NEWS

Empower Playground – Playground Equipment Generating Electricity for Schools in Rural Ghana

Empower Playground – Playground Equipment Generating Electricity for Schools in Rural Ghana

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Each day all around the world, children play together.  In some communities and schools there are playgrounds and play equipment, but in rural Ghana, there is often no play equipment at the schools. Former ExxonMobil VP Ben Markham was volunteering with his wife as Mormon missionaries in Ghana, where he noticed the lack of electricity and basic playground equipment in most of the schools he visited.

He thought he could come up with a solution to help with this, and he worked to develop a merry-go-round that would generate about 150 watts of energy per hour as children played on it, that is stored in a battery pack.

Empower Playgrounds, founded by Markham is a nonprofit that has worked to develop these energy creating play equipment, and also works to get these systems to schools in Ghana.  Ghana is located just above the equator, and the day is divided between 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness for most of the year.  It is rated as one of the darkest places, and is great for stargazing, but maybe not so great for getting things done in the dark.

The electricity generated by Empower Playground’s merry-go-round goes to power 50 LED lanterns, that children are able to take home at night.  The playground provides equipment for up to 200 students.  Children are grouped into “Lantern Groups” according to neighborhoods, and usually have about 6 students who use the lanterns to study around the lantern.  Each lantern can last up to 50 hours per charge.

The project is ongoing, and individuals can support the project by donating money, and sharing the word about the project.  The website says that you can provide light for a child for $10 per year.

Image Source and Links:

http://emplay.squarespace.com/

History of Empower Playgrounds – YouTube Video

 

 

 

 

The Mašta Handbook – a Practical Guide to Creative Activism

The Mašta Handbook – a Practical Guide to Creative Activism

Posted on by Kbaumlier

So what is going on in current practices of creative activism? I recently read an update on the Kulturlabor Trial & Error website about a new handbook about creative activism created by Masta magazine. The handbook is a collection of creative activism and is intended to inspire others to move from thinking to doing. In the handbook, there are stories shared by collectives and activists that include different methodologies, best practices, experiences, advice, anecdotes, tips and tricks.

The handbook is meant to function as an online community and publication for youth educators, activists, artists, community facilitators and others who are interested in socially engaged change. Some of the collectives and activists that have participated include yay@flautas, F*ck for forest, Partizaning, Molestar.org, Karsay Dorottya and Dainis Ozoliņš and others from Germany, Spain, Holland, and other European countries. The Handbook is an open document, and more action reports and interviews can be added as it grows.
I checked out the handbook, and some of the groups that I found interesting included HUMOENLACIUDAD, a group that created engaging signs in public space and a project called the Teilnahmerei, a meeting space and series of events in Germany where everything was free of charge.

Some interesting projects in Spain included #Porrablock,when hundreds of thousands of citizens surrounded the Spanish Parliament asking for politicians to resign, and brought an edible baton (in Spanish “porras-churros” a typical Spanish food); and Ayuntañecos, a series of public puppet shows that were done in front of a popular Spanish bank in order to bring awareness to unjust home evictions in 2012.

The Handbook is an open process, so you can still contribute to the publication, so if you are a creative activist who wants to share an action report, contact the project at [email protected]. Please note that the handbook will not include projects that explores a superficial way, so no performances of “free hugs” or dance flashmobs.

The Mašta Handbook – practical guide to creative activism was made possible with help of financial support from the Council of Europe – European Youth Foundation.

Image Source and Links:

http://www.mastazine.net/handbook

Sonia Rentsch – Images of Guns made from Natural Materials

Sonia Rentsch – Images of Guns made from Natural Materials

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Artist and illustrator  Sonia Rentsch often works with objects and photography to make images that exist somewhere between realism and abstraction.  Earlier this year, she created a series of objects made of natural materials like seed pods, leaves, and sticks to represent the form of guns, grenades, bullets and other weapons.   The series of images were titled “Harm Less,” and present both beauty, violence, as well as man and nature.

