Travel Worldwide 4 Less

Travel Worldwide 4 Less is introducing a Green Family Travel Club. The idea for the travel club came to me as I was thinking about our next family vacation. Traveling with my family is great, especially when we bond with another family on the trip. These meetings and friendships have always been random in the past, but thoroughly enjoyed. I am sure other families feel the same way.

So, I considered my options and decided upon organizing a Green Family Travel Club. By traveling with us, you and your family receive discounted group rates on our trips. Plus we all get to meet like-minded families, and kids can play together.

Each trip we take will be designed with sustainable and local principles in mind. Our activities will be geared for children and families, with the perfect balance of downtime and sight seeing.

Some of the activities you can expect to find on a Travel Worldwide 4 Less Green Family Trip include: biking, nature hikes, going to the beach, volunteering in community projects, listening to local and live music, and of course sampling local foods wherever we go.

To join the Green Family Travel Club, click on the Family Travel tab at the top of the page, and fill out the form. You will start receiving our vacation newsletters with detailed information about our next Green Family vacation.

We hope to make friends with your family on a Green Family Travel Club trip!

Now through August 31st, the travel industry needs YOU to complete the CMI Green Traveler Survey. Your response to the survey gives the travel industry insight into what the eco-conscious consumer is looking for in a vacation. Your important feedback will help airlines, cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and destinations make their operations and communications greener.

CMI Green is the global resource for green market research, strategic consulting, and dedicated marketing and communications services. CMI Green is pioneering the way of eco-conscious consumer research with market insights, relationships, experience and unparalleled expertise. For more about CMI Green visit their website.

We respect your privacy. Your answers are strictly confidential — none of the information you provide will be used for marketing purposes, nor will you be added to any lists without your optional, express consent at the end of the survey.

The CMI Green survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and will enter you in a drawing. TEN WINNERS will receive a choice of a $50 Amazon gift card, or a $50 donation to the charity of your choice.

Please take a few moments to complete the survey, and then share it with your friends and family. Let’s show the travel industry that sustainability needs to be implemented in the mainstream tourism sector, and not just reserved for Ecotourism!

Thanks for your action! To complete the survey follow this link.

Hands on Disaster Relief (HODR) is a US-based, volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization. Founded in 2005, HODR “strives to provide hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world, with maximum impact and minimum bureaucracy.” Volunteers are invited to come for as little or as they can stay. In exchange for volunteering HODR provides training, housing, meals and tools necessary.
In Haiti, volunteers are working on home deconstruction, clearing rubble, and training communities on disaster risk reduction. The amount of response to this volunteer opportunity was so huge that HODR is at full capacity, with all the volunteer needed through January 2011.

Global Volunteer Network is a similar nonprofit organization based in New Zealand. Their vision is to “connect people with communities in need.” Global Volunteer Network (GVN) does that by partnering with existing community organizations. Founded in 2000, Global Volunteer Network has placed nearly 13,000 volunteers. Unlike Hands on Disaster Relief, Global Volunteer Network charges volunteer a fee for accommodation and food. The money paid for volunteering is tax-deductible and therefore most people fundraise. GVN provides a power point presentation and an extensive list of fundraising options. There are still opportunities available to volunteer in Haiti with GVN. Raising the funds necessary is made very simple, there is no reason not to.

Are people more inclined to volunteer when it is free? Do people not like fundraising? To me the fundraising is a great way to get in the service mindset, and prepare for the actual volunteer site. The volunteer project becomes more personal when there are many clocked volunteer hours before arriving at the project site.

Is Hands on Disaster Relief missing out on putting more revenue into their projects by allowing people to stay for free? Does this take away from the effectiveness or efficiency of a project?

Volunteering is a great way to make a positive change and travel the world at the same time. Volunteering also allows visitors to experience the culture up close and personal. It is common to make lasting friendships on a volunteer trip. Those are just some of the reasons while volunteer tourism is a quickly growing niche in the travel industry.

There are many different organizations and volunteer trips available. Check out the Go Abroad website, or email me at jmutunga@travelworldwide4less.info.

