Tag: helping others

Elephants, poop paper and procrastination

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In 2023 I saw this lovely box of note papers in a fair-trade shop in Boulder, CO. It caught my eye as I was looking for a gift for a friend and we share an affinity for hummingbirds.     

    

Then I discovered the product was made using the dung of elephants in Sri Lanka! What a cool concept!

I adore elephants almost as much as hummingbirds (but not as much as I love Red Pandas, neither of which I can have in my backyard). Also, I happen to love Sri Lanka, as I was lucky enough to visit the island in December of 2018. So of course I bought the note paper for my friend, and one for myself.

While in Sri Lanka we experienced two very different elephant encounters.

The first was going to an elephant ‘rescue’ and we were very excited we would get to ride elephants.  It was not quite the experience I had anticipated. It WAS awe inspiring and humbling to be able to get so close to, touch and even ride these beautiful, amazing creatures. Yet, it was also a bit sad because it didn’t seem like the elephants were very happy or treated well. They didn’t seem treated poorly, I didn’t get a sense of abuse or neglect, just a lack of reverence or kindness. Also, riding elephants is a little scary, and not super comfortable to be honest, so lacking any sense the animal enjoyed the interaction it was rather disheartening overall. We agreed we had no interest in doing that ever again.

A few days later we had a jeep ride through an elephant sanctuary. It was a large area of land allowing lots of space for many free elephants to roam and exist in a more natural way, other than jeeps driving through all the time carrying tourists. What a difference! Of course we couldn’t get close to them, our drivers always maintaining a certain distance, but this felt like a much deeper connection of engaging with the gentle giants. It is truly one of my favorite life experiences to date. My awe, joy and respect for elephants can barely be overstated. Seeing them in the environment where they belong, in the social groups they form, going about their own business was seriously breathtaking. One of our guides aptly reminded us that we humans were the visitors in the elephant’s home. 6 years later, I still get goose bumps thinking about their beauty and strength.

Today, while browsing the internet (and probably should have been doing something more productive) I happened across this story from Business Insider about paper being made from elephant poop in Thailand. Provided with the back story I just gave you, I am sure you know it was a must for me to watch! What a fascinating process, and delightful people making this awesome product! 

Well, I it sure took me down a rabbit hole of memories. But it inspired me to write this post and share with you 2 of these companies making elephant poop paper, supporting sustainable practices, employing local workers and making elephants potentially valued in a whole new way! And a lovely fair trade company with loads of great products! I hope there are more out there to be discovered! So, I guess I will consider this a productive procrastination for today.  

Tell me about any fascinating products like this you may know about!

Let’s do ‘Black Friday’ a little differently?

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Let’s face it, gift giving is fun. Every year leading up to the gifting season I promise I won’t give in to materialism, but once I see wrapping paper it’s all over for me.

I LOVE wrapping gifts, giving gifts, watching them be opened. It’s basically my favorite part.

I am that person who buys more small items versus one big present just so I can wrap more things to put under the tree or ship or hand out.

So here are some of my solutions to give some balance to my love of sharing presents and my strong desire to lessen my impact on the environment:

  • Shop small and local as much as possible
  • Buy recycled and re purposed whenever possible. Etsy is great!
  • Buy things the recipient will actually use!
  • When shopping online consolidate shipping as much as possible (for example, Amazon lets you choose one day a week for delivery)
  • Support small businesses by getting gift certificates too. Helps get others to discover my favorite small businesses. Then get creative with fun ways to decorate for presentation!
  • Buy hand made over mass produced. And choose items NOT made from plastic when there is an option. Amazon even has a hand made area to shop.
  • Try to make something myself if I have the time and inspiration
  • Think outside the box and look for unique items that support good causes.

Today I’m highlighting my local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store of the Greater Los Angeles area. They are having a Black Friday all November and inspired this post! Repurposed items and supporting a great cause! Consider supporting your local Re-Store this holiday season! (and all the time really).

And if you have one of those people on your list who are truly impossible to buy for because they have everything, I have one last suggestion. Make a donation to a cause in their name. Make it personal of something meaningful to them. And get creative with how you present it if you are like me and love the whole wrapping and unwrapping process!!

Did you know? Prescription bottles can be re used.

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There is something useful you can do with your old prescription bottles? If you put them in your regular curbside collection they will likely go to landfill, but there is a really great alternative.

Pill Bottle Donations

Matthew 25: Ministries accepts donations of empty plastic pill bottles for inclusion in shipments of medical supplies and for shredding and recycling. “Our pill bottle program fulfills the dual needs of improving medical care in developing countries and caring for our environment.”

Of course, it’s great to find ways to re purpose them also, but I was thrilled to know they can be used in this way.

Some of my favorite re uses for the ones I am not donating are simple and obvious.

  •  Putting other pills in them for travel – we buy the very large containers of ibuprofen or vitamins and use old Rx bottles to take smaller amounts in our toiletries bag.
  • Storing bobby pins, q-tips (not the kind with plastic wands), even drill bits in the shop.
  • I sometimes use them when packing lunch for small things that you want to mix in later, like green onions to sprinkle on a soup after you heat it.
  •  They can make a great way to keep quarters gathered up in the car for when you need to fee a parking meter!

There are a lot of crafting ideas on the internet as well.

Hope you find this helpful!

 

 

Giving Tuesday

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Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and was introduced in 2012 to encourage charitable contributions during a time of much spending and consumerism in the United States.

It has since become a global effort and continues to grow each year.

The idea is not just about sending money to a charity, it is about giving time, sharing kindness, spreading the word about good causes.

Here are some charities or ethical companies I would like to share with you to support:

Habitat for Humanity

Red Panda Network

NAMI – National Alliance of Mental Illness

International Sanctuary  and Purpose Jewelry

SheHeroes

Childhelp

American Red Cross

Humane Society

Any local shelter in your area.

This post was not something I took the time to plan well, but prefer posting something imperfect in hopes of reaching at least a few people, rather than not trying at all. There are so many I would add that I am not thinking of right now.

Go give some good today! Whether it’s dropping your change in the red kettle in front of the grocery store, taking some old clothes to the thrift store, handing a blanket or food to a person on the streets. And if you can donate to an organization today the receives matching funds, that would be really great!

Add your favorite charities in the comments to help spread the word!