The heart is always right!

" 'Women hold up half the sky,' in the words of a Chinese saying, yet that’s mostly an aspiration: in a large slice of the world, girls are uneducated and women marginalized, and it’s not an accident that those same countries are disproportionately mired in poverty and riven by fundamentalism and chaos...focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution." -NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Sometimes the solutions are so simple and sitting right behind us but somehow it just takes ages to realize! Luckily, for Liz, the calling came soon after graduation though in the form of a disguise. This is another story of a person who followed the heart and did what felt right and not what was right in the eyes of society. Having had a degree in journalism and communications, she initially set off to support a youth organisation in Uganda with their communications, donor relations and newsletter needs. During her stay in Uganda, Liz came across a community called 'Cornerstone'. She found a group of incredibly dedicated and committed women in this community who were struggling to find work in order to finance their education. The commitment of these women towards education, love for each other, for reconciliation and the passion to lead their country impressed Liz tremendously! And just like that 'Sseko' was born.

How could they work and study at the same time? Well, the Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Oh! And by the way, the shoes are stylish, classy and can be worn in 30 different ways! Above all, each shoe has its own story, stories of these incredible women who once made shoes but are now leaders in their own fields! How amazing is that!?

To give free money or free shoes is great but not a long term solution, it's just a temporary relief. Sseko model is an inspiration for people looking to find a permanent solutions!

100 CAMERAS

Give photography-Change a community

I came across this organization and had to share all that they do with you guys today.

100cameras empowers marginalized children to document their lives through photography and to create positive change in their own communities. 100% of the money from the children's purchased prints is used to raise awareness and capital to meet physical needs and empower sustainable growth within their community.

How they do it:Giving Cameras to children living in unjust conditions and asking them to document their daily lives.By selling photos online, 100 cameras raises awareness and capital to meet the physical needs of these children and to empower sustainable growths within their communities.

Why it matters: "With each click of the camera each child is given a platform.By giving children a chance to share their perspectives, they are given the opportunity to better their futures."Angela Bullock,Co founder of 100 cameras.

 

Each picture tells a story and i will let the pictures do the talking now.

Manuel's prints:$25-$55

Manuel's prints: $25-$55

To check out more on what they do and to buy pictures from them go to:

www.100cameras.org

Photocredit: 100 cameras

 

Romancing with Silver

'Lai' in French: 
a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance and it's Sanskrit translation is the 'beloved one'. Together they quite comprehend what Puja Bhargava Kamath's silver jewelry stands for - 'a romance with silver, traditional crafts and the Indian culture!'

Puja's jewelry line is a result of several years of work experience in the craft sector, serving and designing accessories for various national and international bodies. Having come across jewelry design; discovering and falling in love with some beautiful craftsmanship during these excursions to remote clusters, Puja has ventured on to design her own line of jewelry. Her brand 'Lai' came about just a few months ago and has already caught attention of several design and craft lovers. A graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology, India, Puja's design approach towards each motif or design she choses to develop and contemporise, is purely research and information based. Her jewelry pieces are an interpretation of Indian themes rendered in contemporary designs. Themes such as paisley motif, design details from old Palaces and Havelis (private mansions) etc. each of which is backed by a strong history and most likely a story in the Indian culture. 

"We like to think of our designs as having a strong personality, an Indian soul & a global spirit. Lai is contemporary, classic, chic, unique ...with a touch of fun!" - you'll agree i think.


Puja works with artisans from different parts of India leveraging the several traditional jewelry making techniques thereby ensuring the continuity of the age old traditional craft skills. Each of her jewelry pieces is handmade, which makes it so unique.

Like we at The Green Elephant believe, these artisans need encouragement to continue doing the crafts they do, to be able to comfortably survive and support their families. The support comes from urban dwellers like us and from talented designers like Puja, who catalyze the outreach and are working towards making this happen. The best part, Lai subscribes to the principles of Fair Trade which, amongst other things, means that the craftsmen work under respectable conditions, are adequately reimbursed for their labor & an overall transparent pricing policy is followed. Kudos Puja!

        Plain Gorgeous!

Content and Image Source: 1+2+3

Fragile Beauty of the World

Many a times i wonder, how is it that people living out far in remote villages, indifferent to any "worldly progress", without any access to formal education, information, technology or modernization, can design and make inspirational art and fashion pieces in ways no-one else can ?! Perhaps, the very lack of any external influence should be one of the dominant reasons, don't you think? Nature has its way to build creativity in you, if you let it. 

Throughout the world, ethnic groups are characterized and identified by such unique dressing and ornamentation. The Maasai - a semi nomadic tribe located in Kenya, are perhaps, one of the most widely recognized people in terms of their customs, dresses and beaded ornaments. Beaded ornaments with bright colors, intricate patterns, layers and layers of which sit on the collar bone, become headdresses and adorn the wrist of men and women alike. Like every other craft, Maasai ornaments also seem to have their own history, symbolism and a strong social meaning.

Traditionally, before the glass beads were easily available, local raw materials such as seeds, skins, copper, bone, gourd and wood were used in the craft. Till date, Maasai women sit together between their daily tasks of looking after the children, milking cows, cooking, constructing homes, keeping an eye on their cattle and make beaded jewelry. To this day bead work is an important means through which women demonstrate their social understanding and creative capability. Beauty is considered very important to their culture and they would invest a lot of time to make it perfect. It is created and given to each other within the community on special occasions such as celebration of a successful hunt, newly engaged couples and on several other ceremonial occasions. 

