Happy Birthday to my girls!

Here is wishing Anna (26th) and Melanie (27th) a very happy birthday. may the year ahead bring you happiness and lots of fun.

Now I have read it all!

South Africa's Springbok rugby squad faces the threat of having their passports confiscated unless more black players are picked for this year's World Cup, media reported on Tuesday. - link

A fine tribute to the memory of Bob!

Following the tragic and untimely death of Bob Woolmer at the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, a Trust Fund has been established to raise money for a number of projects that he was involved with at the time of his passing.

Full details of this Trust Fund can be found here - link.

Poo Paper

This is sustainability! Paper from Elephant dung! Check out the site - link

Your source for hand made paper stationary.
The making of paper starts with the collection and processing of the dung pulp. Elephant dung is typically full of short to medium grained fibrous materials from the elephants diet which when processed makes excellent paper:

• We collect naturally dried elephant dung from elephant conservation parks and bring it back to our paper-making factory.
• We then pre-rinse the elephant dung with water, leaving only the fibrous materials from the grasses, bamboo & fruits they've eaten.
• Afterwards, we place the fibers into a giant pot of boiling water to ensure the fibers are super clean. After this thorough cleaning, any color that we may want to add can be added.
• Natural fibers from banana trees & pineapples are added to the dung mixture so the paper will be thicker & stronger.
• Once this is all mixed together, we separate the moist fibers into small “cakes' or “wafers” of about 300-400 grams each.
• The cakes are spread evenly over a mesh-bottomed tray measuring about 60cm by 90cm.
• The tray is leaned up against a tree, angled toward the sun and allowed to dry naturally for a few hours.
• Once dry, we peel the sheet of paper from the mesh tray and start making Poo Poo Paper products.

This is how we made the hand made paper stationary and our how to make recycled paper process!

I will view chocolate in a different light now!

This Easter, the chocolate industry cannot guarantee our chocolate is Traffik Free.

Nearly half the world's chocolate is made from cocoa grown in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

The 2000 US State Department Human Rights report said "It is estimated that some 15,000 Malian children work on Ivorian cocoa and coffee plantations. Many are under 12 years-of-age, sold into indentured servitude for $140, and work 12-hour days for $135 to $189 per year."

They are trafficked into forced labour so we can eat chocolate.

"I will tell you how I lost my arm. I tried to escape, but I could not. They caught me and tied me to a papaya tree and they beat me and broke my arm. From here my life was ruined."
Anonymous. Personal Interview, Côte d'Ivoire. Dec. 2005. ILRF (International Labour Rights Fund)

A young boy called Victor trafficked from Mali said:
"Tell your children that they have bought something that I suffered to make. When they are eating chocolate they are eating my flesh."

We have the power to help Victor and the thousands of children like him.

Change your buying habits. By eating Fairtrade chocolate we can guarantee that no trafficked labour has been used in its production. Use the STOP THE TRAFFIK Good Chocolate Guide to find out which chocolate is Traffik Free.

What do we want the chocolate companies to do? Give us a Traffik Free Guarantee on all their chocolate.

thanks Rob

Another Water Polo video

An all time favourite!