In this interview, Ric O’ Barry discusses his recent work with dolphins. Last year he helped end the dolphin slaughter in the Solomon islands. The Solomon Islands learned how unsustainable their practice of slaughtering wild dolphins was and Earth Island offered to teach a sustainable fishing alternative. Another great accomplishment is Indonesia’s pledge to end the capture and sale of dolphins. Currently Ric O’ Barry and his team are working on a project called deprogramming. This is a process of introducing dolphins back into the ocean after being in captivity using a natural sea pen. This interview is informative on the accomplishments made and the future goals of the Save Japan Dolphins campaign.

EcoJoia is a proud partner of Earth Island Institute and Ric O’ Barry’s Save Japan Dolphin campaign.

This link to the Earth Island Journal provides the entire interview with Ric O’ Barry. Click Here: earthisland.org/journal

The Green Room Festival took place May 21 and 22nd of this year in Yokohama, Japan.  This festival celebrates surf culture with music, art, and film.  It has been held annually since 2005 and grows in popularity each year.  EcoJoia’s partner PangeaSeed hosted a shark awareness booth to educate these wave-loving enthusiasts about our need to keep shark fins out of our soup and on the sharks. The booth was very successful and many people painted sharks on their bodies.  The Green Room festival is a fun and educational experience highlighting the need to protect our oceans so surfers and people alike can continue to enjoy the waves!

To support PangeaSeed’s anti-shark finning campaign click here.  25% of the purchase of all supporting merchandise will be donated directly to PangeaSeed.

Tia ran a half-marathon in the UK to raise money for Save Japan Dolphins. As a first time half-marathon runner, Tia raised $2,800 through secured sponsorships for her run. Tia is a role model for those that care deeply about dolphins and EcoJoia is proud that she wore our Women’s Green Cross Tee and Save Japan Dolphins Logo Cap. Thank you Tia for your hard work!

This quarter EcoJoia gave three loans through Kiva, thanks to proceeds from EcoJoia Fund products and repaid Kiva Loans. Kiva is an organization that facilitates micro-lending to help those in need help themselves. This quarter’s loans were given to The Bok Jom Group, sheep farmers in Senegal; Sonia, a farmer in Peru; and Um San, a food distributor in Cambodia.

The Bok Jom Group consists of 14 women from the same village who raise and sell sheep. This loan will provide the group with the funds necessary to purchase more sheep. They hope that increasing their livestock will boost their revenue.

Sonia is 29 years old and works with her husband and children on the land she inherited from her parents. They cultivate and sell potatoes, corn, okra, fava beans and the hay used to feed their livestock. Sonia believes that selling these items is very helpful for the progress of her family. This loan will allow Sonia to increase her supplies and livestock.

Um San is a divorced mother caring for three children, one of whom attends the local school and is dependent on her income. Um San earns money to support her children by selling rice and vegetables to passers-by in her community. This loan will help her buy more rice, increase her income, and gain more valued customers, thereby enabling her to improve her family’s standard of living.

Colorado State University student and Whistle Blower for Peace, Laura Schmalstieg organized a Falling Whistles benefit concert in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and EcoJoia was there to help out. The show featured a beautiful interpretive dance, a Denver band called The Heyday, and a truly inspirational speech by Falling Whistles spokesperson Yves Muya. Please support Falling Whistles’ efforts for Peace in Congo. For more info visit www.fallingwhistles.com.

A letter from our partner PangeaSeed at the finish of their Philippine Shark Study Tour:

“Hi Julia and Ry,

Hope you are doing well.  We just returned from our Philippine shark study tour.  You can see updates on our website.  The experience was indeed eye opening and educational.  We tackled a wide range of issues such as whale shark research, coastal clean up, mangrove restoration, clean water presentations and overfishing.  We were thrown into the frying pan so to speak.  Considering the wide range of issues effecting the marine life, ecosystems and community we’ve decided to make the project ongoing and return as often as possible. We feel Donsol has the opportunity to be a model of conservation and sustainability for other communities within the Philippines.  There’s so much work to be done there and fortunately it’s the youth who are motivated to tackle the issues.  These kids are so inspiring and motivated.

Thanks so much for all of your support.  We greatly appreciate it.

Attached are some photos of PangeaSeed organized events while in the Philppines.  Enjoy!

