One of Plywood’s content contributor’s, is James Pearson. We’re a big fan of a company he started.  The women they partner with fled a brutal civil war in the north of Uganda. Everyone in their Acholi tribe lost someone. They ended up in a hillside slum just outside of Uganda’s capital, where the only way they could feed their families and the orphans they cared for was working in a dangerous rock quarry, crushing rocks for $1 per day – the international standard for Extreme Poverty.

Now these women earn a professional wage making Acholi Beads. They handcraft each bead from a piece of recycled paper, and creatively string them together into the beautiful pieces. They work from the comfort of their homes, or together in common areas, and have started their own legal cooperative to manage their successful jewelry business. We are proud to partner our business with theirs.

Acholi Beads provides training for the woman on how to manage their personal finances for long-term success, including budgeting, savings, entrepreneurship, and microfinance training. The goal for these women, is independent success, with or without Acholi Beads, for the rest of their and their families’ lives.

We’d love for you to check out the beads!  They’re made out of paper, rolled tightly into these beautiful and colorful creations!  They’d make a WONDERFUL Mother’s Day gift!  We’d love you to check out our Mother’s Day package of 1 beautiful card, a necklace and a bracelet all for $40.  It’s usually $48, so you’re saving nearly 20%!!  Check them out!!

Over spring break, a friend of mine and I took a cross-country roadtrip to Denver, Colorado to spend a few days hiking in the Rocky Mountains. It was an unforgettable experience. The first night that we got in, there was a downpour of snow that blanketed the whole city. At first we thought that the blizzard was going to deter us from the drive out to Rocky Mountain National Park, but by the time we woke up the next day the roads were well-enough taken care of to brave. In fact, I was later thankful for the snowfall, as it really settled a peace over the mountains and made them just that much more remarkable.

Once we got to the park and started up Glacier Trail into the mountains, I immediately felt as if I was somehow doing something sacred. There was something about the simplicity of the situation that made me so much more reflective on life bigger than myself. I was hiking further and further from civilized life, slowly disconnecting myself from social networking, slowly trudging away from design deadlines and keeping up with e-mails and checking voicemail. I was releasing my life focus on me and enjoying feeling insignificant. The primitive nature of the trip, the raw and real simplicity of it all, actually made me so much more aware of the complexity of what’s going on around me because I was quiet about my own life long enough to realize the bigger picture.

Sometimes I think that I’ve complicated my life to the point of my own loss. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that anyone has to throw away their stuff or delete their Twitter account to enjoy anything anymore. But I do see the immense value of disconnecting and quieting myself from time to time so that I can remove the focus off of myself and really start to cherish what’s happening in the world and in other people’s lives.

Maybe simpler living should be a higher priority in my life. And I would recommend to you to try it sometime too.

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I’m an avid reader and I love fiction, so I was excited when Kelly O’Connor McNees’ book found it’s way to our doorstep.  She combines fact and fiction in her wonderful story about Louisa May Alcott’s life, called The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott.  In reading (and watching in recent films) the stories that Louisa May Alcott wrote, it’s the ones that are close to the truth of her own life that most draw me in.  I love fantastical stories as well, but knowing that in her writing she was conveying truth about her life and family, it is extra interesting to me.  McNees’ own writing takes on an “Alcott-esque” quality, and it seems a natural flow of events as she writes her ideas about the life of Alcott.

I don’t know about you, but as I think of works of memorable writers, I am intrigued with their own lives and what they endured to bring them to the point where they were ready to write about their experiences.  It provides a bit of insight into what took them to where they got to.  I love creating back stories for people in general, so reading McNees’ sort of “back story” for Louisa May Alcott, it was fun to imagine with her what Alcott’s life might have been like.

It’s a story about a woman finding her own way in a world where women were often confined to the responsibilities of the home, and were questioned when they pursued other passions.  I would recommend the book to those who enjoy reading about day to day struggles of women living in the mid to late 19th century.  It’s a lovely story of love, life and the tension between passion and responsibility.