The objects were photographed for the magazine January Biannual by Albert Comper and are printed in an edition of 25. The images are simple but present big questions about the relationship of violence, nature, and man.

You can see more of the images on the Harm-Less area of Rentsch’s website.  Rentsch also works as part of the creative group Moth Design, which does exhibition and product design.
Images and Links:

www.soniarentsch.com/Harm-Less

www.mothdesign.com.au/

Vandana Shiva and Seed Libraries

Vandana Shiva and Seed Libraries

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Today many seeds are considered “intellectual property” by large companies who own the patents, which lead to monopolies of food production and profits. Vandana Shiva has become a leader for the global battle over genetically modified seeds. Shiva and others challenge the safety of genetically modified seeds, with claims that the seeds harm the environment, cost more, and can leave local farmers deep in debt and dependent on suppliers.

I recently checked out Shiva’s website which has news and resources about “seed freedom” as well as updates and pictures about current projects.  One of the resources on the site includes a “seed kit,” which has resources to help you create a seed bank, a network of seed saving and exchange in your region.

Seed banks are often also called seed Libraries, where individuals can give and borrow seeds. So far Navdanya and her team have set up over 80 community seed banks.

The website gives suggestions about how to get started, and it starts with collecting seeds:

“First, start collecting the seeds in your region. If you are saving seeds in pots, keep it in a cool and dry environment to prevent any damage. Similarly it is important to label the pots with the details of the seed variety contained in it (like the name of the variety, particulars of the variety-for ex, drought tolerance etc). If you are planting the seeds, make sure you are able to identify the varieties cultivated (for instance, by labeling the plants). Similarly, save a portion of the seed before replanting the variety.

If you are a school, start saving seeds by setting up a “garden of life” to save seeds of freedom. If you are in a community, start a “garden of hope” as a community seed bank. If you are associated with a temple, church, mosque, gurudwara, start a seed sanctuary or distribute seeds as a blessing.”

You can read more about Vandana Shiva and her work on vandalashiva.org, and I recommend checking out the video of Banda Shiva being interviewed by Bill Moyer.

 

Images and Links:

www.vandanashiva.org/

Interview with Vanda Shiva – by Bill Moyer

 

 

There It Is—Take It! A Car Audio Tour about the Los Angeles Aqueduct System and Owen Valley

There It Is—Take It! A Car Audio Tour about the Los Angeles Aqueduct System and Owen Valley

Posted on by Kbaumlier

California has one of the world’s largest, most productive, and most controversial water system.  It manages over 40,000,000 acre feet of water per year. serves over 30 million people and irrigates over 5,680,000 acres (2,300,000 ha) of farmland.

To create this water system, there were many disagreements between the city of Los Angeles, farmers and ranchers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California, and environmentalists. By the 1920s, so much water was diverted from the Owens Valley that farming became difficult to do in this area. By 1926, Owens Lake at the bottom of Owens Valley was completely dry due to water diversion.

The story about how this water system came to be is chronicled in the movie Chinatown, and the book and documentary series Cadillac Desert. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the construction of the original aqueduct designed by William Mulholland, the Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) first superintendent and head engineer of the project.  There It Is—Take It!, is a free, 90-minute long downloadable audio program that seeks to shed light on the mutual past, present, and possible future of Los Angeles and Owens Valley.

The project combines interviews, field recordings, music, and archival audio and presents the historic physical source of drinking water for the Los Angeles municipality while simultaneously revealing the relationship these two seemingly polar regions of California.  The audio program is meant to be played while experiencing the Owens Valley landscape along U.S. Route 395.

Stories of the one hundred year old system are told from various perspectives and viewpoints by historians, biologists, activists, native speakers, environmentalists, litigators, LADWP employees, and residents from both Los Angeles and the Owens Valley.

The 90-minute long downloadable audio program, There It Is—Take It! Is available free online.  Next time I am in los Angeles, I plan to check out the Owens Valley, and play the tour.  The project was created by Kim Stringfellow, who is an artist and educator living in Joshua Tree, California.

Links and Image Sources:

Listen to the There It Is – Take It! program online

thereitistakeit.org/