Cheers,

Tre’”

To purchase t-shirts that benefit PangeaSeed, Click Here!

For the first quarter of 2011, we have decided to donate our EcoJoia Fund of $100 to Relief International, in aid of Japan relief efforts. The earthquake and tsunami on April 6^th, 2011 left behind death and destruction. The remaining disaster survivors need help and funding to rebuild their community and lives. Many remain stranded in remote, hard-to-reach areas where cold weather and snow have increased their burdens. Thousands of families are displaced and living in evacuation shelters.

Relief International is working with Japanese aid groups to provide medical relief and life-saving supplies such as bottled water, ready-to-eat meals, warm clothing and necessary hygiene items to the people of Japan. Relief International is dedicated to helping those who need help most, especially in hard-hit regions. In collaboration with their Japanese relief partners, they have dispatched nearly 114 emergency medical personnel, alongside truckloads of medicine, sanitary goods and other medical supplies. They have a strong presence in Minamisouma city, where rumors of radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plant have caused tremendous social and economic damage.  They are also conducting relief efforts in Iwate, where shortage of medical care in the region has led to the death of many elderly people living in shelters and isolated homes.

At EcoJoia, our hearts go out to the people of Japan. We want to thank everyone who purchased an EcoJoia Fund product to make this donation to Relief International possible. To view EcoJoia Fund merchandise please click here and check in next quarter to see where the donation is made!

Heart of Green embodies a passion for green, clean and everything in between.

Heart of Green’s first collaboration with EcoJoia supports Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit based in California that has saved hundreds of thousands of acres of ancient redwood trees since 1918. The organization recently protected 426 acres of rare 1000-year-old Noyo River Redwoods in Mendocino County from the sawmill and is actively working on saving and restoring redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Big Sur, Humboldt, Sonoma County, and more.

Founded by Nadine Weil in 2004, Heart of Green strives to advance modern sustainability projects that protect the Earth for future generations. Forests, endangered animals, regenerative design, and environmental media are just a few of the causes supported. Ultimately, the organization believes that we all have a Heart of Green inside – the ability to connect with and be stewards of our awe-inspiring, beautiful world.

As a proud partner of Heart of Green, EcoJoia provides merchandise to support forest conservation initiatives. 25% of every sale of EcoJoia’s Heart of Green merchandise is donated directly to Save the Redwoods League. 

With the help of her Kiva loan, Juliana was hoping to expand her business. Her expectations have been met and she is now able to sell more waakye, a traditional Ghanaian rice and beans meal. The loan also allowed Juliana to expand her offerings to meat and fish, attracting more customers. Every morning at 4 o’clock Juliana starts preparing the waakye. Around 8 am she goes to the school yard where she sells the rice and sachets of drinking water to students. Juliana told Kiva her business is going better now as her income is more regular and has also increased. Thanks to Juliana’s business all of her children are able to attend school. Her youngest child is four years old and attends Kindergarten.

This Kiva loan was made from the EcoJoia Fund, a fund that is donated quarterly and continues to recycle to new recipients as the loan is repaid. To purchase EcoJoia Fund products click here.

Saturday March 26th, 2011 EcoJoia co-sponsored Falling Whistles and DVLP Clothing’s ‘Whistle Blowing for Peace Art and Music Festival’ here in Denver. 

An art show kicked off the day where local artists made exclusive art pieces with proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization Falling Whistles. Falling Whistles’ motive is to bring peace to Congo, with a focus on rehabilitating war-affected women and children. Falling Whistles turned the children of Congo’s only weapon, a whistle, into a symbol of protest to the war in Congo. Whistles were sold at the event with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Falling Whistles, as well as the EcoJoia Falling Whistles T-shirt.

After the art show everyone moved over to Summit Music Hall for the benefit concert. Bands PLACES, The Royal Heist, and Take to the Oars donated their time to play in honor of the Falling Whistles cause.

Festivities went late into the night, all for a good cause. Not only was awareness brought to Denver, but 100% of the proceeds of the t-shirts and whistles sold went to Falling Whistles to help end the war in Congo.

To purchase a limited edition organic cotton Falling Whistles t-shirt click here. Or visit FallingWhistles.com to buy your own whistle and become a Whistleblower for Peace.