I am a fan of Hip-Hop. I think some of the greatest creations, songs and poetry in the last 30 years have been created by the hip-hop community. The creative brilliance of the past decades pushed other genres of culture, resulting in much of suburban society to follow what is happening in the city conversations through this genre of imagination. For years Hip-Hop artists have breathed life into streets, creativity in minds, beats into cars and style into the fabric of school lives, but what is happening now?

My personal opinion is that the ideas being pushed through the hip-hop community have been stuck. The creativity is not at the levels it has been in the past. The creativity that was once produced was rooted in a deep sense of suffering, resulting in pure beauty. Now, much of the creativity is run by the famous, not the people that need creativity in order to sustain life.

This is why I believe that the future innovators and cultural creatives will come from the darkest places on earth. Out of hurt comes deep ideas that change humanity forever. Beauty always emerges in the midst of dark places. The new creativity will come from Rwanda, from Haiti, from Uganda, from Sudan, from Guatemala, from Cambodia, and from places we do not even know about yet. The hurting places of today, may bring the hope of tomorrow. That is why TED events hosted an event in India this year, to spotlight the emerging thoughts of the under developed world we are getting ever closer to through globalization.

One of the most refreshing voices in Hip-Hop today is the voice of Emmanuel Jal, a Sudanese rapper that was claimed by the war and out of that experience is sharing his story across the world. His real lyrics mixed with his authentic story make him the Hip Hop of the future. The only way Hip-Hop culture will continue to be seen as creative inspiration is if they identify themselves with the great suffering of the world and the voice of hope in the midst of that fray. Hip Hop started on the streets of New York and now it must emerge among the dirt roads of Africa and amidst the cultural flavor of the most emerging places of the third world. Please help me find the other voices and talent that are emerging, so we can share their stories through this blog.

Tyler Merrick is the founder of Project 7, a consumer goods company that donates 50% of their profits to seven areas of need:
Build the Future
Feed the Hungry
Heal the Sick
Help those in Need
Hope for Peace
House the Homeless
Save the Earth
Merrick founded Project 7 on the belief that when given a choice, consumers would choose a brand that gave back. And, he was right. Since it’s first appearance in the market place in 2008, Project 7 has garnered the respect of big business and consumers alike. Project 7 products can be found in more than 1,700 stores across the country, including all Caribou Coffee locations. Currently Project 7 manufactures bio-bottled water, gum, mints and eco-t-shirts.
Merrick seeks to do more than sell product. Through Project 7, he looks to motivate and educate consumers on how to make a positive change in our world.  Merrick leads by example, with the whole company volunteering at least once a month in the community. He also uses Project7.com and Twitter.com/Project7 to draw attention to the issues.
It is Merrick’s hope that someday their would be no need for a company like Project 7, but until then, he will continue to break down the boundaries between activism and entrepreneurship.

Plywood People: Tyler, you say you started the organization because you wanted to turn the 7 deadly sins upside down.  Can you explain a little about what you mean by this and what prompted this specific goal?

Tyler Merrick: For several years, the emerging model of social entrepreneurship has intrigued me.  I studied emerging concepts from a distance while I was employed with my family’s pet food business.  As time went on, I couldn’t ignore the possibilities and begin to think about what was next for my life.  My wife and I took a year to pray about whether to stay and eventually run the family business or move on to a new season of our lives.  It was during that year that I had the initial vision for Project 7 and this ultimately propelled me to leave the safety of my family’s company and onto this journey of faith.

The concept came from my studying the 7 deadly sins.  If you will, the 7 deadly sins are based on “abstinence” – basically about the individual abstaining from these 7 sins. I asked my self the question, using what we are supposed to abstain from, how can we turn into something we should take part in? Take gluttony in this example, instead of focusing on not eating too much, focus on giving someone with not enough something to eat. This changes the focus from being all about the “me” to all about “we.”

