Celebrate women all week at Villages of Austin

This year, International Women’s Day is March 8.  At Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, we will be celebrating the economic, political and social acheivements of women around the world and in our own community all week long!

The majority of our beautifully handmade items in the store are made by women artisans, and your purchase directly benefits women and their families in developing countries around the world.  This week, we will host benefit nights each night to benefit fellow nonprofit organizations in Austin.

Monday:  GENaustin
Tuesday:  Mother’s Milk Bank
Wednesday:  SafePlace
Thursday:  Ann Richards School

Come join us in the store and support women right here in Austin and around the world!

Click here to read an excellent article on challenges women face today, including gender equity, political freedom and health care.  Thanks for reading! …Taylor

New item: Zulugrass accessories

Ten Thousand Villages of Austin is proud to partner with Zulugrass to bring you unique accessories from central Kenya.  Single or multiple strands can be worn a variety of ways, as a necklace, choker, hair tie, belt, bracelet, and more!  The grass from which they are made grows naturally in the region with a hollow center, making the grass perfect for beads.  The grass, dyed in rich hues, is combined with hand-blown Czech glass bead to create over 200 color combinations.

Because every strand is unique, Zulugrass makes a wonderful gift.  In addition, your purchase of Zulugrass products from Ten Thousand Villages of Austin provides a sustainable economic opportunity for local communities in East Africa.  We should mention that the livestock in this region do not eat this grass, so its use is not posing any threat to the ecological system.

Fun Fact: The elastic used inside the strands, the strongest and best quality available, was also used to suspend the actors in the Spiderman movie series.  Stop into the store and try them for yourself! …Taylor

Community benefit nights this week

Ten Thousand Villages of Austin will be hosting benefit nights Monday-Thursday of this week, 12/8-12/11.  During our community benefit nights, a portion of all purchases made between 5 and 9pm will go directly to local nonprofit organizations.  This week’s benefits include:

Dec 8: Keep Austin Housed
Dec 9: Fulmore Magnet Program
Dec 10: Austin Montessori School
Dec. 11: Onion Creek Ladies Association

Click the links to find out more about the great work these organizations are doing in our community.  We’ll hope you’ll be able to join us for one or all of these benefit nights!

Are you part of a local nonprofit organization interested in hosting a community benefit night at Ten Thousand Villages?  Our store is happy to partner with fellow nonprofits  to make an impact where we can.  Contact us using the contact info at the top right corner of this page.

Happy holidays to all! …Taylor

Give a meaningful gift this holiday season

The holidays are a time when many of us count our blessings, at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, we certainly have much to be thankful for.  We have made many new friends in the community over the last year, through events like World Fair Trade Day and the Fair Trade Forum.  We have an outstanding and dedicated volunteer staff at the store, and we have amazing customers who shop with us time after time in an effort to help us spread our mission of fair trade.

Have some holiday shopping to do?  We have over 1,000 items under $25, all of which help to provide a living wage for families in over 30 developing countries around the world.  In addition, your purchases provide educational opportunities for our artisans and their children.  Every item, every artisan, has a story behind it that we’ll be happy to share with you!  So make Ten Thousand Villages of Austin your one-stop shop for the holidays, where the impact of your purchase will be felt around the world.

Tonight is our last First Thursday of 2008.  We’ll have our friends the LP’s in the store to play some music for you while you browse.  Have a cup of fresh-brewed fair trade coffee — we’ll keep the pot full for you ’til 10pm!

Have a beautiful holiday season! …Taylor

Fair Food Music Fest – 12/6

Fair Food Austin is part of a national organization that supports the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based farmworker organization based in Immokalee, Florida.  This group, with over 4,000 members, seeks safe and fair working conditions for farmworkers.

The Fair Food Austin campaign educates consumers about the need for corporate social responsibilty and how we can support farm laborers through the choices we make as consumers.

On Saturday, December 6, Fair Food Austin is sponsoring the Fair Food Music Fest, a benefit concert featuring local musicians. The concert will be held at Music Gym, from 2-7pm. Admission is sliding scale, from $5-10. Musicians include:

The Bubbles (2pm)
Diving Captain (3pm)
Gio Mo Cua (4pm)
Special Guests (5pm)
Woozyhelmet (6pm)

Support fair food and local music in Austin! …Taylor

More ways to furnish your home… or tipi

Your home is a place where you live and play.  It is where you relax.  As such, your home often reflects who you are.  Cat, one of our local shoppers, came into the store recently to buy furnishings for her tipi.  That’s right, tipi.  Some people relax in their backyard, some on front porches… but not Cat!  She and her family spend their downtime in an authentic tipi, now complete with furnishings from Ten Thousand Villages of Austin.

Cat chose our bamboo chairs and stool that we often have out in front of the store, so you can try them for yourself.  Check out the photos!

Come support our house band

When we contacted local musicians to play for World Fair Trade Day back in May, The LPs jumped at the chance.  They headlined that event and have been playing Ten Thousand Villages events ever since.  They are fun, lively, and supporters of fair trade!  If you haven’t had the chance to see them yet, you have TWO opportunities coming up next week!

The LPs will play at the store for November’s First Thursday (check out the site — Ten Thousand Villages is featured on the front page!), next Thursday, November 6.  Then, you’ll have another opportunity to see Lisa and Pat (of the LPs) with their full band, 7 Among Us.  Here are the details:

7 Among Us at Jovita’s
Friday, Nov. 7 from 5:30-7:00pm

The gig is also a SURPRISE birthday party for Pat!  So come enjoy some great music, delicious food, and show your support for local music in Austin.  While it is a birthday party, no gifts are necessary, however… if you feel so inclined, the band will be accepting dog and cat food for Central Texas SPCA, to be given in honor of Pat.  All are welcome!

Support fair trade, support local music, and support animals — all in one place!