Volunteer Dan Egan’s Experience in Ecuador

 Ecuador  No Responses »
Feb 222012
 

One of our volunteers wrote a beautiful blog post on his experience with the Eden’s Rose Foundation in Ecuador:

Last summer, 2011, Kara, Jess, and I along with a handful of good friends went to the All Good Music Festival in West Virginia. A weekend spent with amazing people, amazing music, amazing experiences also happened to include Jess stopping by a vendor’s tent outside the music stage area. Drawn in by poles outlining the entrance stocked with beautiful handmade macrame jewelry, she struck up a conversation with the guy sitting inside the booth, Gregory Sheldon, from Albany, New York. Greg began explaining where the bracelets came from, who made, them, and where her money would go if she bought one. As their conversation continued, stars began to align.

Greg introduced Jess to the Eden’s Rose Foundation, a non-profit started by Greg a few years ago to promote gender empowerment, improve basic health, provide clean water, and support entrepreneurship to small communities throughout Ecuador and in the Himalayas. Naming his foundation after a close friend who had passed away in the states, Greg dove head first into creating a sustainable non-profit built on the principles of trust, honesty, and responsibility. Greg does not have a master’s in non-profit management. He doesn’t have a bachelors. Greg didn’t finish high school, let alone go to college. But when Greg sees people in need, he pours every ounce of his soul into finding a way to help. While telling Jessica all about Eden’s Rose in Ecuador, Jess brought up our plans to be traveling througout South America in the coming fall. “When you’re all in Ecuador, come on down to Tosagua and check out our work!” Of all our plans, or lack there of, througout our trip thus far, this was one we held true on….

To read the rest of the post please visit Dan’s Blog

About Dan:
Volunteer Dan EganI am traveling with my wife and her cousin on a 8-9 month backpacking/volunteering adventure from Colombia to Bolivia. I am originally from Baltimore, MD and Kara and Jess are from Bergenfield, NJ. My wife and I are both Naturalists in the states teaching Ecology, Outdoor Ed, and leadership to middle school – university students. I spent 2007-2009 in Senegal, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and we met Greg and the foundation at All Good last summer.

 Posted by greg at 6:10 pm

Edens Rose opens shop on ETSY.com

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jan 182012
 

Edens Rose Foundation has just recently opened a shop on ETSY.com!
Please bookmark us and share our page on Facebook or Twitter so that we may broaden our network.

 

Click the picture above or visit erfmerchandise.etsy.org  to show your support!!!

 Posted by Jason at 9:25 pm  Tagged with:

Update From Ecuador

 Action, Ecuador, News  No Responses »
Jan 102012
 

The founder and president of the Eden’s Rose Foundation keeps us updated on action being taken in Ecuador. Identifying real present day issues that affect the people and working towards a permanent solution.

 Posted by greg at 12:00 pm  Tagged with:

The Grateful Dead and The Eden’s Rose Foundation team up!

 News  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 

Grateful Dead Alpaca Hoodies at the Shakedown

The Grateful Dead and the ERF have teamed up to offer a special edition thermodynamic alpaca hooded sweatshirt. The Eden’s Rose Foundation obtained its first alpaca hooded sweatshirt 6 years ago. This sweatshirt was worn by the foundation’s president Gregory Sheldon. It stayed with him during his time in the Amazon jungle, in the Andes, and while working with Tibetan refugees for years in the Himalayas. “I always had my trusty hoodie with me” said Greg . The nature of the alpaca material allows the sweatshirt to function in the various climates. Facilitating the direct trade projects kept the Eden’s Rose Foundation vending at music festivals and tours. Our volunteers have bought many hooded sweatshirts on tour with them and they all shrink. No matter what anyone says. Even if they say they are preshrunk or not. We knew there was a better option out there than $60 hooded sweatshirts that only lasted 6 months. While doing a development project in the Andes, the Eden’s Rose Foundation members crossed paths with the woman that had made Greg’s hoodie so many years ago. The same alpaca sweatshirt that never shrunk or faded and withstood the test of time. The partnership between our organization and this family came at the perfect time. It would help produce much needed funds for the Tosagua Children’s Basic Needs Center that was well underway.

Being a dead head Greg was always thinking of putting a steal-your-face on everything. The inspiration and response for the alpaca hoodies was overwhelming. The Eden’s Rose foundation presented this project to the Grateful Dead, we felt the quality of the unique hooded sweatshirt coupled with our philanthropic mission was far ahead of anything going in merchandising at the time. The band is very receptive to the message behind this and a dedicated relationship has been forged in support. Basic needs access for the most vulnerable children in the world and the protection of the environment and indigenous culture in and around the Amazon rain forest. We are truly honored to be part of the Grateful Dead licensing family.

These hooded sweatshirts come in blue, green, and brown with the Grateful Dead Steely and gray and purple with the dancing bears on it. These hoodies are directly responsible for the care and protection of children under the age of 5 in our basic needs support projects for kids most in need from the country where these sweatshirts are made. The sweatshirts are a warm and stylish way to honor your favorite band!


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 Posted by greg at 2:44 am  Tagged with:

Direct Trade Explained

 Direct Trade  No Responses »
Oct 202010
 

What is Direct Trade?

Well we know what fair trade is don’t we?

Its like the clean capitalism. it means we are not doing bad when we buy… right?