Based on this idea, Project 7 was created as a product line that would flip abstaining into giving. Simply by purchasing products consumers would be able to give back to 7 critical areas of need that mirrored the deadly sins. The idea wasn’t to replace individual “giving” but to offer a brand of products out there that exists to serve these 7 areas of need. The brand wouldn’t use profits to endorse athletes and other such celebs, but rather endorse positive change in the world. Whether we sell one bottle of water or a million, this is my calling and what I’m meant to do.

Plywood People: Of the 7 goals Project 7 focuses on, Heal the Sick, Save the Earth, House the Homeless, Feed the Hungry, Help those in Need, Build the Future, and Hope for Peace which do you find hardest to accomplish, and which are you most passionate about personally?

Tyler: The 7 areas are massive, so big that the only way we will make a dent in any of them is if we band together as a community to make positive changes in each cause. That is not to say that as an individual you can’t make a difference, but rather when we group together we are more powerful. If I had to choose, the one I’m most passionate about is “Save the Earth.” At the end of the day, the Earth is a gift that was given to us and we need to take care of it. As a Christian, I have found that the “Christian” demographic has written off the notion of saving the Earth. In the community it is perceived as a conspiracy of the left wing. You often hear things like, “We need to take care of people before the Earth…” While I couldn’t agree more with taking care of people what this statement misses is the fact that the Earth is our home and by taking care of it, we take care of the people that are blessed to be alive. To make a change to better the Earth is simple and to not do so is a slap in the face of our generation and those to come. Don’t know where to start? How about at home? Start recycling and teach your children something good that they can continue to do. By making a simple change we could all make a big difference for the planet’s future. How could someone not embrace this? I’m proud to have earned the title tree hugger!

Plywood People:  You are working on some amazing projects with a lot of people in need.  Do you have one story that particularly pulls at you and that keeps you inspired to continue the hard work you’re doing?

Tyler: This one is so challenging because the need(s) are so great in our own nation and around the world. You are right that we are working on some amazing projects with a lot of people in mind. To pull one story in particular is very hard. I would rather talk about this from a bird’s eye view down to a personal view.

From the bird’s eye perspective, when you tell buyers at a national retail group that $1 can buy clean water for a child in need in say Uganda, India or Haiti its hard to really grasp that since we live in one of the richest nations in the world. To further demonstrate, I tell them “Let me give you $1 right now and let’s all go to the vending machine and see what we can get.  How long will that candy bar last us?  15 minutes, an hour? That same $1 can help give life for an entire year to a child that walks 5 miles round trip for clean water.” When one looks at the international relief needed and the cost / benefit ratio its hard not to want to focus on an international level, the money just seems to go farther.  I mean, TB, AIDS and Malaria are the world’s biggest health issues and ultimate killers.  Internationally, a Malaria vaccine can be bought for a couple of dollars and save a child’s life or a mosquito net for $15 and protect a child while they sleep in their bed at night. Educating people on the differences a simple dollar can make is very rewarding.

On a personal level, my wife and I find it truly inspirational to see a generation move so passionately towards the fight against Human and Child Trafficking. This issue has always been hard to understand and one that I think most American’s thought “Didn’t happen here.” As a brand guy, I’ve always thought that this area of need was “branded” wrong to begin with. People don’t understand what the words human trafficking mean. The statement is almost too polite. The cold, hard, honest truth is that Human Trafficking = slavery. Our generation reads about the open slavery during Civil War times and we think “Wow, how could someone let that happen to another human being?” Well, we are letting it happen right now. With increasing numbers, the black market that traffics humans supplies victims to a “fallen” world. But, progress is being made. Getting to work with groups that are “turning the lights on” in the dark areas of this practice and exposing it for what it is, turning local and national governments on to it — that is exciting.  Each week authorities around the country are exposing trafficking rings and bringing a life that was captive to a place of recovery again. It is reading and being involved in these stories that keep me going. Knowing that we are making a real difference, that is the key.

