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.

Save Japan Dolphins representative Brian Barnes interviewed by CNN on his 1st day back from surviving the Tsunami in Japan.

This past weekend founder of PangeaSeed, Tre’ Packard and teammate Akira were keynote speakers at the Yokohama International High School (GIN) Global Issues Network conference.

Through these presentations the EcoJoia partner was able to “plant the shark & ocean seed to a full house of students who gave incredible presentations regarding key issues facing the oceans.” Tre’ commented that “these kids were thinking critically, debating, and offering concrete solutions on ways to solve the problems facing our oceans.”

With the students encouraging reaction to Tre’s presentation he received a renewed sense of hope. “From the dolphin slaughter in Taiji to ocean acidification, these kids were extremely inspiring.”

To help bring peace to the Congo, DVLP Clothing and Falling Whistles have joined forces to host the Falling Whistles Art and Music Festival in Denver, Colorado on March 26th, 2011. Falling Whistles is an organization that works relentlessly to bring peace to the Congo. This fundraiser will help restore the lives of war-affected women and children through rehabilitation programs as well as to facilitate lobbying in Washington to help change war policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

EcoJoia, Snooze, Denver Magazine, and The Pony Lab are all participating sponsors of the event. A free art show at Black Book Studios will kick off the event from 4pm to 8pm where local artists will present original artwork inspired by war affected children of the Congo. At 8:30pm, Summit Music Hall will feature live performances by PLACES, The Royal Heist, and Take to the Oars.

Tickets for the music festival cost $15 and are available by clicking here. The event is open to anyone and everyone who support the cause.

Our partner PangeaSeed, the Japan-based shark conservation nonprofit, is hosting a Philippine shark study tour this March! The goal of this tour is to gather conservation information and ideas through community outreach and to generate awareness that will educate society on the global need to protect our sharks and oceans.

Nearly 100 million sharks are slaughtered each year to make shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy. The United Nations recently released a report stating that if shark harvesting continues at this rate, global shark populations will vanish in the next ten years. Sharks play an important role in balancing the ocean’s ecosystem and their disappearance could be detrimental to our oceans.This study tour comes at the perfect time due to the dire need to focus on shark preservation and conservation.

During the first part of the study tour, attendees will assist PangeaSeed and WWF  marine biologists with whale shark research and data collection that will be used by researchers world wide. Participants will also be able to host cultural exchange events at the Donsol schools, a small municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines, to educate students on how they can help with whale shark and ocean conservation.

The second part of the study tour will take place in Malapascua, a small Philippine island. Participants will assist the Thresher Shark Research Project with data collection and shark monitoring as well as host more cultural events to educate local students about the importance of shark conservation.

This study tour will take place thanks to the many supporters of shark conservation. Purchasing the No Finning tee from EcoJoia helps to support PangeaSeed and their many shark conservation efforts and future study tours!

To find out more about this study tour, please click here.

This quarter we are donating the EcoJoia Fund to the International Women’s Health Coalition! They focus on shaping international policy to change thinking, redirect funding, and promote action by the people and institutions that can secure the rights of women. Their focus is on women’s health and human rights in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and their goals are to advocate, empower, mobilize, and inform.

In 2008, of every dollar that IWHC spent, 86% went to the programs and services that directly benefited the above countries and funding institutions. To raise money, IWHC accepts cash donations, hosts promotional events and encourages supports to throw parties to generate awareness of the cause.

IWHC highlights that all levels of donations make a difference. The EcoJoia Fund 4th quarter donation was for $242.20. The IWHC website states that “$100 enables a girl to spend a year in a safe space building her self-esteem, learning how to say no to sexual coercion, and honing skill to advocate for her own right to health information and services.” A $500 donation “helps a partner organization to implement a program for three months that empowers teenage girls to resist early marriage.”

To view the EcoJoia Fund products click here. 20% of the sale of these products is donated quarterly to organizations like the International Women’s Health Coalition. Check back every quarter to see where the EcoJoia Fund has been donated.