Hug It Forward is a non-profit organization positioned to create positive change in the world through spreading hugs and building schools. At first, the idea of building schools and hugging seem so far separated, but Hug It Forward has combined them into a very powerful system. By registering on the website, you can track your hugs given or received and 25 cents for each hug will be donated to the school building fund. World Ventures is the current sponsor of Hug It Forward.

One of the most exciting concepts of Hug It Forward is their building technique. The schools are built using found plastic bottles and non-organic trash. It is an amazing system of recycling and building, making it possible to build an entire school for as little as $6,000. Hug It Forward is so committed to their mission that the entire amount raised by the hugs, goes to their projects, and none for overhead or salaries.  To pay for overhead and other expenses, Hug It Forward sells T-shirts. Buy your Hug It Forward T-shirt here.

Currently there are two bottle school projects underway in Guatemala. The community and Peace Corps volunteers are important partners in these projects. The Peace Corps volunteers are responsible educating the community on the importance of recycling and make it a priority to include everyone in collecting building materials of plastic bottles and trash. To build schools, trash is packed into bottles, stacked between chicken wire and covered in cement. The building method was started by Pura Vida, and has been proven structurally sound. Watch a short video about the building process: Hug It Forward bottle schools.

To get involved please visit the Hug It Forward website and register. Record your hugs, and help Hug It Forward build more bottle schools in deserving communities.

The local travel movement is one of the newest sustainable travel sub-categories to surface. Local travel has the same set of values as sustainable travel. Local travel aims to respect and positively impact the local people, culture, environment, and economy. According to the Local Travel Movement website, this movement “was started by a coalition of people from companies founded on a passion for Local Travel and commitment to Local Travel values.” The aim is to connect the local supplier, experts and practitioners so that more of the economic benefits of tourism will stay in the local economy.

There are many websites already aligned with this local travel movement. Some websites allow you to ask questions about a destination, and then locals answer them: Travellr, Localyte, Trazzler, and Heading There. Other websites will match your interests with unique tours and programs offered by locals: Kumuri, and WHL Group.

Traveling like a local is also much more fun than traveling like a tourist. Don’t waste money on guidebooks. When you make friends with locals, they can share with you more about the culture and current trends of a destination. Locals know where the best restaurants are, the best entertainment venues, and museums. Plus, local information is always up to date, and in the local perspective. Stop by on of the local travel websites to get involved, and start traveling like a local!

One great way to get a true cultural experience on a trip is to travel during a festival. Festivals bring out excitement in the community, and allow the traveler to mingle with locals as they celebrate. Traveling during a festival with teach travelers about the culture first hand, as they experience it, and the history of the destination, as most festivals have historical significance. Yet another advantage to visiting during a festival is that most activities are free or have a small fee attached, so the traveler will save money on entertainment.

Finding out about festivals is easy. There are many websites dedicated to providing information on festivals across the world. 2camels.com and Bugbog.com are the most user-friendly sites I found to have extensive festival calendars. 2camels.com has a search feature that allows the traveler to search by country, date, and festival. The site also features articles about different festivals, and some video. 2camels.com is a good place to start looking for a festival to attend. Bugbog.com is a website dedicated to “helping you plan great value holidays with ease” as the slogan reads. There is much more information than just a festival calendar on this site. From the home page, click on the World Festivals tab at the top and then scroll down to find the category of festival desired. The categories include art festivals, European, worldwide, and English speaking. Both of those websites are good resources for researching destinations.

For some the idea of traveling to a foreign country without a contact or guide at the destination is scary. That is why I recommend CultureXplorers festival tours. CultureXplorers offers festival trips to Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. By traveling with a tour operator such as CultureXplorers, the traveler is assured to meet local friends, and see places of cultural and historical significance. The tours include meals and transportation, which makes travel less stressful and allows guests to focus on the destination more. With CultureXplorers, the group size is kept to a dozen or less people so don’t worry about being ‘herded’ around. CultureXplorers will take travelers to the best events of each festival and provide insightful knowledge.

Whichever way you choose to go, remember that festivals are a great time to travel and experience real life at any destination.

