Lunapads

We are excited to give an update on one of two campaigns going on to provide Lunapads to girls in Uganda. Natalie Angell, co-founder and director of the Shanti-Uganda Foundation (based right here in Vancouver, BC) approached us earlier this summer telling us about her work and her trip to Uganda. While we have become well aware of the plight girls in Africa face when menstruating and missing school, we were particularly moved to learn about the challenges women face during birth and were only happy to help Natalie in this area as well. She wrote to us yesterday with this message:To the women at Lunapads, I just wanted to email and thank you for your support in sending us to Uganda with a supply of pads for the girls we support there. I have just updated our blog with some photos of the girls with their new pads and some of the experiences they face each month.

We’re so excited to connect with you and include a lunapad in the new birth kits that Nikiah is putting together to be sold! This is a fabulous project and one that the women and midwives will benefit from! In addition to the birth kits, Shanti Uganda improves the physical, emotional and spiritual health of communities impacted by war, poverty and HIV/AIDS in Uganda . Through the use of yoga, expressive arts therapy and traditional healing, we teach children ways to heal from the inside out. Our programs restore traditional birthing practices in rural communities through education and birth assistance and relieve poverty by supporting income generating initiatives for women with HIV and AIDS. Thanks again for your support and the incredible work that you do for women around the world!

Be well,
Natalie Angell

In part 2, we’ll provide an update about the work Carrie-Jane Williams is doing in Uganda and her delivery of over 50 Lunapads “U-Go-Girl” kits.

My husband received this video the other day courtesy of a friend in the UK and we have enjoyed it several times since. The first time I watched it, I wasn’t sure if it was real or a spoof on an actual incident involving an oil spill off the Australian coast. Not knowing exactly where it came from (other than Australia), I have come to the conclusion that it’s just a brilliant Monty Python-esque spoof on certain people who, let’s say, don’t exactly get it about environmental issues that would be even funnier if it didn’t have some elements of inconvenient truth…enjoy!

I’m a big novel reader (as in large novels, as well as into reading them) and often find myself getting into reading a chain of thematically related books. Trees happen to be this summer’s pick (which fits nicely with my gardening enthusiasm - coincidence??) I’ll have to post another time about the epic chain of dystopic fiction that I consumed while pregnant with my daughter - it was truly weird, but made for great reading.

At any rate, I have recently enjoyed both Richard Preston’s The Wild Trees as well as John Vaillant’s The Golden Spruce, which is unusual for a fiction buff like me. I’m super-picky about writing quality (not that I necessarily have any right to be ;-), and am often disappointed with the quality of non-fiction writing, but in these cases I didn’t really even notice. They’re both gripping stories that contain a lot of great scientific information about trees that provided a good refresher course for me (particularly useful these days, given the number of times I am asked the question “why?” by a certain curious 3 year old) and just generally got me hooked. It’s wonderful to be reminded of what an adventure life can truly be, and yet stunning how little we really understand about the natural world.

The photo above is one I took recently of a beloved giant willow tree that resides at my in-laws farm. When my husband and I bought our house we took a branch from it and it has happily adapted to our back yard. Hug your favorite tree today!

Calling all Vancouver bicycle-riding gals - this sounds like crazy fun! “Clitoral Mass”, (the name is a cheeky pun on the popular cycle-power event Critical Mass) is a women and women-identified bicycle ride celebrating the full moon, the lunar eclipse and women - what’s not to love?!? Top it off with a party, and you’ve got a fine Saturday evening heading your way.

CLITORAL MASS: an all-women and women-identified bicycle ride

What: This is a moderately-paced, safe and resplendent pedal-powered event: non-partisan, pan-denominational fun!
When: Saturday, August 16th: 4:30 meet at the Vancouver Art Gallery, ride departs at 5pm
Where: velo-amble around Vancouver until around 6:30 pm
Who: any and all sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, babushkas, nieces, gal-friends, belle-soeurs, cousines, etc !
What to Wear: your loveliest lingerie, a cool costume, some super sox and a swimsuit… whatever tickles your fancy and/or fanny
Bring: helmet, water and refreshments, lights and bike lock.

THE ‘AFTER-PARTY’

Where: Rhizome Cafe, at 317 E. Broadway (@Kingsway)
When: 7 pm, to close (midnight)
Who: everyone, all ages and genders
What: FREE entry with suggested donations of $3 - $10 to cover some shared snacks, and equipment rental. An evening of party, door prizes, music and entertainment, great food and drinks - Rhizome has great food and cocktails for a delicious after-ride feast. Bring your appetite and dineiros. Enjoy the great food and bevs along with friends old and new. Learn about cycling and have a great time. Working on getting Bicycle Valet Parking.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Campagnolo: jcampagnolo@shaw.ca

Crunchy Chicken (Deanna Duke)’s legion of fans have come together to organize a tribute to her in the form of Lordisa-only-knows how many blog posts, plus a drive for Goods 4 Girls Kits in her honor. In case you’re not already acquainted with la Crunch, check out the blog and her Goods 4 Girls site, which is devoted to supplying schoolgirls in Africa with sustainable menstrual supplies, and by extension keep them in school while they’re menstruating. In short, she rocks, and if you’re not already a fan, then you’re in for some ass-kicking inspiration.

