Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Bags, Bolsas y mucho más....

T he second anual Feria de Economía Solidaria was a success for our Eco Bolsas® and here are some pictures of our products. All our bags are made out of 100% biodegradable coconut fiber with cotton (manta) details that are also biodegrable. These are completely made in Michoacan by women who became involved with the product when it was still a government funded sustainable development project. It has since grown and the women have taken on the project as thier own micro business and have created a co-op. These bags are for sale and any orders can be taken through this blog.
**Coming soon: eco-bolsa: the website


El segundo feria estatal de Economía Solidaria fue todo un éxito para nuestro Eco Bolsas® y aquí hay algunos fotos de nuestros productos. Todos nuestras bolsas son hechos de fibra de coco 100% biodegradable con detalles de manta. Son hechos completamente en Michoacán por mujeres que se involucraron con el producto cuando aun era parte de un proyecto de desarrollo sustentable por parte del gobierno estatal. Desde entonces, el proyecto ha crecido y han creado su propio micro empresa y cooperativa. Estas bolsas están a la venta y cualquier pedido se puede recibir desde este blog.
**Proximamente: eco-bolsa: la pagina web

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Coco for Coconut Fiber

Recently I have become involved in a sustainable development project with coconut fiber bags. If you would like more information about these products, feel free to contact me through this blog.

Para mayor información acerca de la bolsas de fibra de coco, por favor escribame atravez de este blog.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Morning Rush

T he morning ritual of Monday through Friday is pretty much the same in Mexico as anywhere else I have been. With school age children to get ready in the morning, rushing and hurrying is diurnal process that just can't be avoided. Today, however, the morning scurry came to a screeching halt for one family. I don't know who they are, I don't know thier names. All I know is that this family also had a school age child who was hit on his or her way to school. I know this, because in my rush to be on time to my son's school, I saw a little body, still and covered by a blanket, laying in the middle of an overloaded street. To be accurate, after fighting to get my car into the turning lane, battling other drivers to get into the lane (because driving in Mexico is the definition of chaos), I saw a large truck stopped in the road. I was furious, "what the %$*! is this truck doing" I said. Then I saw a man, directing traffic, a mound of clothing on the road behind him and a group of women huddled together on the corner. It all happened so quickly, just as I turned the corner (since I couldn't go straight) I realized that the mound of clothing was a child, I could see his or her sneakers and gym uniform. "¡DIOS MIO!" I exclaimed. I couldn't help myself, I saw the women on the corner, I realized they were consoling each other, perhaps one of them was the child's mother. On the right hand side of this street corner, there is a large school. Children were in the road, at the school's enterance, yelling, crying, running, maybe trying to figure out who the child was but they were in shock. I caught myself looking at the clock, force of habit, checking to make sure we weren't late. I reviled myself for even thinking about tardiness: a child had just died as he or she hurried to school. "We can be late" I told my son, "that little boy or girl just died, we can be late..."

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

El Torito

In many cultures where there is a strong Catholic presence, today is Fat Tuesday, is the last day for "living it up" before the lenten season begins. The day before Ash Wednesday "El Torito" or the bull can be seen in plazas, streets and schools. El torito is done by a group of people who dance with a band (drum, trumpets, cimbals and horns) along with a person dressed as a devil or demon, a bull and various dancers. Here are some video clips of a torito at a local school.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Bowl 2009 a la mexicana: El Super Tazon


The Super Bowl in Mexico has become more and more popular over the years and this year for the first time, we had a Super Bowl "party". With the help of a wonderful recipe book written by the Junior League of Buffalo, B-Lo (Buffalo) style wings and fried cheese sticks were prepared. Of course, there was the Mexican touch with Pacifico beer and authentic hot salsa (made with roasted tomatoes, peppers, and onions). Frying Manchego cheese was a little bit of a challenge at first but finally by putting the cheese in extremely hot oil in a non-stick pan for about three seconds a similar effect was achieved. So as we say here in Mexico, ¡viva el super tazón!