Supporting women and the conservation of endangered species around the world

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Our intimate journey through Southern Africa will be led by Singer Rankin, founder of WorldWomenWork. “I had been traveling extensively in Africa and Asia for 25 years and was becoming increasingly concerned about the loss of habitat for wildlife and the seemingly endless cycle of poverty. One day as I was trekking on Kanchenjunga in Nepal, the world’s third largest mountain, and the idea just came to me: buy beautiful things made by indigenous women and sell them to my friends and women who love hand-crafted, quality goods. Then donate the profits to conservation and towards education projects for women. A simple way to change lives and help the environment!”…and thus WorldWomenWork was born.

For more information please visit “Explore” at:
www.exploreafrica.net

please direct any email inquiries to:
elizabeth@exploreafrica.net

Nepal and Elephant Nature Park Thailand April 2010

I am more committed than ever to trying to make people understand that the beautiful things that World Women Work sells often come from the most chaotic places in the world. One such being , Nepal. I have just spent 4 days there and it is hard to describe what was once such an idyllic place is today so polluted, overwhelmed with cars, buses, motorcycles all spewing forth horrible fumes and too many people whose garbage is everywhere with a few sacred cows mixed in. The magnificent pashmina sweaters and shawls that I buy are made by untouchables. The creator of them is deeply involved in human rights. The constitution is being written and who knows what is going to happen. But out of this come magnificent things for World Women Work which have been created by the hands of women and men who are empowered because you buy them. I had lunch with the girls from Dolpo who I met 4 years ago two of whom are recipients of WWW scholarships and are now studying in Kathmandu.

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And then the abused elephants at The Elephant Nature Park tell their own stories of horror at the hands of men. One weeps looking into the eyes of another being that is so ancient, magnificent and full of wisdom. Bua Loi with the broken back leg rescued a year and a half ago is thriving with her new friend. I hope that she has forgotten the tortuous years of logging, forced breeding and begging on the streets of Bangkok. Lanna, another World Women Work rescue, is the constant companion of Medo, whose pelvis was broken by forced breeding. Today they walk unchained probably for the first time in their lives under the constant watchful eyes of their mahouts being elephants. The last night in Chiang Mai after dinner a begging elephant walks the street by the restaurant among buses, cars and motorbikes in a stew of pollution..

“Tara”, meaning river, is the name of a 45 year old female elephant who had worked in tourist camps offering elephant rides and was used to haul heavy logs. She had injured her back when she was just 6 years old as a trekking elephant and was then put back to work at a logging camp.

“Dear Friends,

I have just returned to Kathmandu from a two week trek in Mustang with friends. Many of the most beautiful things I buy for World Women Work are made here. The medieval feeling of Mustang creates a sense of other-worldliness, but the modern world is infringing upon this as the Chinese are about to build a road from the border of Tibet to Jomsom in Nepal. We met with the Mother’s Group in Jomson. They are a strong group of women who do much to make the environment they live in better and World Women Work is supporting a project with them. (Please see the project section for details). We are all worried about the Maoists, who are trying to overthrow the Nepalese government and are a constant source of friction here. Before we left for Mustang I did a lot of buying so it is always exciting to come back and see the results as much has been made in that time. I love trying on the beautiful pashmina jackets and seeing the jewelry that we have designed. This trip I have branched out into Tibetan rugs as our leader in Mustang has a rug factory where beautiful ones are made by women.

Nepal is very special to me; it is in fact where the idea for World Women Work was born.
I was on a World Wildlife Fund trek on Kanchenjunga in 1998, and as I was walking along one day I suddenly realized that I simply had to do something hands-on to help women and the environment – to help them be self-sufficient, preserve their culture, and combat the globalization of so many areas of the world that I love. I decided the best way I could do this was by buying beautiful things made by women, which would support and empower them economically.

It takes such a small amount to make a huge difference. I love to say that for the cost of a very good bottle of olive oil you can send a young girl to school in Bardia! I hoped by selling these beautiful things to people who have so much, and then returning the profits to educational and conservation programs in these same areas, that I could awaken others to the needs of women, to the necessity of preserving these cultures and wild places – and to make them care as much as I do.

Warm wishes, SingerNote: For more information on Education for Girls: Bardia National Park, Nepal, please see the Projects section

Dolpo, Nepal

Where Peter Mattheisssen wrote “The Snow Leopard”

My last trip to Nepal in August and September of 2005 was very productive. I bought many new things in Kathmandu for shows this fall. However the main purpose of my visit was a trek in Dolpo in the west of Nepal on the Tibetian border. It was a three week trek in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been. Because of the Maoist problems, we were not allowed to meet Snow Leopard anti-poaching people or visit some of the schools and other projects that World Women Work has been involved in.