On November 9, at rise of meeting, Peace and Social Concerns Committee will sponsor a presentation plus a sale of Peruvian crafts to support native artisans, strengthen communities and promote forest conservation in the Peruvian Amazon.

Campbell Plowden is the Executive Director of Amazon Ecology – the non-profit organization he founded in 2006 to help create sustainable livelihoods for artisan families, promote forest conservation and strengthen traditional communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Campbell will discuss the progress and challenges of his group training artisans to make innovative fair-trade handicrafts, help them form effective organizations, and promote the sustainable harvest and reforestation of the trees used to make woven crafts. Amazon Ecology is a member of the FairTrade Federation and sells some of its partners crafts in the US to support its artisan training programs. It reinvests part of its sales to support health, education and conservation needs in its partner  communities and conducts Alternatives to Violence Project workshops to help its partners improve their communication, cooperation and non-violent conflict resolution skills.

Come- do some early Christmas shopping and learn about an organization promoting alternatives to cutting down the rainforest.

Please visit http://www.AmazonEcology.org to learn more about Amazon Ecology or purchase fair-trade crafts made by their partners. Visit http://www.AmazonAlive.net to donate to support the organization’s work.