Truckee Thursdays--August 12th

Hope to see everyone at Truckee Thursdays this week on August 12th. Fair & Green will hopefully be located on Donner Pass Road near Riverside Studios (we have to stick together--even now!). Stop by the booth to say hello or take care of your gifting needs.

DeAnza Flea Market--August 7th

For all you Bay Area fans out there, Fair & Green will be at the DeAnza Flea Market on August 7th from 7:30 am till 2 pm. This is a large flea market in Cupertino, CA with many varied vendors and great food booths. Stop in and see us for all your Fair Trade gift needs. DeAnza is on our calendar for August, October, November and December. For the pre-holiday months, we'll have new inventory and blog specials. Check back for more events and updated news on Fair & Green.

SiGBA's Tahoe GreenFest: July 10th & 11th

Fair & Green will be displaying all the best recycled, fair trade products at this year's Sierra Green Building Association GreenFest in Kings Beach. Slip on the flip flops, slather on some sunscreen and meet us at Kings Beach State Recreation Area in Kings Beach. 


This Zero Waste event includes music, entertainment, electric cars, silent auction, raffle and much, much more to promote sustainability and green living practices. See their website for more information. GreenFest 2010. 


We can't wait to see everyone again and will have specials on some of our leftover Divine chocolate. Stop down to see us on July 10th or 11th between 9 am and 5 pm either day. See you there!

Home Parties, Online Store & More

Fair & Green may have closed the bricks and mortar operations, but we would like to remind everyone that we are available for home parties (our entire offerings from the store). Contact us at our new email address: fairgreen@ymail.com if you have a party of 10 or more either in the Tahoe or Bay Areas. We can also accommodate Grass Valley and Nevada City. Included in the house party are discounts from original prices, an informative presentation customized for your guests, and special offers for the host.

In addition to house parties, we are able to present information on Fair Trade and give ideas how to help eradicate poverty to your community group or other club.

Currently, we are working on our new online store. Many photos need to be taken and we will keep everyone up to date on when we go live with two to three of the lines we carried at Fair & Green in Brickelltown.

In the meantime, look at your calendars and find a date to book Fair & Green to come to your home or organization.

And, as always, please support our friends who are still operating their stores in Brickelltown in Truckee. We stopped in yesterday to introduce our two girls and see what was new. Steph at Feather's Edge Finery has some gorgeous new items, Alanna and Khalil have been working hard to have a great selection of pottery and leather at Riverside Studios, and Lorien has an all new look at the Art Shed in front of our old location.

We hope to see you soon. Let us know of any festivals/art shows at which you'd like to see us, and we'll try our best to be there.

In Fair Trade We Trust,

Heidi & Mick Baikie

Fair & Green store closed

We haven't been keeping up on our blogging since November. And, this post is VERY belated.

Fair & Green's bricks and mortar store closed its doors on February 17th. A bittersweet decision had to made in December, and we were sad to have to close down. We are exploring plans now for Fair & Green to be at various street fairs and festivals, host an internet store and offer Fair Trade house parties out to our loyal customers.

Our first festival will be Earth Day out at Squaw Valley on April 24th. We'll have many of our standard favorites with us such as Telephone Wire Baskets, "Trashy" Purses, and much more.

If you need a gift and have something in mind, you may always contact us via email (which we check at least once a week) to see if we still have that particular item in stock and we can get that to you. info@fair-and-green.com is the best way to reach us.

Thank you for all of your kind patronage, support of Fair Trade and friendship. This is truly only the end of the chapter and not the book.

Christmas Ornament Exchange Special

Does your office have an ornament exchange? We have all new ornaments arriving this week (plus some that are already here). Gorgeous Fair Trade ornaments from India, South Africa, Swaziland and more provide living wages for artists around the world.

And, now, your office or ornament exchange can sign up for specials on ornaments. Either call, email or talk to Heidi at Fair & Green, and she'll set you up to receive discounts on your ornaments. Get everyone in your office to purchase their ornament at Fair & Green and your group will receive FREE Fair Trade chocolate for the day of your exchange.

