Ten Thousand Villages of Austin’s Blog

Ten Thousand Thanks to all who made our celebration of World Fair Trade Day possible! It was a beautiful Saturday in Austin, and Texas Coffee Traders kept things going all day by serving up their fine, freshly brewed, fairly traded coffee!

Thanks so much to all of you who came by the store this weekend. We hope you enjoyed yourselves, and we can’t wait for World Fair Trade Day 2009! Also, a big thanks goes out to all of the local musicians who provided the tunes! Finally, a special thanks to all of our Villages Volunteers. The store would not be what it is without you. Thank you for all that you do to promote fair trade every day!

I’m sure some of you are wondering… did we break the world record for largest coffee break?! The numbers are still out, but we’re feeling confident. We’ll keep you posted!

In the meantime, come on in and support the pups at Ten Thousand Villages! …Taylor

Ten Thousand Villages is proud to support local non-profit organizations by hosting benefit shopping nights.  This month, all of our benefit nights will be helping local dog rescue, wellness, and training organizations.  You and your four-legged canine friends are welcome to stop in to shop.  As an added bonus, our fabulous sponsor, Bark for Peace, will be providing vegan, organic treats for your pets! Also available will be greeting cards from Verysupercool with all of your favorite dog expressions!

Stop in any evening next week, May 12-15, and your purchase between 5pm-9pm will benefit the following organizations:

May 12 - Lucky Mutts Mixed Breed Rescue
May 13 - Chain Free Austin
May 14 - Schrodi Memorial Training Scholarship Fund
May 15 - Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue

Our neighbor, Rivers & Reefs, will stay open late for last minute dog food shopping May 12-15!  Hope to see you and your pups in the store! …Taylor

Saturday, May 10, is World Fair Trade Day, and the Fair Trade Resource Network has organized the World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break! Ten Thousand Villages of Austin wouldn’t miss it - the coffee break will be held Saturday, May 10, at 2pm CST. Come by our “coffeehouse” for a cup of free, fair trade coffee courtesy of Texas Coffee Traders, and help us set a world record!

In addition to the World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break, Ten Thousand Villages of Austin has quite a day planned for World Fair Trade Day! We’ll have live music in the store all day, and you’ll have the opportunity to meet people in our community who are spreading the mission of fair trade. Our schedule of events is below… hope to see you there! …Taylor

SATURDAY, MAY 10:
11:00AM - Daniel Reonidas
12:00PM - Elizabeth Rainey
1:00PM - Texas Coffee Traders - Learn about Fair Trade Coffee!
2:00PM - Todd Rusch
3:00PM - Wynn Taylor
4:00PM - Jackson Michael
5:00PM - Meg Johnson
6:00PM - The LP’s

It IS easy being green! Just ask the people who represented over 150 green businesses and organizations at the Austin Green Living Expo, held April 18-20 in Austin, TX. Our volunteers were instrumental in the process, helping us create the fantastic booth you see below…

We made lots of new friends, including Bark for Peace, a great organization committed to sustainable living “while loving and learning from dogs.” What a fun group!

We also connected with Katz Coffee. They can brew one mean cup o’ joe. Their goal is “perfection in every cup,” which starts at the source by using fair trade certified, “green” beans. You can even buy online. Might I recommend the Bat City Blend? A tribute to the great city of Austin, TX. Check them out!

Africa Bound, another new friend of Ten Thousand Villages, conducts tours all over Africa. They also sell neem oil and are in the process of creating an African village in Cedar Creek. Check back for more details!

The Expo was a great way to see how easy it can be to go green. There are so many ways to incorporate environmentally-friendly living into your lifestyle, you just have to find the ones that are right for you!

Ten Thousand Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth. We hope you’ll continue to spread our mission of fair trade. To those who purchased hand-made items from the artisans we work with, we hope you’re enjoying them! We were all sad to see the lion leave the store, but we’re confident he’s enjoying his new home.

Hope to see you in the store soon! …Taylor

It is not always easy to wrap one’s head around the impact of globalization—to discern the gains from the ills. This Sunday there’s a great opportunity to learn more about the global impact of our choices.  Ten Thousand Villages, along with many other local organizations, is a sponsoring

Our Choices, Global Impact: a Forum on Fair Trade and Latin America

Sunday, October 21st   1-5pm

Thompson Conference Center at the LBJ School of Public Affairs

this event is free and open to the public

Spanish translation available to all attendees 

Register for the event.

Through a panel of academics, social entrepreneurs and community activists, as well as workshops and discussion sessions, the forum will explore the many facets current trade policy and its alternatives. The purpose of the forum is to discuss the impact of U.S. trade and economic policy and its effects on Latin America. The forum will also focus on ways that Austinites have and can continue to fight for economic and environmental justice across Latin America.

Personally, I find that it is often overwhelming and difficult to learn about and make sense of the influence and reach of U.S. trade policy.  This forum creates the space and access to some of Austin’s best thinkers and doers on the issue. Take a look at the speaker bios . Wow! This promises to be an event worth attending!

Ten Thousand Villages of Austin seeks a full-time assistant manager to assist in the daily operations and offsite sales of the store. This position requires extensive coordination and work with volunteers. Reliable transportation and ability to lift 40 lbs also necessary. Candidates must be available to work weekends and evenings. Salary range is $22-25K. An ideal candidate would possess the following qualifications:

• Interest in and commitment to the mission of Ten Thousand Villages
• Managerial experience and ability, including inventory planning and analysis
• Computer experience with Word and Excel
• Enjoyment of meeting the public and relating to a wide variety of people
• Willingness to learn a variety of tasks under the direction of the Store Manager
• Experience or training in retail sales
• Ability to demonstrate proactive and creative problem solving

Job application (PDF). Online posting.  I’ll update this post when the position has been filled.

Finally, after too many months, VillagesofAustin.com is live as of this morning.  There remains several improvements to be made (yes, I’ve been called a perfectionist), including exposing calendar functionalities.  Future improvements include pictures and bios of staff and board members.

Between this blog and the new site, I now feel like we have a sound Web presence for fair trade in Austin.

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