Hemp has been used for centuries to make many durable, long lasting products. Hemp can makes oil, paper, rope, building materials, food, clothes, medicine, even bio-diesel, and much more. In fact according to Hemp World there are over 50,000 different uses for hemp to date.

Now you can stay in the Hemp Hotel now open in La Paz, Mexico, located in Baja California Sur.   The Hemp Hotel has soap, lotion, linen, snacks, and more all made from the versatile plant. The hotel has 20 rooms available in the heart of town so you can enjoy exploring La Paz by foot.

There is a similar hotel by the same name in Amsterdam. The Hemp Hotel Amsterdam has had great success the last 5 years through media publication. They serve many hemp snacks, and have 11 hemp beers to choose from. The hotel is looking to expand, because the demand from green consumers is too large, so you can bet we will be seeing more Hemp Hotels opening soon. They are also looking for investors.

As a consumer and traveler, you can feel good about choosing to stay in a Hemp Hotel because hemp is one of the most sustainable crops we have on our planet.

Pro-poor Tourism is travel that positively benefits the poor community of an area. Reality Tours is doing just that with their slum and other tours in urban India.
Reality Tours in an agency and tour company connected with an NGO based in Mumbai, India. They offer walking tours of Dharavi slum where travelers get to witness and experience authentic life in the community. “You really get a feel of how the people are living and you see the sense of community and spirit that exists in the area.” Reality Tours says of their Dharavi Slum Tour.

For the first time slum visitor, you will be shocked by the variety of businesses and entrepenurial activities that exist within slums. And for anyone like myself, who grew up wondering what it would be like to have lived a different life, you will get an authentic look into the lives of Dharavi residents.

So you ask now, how does my going on a tour of a slum benefit the poor of the community? Reality Gives is the NGO side of Reality Tours. They have built a community center where they provide computer and English classes, as well as teach the residents soft skills. Reality Gives also opened a kindergarten in 2009 and has big plans to benefit the community.
To learn more about the tours of Reality Gives visit their website.

In our world today, where the Green Revolution is taking serious hold in most industries, how does a company show it is legit? There are many different rating systems across each industry, with different criteria and shades of green. Just within the travel industry there are many small certification programs and over 5 different rating systems for hotels and resorts: The Green Seal, Green Globe, Green Key, EcoRooms, Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program and Green Leaf are the major players.

The Green Globe Certification is the top dog of green travel certifications, aligned with the UN World Tourism Organization, and World Travel and Tourism Council. Their certification standards are based upon the most important documents and agreements created within the tourism industry over the last 20 years. The categories of criteria include: Air Quality, Cleaning, Communication, Community, Corporate Social Responsibility, Conservation, Cultural, Education, Emissions, Energy, Facility, Hazard, Policy, Purchasing, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Waste, and Water “Standards vary by type of certification, geographical area as well as local factors. Green Globe standards are reviewed twice per calendar year and are always updated to the highest international standard.” (Green Globe Certification website)

Audubon International’s Green Leaf Eco-rating program is another big name involved. Audubon is an environmentally focused organization, so it is only appropriate that their criteria be primarily environmentally focused. The four main areas of focus are Energy Efficiency, Resource Conservation, Pollution Prevention and Environmental Management. These four main areas “cover issues ranging from energy efficient equipment to indoor air quality to water conservation to environmental policies and communication.” (Audubon International website) The state of New York has even chosen Audubon’s Green Leaf program as their official state green-travel certification program.

The Green Seal certification comes from the non-profit organization, Green Seal and are science based standards. The standards “cover waste minimization, reuse, and recycling,
energy efficiency and conservation, management of fresh water resources and waste
water, and reduction and handling of hazardous substances. It also requires creation of
an environmentally sensitive purchasing policy.” (GS33 Lodging standards) There are three levels of certification: bronze, silver and gold. A company begins as Bronze certified after they take the necessary steps towards being more eco-friendly. A company must qualify for Silver certification within one year of becoming Bronze. When Silver certification is achieved, Gold is reached when the company to has a plan for continuous improvement and completes any 3 of the following: “Set goals for energy reduction or be an Energy Star Leader; Pursue LEED certification or be an Energy Star Building; Use 25% renewable energy or be an Green-e Member; Achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions through partnerships or carbon offsets; Reduce solid or water by-product waste disposal by 90%; Meet the requirements for GS-42, Green Seal’s standard for commercial cleaning services; [or] Monitor water use and use EPA WaterSense fixtures and procedures.” This criteria gives a lot of room for different shades of green. I would like to see all of these required for Gold certification to make the more through.

