Jubilee Economics Ministries

Fair Trade or, How to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Webmaster — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:59:05 +0000

I attended a house meeting in Coronado on Sunday, May 13th, with at least two purposes in mind: to learn about Fair Trade and to meet a woman who directs a Fair Trade artisan group in western India.

Our host was Dawn Stary, an influential local organizer of Fair Trade San Diego. The guest of honor was Lata Kachhawan, also an influential organizer in her own region of Barmer in the western state of Rajasthan, India. Ms. Kachhawan has worked for decades with women in her region who are immigrants from Pakistan, helping them to successfully export their handicraft work for a fair wage.

So, what is Fair Trade? Apparently, it is a concept whose time has come.

The purpose of Fair Trade is to ensure that the benefits of an international market can be reaped by laborers as well as by distributors and consumers of that market; to provide a decent living wage to those involved. In other words, the purpose of Fair Trade is to bring justice into the world. You didn’t think it was possible? Neither did I. As consumers, we can now choose products which meet the standard of Fair Trade at regular grocery stores in our neighborhoods. As I discussed the meeting to a friend afterwards, I was met with immediate skepticism. ‘How do we know that fair trade is real? Why should we believe that anyone is actually checking?’ I am a person with a high regard for skepticism, and I did feel these questions had been answered for me during the meeting.

What I learned is this:

In the US, consumer goods including coffee, tea and sugar can now be certified through Fair Trade USA, whose slogan is, ‘Every Purchase Matters.’ Certification means the importing company has been audited to ensure they are checking their sources: checking to make sure that laborers are paid a living wage in their own economy, among other credentials.

Ms. Kachhawan’s export trade is validated through an international organization, Fairtrade International (FLO), which likewise operates to ensure that trade under its label is conducted in a manner to deal fairly with all involved.

These validation systems exist to answer precisely the questions my friend was posing. Dawn Stary and her associates with FTSD have persuaded the city government of San Diego to meet the standards and join the ranks of Fair Trade Towns USA; they are now also providing mentoring to organizers in the nearby city of La Mesa, California, in pursuing this approval process. Lata Katchawan’s organization of Pakistani artisans has international support through Fairtrade International to earn fair wages for their work. I encourage readers to explore these systems which are developing to validate fair trade, and to promote fair trade, making conscious choices with your every day purchases.

Nine Convictions in an Economy for One Planet

Kyle Holberg — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:33:00 +0000

What are the Nine Convictions essential to living on our one Earth instead of requiring several planets as we do now?

Campolo & Claiborne BONUS Videos Now Available

Gerald Iversen — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:01:00 +0000

This week Simple Living’s most recent free video appears on JEM’s new YouTube channel dedicated to voluntary simple living—Simply Enough: Straight Talk from Tony Campolo & Shane Claiborne on Simple, Just Living—eight BONUS segments (playlist with all 14 episodes viewable above). Ideal for group or individual use, especially for young adults, including Study/Action Guide. The video Simple Living: Struggles and Solutions is scheduled for release next week.

Campolo and Claiborne have created an intensely personal dialogue about the foundations of the Christian life and voluntary simplicity. This pointed, yet hopeful video has current relevance to the yearnings of today’s Christian.

Artists for Change CD — free and complete

Doug Clegg and his partner Kate Wallace were the sparks that brought the Artists for Change CD into being, and JEM has used that CD as one entryway into talking about our favorite topics. The entire CD is now available free to be streamed or downloaded.

Like JEM

Jubilee Economics is on Facebook @jubecomin. So is our podcast program: @The Common Good Podcast.

Please subscribe to The Common Good podcast and subscribe to Jubilee Economics’ blog.

Campolo & Claiborne Videos Now Available

Gerald Iversen — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:01:30 +0000

Simply Enough VIDEO

This week Simple Living’s most recent free video appears on JEM’s new YouTube channel dedicated to voluntary simple living—Simply Enough: Straight Talk from Tony Campolo & Shane Claiborne on Simple, Just Living—six ten-minute segments on Lifestyle, Food, Celebrations, Stuff, Money and Justice (playlist with all six episodes viewable above). Ideal for group or individual use, especially for young adults, including Study/Action Guide. The eight BONUS features are scheduled for next week.

Celebrate Simply

Also, read Rites of Passage for help simplifying weddings, birthdays, graduations, etc.

Like JEM

Jubilee Economics is on Facebook @jubecomin. So is our podcast program: @The Common Good Podcast.

Please subscribe to The Common Good podcast and subscribe to Jubilee Economics’ blog.

Jubilee Economy Thrives in Community

Lee Van Ham — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:49:30 +0000

A jubilee economy thrives in community; withers in individualism. People living near one another who join in a common mission really, really get things done.