Because the Maasai are traditionally pastoral people, much of the color symbolism relates to cattle - mostly cows. Each color has it's own significant social meaning and if that intrigues you, read on to find out which color represents what...

Red signifies danger, ferocity, bravery, strength and unity in particular because red is the color of cow's blood which is slaughtered when the community gets together in celebration.

The sky gives water to the cows and the color Blue represents that. 

Green represents the land which grows food for their cattle to eat. Green is also the color of a local plant called 'Olari' which grows tall and plentiful, just as the Maasai hope to. 

The gourds that hold the milk and offered to visitors are colored Orange so that's the color of hospitality and so is Yellow owing to the color of animal skins that cover guest beds.
White is the color of purity and health as it is the color of milk, which comes from cows - considered by the Maasai as a pure and holy animal and because it is milk that nourishes the community.
Black represents the color of the people but more importantly the hardships we all go through in life.

Quite Amazing isn't it?!

I read on Wikipedia that the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. If enforced, these fragile beauties might lose their beautiful age old customs, traditions and craft skills to the daunting modern civilization and become one of the crowd not so different from us! 

Talking of fragile beauties, you all must have heard about the severe drought that has stricken several areas of East Africa. If you feel for it, please do what you can. You'll be surprised how much $5 can achieve in that world!! We do not endorse or favor any particular organisation but for your convenience, here are a few links you can make your donations through: Global Giving-US, Global Giving-UK, Oxfam, World Food Program, Care. 

Much peace and love for all!

Image Credits: Eric Lafforgue

Information Source: Maasai Education

Design Feature: Rachna Reddy

Nominated for the ' Best Accessory Designer of 2011 ' category by Marie Claire India Fashion awards within the very first year of launching her brand, in itself speaks volumes about Rachna Reddy's work. Based out of Bangalore with an in-house team of 6 people, Rachna Reddy started working on her line in May of 2010. 

Walking out on what is conventionally presumed as a "successful" career path in India - engineering, Rachna followed her heart and went ahead to pursue her passion in accessory design and graduated from Cordwainer's - London College of Fashion. She now has her own label which will be stocked by the likes of 'Paul Smith' in London and Paris very soon!

Love the quote by Buddha on this tote

Fascinated by the possibilities of wood, Rachana designs clutch bags made of teak juxtaposed with softer elements such as silk and leather. The bright colors pop out beautifully on the earthy wooden base, don't you think? Also, the co-existence of soft and strong together, truly seems to represent the spirit of the contemporary woman, such a beautiful concept! Using a combination of laser-technology and artisan hand-crafting, her initial designs interpret the most lovely Indian symbols - lotus and peacock. For the rest she draws inspiration from her cultural roots, architecture, travel, indigenous art forms from around the world.

Quite enchanting product photography too you will agree! :)

Below is an extension to Rachna Reddy's signature line of wood clutches inspired from everything that is bright and illuminating. Titled as Beam this line of clutches are adorned by Studs, crystals, bright highlights and lots of bling. 

The Global Gypsy again is another exquisite line based on nomadic inspirations, exploring stunning artistry of various ancient cultures and free spirit symbols such as butterflies.

All images from Rachna Reddy's website and Facebook Page. Information sources: Rachna Reddy's website, Yourstory.in and hardluxliving.com

Pura Vida! Pure Life!

What would you think of a life that lives out of an RV, takes a dip in the soothing warm rivers for a living and listens to great live music in the evenings to make new friends? Fantasy land? I'd say quite right at that if i had not met these friendly ticos (locals) at La Fortuna during my little Costa Rican holiday a few days ago.

Beautiful as the country is, so are the people! I met Sofia Astua, her husband and friends one evening at this very warm and inviting restaurant called 'Lava Lounge' at La Fortuna downtown. After a long day of hiking and driving, this place was a perfect relaxing retreat. Amazing food n drinks, incredible live music from a duo of an asian musician and a local singer clubbed with the cutest dogs and cats - literally! The cats would just come and sit at your table - fearless, just stroke them and they'd close their eyes in peaceful happiness :)

Anyhow, this post is particularly about Sofia Astua, Maria Bustamante and their friends who make beautiful and very unique jewelry using nylon threads and semi precious stones. They get these  stones by diving into the local rivers and ocean beds to make their own rustic yet precious n pretty jewelry. When they are not diving the waters, Sofia makes the jewelry during the day in her RV or at the restaurant where there is ample natural light while her husband who seems pretty good with marketing, sells the jewelry at night when the restaurant is packed with people. They have a simple set up at the entrance of 'Lava Lounge', where they display and sell their work. People waiting for their tables, food n drinks tend to hang around this friendly and attractive little corner chatting with the artists while enjoying the music and doing some shopping. Sharing some pictures of the beautiful place and the work!

Inside Lava Lounge

Maria at work

The price ranges from $8 to $100 depending on the design. It takes them anything between 4 to 12 hours behind one piece to knot intricate patterns all they way around a stone. It looks as precise and neat as any bead jewelry isn't it? 

The work below here is by Maria Bustamante. Notice the nature inspired forms in her beautiful creations. 

Sofia and Me at their display table

              

Sofia and her husband.

And look what i got me :) 

'Cian' is the artist's 2 yr old daughter after whom they have named their brand. Notice the packaging - economic, recycled, simple and beautiful!

All images are taken by me with the permission of the artist.

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