The Green Key Eco-Rating program comes from an independent company that uses a graduated rating system designed to recognize hotels, motels and resorts that are committed to improving their environmental and fiscal performance. Each property is awarded 1 to 5 Green Keys to show their level of commitment to running an eco-friendly business. The program assesses Operational areas of: corporate environmental management, housekeeping, food and beverage operations, conference and meeting facilities and engineering. The Green Key program also examines Sustainable Practices of: energy and water conservation, solid waste and hazardous waste management, indoor air quality, community outreach, building infrastructure, land use and environmental management. An audit of each property is also conducted to ensure concrete actions are being taken on the ground. The Green Key rating system is relatively new and only within North America currently, with plans to expand internationally.

Sustainable Travel International has a certification program as well. It is called Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP) and the criteria “cover a variety of business practices including but not limited to sustainability policy, waste and water management, energy efficiency and conservation, hazardous substance management, cultural heritage preservation, and economic development.” (STEP_Required_Criteria_Overview). STEP is unique to the other programs because they have the two options for certification. Businesses may do a self assessment to be awarded 1 to 2 stars or may have a professional audit completed at the property and be awarded up to 5 stars depending upon findings. For more about STEP visit their website.

Lastly there is the Eco-Rooms and Eco-Suites program that is a directory of properties meeting their green standards. To be a member property they require the following criteria be met.
1. Green Seal certified or equivalent cleaning products are used in guestrooms.
2. Green Seal certified or equivalent paper products (facial and bathroom tissue) are used in guestrooms.
3. Bathrooms feature amenity dispensers or small, practical amenity sizes with guests encouraged to take the remainder of their bathroom amenities home or donate them to homeless shelters.
4. The hotel has implemented a Linen and Towel Reuse Program
5. Guests are provided separate and easily identified receptacles and/or bags in which to deposit recyclables.
6. Energy-efficient lighting is in place in every applicable area.
7. High efficiency plumbing – 1. 6 or less gallons-per-flush for toilets and 1.5 gallons per minute or less for sinks with water-efficient aerators.
8. 100% Smoke-Free Hotel
(Eco-Rooms and Eco-Suites website)
The program is currently in US territories and USA.

It can all be overwhelming to the eco-conscious traveler who just wants to make responsible travel choices. It takes some time to sort through all of the different awards and certifications out there to find which are the greenest and most all-encompassing.
I hope this overview helps you make more responsible choices and the different certifications a little less confusing. I am happy to answer any questions you have about this subject.

-Jessica

In no particular rank or order, here are ten fantastic green trips/accommodations to experience with your family.

1. Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Vermont. This eco-friendly property has everything to make your family feel like they are still in the comforts of home. Located in the Green Mountains, there is an abundance of nature to hike, bike or just relax in. Each accommodation ranges from 1 to 5 bedroom, has a full kitchen, fully equipped, washer and dryer, and a variety of locations around the resort to choose from. There are bikes, skateboards, and other toys to rent, a water park to cool off in, and wireless Internet in each condominium. Smugglers’ is known as “America’s Family Resort” for a reason. Be sure to stop by and see the wastewater treatment system, it uses no chemicals, only bacteria, microorganisms, and vegetation to clean the water.

2. Havasupai Grand Canyon Oasis Hiking Vacation by Austin–Lehman Adventures. Visit the most remote village in the country, only accessible by foot. You and your family will travel back in time and experience a way of life basically unchanged for centuries. Visit the local community, and relax in naturally occurring Jacuzzi tubs, and dine on organic, locally grown food. This is an unforgettable experience, 5 days and 4 nights for $1,698 per person, with a reduced rate for ages 12 and under.