Doug Clegg Strikes a Chord for Jubilee Economics

Ed Lucas — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:19:00 +0000

Actually, Doug struck a good many chords for JEM, and on a number of instruments! Doug’s a walking, talking study in American folk music, social justice work, and with at least a half dozen instruments with him for this show alone, a mighty talented performer. He says he plays 20 instruments. For a musical hack like me, that’s always an attractive thing!

Enough!

Gerald Iversen — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:01:17 +0000

This week free Simple Living videos begin appearing on YouTube, first the award-winning Break Forth Into Joy! Beyond a Consumer Lifestyle—the 15 minute MAIN presentation, plus three BONUS features: Possessions and Freedom, Family and Children, and Taking Action. Also, Study Guide and script.

What Our Kids Have to Teach Us About Money

Scott Klinger — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:11:59 +0000

Last week, I wrote a little piece about using college savings funds as an opportunity to teach our children about the two economies in our midst. In this piece I will share a story about what our children have to teach us. Like many kids, my daughter Kaylin had a small savings account from the time she could walk. When she started getting an allowance, she divided her weekly allotment between that which she’d spend, that which she’d share with others, and that which she’d save.

Fostering Direct Investment in Local Economies: the Pros and Cons

Jan Schalkwijk, CFA — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:13:44 +0000

I recently read Ditching Wall Street for a Local Exchange by Michael Shuman. In it, the author discusses local stock exchanges as an alternative for investors who wish to place their money closer to home and bypass Wall Street. It reminded me of my podcast with Jubilee Economics, hence my follow up here.

Using College Savings to Teach about the Two Economies

Scott Klinger — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:33:00 +0000

My daughter Kaylin graduated from college last spring. But her education about our economy began as I started thinking about saving for that education when she was still a young girl. From the start, I decided that whatever I could set aside for her college, I would divide it evenly between traditional investments in a socially screened mutual fund and a community investment, like a loan fund or deposit in a community development bank.

Simple Living Works! #8–PostConsumer?

Gerald Iversen — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 07:01:00 +0000

In this May issue we consider becoming a PostConsumer. We look at two powerful online shopping guides. We see the connection between voluntary simplicity and Easter. And we think about reducing personal dissonance by eliminating our income tax. Also, here’s a big help for planning a simpler wedding, as well as May-August celebrations.

JEM and the Catholic Worker: A New Partnership with Benefits for Us All

Lee Van Ham — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:30:28 +0000

All of the Roundtables engage us in the reduction of conflict by offering an alternative. It’s a good fit for JEM, because a jubilee economy helps us live an alternative amid the global economy that fosters conflicts in the quest for cheap resources and labor.

Easter Embodied

Ed Lucas — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:10:34 +0000

My wife Kelli and I went to church on Easter. Actually we went to two churches because we hold separate memberships. But when we regrouped at home, we opted to fill the day with a trip to the local mountains with Buber the Dog. What a day for it too! At first it was a bit pointless as we drove to escape the exurban sprawl. Eventually we realized we may as well drop by an old ranch that Kelli has ties to. And then after that it was just a matter of cruising. Why not take a different road? Where does this road go, anyway? We’d never driven out to the north. It barely appears on the map. It’s not as smooth as the main road a few miles east. But it was Easter Sunday and the road beckoned.

Notice to Readers: New Blog Feed Address

Webmaster — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:03:01 +0000

Some months ago we updated the podcast feed to include Feedburner for additional means to enable subscription for all of you, and some other goodies for us back here. Now it’s time to say that subscribers to this blog should confirm that the feed address you have in your feed reader is as follows.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/jubecomin

Get on the Horn With JEM and Volunteer!

Webmaster — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:22:00 +0000

Get on the horn with JEM today!

Whether you have two hours a month or two days per week, volunteering with JEM can contribute to economic change and maybe increase your own understanding of a jubilee economy. Currently, volunteers multiply by 15 every dollar donated to JEM. Here are ten volunteer tasks you might consider helping out with.

Prius Envy Disclosed in The Ritual of Buying a Car

Lee Van Ham — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:29:59 +0000

Only when I began to look for our next used car did I realize that I have had Prius envy. With expenses up to $1000 looming shortly on our trusty 1998 Honda Civic, Juanita and I decided, “Let’s just put that money toward a newer one.” So I took the lead and began to look. But what was I looking for?

Artists for Change CD, 2nd Edition: Now Available!

Webmaster — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:10:00 +0000

AFC^2!

