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Digital Dividend Digest vol. 34
December 3, 2003
CONTENTS
1. Holiday
Handicraft Special: ICT-inspired Gift Guide
2. New
in the Digital Dividend Clearinghouse: Uganda Digital
Bookmobile, NetHope, Fintrac's Honduran Extension Officers-
Mobile Agricultural Consulting
1.
Holiday Handicraft Special: ICT-inspired Gift Guide
As late November slips into early December, we find the holidays
upon us. In recognition of the “season of giving,”
the Digital Dividend team has prepared an ICT-inspired gift
guide. Products featured in this special highlight are crafted
by artisans in less-developed countries and marketed through
Web-based platforms. The role of ICT allows e-marketing sites
to ensure that local producers are more fairly compensated
for their goods. For more information on how bottom of the
pyramid artisans are using ICTs to make a sustainable living,
check out our Lessons
from the Field: ICT and Handicrafts. In the meantime,
we encourage you to take a few moments to peruse some of our
favorite products, or link directly to the sites for more
comprehensive shopping. Order early to ensure timely shipping!
**SPECIAL OFFER**
Based in Massachusetts, Eziba is a leading handicraft catalog
and e-commerce site that aggregates locally-produced art and
craft items from around the world. Eziba has agreed to allow
Digital Dividends to share a special discount offer with our
subscribers: a 20% off coupon code, good through the holiday
season. The code may be used as many times as you like. Simply
enter promotion code EZFF1003 at checkout to receive 20% off
any in-stock item, even products on sale. The offer expires
1/31/04 at midnight EST.
Eziba
Holiday stocking stuffers have to go somewhere. Creative shoppers
may choose to complement their fireplaces with hand-knitted
Armenian Sugarplum Stockings, available through www.eziba.com.
($32.00)
Cold winter evenings will be brightened with
a few well-placed candles. Peruvian-made
Incan Candles combine elements of Andean and Catholic
cultures to produce an intricate design that is sure to keep
family and friends sneaking peeks at the flickering wicks
for hours. ($7.00-$25.00)
For the environmentally-conscious gift giver, Eziba offers
its Recycled
Foam Door Mat. Made from recycled flip-flop foam, the
mats are woven in the Philippines and make an incredibly functional
gift. Bright shades of yellow, orange, blue, and red are sure
to elicit smiles from visitors during the long winter months.
Makes a perfect gift for socially-conscious college students
returning to drab dorms and ageing apartments. ($20.00-$40.00)
EShopAfrica
As the days grow shorter, families gather around holiday dinner
tables. While the cuisine may remain traditional, the table
décor doesn’t have to. Colorful
tablecloth and napkins sets are available through EShopAfrica.
Ghanaian women’s cooperatives produce these vibrant
linens that are available in a variety of colors and sizes.
($25.00-$100.00)
Holidays are often synonymous with shopping trips. Instead
of accumulating scores of paper and plastic bags this holiday
season, consider purchasing a durable Ghanaian
straw basket. Women of the rural Maata N Tudu Association
weave these traditional baskets from straw, which can be used
for groceries, gifts, or as a tote bag. Styles, sizes, and
colors vary. ($20.00-$30.00)
GlobalCrafts
Contrary to popular belief, videogames and DVDs are not always
the gifts children love most. Inspire wanderlust and creative
playtime by giving nieces, nephews, and grandchildren beautifully
hand-carved African animals, available through GlobalCrafts.
Seven different figures come inside their own banana-fiber
woven box. ($14.95)
The holiday season brings people closer together, but makes
being apart from friends harder than usual. Stay in touch
in style this holiday season and send season’s greetings
on Mayan
Arts Note Cards. The cards feature photographs of Mayan
and Guatemalan children, taken by the director of a Mayan
NGO, Pro Arte Maya. Proceeds from card sales fund the organization’s
educational outreach efforts. (Set of 5 for $9.95)
Looking for a creative option for the office gift-exchange
that will impress your co-workers? Search no further than
these painted and etched
soapstone pencil/pen holders, available in two unique
designs. ($14.95)
Serrv
Unique decorations can enliven a room. This peace-themed
Dove Mobile is made by a Filipino artisan cooperative
that helps rural women make a living wage. SERRV offers this
mobile, along with hundreds of other products, through its
Web site
where shoppers can learn more about Fair Trade certification
and artisans throughout the world. The dove mobile is made
from capiz and brass. ($22.00)
Add Eastern flavor to your holiday table and serve traditional
food in this Nepalese
Clay Casserole Dish. Produced by member artisans of the
Association for Craft Producers, this serving dish is intricately
designed on the outside and glazed on the inside. ($16.00)
Are you sick of corporate coffee, but set on free trade java?
SERRV offers a wide variety of free
trade certified coffees and chocolates, and guarantees
that local producers receive a fair portion of profits. SERRV
works with Equal Exchange, an American NGO that bypasses traditional
coffee marketing channels to work directly with producers,
thus ensuring fair prices for specially-grown, shade-tree
coffee. ($4 and up)
Novica
Having been pushed indoors by colder temperatures and longer
evenings, family and friends turn to board games while they
pass the winter months inside. Enliven the game play with
this exquisite "Battle
in the Temple" Chess Set, available from Novica.
The hand-carved pieces are made from Kepelan wood, and represent
Balinese gods. Made in Indonesia by local artisan, I Ketut
Sandi (see Web site for more information). ($64.00)
Take time away from a busy day and indulge in a cup of tea
with friends or colleagues. This Celadon
Glazed Clay Tea Set features twice-fired cups and an elephant-shaped
pot, in the tradition of the Northern Thai artisans who created
it. ($60.00)
2. New in the
Digital Dividend
Clearinghouse: Uganda Digital Bookmobile, NetHope,
Fintrac's Honduran Extension Officers- Mobile Agricultural
Consulting
Five new projects have been entered since the last Digest.
Among the highlights:
Uganda Digital Bookmobile
Managed by Anywhere Books in partnership with the National
Library of Uganda, the Uganda Digital Bookmobile travels to
rural libraries and schools to "make books" on demand.
The Bookmobile is a simple technological design using laser
printers together with a bookbinding machine. Public domain
and local source books are being printed to increase local
library collections as well as for use by individual community
members. "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," "Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland," and "The Wizard of Oz,"
are popular books that are now readily available for low-cost
production.
NetHope
NetHope is a consortium of NGOs delivering ICT services in
developing countries. Many NGOs are addressing the digital
divide in different ways and NetHope seeks to coordinate these
efforts to make them more efficient by offering services such
as effective project development, management, and implementation.
Fintrac's Honduran Extension Officers- Mobile Agricultural
Consulting
In conjunction with the USAID-sponsored Center for Developing
Agribusiness, Fintrac has rolled out a network of ICT-enabled
mobile offices equipped with GPS systems, digital cameras,
and laptops that allow its employees to offer services to
rural farmers in Honduras. One benefit has been that Honduran
farmers can now receive immediate agricultural analysis and
recommendations from international consultants, instead of
waiting weeks for information to be processed through to the
local office, analyzed, and returned to the field.
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