3. Birding in Marin County, California with Ken Burton of EarthFoot. Ken has been birding for almost 30 years, and is a local in Marin County. He will take you on a customized bird watching tour. Choose from a variety of destinations: Point Reyes National Seashore, Audubon preserves, Tomales Bay, Muir Woods National Park and more. Choose a half, full or multiple day birding experience.

4. Rafting on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, Bruneau or Owyhee Rivers in Idaho with Far and Away Rafting Adventures. Far and Away provides you and your family with a level of service so superior that you will have all the time not paddling to enjoy nature. All meals are included and consist of fine organic cuisine, with wine or a local microbrew and served on linen tablecloths, with real utensils. A relaxing rafting vacation to take your family on.

5. Biking, Walking and Kayaking between Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA by Backroads. Enjoy the rich architecture, gardens, and southern charm while surrounded by the countryside. You will have a chance to kayak through a bird sanctuary and relax every night in a premiere inn, and know you are traveling with a minimal carbon footprint. All meals included but 1, 6 days and 5 nights for $2,898 per person.

6. White Earth Reservation, Minnesota Volunteer Trip with Global Citizen’s Network. You and your family have a chance to make a positive impact in the local community through projects that maintain culture, language and way of life on the White Earth Reservation. In the spring volunteers get to help tap sugar maples, and in the fall harvest wild rice. Share the fun and teach your kids the valuable lesson of giving back.

7. Columbia and Snake River Cruise with Cruise West. Travel the same river that made Lewis and Clark famous. Visit landmarks, museums, and enjoy the comfort and educational experience that Cruise West offers with small ship cruising. 7 nights, round trip from Portland, OR, from $3399 per person

8. Yellowstone Family Adventure by Wilderness Inquiry. Camping for 5 nights, all meals and snacks included, as well as camping gear. Experience geysers, lakes, canoeing, canyons and hiking. Groups from 15 to 20 people with 2 or more Wilderness staff, help you with cooking, cleaning up camp and entertaining kids. Bathroom facilities and running water available at campsites. $645 per person and ages 16 and under are half price.

9. Alaska Adventure Cruise by Adventure Smith Explorations. See breathtaking scenery and wildlife while learning about the natural history and conservation efforts in Alaska. With a variety of activities to choose from: kayaking, hiking, caving, fishing, and paddle boarding; there is something for everyone in your family to do. Your Alaska Adventure Cruise also includes complementary massages, and morning yoga classes on the deck. Cruise is 8 days and 7 nights from $1,795 or $2,295 depending on season.

10. Hale Ohia Cottages, Hawaii. Located 1 mile from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, these cottages are a perfect destination for your Hawaii visit. Choose from 11 different cottage accommodations, which include a full kitchen and large living area. Great views of the volcanoes and enjoy all the surrounding area has to offer: an art center, winery, observatory, biking trails, hiking, a farmers market, museum and Hilo town.

These trips have a small to zero carbon footprint, and benefit the area visit in a positive way through improved conservation efforts, and local economic gain. I can help you make any travel arrangements or find a volunteer project for your family in your area.

~Jessica

There are many different methods to pack bags, but only one method will make an impact at your destination. Pack for a Purpose is a non-profit organization founded by a couple, who discovered that packing just five pounds for others can make a difference. In fact, five pounds per person really adds up, just 500 people can make 1.25 tons!

Pack for a Purpose makes it easy by partnering with eco-friendly accommodations and community projects around the world. There are many options of supplies and goods needed in each area, and it is surprising all you can pack for five pounds.
For just 5 lbs (2.27 kgs), you can bring
• 400 pencils or
• 5 deflated soccer balls with an inflation device or
• A stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, & 500 band-aids

This is a great option for those that want to make a positive an impact in their destination but do not have the time to participate as a volunteer. Download the PFAP_Brochure or visit the website for more information and to find out the needs at your destination.

Pack for a Purpose is also looking for more community projects partners, to increase their impacts and continue to make the travel industry more sustainable. Contact Pack for a Purpose at info.packforapurpose@gmail.com.

No matter whether you are participating in a volunteer trip, or a family beach holiday, your travel can make a positive impact when you pack for a purpose.

