February 2008
It’s that time of the month again and here we are to offer you the usual collection of foolish fancies and fickle fings.
Turn On Turn Off
Cape Town gets green light Third runway at Heathrow
Fabulous Fashion
We’re a bunch of trendy young things at Otesha, but we prefer shops without the sweat. In the latest chapter of the elasticated and ever expanding Otesha UK Book, we’ve sewn together all our knowledge of fashion. This metaphor is getting bit threadbare, but if you have anything to say about the fashion industry- anything at all- stitch it up and into info@otesha.org.uk. We’ll parade your fashion fables on the catwalk of our website and knit your ideas into the book. Guilt-free clothes: they're the new black.
What we’ll be doing on our summer holidays
Applications for the 2008 cycle tours have been pedalling in at top gear- but there are still saddles to be filled. If you’ve got a bike, get on it. If you haven’t we suggest you invest in one. If you’re 18-25 join a cycle tour and learn what it is to be part of a mobile community cycling a storm across the UK. If you're tempted get your rear in gear because spaces are going fast.
Look mum, I’m on the radio
We’ve been promoting the cycle tours up and down the land, including on Bradford Community Radio. BCB works with diverse communities in inner city Bradford raising awareness of the issues around climate change. They offer listeners advice on how they can take small steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
Our Liz, now a minor celebrity in the Canadian press, was interviewed on BCB. You can hear her dulcet tones and general delightfulness on the podcast.
The Nag/p>
If you haven’t been nagged already, prepare yourself. Nagging is definitely the new black. The Nag is a website that helps people do one thing a month to 'make the world a better place', one lazy ass mouse click at a time. Sign up (and join the Otesha Crowd) to be nagged every month to do one small, easy action.
We’re partners with The Nag, possibly even friends. We’re always a bit proud of them, but especially so after they won the Ethical Find of the Year 2007 Award.
Revolutionary resolutions
We’ve collected up some New Years Resolutions from our friends and neighbours for your inspiration and amusement. Our suggestion is that you swap your resolution for someone else's, you never know - it might be interesting. I’ll take your vice, you take mine.
Here are the options: writing more emails; writing less emails and more letters; learning a foreign language; giving up smoking/drinking/meat/sugar; eating only organic meat; smoking only organic tobacco; eating more meals with friends; reading one book a month; enroling in a dance class; learning the harmonic; learning magic tricks and investigating new ways to not get things done.
And finally...
This month at Otesha, we have mostly been reviving old school communication and writing post cards. In a bizarre combination of technology and a communication method that dates back to 1861, we’ve created a virtual postcard for you to use and abuse.
Take a leaf out of our book and send us one with your turn ons and turn offs for February. Better still, add a leaf to our book and write a submission for the Fashion, Food or Money Chapters.
Jo, Barbora & Liz
The Otesha Project UK
www.otesha.org.uk