Call today to find out more. 530-582-0908. info@fair-and-green.com or 10382 Donner Pass Rd in Truckee. Hours are from 11-6 pm M-Sa to be sign up for this deal.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

This is the soup recipe we used for First Friday in November.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 lg. onion, sliced

3/4 cup sliced scallions, white part only

1/4 cup butter

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin (or your own pumpkin puree)

4 c. chicken (or veg) broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp curry powder (maybe a bit more...it was not as curry"ish" as I like)

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Several parsely sprigs

2 cups half & half

Salt & pepper to taste

Saute onions & scallions in butter until golden brown. Stir in pumpkin, broth, bay leaf, usgar, curry powder, nutmeg & parsley. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer soup to food processor in batches & puree. Return to pan; add hal & half, salt & pepper. Simmer 5-10 minutes. 6 servings

Pumice Feet Return.

Our ever popular pumice "feet" from Bali are now here. Just in time to start thinking about stocking stuffers.

Also, new "Happy Feet" and Floral gift sets. Each gift set comes with a pumice stone, soap and nail brush.

Two New Divine Chocolate Flavors

Divine Chocolate's newest flavors: Dark Chocolate (70%) with Raspberries and a Milk Chocolate Toffee Crunch.

New Putamayo Titles

European Playground and Picnic Playground for the kids. Brazilian Cafe, Espana, and India for the adults. All CDs $15.

New Prints for Fair Trade Aprons

We have new prints on our Balinese aprons. This is a gorgeous two-sided apron of brown with accents of orange. Others in stock are full length aprons. Brown polka-dots for one, green leaves for another and finally a bright fuschia with mums.

New Tableware from Bali

Sustainably harvested Palm Wood is beautifully carved to make our new bamboo inlay trays and coasters. Natural resin is colored and poured over a pattern of cross-sectioned bamboo. Lovely for a housewarming, wedding or hostess gift. Also, new colors of our Capiz Shell Salad Servers.

15 Must-Read Books: Non-Fiction

Here is a list of 15 books which have taught me an amazing amount about the world:

1. Mountains Beyond Mountains--Tracey Kidder. This book describing Paul Farmer's mission to treat the poorest of the poor in Haiti opened my eyes to the inequalities of health care. This book has made the rounds amongst friends and family.
2. Half the Sky--Nicholas Kristof & Sherly WuDunn. Just finished this page turner exploring the oppression of women and how many around the world are turning that into opportunity. Discusses sex slavery, obstetric fistulae, female genital mutilation, and more. Also gives inspirational stories of people who are helping women and girls around the world.
3. The Color of Water--James McBride. I read this book years ago and it still tugs at my heart. A beautiful homage to McBride's mother examines race and the dedication of one mother.
4. Deep Economy--Bill McKibben. In a globalized economy, McKibben argues for creating deep roots in our local economies to lessen our environmental impact, return to community and create resilient local economies that weather global storms.
5. Three Cups of Tea--Greg Mortenson. Most people may have already read this story of how one man can make a difference. Mortenson's account of connecting with villagers in Pakistan and promising to build schools for the children is inspiring (might be an over-used word in this post!).
6. The Blue Sweater--Jacqueline Novogratz. A banker indulges in her philanthropic tendencies to provide sustainable funding for projects around the world to bridge the gap between rich and poor. The sweater in question is Novogratz's and she finds it in a far away place.
7. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha--Sarah Erdman. This story of a Peace Corp worker's time in the Ivory Coast is a thoughtful memoir of one woman's two years volunteering in a small African village. Anyone thinking of volunteering abroad should read this first.
8. Blessed Unrest--Paul Hawkin. By tracing the environmental movement, Hawkin discovers in his examination that the strength of the movement lies in the millions of people working in tandem to help the earth and its people. He looks at not only the environmental issues, but the human issues of equality, responsibility and fairness. Great book for activists.
9. Not on Our Watch--Don Cheadle & John Prendergast. This fact laden book on the Genocide in Darfur helps armchair activists everywhere empower themselves to affect change. Reading this was an epiphany for me: I finally realized if I want change, I have to hold those I help elect (or even the ones I don't) accountable. At the end of the book, there are very practical ways of going about ending the genocide in Darfur, and these tips help you with any issue you are passionate about.
10. King Leopold's Ghost--Adam Hochschild. A gritty look at the Congo and Belgium's brutal colonization of the area for the exploitation of its riches and terrorization of its peoples. A great historical account of how colonization brutalized a land. Gave me more insight into the current conditions in Africa, as well.
11. We Are All the Same--Jim Wooten. A moving account of one boy's story in South Africa and how one woman embraced this HIV-positive youngster while fighting the system and for better care and treatment of HIV patients. Another story that shows the power of one determined person (but in this case, it's two people.).
12. A Long Way Gone--Ishmael Beah. A harrowing account of a boy becoming a soldier in Sierra Leone, and his journey back to civilian life. His ability to overcome and survive provide hope.
13. Confessions of an Economic Hitman--John Perkins. What an eye-opening book this was! We all really know that in a capitalistic society, the mega-corporations are corrupt, but this account shows us how they achieve what they want--no matter the cost (human, environment or financial). Perkin's tells us about the IMF and World Bank, and how he fought his way out of being an economic hitman to become a world activist tied into native cultures. After meeting him in Incline Village at a READ Global fundraiser, I was even more inspired to stay committed to fair trade and activism.
14. The Desert Queen--Janet Wallach. Another older book that really broadened my understanding of the world. This biography about Gertrude Bell, a Victorian explorer, focuses on the Middle East. While bringing Bell to life, Wallach gives the history of the Middle East and shows how current day countries were formed.
15. Brothers Under the Skin--Christopher Hope. This hard to find book (it hasn't been published in the US. Found it in the UK a few years back) examines why dictators are the way they are. By focusing mostly on Mugabe in Zimbabwe, he explains the perfect conditions and personality which produce a tyrant. If you can get your hands on it, you'll enjoy this book.