The UN has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Perhaps the most important issue facing us today, more important than climate change, is loss of biodiversity. The earth is made up of habitats, plants and animals. All living things on the earth are connected in many complex ways, creating a delicate balance.

The following is taken from the official website.

Humans are part of nature’s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it.
Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on.

Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate. These losses are irreversible, impoverish us all and damage the life support systems we rely on everyday. But we can prevent them.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Let’s reflect on our achievements to safeguard biodiversity and focus on the urgency of our challenge for the future. Now is the time to act.

You are an integral part of nature; your fate is tightly linked with biodiversity, the huge variety of other animals and plants, the places they live and their surrounding environments, all over the world.

You rely on this diversity of life to provide you with the food, fuel, medicine and other essentials you simply cannot live without. Yet this rich diversity is being lost at a greatly accelerated rate because of human activities. This impoverishes us all and weakens the ability of the living systems, on which we depend, to resist growing threats such as climate change.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, and people all over the world are working to safeguard this irreplaceable natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss. This is vital for current and future human well being. We need to do more. Now is the time to act.

You are biodiversity. Most of the oxygen you breathe comes from plankton in the oceans of the world and lush forests around the globe. The fruit and vegetables you eat were likely pollinated by bees, and the water you drink is part of a huge global cycle involving you, clouds, rainfall, glaciers, rivers and oceans.

Your diet depends almost entirely on the plants and animals around us, from the grasses that give us rice and wheat, to the fish and meat from both wild and farmed landscapes. Your body contains up to 100 trillion cells and is connected with everything around you and the wider world in a wonderfully complex and timeless system. You share your atoms with every being and object in the natural world, you are both ancient and inconceivably young. Biodiversity is life, your life is biodiversity and biodiversity is you.

You share the planet with as many as 13 million different living species including plants, animals and bacteria, only 1.75 million of which have been named and recorded. This incredible natural wealth is a priceless treasure that forms the ultimate foundation of your human well being. The systems and processes these millions of neighbors collectively provide produce your food, water and the air you breathe – the basic fundamentals of life.

As if that was not enough they also supply you with timber and plant materials for furniture, building and fuel, the mechanisms that regulate your climate, control floods and recycle your waste and the novel compounds and chemicals from which medicines are made. You may take biodiversity so much for granted, and it is so obviously all around you, that it is sometimes easy to forget it’s there – that you are a part of it and can’t live apart from it.

Biodiversity’s contribution to your life is not just practical, physical and utilitarian, it is also cultural. The diversity of the natural world has been a constant source of inspiration throughout human history, influencing traditions, the way our society has evolved and supplying the basic goods and services upon which trade and the economy is built. The disappearance of unique species is a loss that cannot be calculated and leaves us all much poorer.

The loss of iconic and symbolic species is not only a cultural tragedy; it also undermines our own survival. The beautiful, bountiful diversity of the natural world is being damaged as a result of human activities. Felling or burning of forests, removal of mangroves, intensive farming, pollution stress, over fishing and the impacts of climate change are all destroying biodiversity.

We can stop this loss, the question is will we? The International Year of Biodiversity is our chance to prove we will.

Biodiversity is life.

Biodiversity is our life.

There are 5 major threats to biodiversity.

• Habitat loss – cropland is threatening more habitat area as the population continues to grow.
• Over-exploitation – the way we harvest and the amounts of resources taken from the earth are unsustainable.
• Climate change – puts more stress on the delicate balance of ecosystems.
• Invasive species – in our globalized world plant and animals move to new ecosystems creating imbalance. Many times new species find no predators in the new habitat and destroy native species.
• Pollution – especially agricultural pollution, causes many problems in the environment and creates dead zones in bodies of water where forms of life cannot survive.

What can you do to help conserve biodiversity?

• Conserve resources, and buy sustainable products.
• Support non-profits that work to preserve biodiversity.
• Choose Ecotourism and sustainable travel choices.
• Respect, preserve and maintain traditional use-knowledge of biodiversity by involving local people and communities.
• Go on a conservation volunteer vacation.
• Tell others about the importance of biodiversity and why the alarming rate of extinctions is cause for alarm and great action!
• Share this website with friends and family.