Plywood People:  You want more than for people to donate their money.  Why do you encourage volunteerism so strongly, and will you share what your goal for 2010 is? How are you reaching this goal?

Tyler: Project 7 definitely seeks to do more than just fund change. I realized one day while sitting in my office with products scattered around with calls to actions like “Hope for Peace”, “Heal the Sick”, etc. that if I wasn’t careful these powerful statements would just become labels and not action. I realized to truly “change the score” we had to get out of our office and into the community and take part in what in the change we were trying to promote and to expose ourselves to the real needs that exist. Let’s put it this way – its one thing to be watching the news at night and see footage of a fire burning down someone’s house.  Its an entirely different thing to be there and feel the heat coming off of the flames while you try to put out the fire and save lives all while seeing the family who has lost everything. It is harder to ignore need when you look it straight in the face.  Through volunteering and promoting volunteerism we offer people a way to connect to these areas of need – meet both the people that are suffering and those that give their lives to making a difference. This exposure teaches us about true need and what we can do to change it. Volunteering allows us to take experience and educate others, growing the network of those connected to making positive changes.  This should be passed on from generation to generation.
We call our volunteer days “7 day.” “7 Day” offers a way for those interested in volunteering, but don’t know how, to participate. By creating something like this, we’ve made it impossible for people to use the excuses of “I don’t have anyone to go with” or “they’ll want me to come every week and I can’t do that” or “I don’t go to that church.”  “7 Day” offers the opportunity to get outside of yourself and into your community, investing and connecting with real needs.

Plywood People:  How has volunteering changed your life?

Tyler: Again, it’s the difference between hearing about something and experiencing it.  When you meet the caseworkers, hear the stories first hand from the people being impacted and see what a difference you can make in those lives, one is forced to do some serious soul searching. Your perceptions change, you see how you may have judged or stereotyped someone in the past and how wrong you were. Being involved on a personal level means I can’t claim ignorance anymore and I don’t want to.  Volunteering has taught me that we’re all in this thing together, that there is no gated community where one can escape, nor should we.

Let’s not change the world.  Let’s not end poverty or wipe human trafficking from the globe.  Let’s not put an end to global warming or empty the landfills.  And let’s stop trying to eradicate malaria and treat every HIV and tuberculosis patient in the world.

Instead of changing the world, let’s change our daily routines.  Let’s all knock a minute off of our showers and turn a few lights out when we don’t need them.

Let’s ride bikes to work when we can, or look into carpooling and public transport.  And let’s choose jobs that we believe in, because they uphold our values.

Instead of wiping out various diseases or ending human trafficking, let’s each pick an organization that we believe in and support them as best we can.  And when the need comes, let’s all take the two minutes to make a phone call to our senators.

And instead of treating all the patients in the world, let’s each meet one and make sure he gets the treatment he needs.

And let’s forget trying to get rid of poverty.  Instead let’s each build a connection with one poor person, or one poor community, and learn how we might give them a hand.

And when people ask us what we’re doing, let’s be sure to tell them that we’re not changing the world, we’re just changing ourselves, and hopefully helping a couple others do the same.  And when first they hear that from one of us, and then another, and another, they might begin to wonder if the whole world is changing around them.

Once you name it, you start getting attached to it. –Mike Wazowski, Monsters Inc.

Looking for a way to motivate yourself and others to care about this earth? I suggest naming as a good first step. My daughter and I once read a silly fairy tale about a princess who floated like a balloon unless weighed down. The hero in the story they simply called “Boy”. My six-year-old found that ridiculous. “He doesn’t have a name?” she giggled. Even at her age, she comprehends that those things and people that are important to us have names. So if we want the environment to move up on our priority list, perhaps we need to name it.

Do I mean give all the trees in your yard special names like Tom, Clancy, and Bertha? Not exactly. Here’s how it works. Pick one tree in your yard or neighborhood and find out what kind of tree it is. Get a tree identification book at the library. Look it up by the leaf style on the internet. Or if you have zero confidence in your natural science knowledge and ability, just ask someone who knows what they know and how they know it. Learn enough about it that you can identify it easily.