Well, I could have listed about another 20 books in the non-fiction genre which are amazing reads to help explore the world from your armchair, but this post is long enough. Maybe next will be travelogues. If you see a heavy preponderance of tomes on the African continent, please forgive me, I am very interested in its past, present and future. If you have any recommendations to add, please add a comment. We're always looking for the next best book.

Please Vote for Fair and Green

American Express and NBC are holding a contest: Shine a Light. Its aim is to highlight small businesses. And, wow! It's about time that small businesses catch a break.

Please put a "spotlight" on Fair and Green. We need at least 50 votes by Sept. 13th to stay in the picture. We'd love to have 500 or more! So pass this along to friends and family who have stopped into our store and loved it.

The grand prize is $100K: half in marketing assitance, the other half as a grant. We would be able to create a job and possibly add a service aspect to the shop (who likes Fair Trade chocolate as much as us? Chocolate counter?!). Plus, imagine the customer appreciation party we could throw!

Here is the link. http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=1820

Thank you in advance to all of you who vote for us. We want to stay in business and keep Fair Trade on the map in Truckee!

Baby Booties & Bibs from Guatemala

Handwoven, cute as a button booties and bibs from Guatemala. This picture really does not do them justice. Available in blue, coral and purple, these Fair Trade baby items will be a hit at the next baby shower.

We also received more handbags (with peace signs), and beaded bracelets from Guatemala and Nepal.

Batik Scarves from India

OM scarves in rust or a deep blue. A patterned wide scarf on the far right.

The dresses on the left are batiked in Ghana, and the far right dress is hand block print from India.

Fashion & Fair Trade all at a Fair Price.

Tree of Life Pillows & Handblock Printed Stoles

These gorgeous applique Tree of Life pillows come from the border region of India and Pakistan. Available in red and a green/red/black, the trees are made of scraps from the textile industry.

The stunning stoles (wide scarves) are a must see. Using wood block printing, a traditional art native to the desert area of western India, amazing script and patterns are printed onto these lovely stoles.

We also have large Wall Hangings of the Tree of Life pattern which are made with organic cotton and scraps from the textile industry.

Olive Wood Bowls, Napkin Rings & Serving Pieces

New Olive Wood Bowls from Kenya. The Kamba Tribe carves beautiful Olive Wood into bowls, serving utensils (inlaid with decorative bone), and napkin rings. Fair Trade, functional and fashionable. Great for wedding and house warming gifts.

Tin Can Earrings

Fun and playful recycled tin can earrings are a favorite for any "green" gal.

Affordable Fair Trade gifts with a unique twist can be found every day at Fair & Green in Truckee, CA

Swaziland Baskets in 3 new colors

This vibrant mix of colors on sustainably harvest grass will bring any table some Swaziland flavor.

We also have a red/black/natural combo and a natural basket with rust/orange/brown.

Three sizes of baskets, three different color combinations give you a great choice for that perfect gift.