HELLLOOOOO COMMUNITY!!!

I actually wear a couple o' hats here; while I'm the "Online Outreach Coordinator" for WorldofGood.com, I am also a concerned, passionate Fair Trade activist-- The position attracted my imagination, with the power of its phenomenal potential for change.

Since I this is my personal account, I'll introduce my activist-hat-wearing self here. To see my WorldofGood.com "Official" introduction:
http://community.worldofgood.com/blogs/lauren_worldofgood_blog/2007/12/14/hello-world-of-good-community)

I imagine this Discussion question also leads to: Why would I join this community? Why would I wish to connect with other people, across time and space, experience and age, race, and economic status?

Why would I chose to engage with thousands of people, consumers, producers, sellers, media providers, trust providers, activists, students, and travelers? How can this space benefit me, my goals, my vision, and dreams?

It's simple: Community is at the base of everything - the essential part of all things fruitful, and strong.

Because I beleive in the power of unity - power in numbers and communication - to bridge gaps of conversation and privilege, to fill the silent spaces so often built on assumptions and romanticism, with true dialogue and provocative discussion. I beleive that in order to truly make change, the only power we have lies in the ways that we spend our precious time, money, and energy - what we focus on, express to other, and support - both with our words, and financially.

... Because the ideas that we have can only go so far as simple 'ideas' - when just imagining isn't enough - this community serves as a tangible space where ideas become conversations and discussions, and voices become heard. Because the more action-oriented we can be in this movement towards poverty alleviation and social change, the more progress we will see in our lifetime.

This community is hope-filled and inspirational - It allows me... and us... to imagine a true change in the geo-economical landscape -- That future generations will know "People-Positive" as a household term, "Fair Trade" and the default, a commonplace idea, and socio-economic improvement for all a tangible reality.

We hope that everyone - from consumers, students, and activists, to producers, magazines, bloggers, and everyone in between - will benefit from the content and activity on this Community space.

Thanks for being involved in this extremely powerful and exciting new endeavor!

In solidarity,

LBS

I want to help kids in developing countries receive education. I want to help societies progress towards better socio economic conditions.

Moreover, I want to easily learn about various unique topics such as What's the most popular Fair Trade product? Or what's the difference between hand made baskets made in Africa and those made in India or other developing countries or producer groups?

Last but not least, I would love to hear ideas from people about concepts that would be great for a Fair Trade Board game =). Please tell.

And if you read, this please introduce yourself and let's see how many people can get to join build this thread and Community!

We are Bright Hope International. You can find all kinds of great information about us at our profile page as well as very good info on some of our day to day operations found in our blog. Here's the link

http://community.worldofgood.com/people/brighthopeinternational

We joined this community because it's a great forum for discussion and consideration of the HUGE issues facing us in the world today. We champion the cause of the extreme poor and hope to take advantage of the forum and interest to gain new ideas and insights into how to accomplish our mission AND especially to build new, more, and better strategic partnerships as we work on fulfilling our mission.

Hello everyone!

Trillium Artisans is a nonprofit in Portland, OR USA. We are so excited to be part of this community. Our mission is to support and empower low income craftspeople from right here in our home town, and to help them increase their business income. All of our items are made with at least 50% recycled or reclaimed materials and priced to pay the artisans a living wage.

We are looking forward to connecting with other community members to share ideas and learn more about how other groups around the world are helping to alleviate poverty.

We are also excited about the indie craft revolution. We are currently selling through our website and through our shop on Etsy.com , but we think World of Good will be the perfect niche for our products.

Thanks for having us!

No- Thank YOU, for joining the Community- because it is true that we are only as strong as the links we manifest and maintain.

I appreciate your activist sensibility, and agree strongly about the site's radical potential. Oh, the change we can create when we connect and communicate!

In the words of The Lorax (Dr. Seuss): "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."



"And all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks with one word--UNLESS."

(Though a World of Good employee, these opinions are my own)

I guess you could say I married into it...

I've focused most of my professional life around urban school reform in the US. But beyond having a wife who eats and breathes this stuff, I've been thinking about how over the last few years the internet has transformed the extent to which consumers in fully developed countries can be deliberate about align their purchases with their ideology and beliefs.

Our Christmas gifts this year came almost exclusively from internet purchases. So whereas previously, the kinds of things we bought a decade ago were a function of whatever the stores in the local mall, etc. happened to stock. But now, if it's for sale on the internet and you can think of a google search clever enough to find it, you can whatever you want.

So what does this have to do with fair trade? First, with respect to prodect distribution, the key challenge may not be to make sure every small town gift shop stocks your oven mits, but rather the online pathways to product are blazed and open for business. The second (and frankly to me more intimidating) is that consumers need to educated to understand that them spending money can in fact be an act of power and a political statement. And that the premium for so doing may not be as large as you think.

Anyway, I know that wasn't the direct question...but that's why I'm here and what's on my mind.

Best,

JT

Hello Everyone! Long here from World of Good, Inc. I just recently joined to check out what the hubbub was all about and found such a great community of great minds. I hope to explore and discuss the possibilities to help bridge the poverty gap through the uses of technology because I think this is one of the ways we can make the most impact in an efficient and scalable way.