Or its more like one aspect of the effects drawn from an act of a purchase is celebrated as at least fair.

Do you often celebrate your not bad deeds? does something not being bad mean that its … Good?

NO! and by no i don’t just mean not yes, i mean NO

OK, in the spirit of political doublespeak and the heart of the fair trade movement,

I just defined direct trade by saying what fair trade is not, or…, wait, OK I think I’ve got it now.

Here is Direct Trade in a nut shell:

It is the belief and hope that we can not only recognize that doing better is possible but than to actually do it. Doing more than what is fair is like improving your self not only by not doing bad but by going forward into good. Direct trade is imagination and trying things that may fail but if they work will be a lot better than just fair. Continue reading »

 Posted by greg at 2:07 am  Tagged with:

“Gathering of the Vibes”

 News  1 Response »
Aug 032010
 

Eden’s Rose Foundation would like to extend a GRATE thank you to Gathering of the Vibes and especially  Harry Moran and Sean McNamara who work to coordinate and direct the NPO Village (which was beautifully located on the beach front :) ) Along with about a dozen other NPO’s Eden’s Rose was able to speak with patrons about our organization, accept donations  and display the fruits of our projects for people to have a visual and personal experience with what their donations are supporting.

Thank you to all who found it in their heart to give this weekend, particularly Garrett McCluskey who volunteered his time to help run the booth this weekend and his advice to help keep me running period.

One Love

 Posted by greg at 2:42 am  Tagged with:

BIG Weekend

 News  No Responses »
Jul 282010
 

Hey out there! This is a big weekend for ERF as we are at two large music and arts festivals to raise funds and awareness. I will be at Gathering of the Vibes in CT and our other team will be at Wanderlust in CA. If you plan on attending either of these events please stop by to say Hello!!!

I’m packing the van now….

 Posted by greg at 2:44 am  Tagged with:

The Change

 Ecuador  No Responses »
Jul 272010
 

Hello everyone, I’m back in Tosagua Ecuador and everything is looking up. There is just something so special about the first ripples of success… it’s almost like the whole world smiles at the same time, from the big Sun up above to the dirt below and everything in between.
First off the weather here has changed seasons. Now the air is soft and sweet, as it had been harsh and unwelcoming. I remember days walking through waist deep flood water only to work for hours in the blistering heat and direct sun (fighting prehistoric mosquitoes the entire time). Now we have a nice light cloudy sky, tranquil days to work in calm nights to sleep. I can’t express how much this relieves some of the difficulties of our work here.
I have yet to thank the Mayor of Tosagua personally; however I would like to start by thanking her publicly for her support of our work here. Over the past week Elba, the mayor of Tosagua, has trucked in 7 loads of dirt to our basic needs center. For those of you that may be unaware our basic needs center is commonly known as ” Noah’s Ark”. This gift of time and materials and work hours is going to help make our center impermeable to floodwater that over take the community for several months each year.

This great success is due to the long hard work of our friends in the States, our people on the ground, the community, and now the government of Tosagua. The level of convergence being experienced here is unprecedented and the results of our unified focus in helping those children most in need are truly writing a story, our story, of which we may all revel in the success. Continue reading »

 Posted by greg at 2:49 am  Tagged with:

Solarfest Success

 News  No Responses »
Jul 212010
 

Thank you to Patty, SolarFest and Forget-Me-Not Farm for a great weekend in Vermont for Eden’s Rose! I was very excited at the amount of people who came looking for us specifically as we were at SolarFest last year with Lama Chodpa Incense. (Thanks to all our continuing supporters of the incense!)

In the mountains all weekend, I was refreshed by the weather, the people, the creek and the support from SolarFest. For all those who stopped by, double big smile :) ) to you!

 Posted by greg at 2:46 am

ERF in Tosagua

 News  No Responses »
Jun 152010
 

ERF covers two areas of interest in the province of Manabí.

In one area we work with a local community support organization, Fundación Manos. Manos has been working with the children around Tosagua for several years, acting as a support for the children who are left unattended. On a daily basis the children are left alone, at risk of being abducted, harmed by the dangers of the natural environment, with no food, no clean water, and no place to go to feel safe and loved. Manos has been working to improve this situation and together we are building Basic Needs Delivery Centers for children five and younger.

The second area we cover is uniquely ERF. We have started a program in the community to provide skills training and jobs to the women in these areas. Currently we teach a free class on macramé weaving. Three classes are taught each day, helping about fifty women learn the craft of macramé. There are over one hundred more women who are ready to take the next course of classes. In addition to learning a skill they can use to earn an income by selling their finished crafts at a market, these women also gain a sense of purpose and community. It is a very motivational and uplifting experience in which the women can recover their self-worth. This program is the axle to the wheels of building a sustainable community.

The evolution of this class came from the direct motivation of Greg and the hard work and talent of Tatiana, his partner. Inspiring hope and self-motivation in the lives of these people are at the core of this adventure. It is most important to us that we do not just bring aid to these communities, but work with them so they will be able to move freely forward to create a sustainable lifestyle for themselves. To paraphrase the ancient saying attributed to Confucius, “Give a person a fish and s/he will eat for a day. Teach a person to fish and s/he will eat for a lifetime.”

 Posted by greg at 3:07 am
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