News Briefs: June 29, 2006
Four Corners – An Alternative Trade Organization
Choosing a name for CLWR’s Alternative Trade Organization has been a long process. After months of reviewing and researching numerous names, a final decision was made and the name “Four Corners” selected.
The stylized globe and cross in the logo of “Four Corners – An Alternative Trade Organization” incorporate the concepts of operating globally, importing handcrafts from the four corners of the world and helping third world artisans, and reflect the faith basis of the organization’s association with Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
Interested in hosting a Four Corners consignment sale? Call 1.800.661.2597 and ask for Four Corners!
Watch for the new logo and more information in the coming months and remember that together we can create alternatives to living in poverty. Changing lives, one sale at a time.
–CLWR News Service
CLWR 60th Annual Meeting highlights
At the 60th Annual Meeting of the Board of Canadian Lutheran World Relief, held June 23-24 in Winnipeg, the Board was pleased to be able to officially welcome and receive Robert Granke as the new Executive Director.
The Board’s new executive committee was elected: President, Rev. Mark Harris, Waterloo, ON (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada [ELCIC]); Vice-President, Deanna Friesen, Rocky Mountain House, AB (Lutheran Church–Canada [LCC]); Treasurer, Bill Risto, Winnipeg, MB (ELCIC); Secretary, Joan Meyer, Swift Current, SK (ELCIC). New members appointed to the Board at this meeting were Rev. James S. Dimitroff, Saskatoon, SK (LCC), and Rev. Patricia Cuyatti, Chicago, IL (International Partner).
There was also a time for remembering and honouring two former Board members who have died in recent months: Rev. Dr. Roy Holm and Rev. Dr. Prasanna Kumari. Dr. Leonard Harms and CLWR Executive Director Robert Granke led the assembled Board in memorial tributes, giving thanks for the lives and ministries of these two colleagues.
CLWR staff made presentations to keep Board members updated and informed regarding the various program activities of CLWR. The Board approved a $10 million budget with continued partnerships with the Lutheran World Federation.
—CLWR News Service
Nurturing traditions to cope with an uncertain future
CHIMPA RODEO, Bolivia -- A tiny insect that the Spaniards mistook as a plant seed is still the key ingredient in the brilliant red dyes women in this community produce to colour their textiles.
When the Spaniards arrived in the new world in the 1500s, they were amazed at the quality and vibrancy of the red dyes the natives used for their clothing. Europeans had red dyes made from roots, lichen and insects, but none compared to the brilliant scarlet they saw in the new world.
The secret was a tiny insect that lived on the flattened stems of certain prickly pear cactus. At first the Spanish thought the dried, unprocessed insects were seeds, so they called them grana cochinilla. The dye comes from the female insect’s cochineal scales, which are crushed to obtain the purplish pigment their bodies produce. Today the bug is still called the cochinilla.
A project supported by Canadian Lutheran World Relief encourages indigenous communities in the Bolivian highlands to embrace the traditional ways of dyeing and weaving textiles. And so the cochinilla is still used to produce the brilliant reds in their fabrics. But it isn’t the only bug they use for making dyes, or the only natural ingredient. They also grind up plants—like the hola—to create dyes. Sometimes they mix ingredients to create the colour they want.
“This knowledge [creating natural dyes] was being lost in our culture and we were using chemical dyes,” explained one woman in Chimpa Rodeo. “It’s good to rescue our natural culture.”
The textiles produced by the community are a basic example of vertical integration—where the producers control all aspects of the manufacturing process. Wool comes from sheep raised in the community. The wool is spun, dyed and woven by women in the community. They then make clothing and other articles out of the woven material.
It’s time-consuming work that women in Chimpa Rodeo and neighbouring communities must fit into their daily lives. “Family work takes precedence,” said one woman. Sometimes they work on the textiles while keeping an eye on their livestock in the fields.
“Ninety-nine percent of the women in the community can’t read or write, but they can weave these beautiful textiles,” says Alberto Choque who works with IPTK, one of the organizations that implements CLWR’s programs in Bolivia.
Encouraging women to make the textiles is one way to help strengthen the community’s cultural identity. Strengthening the community’s cultural identity contributes to its resilience in the face of change. It’s not a matter of protecting the people in the community so much as ensuring they will have the confidence and resources to control how change occurs.
“The objective is to preserve natural resources and cultural identity,” says Choque. These are seen as fundamental to strengthening the community’s ability to cope with change.
Meanwhile, CLWR, through IPTK, is encouraging women to work together and develop female leadership. Literacy among women is also a priority.
“In the past, the work of women has been invisible,” says Choque. “Now it is more visible.”
–CLWR News Service
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