We’ve been asked to write a specific post about what Deanna’s posts have meant to us, so here goes: I must confess to being a relatively recent addition to her Crunchiness’ fan club, which began when she recruited Lunapads to the Goods 4 Girls cause (it wasn’t hard!) In those few months, however, I have been completely won over by her hilarious, well-researched, articulate and deeply personal calls to arms with respect to taking real, meaningful steps towards more sustainable lifestyles. In a world where we are short on heroes, this woman shines like few others with her feisty way of calling the BS and leading by example when it comes to everything from greenwash consumerism to growing vegetables.

Thanks to her influence, Affluenza is my bedtime reading of choice, the Lunagals passed on a “shopping extravaganza”-themed event for women entrepreneurs, and our customers have donated hundreds of Goods 4 Girls kits. I am recommitted to working out my personal eco-bugs, and my garden is resplendent with everything from leeks to strawberries.

When it comes to the gardening, Crunchy’s example has been particularly timely for me, as I am enjoying my first-ever very own backyard and am even considering doing some home canning, a completely new adventure for me. Working in the garden has also proved to be a wonderful activity for Gigi and I to share (see gratuitous cute daughter photo at right - couldn’t resist!)

Needless to say, Deanna is also a major advocate of natural menstrual products (particularly the DivaCup, and she has personally converted hundreds of women with her DivaCup challenges.) Thanks to her example I am going one step further and replacing some of my toilet paper usage with my daughter’s homemade cloth wipes, something I’m not sure that I would otherwise have done. Last but not least, I have recently resurrected my old sewing machine and am excited to return to making some of the household linens and clothing.

So thanks, Deanna, for everything. You’re a fantastic role model and inspiration. We wish you, your fans and family all the best, and are proud to be your allies in taking better care of our beautiful planet. Oh, and while I’m here, Goods 4 Girls kits are an additional 10% off the already cost-price for the month of June, so if you haven’t already donated, please consider making a difference in this unique way.

It was the thud of yet another new “green lifestyle” magazine landing on my desk that pushed me over the edge. At the risk of not having Lunapads reviewed (unlikely, as we’ll see), I’m not going to name names, but I do not exaggerate when I say that my desk here at Lunapads is literally, well - littered - with new green living guides, coupon books, magazines and books. Mind, we’re not talking about the likes of Sierra or E magazine, who have been practicing serious environmental journalism for decades, but rather a slew of glossy newcomers touting their version of what I loosely call the “new eco-chic lifestyle”. As the marketing gal around here, I’m the lucky recipient of their ad soliciting and am becoming a bit alarmed by the sheer volume of this mushrooming pile.

Not to be too much of a grump, these magazines do have some good things to say ~ in case you need novel eco-ideas like eating organic locally-grown food, recycling and walking or cycling instead of driving (duh?!) But most of them have a conspicuous absence of harder-hitting issues, let alone information about cloth menstrual pads or diapers - I guess it’s just too “icky” to mention for modern eco-consumers?

Another source of concern is that the rest of these magazines is often just product “reviews” (undercover paid advertising) of things like “new” natural bodycare products (what’s new about another organic lip balm?), high-end home accessories, and one of my personal “pet” peeves: over-the-top “natural” pet accessories (organic cat toys, I ask you!) Read: “Shop your way to cleaning up the planet”!

Sandwiched between ads for cars and condos, I had to pause at full-page ad promoting Brita water filter’s newfound environmental consciousness (apparently using Brita filters is all about reducing the waste of bottled water, according to their new Filter for Good site - a great example of laughable greenwash marketing) For the more revealing side of this story, check out Take Back the Filter, where you can get the facts on how Clorox, Brita’s North American parent, has yet to devise a recycling program for those ubiquitous oh-so-green filters, despite the fact there has been one in place for years in Europe. So forgive me if I’m feeling a bit frustrated about what it actually means to be “green” these days, at least according to the material on my desk.

To me, at the end of the day all this information feels more like “10 easy ways to not really make a difference but look like you care”, which I guess is sort of OK, except for all that paper. I also have to ask - is it really that hard to figure out more environmentally responsible choices that we need a gazillion different guides? Whatever happened to common sense? Why is it that even simplicity itself is commodified (Real Simple, anyone?) I guess that having less magazines won’t be making it onto any of those “easy tips to save the planet” lists any time soon.