So I am sitting in a quiet little shop full of beautiful artisan fair trade goods - the sale of which goes towards raising funds to combat human trafficking in Alberta and to improving the quality of life for the creators -- I just treated myself to the gift basket I posted earlier and two pairs of earrings -- and sipping a cola, contemplating life. Its interesting really; I spent my teen years in shops like these, admiring the handywork and chatting up the owners, mainly... but I never really put in any real thought towards the global effect that they might have had. It never occurred to me when I was a kid that buying the rainbow coloured Peruvian backpack that I wore throughout junior high might have changed a familys life. It never crossed my mind when I bought South American goods that my choice in jewelry or whatever could have meant the difference between starvation and beatings and economic freedom and psychosocial safety for someone I had never met. Shops and kitchens. Where wars are won, and hope is made.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 20:13:41 +0000
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