AFC^2! (Songs for my One Earth Crib) is the new compilation of songs by Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, ADELE, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, and Tyga. And, special for this compilation, there is an ensemble performance from all of the American Idol winners, backing Madonna on her newest single, Immaterial Girl. An impassioned posthumously-released Amy Winehouse performance of “This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land (But It’s More My Land Than Yours)” is definitely the show stopper of this set, highlighting the difference between the prevailing worldview of economics of domination and scarcity and the JEM vision of a shared economics of abundance.

Seven Partnerships for a One Earth Economy

Lee Van Ham — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:15:13 +0000

We like partnering! And here are seven JEM is doing to advance economic practices that fit on one planet. Think a about these and then leave a comment below on which partnerships you are in that do the same.

Jesus, Lent, and Liberation in Latin America

Guest Writer — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:23:42 +0000

In this Lenten season, the question of violence supported or even fostered by religion has been with me in a particular way. Not only because it has to do with Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem; it also has to do with many of our Latin American countries (even in my native Argentina as there is violence everywhere!). My short visit to Chiapas allowed me to look at yet another reality of our continent, in which native peoples seek ways to claim their rights vis-à-vis the State, yet they do not come together to do so. As we often say, “Divide and Conquer.”

Simple Living Works! #7—Fair Trade

Gerald Iversen — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:41:15 +0000

Looking ahead to May – Fair Trade Day. In this issue learn about some important though lesser-known sources of Fair Trade products. Also, here’s a big help for planning a simpler wedding, as well as May-August celebrations.

It's Okay to Talk about Capitalism's Weaknesses Here

Lee Van Ham — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:35:42 +0000

Early on, when I first began working on a jubilee economy, I remember being asked , “Is jubilee capitalism or socialism?” Do I have to be one or the other? During the Cold War which was happening for the first 50 years of my life, to identify one’s self as anything but a capitalist bordered on being unAmerican, unpatriotic. If you weren’t a capitalist, you had to be a socialist, and, worse yet, that teetered on being a communist.

Simple Living Works! #6—Earth Care

Gerald Iversen — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +0000

In this issue: Seven Spring Tips Encouraging Earth Care | EarthScore: Your Personal Environmental Audit & Guide | Rituals Meet Simpler Living

Metanoia Newsletter, March 2012

Webmaster — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Download the March 2012 newsletter here. PDF format.

Features:

Let’s Use Cooperatives
JEM and Faith & Money Network Collaborate
A Most Special Story: The One Earth Project
Kieran’s Fair Trade Bike Trip
News from the JEM Network

A Money Autobiography — Have You Written Yours?

Lee Van Ham — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:20:48 +0000

If you’ve never written a money autobiography, you’re missing a strong experience of better self-understanding. I’ve written several over the years. Each helped me look at my relationship with money and its deity powers over our world. Me included. Reading aloud my autobiography to a small group and inviting conversation (not critique) adds even more value. It’s part of getting freer from the economic clutches of More.

Downward Mobility

Lee Van Ham — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:21:34 +0000

Upward mobility has long been an expectation in America. But now the skids are greased! Downward mobility is either a shared experience or a shared fear that glues together the otherwise diverse groups of us who comprise the 99%. 2008 and the continuing Recession have reacquainted thousands of us with moving downward economically in America.

40 days, 40 years, 400 years and 4000 years

Dan Swanson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:45:18 +0000

In Latin America, at least among the more devout Spanish speaking “mestizo” Catholic population, Cuaresma is a time of attending Mass more frequently, denying oneself red meat and having a slightly more religious consciousness leading one to think about the teachings of Jesus. For the indigenous populations, who in southern Mexico (and Guatemala for that matter) having adopted the religion of the Protestants partly in resistance to the imposition of the Roman Catholic church, tend not to give much importance to this discipline.

Schizophrenic Super Bowl Ads

Ed Lucas — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:01:20 +0000

This year I was struck by two commercials, each selling American brands of automobiles, that when taken together might suggest a divided mind about how to sell cars and in a larger way, where America is and where she sees herself going.

Simple Living Works! #5—Money

Gerald Iversen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

In this issue: MONEY Tips | Caring For Creation | Rituals Meet Simpler Living

7,000,000,000 Humans on One Planet? How Does That Work?

Lee Van Ham — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:08:58 +0000

It happened somewhere in October, 2011. A baby homo sapien was born and she or he became the seven billioneth member of that species alive at that moment. As recently as 1940, the year I was born, homo sapiens totaled a “mere” 2.3 billion. We tripled our numbers in my lifetime!

Coming Face to Face on US-Mex Border, Ethical Business, and Sustainable Economics

Lee Van Ham — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:00:34 +0000

Last year, 2011, the Jubilee Community grew nicely as a web presence via this website, Common Good podcasting, Facebook and YouTube. (Have you been part of it?) Now we want to get familiar face to face too. In January 2012, we’ve begun new venues for getting together in person.