April 2008
Being the responsible folk that we are, we're foregoing April Fool's Day in favour of Fossil Fool's Day. So without further ado, and not a joke in sight, we welcome you to this month's Otesha offerings.
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Another brick in the cistern Internet repression
Trials, tribulations and fair trade
The brand spanking new fairly-traded, locally-sourced, ethically-produced chapter of the Otesha UK Book has been floated. Get your portfolio of stocks and shares together and share your stories with us. We want to hear about how you got Fairtrade in your life, your school, your college, your university, your work, your town, or (if you’re Welsh) your entire country. Read all about it here, and tell us all about it here.
TRAID, t-shirts and tryin’ to make a difference
As preparations get underway for the premier of the Otesha UK cycle tours, we’re following in the footsteps of the ever inspired Otesha Canada and making some t-shirts. We’re buying in a load of second hand t-shirts from TRAID
to Otesha-ise. Not only are these t-shirts recycled they’re also dead cheap, so we’re donating the dosh we’ve saved to TRAID’s international development projects.
We'll be supporting projects such as SolarAid, a charity in Malawi, that is dedicated to creating solar energy systems for communities with little or no access to electricity. The project gives people a chance to generate a sustainable and environmentally friendly income. SolarAid trains people living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi to build and market solar powered devices like lanterns and radios.
Tours, training and tupperware
We’re busy planning the training week for this Summer's first cycle tour, which starts on May 25th. We’re looking for kind hosts to put us up/ let us put our tents up all along the cycle tour routes.Hosts will be repaid in love and a sneak preview of the award-winning Otesha play and infamous tupperware song.If you'd like to spend some time with a team of Oteshaites this summer, invite us over.
Talent, time and tireless theatrics
We’ve been off for a weekend of japes and jollies to make a play (to the Otesha UK cycle tours, we're sneaking them into just about every feature this month). We were accompanied by some lovely folk from Kilter and Jamnesty. By way of thanks for their talent, time and tireless theatrics we’re shamelessly plugging their projects.
Kilter is a sustainable theatre company that specialises in creating site-specific performances. This June they'll be 'Back on Track' with a bike-based promenade performance on the Bath to Bristol cycle route. As ever, they'll be entertaining and engaging audiences in issues surrounding the environment, social justice and English heritage in Bath.
Jamnesty, the University of East Anglia's very own Amnesty junk pans, woks and biscuit tins. They can be heard from afar banging out samba, african, funk, jazz and rock rhythm based Junk Bandness and spotted from afar in their orange Guantánamo boiler suits.
Tents, tyres and bike trails
We promise this is the last time we'll mention the cycle tours in this email (an easy promise to make this close to the end of it). But before we keep to that promise we just want to remind you that this summer two teams of young people will be pedalling off into the sunset.
Along the way, we'll be stopping off at a selection of the UK's finest festivals and community events, including theSunrise Celebration, Green Man Festival, Croissant Neuf Summer Party, Ragged Hedge Fair, the Bristol Festival of Nature and Arts Meets Environment Festival.
For six weeks we'll tour the UK with the aforementioned play, wear the aforementioned T-shirts, and learn to live together and love one another as a mobile community. It promises to be a life-changing experience and if you don't believe us, have a read of this...
“Sunday, I met the Otesha Project. Monday, I woke up, had my first ever staggered shower, picked up my first ever fair trade coffee in a reusable mug, took the bus to work, walked into my boss’ office…. And I quit my job.” - Chad Hamre, past Otesha Canada cycle tour member.
So if you're 18-25 (owning a bike is not a requirement) and want to come on holiday with Otesha,apply now. If you're too old, young or busy to come, tell someone who isn't.
And finally...
This month we’ve been striving to be rubbish free. Anything that couldn’t be recycled, reused or composted, we couldn’t have it. See how we did. See others that’ve done it better. Buy food with no packaging here.
Jo, Barbora, Doudou & Liz
The Otesha Project UK
www.otesha.org.uk
P.S. Did this newsletter sustain our usual superb and seductively sustainable standard? Let us know what you think and what you'd like to see in the next one.