So, not sure what to write here? The eco stand was DONE!! The 1st day we were sort of lost a bit, the 2nd day was much better!
It was 2 different locations at the same time, and a bit of rain inbetween, so the logistics of that were a bit tricky - I feel quite confident we could do it again, and might do it again in June or so, with one stand only (we've already been sort-of invited). Not sure what to offer instead of cloth bags though? (We gave away all of them!:) At least leaflets I guess...
I was frazzled for 2 weeks, yet I want to do it again LOL!!
There were things we could do better next time, and we'll have a debriefing after Easter. I've learnt A LOT from both the eco teacher and the scouts... At first I was afraid no one would want to take part, then there was suddenly too many people! lol! (And then some didn't show up, so it was just right!:)
Ideally we'd have experts to help with the expertise part of the info offered there etc.
Luckily, the renovations are mostly over! Much relief here. There's work in the garden both here and at Uncle's farm, though. And some loud neighbours (chainsaws etc). And still not sure about the bees - will I have 'em or not? (And how to have 'em in the most eco way?)
And with all I do, it seems all Dad wants is for me to do the dishes, or sweep the stairs...? (Which I don't mind doing if I'm not dead tired.. I had insomnia half of last week lol!) He just doesn't seem to understand the need for loftier purposes? Or to relax? To help inspire others to be more eco? He just seems to see the current practical things-to-do, and well, wants me to do them. (Or get married and give him grandkids! /sigh/) It seems like he's even jealous of my eco projects?? Or just guilty cause he's stuffed the bin full of something again??
Like Sooz, part of me wants to move away and have peace. Grandma's at our house again, she's had eye surgery, getting well.. Been attacked by giant spider in middle of the night so Sis and I are roommates now. Holidays are stressful at our house too.
For a few days, I was exhilerated and really happy. Now have started to worry over things again - eg how will the priest react? (Will he give us good photos for the article? He was pretending to be disinterested, and then went & took photos! hmm?) Do I ask the girl/boy-scouts for other eco projects, or are they too busy with other stuff? They said they could do something like the eco stand maybe 1x a year.
Mom said she and maybe another woman from the charity could help at the eco party, to point people to recycle right and maybe even wash/rinse the plastic plates so they can be recycled. Would compostable plates be better? (Have people to call on that one too!) How many (recycling) bins and volunteers does one need at an open-air party with 250-500 people?
So, a lot of questions...
Working on some other eco projects too.. Involving beekeepers and bees... Ideally, we'd start a successful 'Save the bees' campaign here in Slovenia too! :)
Update April 7th, 2010: The priest was real busy with Easter etc, so I and the eco teacher sent off the photos we had, we'll see what gets published! :) No idea why I was fretting so much over this, possibly cause it was pre-Easter time and I knew the priest would be busy and didn't want to bother him! :)
The eco party will be a 'mini party' and only one set of bins will be utilized, said the organizers - so it could be simple and doable!
The catering said styrofoam plates would be used - ack!! (Since there would be no tables, they said plastic plates would be too hot! Gotta check if there's a way to have any tables? Mom said there must at least be benches to sit down - still gotta check this, lol!!:)
I learnt it's useless to fret over things that one telephone call may easily clear! Lol!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Lessons Learnt
Today I was thinking: I must be crazy to be doing this. lol
A simple event – just telling people to stop and say hi to some eco people, to meet some new ideas and concepts, in short, to have an eco stand by our local supermarkets – has been a project of great endeavor and undertaking.
It's still not finished.
I was fretting today over some silly details.
Then, I was talking to the two other coordinators involved, and learnt some really important lessons.
A minor change of a very simple thing (that I don't basically care about - either way, I see good things!) pulls together with it a bunch of other stuff that can make other people's lives miserable!
Just like changing materials in plastic disposable cups!
Did you know that the small cups (eg used in coffee machines or for beverages at outdoor events) are almost impossible to recycle (in Slovenia) because the manufacturers change the materials according to the price. And there is no IR technology to decipher the materials with infrared technology! In whole of Slovenia! The cups look the same - but are impossible to recycle when there's a bunch of different materials that all look the same! And bear the same company name!
Beer cups are supposed to be pretty safe.
Also, there was a bottled water company abroad (France or Germany, methinks) that changed its bottle caps to aluminum. Pretty stylish and nifty and eco, eh?
Damn right. Not.
All the recyclers had machines and technology adapted to plastic bottle caps.
One tiny detail - and it can ruin the whole process for A LOT of people!!
Luckily, I'm blessed with two awesome girl scouts leaders and an awesome eco teacher that are doing this too. The eco stand in near future.
I used to fret about it (big time!) now I feel happy we started doing this.
Cause if we learn how to coordinate each other and how to express our priorities in a clear manner, establish 'most important' things and ways of communication, I have great hope that the rest of Slovenia and the rest of people everywhere can do this too.
Love,
Layla
A simple event – just telling people to stop and say hi to some eco people, to meet some new ideas and concepts, in short, to have an eco stand by our local supermarkets – has been a project of great endeavor and undertaking.
It's still not finished.
I was fretting today over some silly details.
Then, I was talking to the two other coordinators involved, and learnt some really important lessons.
A minor change of a very simple thing (that I don't basically care about - either way, I see good things!) pulls together with it a bunch of other stuff that can make other people's lives miserable!
