February 2009
Welcome to February folks.
Turn On Turn Off
Yarnbombing Ever expanding Heathrow
Otesha seeks soulmate (ahem, intern)
We like: long bikes rides, organising cycle tours , hanging out with volunteers, sharing lunch and making tea for our interns. We are very excited at the prospect of an intern to help us make four (yes four!) amazing, awesome and astounding cycle tours happen this summer.
You are: an exciting and excitable individual, who's jumping up and down at the prospect of helping to organise and publicise the cycle tours. You've got lots of vision, drive and ideas. And you want opportunity to have a big role in a small organisation, not just get the coffee.
Read more about this volunteering opportunity , see if you're our ideal match, then get in touch with Hanna and let us know how you take your tea.
Darn it
This month we invite you to get beyond patching denim and turn your jeans into shorts, then your shorts into slippers, use your old slippers to patch a worn jumper, turn your old jumper into new mittens and socks, your socks into toys, after all this you’ll be thirsty so you’ll want to trade your toys for a drink in a can (which you can make into a book) or a carton (which’ll be your next wallet).
We're not into waste, but we are into making things. So making things from waste is totally our bag. We thought we were very clever making belts from bike tyres until we got trumped with a magnificent measuring tape belt. We would really like to see more (and have more on our website). If you've got any hand made goods or hideous hand-me-downs that you've given a new lease of life to, send us a photo. We like photos too.
Spanish scenery and sparkly spokes
This summer, in a damp field, at a wet festival, at the start of the Deep South cycle tour and a long summer of cycling, we met Becky and Ali. Being a pair of happy campers and keen cyclists, 6 weeks living off the back of their bikes just wasn’t enough for them. So Ali and Becky set off, with all their belongings on the back of their bikes, to Spain:
“So..we met on the first UK tour in the deep south and we´re still cycling, we´ve made it halfway through Spain riding, wildcamping and couch surfing in search of eco projects and sustainable communities to visit and volunteer at. It seems we have become a wee bit oteshified - carrying our compost around for days until a suitable shrub becomes available, making cards for our hosts, dancing on roadsides and sprouting beans in our panniers! We would ask for the old baked goods come closing time if only our Spanish were up to it and yes, we are in love with our tupaware (there’s an old otesha tradition of taking our own tupperware to the takeaway).
We´ve been riding mostly without a plan and as a result have ridden through not only beautiful landscapes but industrial and agricultural ones as well. One striking scene we passed was a brand new bioethanol plant surrounded by a monoculture of intensively grown corn as far as you could see. Is burning food sustainable? It's interesting as well to see in the wake of the economic crisis so much building work half complete and we almost sigh in relief that the diggers are still. Riding though the landscape on bikes really makes you remember why all the small changes are so important. We feel that there's much more learning in store. We´ll keep you posted on our adventures to come.”
Read more about biking, bioethanol and brave winter camping on Ali’s blog.
The Carbon Connection
This month, we've been watching a video correspondence between two communities on opposite sides of the world, both serverely and adversly affected by corporations. The residents of Grangemouth, Scotland who live on the doorstep of a BP oil refinery, suffer respiratory diseases at the hands of a corporation contributing to climate change. On the other side of the world, a Brazilian community enjoys better weather but suffers droughts as a result of eucalyptus plantations created to combat climate change. The most shocking thing about this film is that the plantations which are destroying habitats and livlihoods are planted as carbon offset schemes and financed by the World Bank. Both communities filmed themselves and, through their correspondence, shared their stories and sympathies with each other. It’s a 40 minute watch, but it dosen't feel like it.
And finally
This month at Otesha, we have mostly been celebrating Obama's inauguration with exciting arts and crafts.
Jo, Hanna & Liz
The Otesha Project UK
www.otesha.org.uk