Individual actions make up a whole society… Be the change and share your energy with those around you.

The evening of July 13, 2010, led many community members and activists to Minnehaha Falls. The group met in the large cafeteria-looking room next to the Sea Salt Restaurant, for discussions on social justice and an ice cream social.
About 200 people gathered together, and then split into three discussion groups about racism and immigration, prison pipeline, and environmental justice. I joined the environmental group, since that is my top interest.
In the environmental group we examined the life, from cradle to grave, of an everyday object. The hammer was the chosen object.
Metal, wood, glue, varnish, and ink make up the composition of the hammer. We imagined how many people were involved in the process of making the hammer from raw materials. Those people that cut the tree, mined the metals, or owned the land the resources were taken from were all part of the process. Many more people were involved in manufacturing, transportation, stocking, and selling the item.

It was apparent after thinking of the lifespan of just a simple hammer, there are very many people and resources involved in manufacturing of any object. We as the everyday consumer do not know the whole story, or if those parties involved were given healthy working conditions, and fair compensation.
Purchasing an object from the store for a low price, generally comes with hidden costs. It is cheap to clear cut forests, and pay workers in maquiladoras. This unsustainable action from companies comes with far higher environmental and social costs, then most realize. It was a good discussion and stressed the fact that consumers have lots of influence with their purchasing power.

Headwaters foundation for Justice is a Minneapolis foundation that provides community-based projects that improve social justice in a number of areas. Those areas include human and civil rights, environmental justice, economic justice, political power, and racial justice. To see a list of current groups and projects Headwaters funds, visit their website. Headwaters Foundation for Justice is doing important work around Minnesota, please consider supporting the foundation with a tax-deductible donation.

Shekhawati, India is an area in eastern Rajasthan, and home to wall murals from the 19th century. Today the buildings and murals that preserve the cultural history of Shekhawati are in danger of being destroyed. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Friends of Shekhawati are working to preserve the beautiful historic art from disappearing.

In the 18th century the Rajput community founded the area of Shekawati with forts and palaces. The Rajputs were the first to start painting wall murals in the area. The Marwari community was caravan traders and in the 1830s started to settled in Shekhawati because it was on the way to the port of Gujarat.

In Shekhawati the Marwaris built havelis, or mansions for their extended family. The havelis were the status symbol for the merchants and some have as many as four courtyards and stand three stories tall. The Marwari merchants also constructed temples and wells throughout the area. The Marwaris adopted a love for the wall paintings and they can be found everywhere around Shekhawati, even on the rim of wells.

Today many of the havelis are still family owned but are not well maintained or protected. The historic mansions face current threats of graffiti, posters and whitewashing, and some are being demolished to make room for new commercial centers. INTACH and Friends of Shekhawati work together with Apani Dhani to protect the cultural heritage of the area and educate community member on the importance of preserving historic buildings and murals.

Apani Dhani offers eco-friendly accommodation, excursions and activities with locals such as cooking lessons, initiation to traditional arts and crafts. By staying with Apani Dhani travelers will experience daily life and traditions of Shekhawati and rural India. It is a quiet property that serves organic locally grown food.

In Feburary every year Shekhawati hosts the annual Shekhawati Festival. It is a celebration of the various aspects of life and culture of the area. Artists and craftsmen display their talent for visitors. There are seminars and workshops that share in-depth knowledge of the history and culture.

For more information, or to book a trip to Shekawati, email me at Jmutunga@travelworldwide4less.info.

The local travel movement reminded me lately, of a book I read in high school. It is called Blue Highways, written by William Least Heat-Moon. The book is named after the blue highways on a road atlas, something most of us haven’t look at since GPS came along. Blue highways are the state and county roads, off the main highways of corporate America. Blue highways are a place where visitors can sense the soul of a community. Blue highways are the places a local traveler meets friends, and finds the best family-owned diner that serves up locally grown food.

I like the way Mr. Least Heat-Moon sought, and emphasized the history and details of each community.  He wanted to know what made the community unique, and the every day details about life there. The book brings Williams 3 month, 13,000 mile journey to life, and gives readers a great glimpse of American culture in the 1980s, and without corporate America. It’s a good read!