A Festival of Hope

Another successful year at the Festival of Hope. This is the 27th festival, in which all the proceeds are given to hunger & poverty relief & self-help projects, both local & in developing countries. Although I don't have the final numbers, it looks like right around $8,000 was raised! My introduction to Heifer came through this festival, as I have participated in it for as long as I can remember. I had a record year for Heifer, raising over $1,400!
I love the atmosphere created by the festival & the people involved in it. It's an atmosphere of hope & of communities all over the world & right here at home striving towards peace & social justice.
Just during this weekend I had discussions about the unfairness of seed patents, of the evils of Wal-Mart & the larger picture, & the struggles of peasants in Costa Rica against the United Fruit Company, of the concerns of a customer about the factory conditions in which Heifer's t-shirts are made, & of the continued removal of people from the source & production of the food they eat. These are just some of the people, the ideas, & the concerns that are going to change the world. These fairs exemplify an alternative economy of fairness & sharing, & the participants are actively rejecting the dominating consumerism that has corrupted & stricken so much of the world. These communities & activities are hope: not only to those living in injustice, poverty & hunger, but to all who seek a just & peaceful world.

Mom & her booth at the festival.










My Heifer booth.










You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi