my wish to go off to assist in the tsunami relief. After many searches, I found that these organizations are not taking volunteers, even if we pay our own way.
However, after much brain storming, I found a realistic way to help. I presented it to the non-profit, fair trade store in which I volunteered (www.peacecraft.org) for the past two years. To summarize, I will be going to the co-operatives which we buy directly from, and as a Peacecraft Liason, I will be documenting the co-operatives via interviews and observations, photographing (yes, I was forced to enter the 21st century and get a small-enough-to-hide 5 pixal digital camera), and writing their personal and community stories for Peacecraft. In addition I will be looking for new co-operatives to buy directly from.
There is a legal liability for Peacecraft, so we have come to an agreement to cut off my association with Peacecraft for directly assisting in areas like creating and establishing a co-operative, creating a website, teaching an English class, so on and so forth. So those activities I will be doing on my own, but Peacecraft will always know where I am located and what I am doing (documenting, assisting, meandering, or simply lost).
My intention is to begin in Thailand where one of our best co-operative is, then go from there. SE Asia is targeted, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, then into the tsunami hit areas after all the international attention has left and the rebuilding has started. Many have lost everything, so I will be (ideally) going into these devestated areas to help established or to create co-operatives for fair trade, thereby providing a long term assistance.
From there, I will head into India and visit the four co-operatives Peacecraft buys from, then up into Nepal looking for co-operatives to buy directly from. I plan to go into China (although I doubt much will come of it for fair trade as the state is very strict in these regards), into Mongolia, and eventually into Central Asia (the former Soviet Union) in search of Cooperatives. This is all tenative and there is no itinerary here, so there is much flexibility and freedom for movement.
Of course, the most dangerous thing I will encounter is the American foreign policy. I will take necessary care to avoid the "American" label in certain locals, but hopefully there will be another message presented in my travels: Not all Americans are ignorant, ethno-centric, (and supposedly "Christian") war-mongers (nice way to say Right-wing Neo-con) wanting to push their will on the world. Unfortunately, they have a head start on me.
I will not be looking for manufactures of handi-crafts which I, as a representative of Peacecraft, give to them and ask them to produce. That is too much like Pier 1 and other corporate importers. I will be looking to enhance their trades and handi-crafts which are traditionally made in their areas, and offer in helping them reach foreign markets, and earning a fair and living wage in the process.
Many places I travel to may not have internet, and sometimes no electricity (gasp...) or running water (so a hot shower is out of the question?), but I will get back to the cities and send off email updates and data, as well as clean up a bit. You can reach me by email, but understand, there may be long delays in my responding. If you recieved this email, you are on the list, if you don't want to be on the list, let me know now so I can take you off. No offense will be taken, I have to repeatedly ask to be taken off mass mailings....
I will be departing A______ on Feb 7th and depart LA on the 9th.
This will be the first and last mass emailing from the US. Next time you hear from me, the journey will be on!
Any mass emailing I send, you can do whatever you wish, if you want to forward it, delete it, file it or print and burn it and so on.
Mitch
retreat or surrender
More lies:
Waking Sleeping Demons II - Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011
Waking Sleeping Demons - Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011
time - Friday, May. 20, 2011
- - Wednesday, Oct. 06, 2010
The Return - Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010
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