Here’s the crazy thing that starts happening. Once you recognize the leaf, the general height and shape of a tree, you start to notice it other places. Your eyes and brain naturally look for and find recognizable things. Suddenly, you are seeing pine trees everywhere you go. You start to realize that pine trees are part of what make your neighborhood, town or city what it is. Imagine what your city would look like if all the pine trees vanished. And nature, the environment, and creation big and small takes on new life in your mind and your heart. You start getting attached to it.

I dare you. Pick a tree and name it. Once you’re attached, who knows what lengths you’ll take to care for and preserve it.

P.S. Watching an episode or two of Life on the Discovery Channel won’t hurt either.



We received Jonathan Merritt’s book in the mail a month or so ago, and I was excited to read it, and learn from Merritt’s insight into the world we live in. It seems especially pertinent this week, as Thursday is the 40 anniversary of Earth Day.  Green Like God serves as a good reminder of what it means to care for the space we inhabit.  We get caught up in the grand terms of “environmentalism” and “sustainability” and then fail to do anything about it, and worse at times create excuses as to why it’s not important. Merritt picks apart what the theology of nature means to those of faith.  He explains why from a faith perspective particularly, there is great importance in caring for our world and natural resources.

The book is primarily written to people of faith, who have failed to take seriously the importance of caring for the world in the recent past.  Green Like God addresses many of the reasons used to get around the responsibility to do so.  Such as: it’s too political, the earth will eventually be made new, or it takes away from other good that could be done.  He strips away excuses to reveal a solid basis for why it is not only important, but also right to be environmentally responsible, because God cares about how the earth is taken care of.  We love our neighbors and the generations after us better by caring for the world we inhabit.

It was refreshing to hear a perspective that removed the trendiness of current “pop environmentalism”, and talks instead about the need for an intrinsic shift for permanent change to take place.  Jonathan Merritt reminds his readers that the 1960′s were a time when it was also very trendy to talk about environmental issues, but it soon fell into the background. He reinforces the point that it can’t be a merely trendy change; “Patagonia jackets and eco-friendly snacks are an option for those in the upper class, but to have a true impact on global issues, we must find globally accessible solutions.” The issue is broader than what celebrities are talking about it.  It needs to extend into individuals’ homes and lifestyles and made part of their faith.

I also appreciated how he talked about making simple changes in lifestyle to make all this talk about environmentalism a reality: carpooling,  turning of the lights, eating locally grown produce, reducing the amount of unnecessary purchases, and of course, recycling, among some other suggestions (and stories to accompany).  It’s a good reminder to start small, but to start somewhere.

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In honor of Earth Day on Thursday, we are celebrating all week with blog posts about the Earth in some form or another.  Today we’d like to highight HippyGrandma.com.

A “hippy grandma” by their definition is a hip, happy, hippie woman who cares passionately about nourishing Mother Earth and her children. Some are real 60’s hippies grammas and others are grandmas in heart, spirit & love.  HippyGrandma.com call themselves “an online eco-boutique selling unique fair trade earth friendly gifts and treasures for babies, mamas & grandmas. Hippy love for generations!” They have luscious newborn baby ideas and baby shower gift bundles as well as unique baby gifts that are eco-friendly & include baby clothes made from bamboo and natural fabrics.

Hippy Grandma Ventures Ltd. is an on-line “for benefit”, family run retail business catalyzed by Zoey Ryan. Hippy Grandma is based in a small seaside town near Vancouver, B.C, Canada. They function as a “business wisdom & marketing e-spiral” and are growing organically, using social media and word of mouth marketing!  They are a heart centered business and function as a unique eco-boutique.

They have some really unique products that we think you’ll like!  The only thing that might be slightly confusing is the Canadian Pricing, but hopefully you’ll get the hang of it.  Check them out and see what you think of their eco-products!