JANE KOOPMAN ART AND JEWELRY

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5/17/2013

Women in Rural Bangladesh Find Fair and Sustainable Employment Through CORR - The Jute Works  

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This post is part of my series about the artisans whose work you'll find in The Mennonite Central Committee's Ten Thousand Villages shops. You can read my original post introducing the series here. Today, let me tell you about CORR - The Jute Works from Bangladesh.

If you type "Bangladesh" into Google news search right now, most of the stories that come up are about the April 24th collapse of a building that housed several garment factories in a suburb of Dhaka, the capital. Over 1,100 people died in the accident. This tragedy occurred only five months after a fire in another Bangladesh garment factory killed 112 workers. Any catastrophe that involves losses of life and injuries is a tragedy: what's unspeakably awful about these tragedies is that they wouldn't have occurred if the international clothing brands who operate the factories would have properly maintained the facilities.
CORR - The Jute Works Jute BagJute Bag Made in Bangladesh by a CBJ artisan
Of the limited amount of information I know about the economics of the clothing industry, I have heard the argument that improving the wages and conditions for workers in factories like these tragedy-stricken ones in Bangladesh, would upset local economies where the factories exist. I've always suspected that this is an over-simplification (and at worst, a cop-out), and my recent discovery of CORR artisans at Ten Thousand Villages proves my suspicions aren't too far off.

CORR - The Jute Works (CJW) describes itself as a women's non-profit handicraft marketing and exporting trust. It was founded to help impoverished rural women in Bangladesh find means to earn a living using local materials they can easily access, like grass, bamboo and clay. Partnering with CJW means women don't have to leave their families to earn income: they can work from home and still raise their children and be part of their communities.

Hand Bound Journal CORR - The Jute Worksterra cotta garden planter by CBJ artisan
The artisans are organized into self-governed cooperative groups, and CJW's Education Team provides assistance as needed. Currently, CJW has 220 cooperative groups representing over 4,800 female and 160 male artisans across Bangladesh. That's a lot of people. The artisans make everything from clay and terracotta pottery to jute bags and baskets to handmade paper. CJW looks after exporting the products and also provides funding and support for further education and business ventures for the artisans.

This is great news about Bangladesh, and I wish it was a top story.

It's hard to be an informed and responsible consumer. Labels don't tell us much, and it's hard to know which corporate responsibility statements to believe. One sure way to buy responsibly is to purchase from organizations such as CJW, who try to nourish sustainable and just employment in their corners of the world. It might seem like a drop in the bucket, but it's something.

* all photos courtesy Ten Thousand Villages - click on the images to purchase directly

hand-bound journal CORR - The Jute Works
hand-bound jute paper journal with recycled fabric cover made by CBJ artisan
Terra Cotta Foot Scrubber CORR - The Jute Works
terra cotta foot scrubber by CBJ artisan
jute trivet CORR - The Jute Works
jute trivet by CBJ artisan

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5/8/2013

Simply Amazing

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This is the view right now from my studio window. It doesn't get much better than this.
cherry blossoms

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5/2/2013

Spring Garden Tips

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Spring is finally here! . . . at least, where I live in southern Ontario (Zone 6a). At this time of year, as excited as I am to get going on gardening, I always forget what I should be doing in the garden: what needs to be pruned when, what should be fertilized, what can be moved and what can't, etc. This year, I'm writing things down in a new garden journal I got from my excellent-gift-giving husband, Dan. (For Christmas and my birthday - both in the dead of winter - he often gets me gardening stuff, which is always a treat.) So I thought I'd share a few of the spring gardening tips I've collected in various places and written down:
  • It's usually a challenge for gardeners to know when they can start digging in the dirt: moving plants, planting new things, etc. Last year at a panel discussion of garden experts I saw at Canada Blooms, I learned a couple quick tests that will tell you if your garden is ready for digging. If you step in your garden and leave behind a deep footprint, it's not yet time: the ground is too wet. Or, when you pick up some garden soil and squeeze it in your fist, if it crumbles apart when you open your fist, the soil is ready to be worked. If it stays in a clump, the ground isn't ready.
  • Rose bushes need some pruning in the spring to remove dead wood, maintain air circulation in the plant, and promote healthy growth and flowering. To know when it's safe to prune, look at the forsythia bushes in your neighbourhood. If their yellow flowers are blooming, it's time to prune your roses.
  • Wait to prune spring flowering shrubs like lilac, rhododendron, azalea and vibernum until after they have finished flowering. These plants flower on new wood, and pruning will encourage new growth for flowers next season. Pruning before flowering might remove flower buds, and you don't want to deprive yourself of beautiful spring flowers, now do you.
  • Prune/trim a lavender plant in early spring to keep it full and shapely. Lavender can get scraggly and spindly if it's not pruned. You can be pretty aggressive with pruning lavender: trim off about 3 cm with scissors or hedge clippers, and shape it the way you like (just like you would with a hedge).
  • Make a list or chart of all the shrubs in your garden, and make notes on what each one requires: pruning, soil requirements, fertilzation, etc. That way, you can refer to your chart each spring to remember what to do with each of your shrubs.
  • Spring is a great time to test your soil for acidity and nutrient content. Soil testing kits are easy to use (and kinda fun) and not super expensive. There are also some homemade tricks you can try . . . like this one: put some soil in a cup and pour vinegar over it. If it fizzes, your soil is alkaline. Once you know the acidity of your soil and the nitrogen-potassium-phosphorus levels, you can make amendments so that you have happy plants all season.
Yaaaaay for spring!


garden soil
garden soil can't be too goopy when you're working in the garden (photo, Jane Koopman)
pink rose
pruning roses in the spring lets you see this in a few weeks (photo, Jane Koopman)
pink lilac
I wish this lilac was in my garden, but I can visit it at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario. (photo, Jane Koopman)
rhododendron
Rhododendrons are one of the first flushes of colour in the spring, and one of my favourites too. (photo, Jane Koopman)

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