Just like changing materials in plastic disposable cups!
Did you know that the small cups (eg used in coffee machines or for beverages at outdoor events) are almost impossible to recycle (in Slovenia) because the manufacturers change the materials according to the price. And there is no IR technology to decipher the materials with infrared technology! In whole of Slovenia! The cups look the same - but are impossible to recycle when there's a bunch of different materials that all look the same! And bear the same company name!
Beer cups are supposed to be pretty safe.
Also, there was a bottled water company abroad (France or Germany, methinks) that changed its bottle caps to aluminum. Pretty stylish and nifty and eco, eh?
Damn right. Not.
All the recyclers had machines and technology adapted to plastic bottle caps.
One tiny detail - and it can ruin the whole process for A LOT of people!!
Luckily, I'm blessed with two awesome girl scouts leaders and an awesome eco teacher that are doing this too. The eco stand in near future.
I used to fret about it (big time!) now I feel happy we started doing this.
Cause if we learn how to coordinate each other and how to express our priorities in a clear manner, establish 'most important' things and ways of communication, I have great hope that the rest of Slovenia and the rest of people everywhere can do this too.
Love,
Layla
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Cocoa Day!! :)
Who says community organizing doesn't pay? ;)
Got 5kg of cocoa today!!!:) And 3 pretty (ex-capuccino) boxes to store it in!
All I did was ask some neighbours if they have the phone number of another neighbour (who might also make some cloth bags - keep your fingers crossed!!)
The funny thing is I was eyeing the eco cocoa in the shop today, planning to buy it, and forgot the wallet so I couldn't. LOL!
Universe works in mysterious ways!
I think one box will be gift to a friend who also likes cocoa (in her coffee, yup, people are odd!:)
This (probably) isn't eco cocoa, but who can say No to the Universe? LOL!!
Got 5kg of cocoa today!!!:) And 3 pretty (ex-capuccino) boxes to store it in!
All I did was ask some neighbours if they have the phone number of another neighbour (who might also make some cloth bags - keep your fingers crossed!!)
The funny thing is I was eyeing the eco cocoa in the shop today, planning to buy it, and forgot the wallet so I couldn't. LOL!
Universe works in mysterious ways!
I think one box will be gift to a friend who also likes cocoa (in her coffee, yup, people are odd!:)
This (probably) isn't eco cocoa, but who can say No to the Universe? LOL!!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Recent Local Developments
Sorry for not writing more earlier.
I'm still not quite sure what to write 'in public' and what not - I've been talking to a bunch of local people recently, and some of it is probably better kept off-record.
Some people were enthusiastic about the eco ideas (including the MP's wife!:)
Some had more ideas to discuss later. (I told them to write them up!)
The priest seems sceptical of some of the ideas, and we'll see what would be doable within the church/charity, and what outside of it.
Freecycle groups generally seem to work outside of church. I may need to talk to any successful Freecycle groups or charity organisations that have 2nd hand shops, later on.
Some people within the charity and church seem 'let's go' oriented, we just need the go-ahead too! (I do understand the official need to be careful too!)
The scouts seem to do the planning for next year in July/August, so at least we'll know for next year! (I wish I was told this in advance, instead of sort-of counting on them! Individual scouts are interested and may still help, they're busy with other stuff too soo..? We'll see!) Some scouts and the priest seem a bit jaded 'We've been doing this for years' - and felt like 'the voice of the screaming man in the desert' - hmm?!
Apparently they've given away leaflets, self-made soaps and even eco bags before, so some of them are not that interested in such things...
It's true, many people here have eco bags, many still don't use them... So ideally we'd have a short quiz, info and pictures on the stall, maybe even a song or a few or a mini funny presentation/mini-play.
And repetition is 'mother of study'. Those ads on TV are repeated for a reason!!
Two teachers are interested in possibly showing Story of Stuff to kiddies in classroom, we've been semi-invited to have a stall at a future mini-festival (which may or may not take place, but it's still exciting to think about it!:) A shop has already agreed we can have a stall there.. Two lovely ladies are already sewing cloth bags...
Small steps.
Hopefully the lots of small steps will become a big step or two too. :)
I'm still not quite sure what to write 'in public' and what not - I've been talking to a bunch of local people recently, and some of it is probably better kept off-record.
Some people were enthusiastic about the eco ideas (including the MP's wife!:)
Some had more ideas to discuss later. (I told them to write them up!)
The priest seems sceptical of some of the ideas, and we'll see what would be doable within the church/charity, and what outside of it.
Freecycle groups generally seem to work outside of church. I may need to talk to any successful Freecycle groups or charity organisations that have 2nd hand shops, later on.
Some people within the charity and church seem 'let's go' oriented, we just need the go-ahead too! (I do understand the official need to be careful too!)
The scouts seem to do the planning for next year in July/August, so at least we'll know for next year! (I wish I was told this in advance, instead of sort-of counting on them! Individual scouts are interested and may still help, they're busy with other stuff too soo..? We'll see!) Some scouts and the priest seem a bit jaded 'We've been doing this for years' - and felt like 'the voice of the screaming man in the desert' - hmm?!
Apparently they've given away leaflets, self-made soaps and even eco bags before, so some of them are not that interested in such things...
It's true, many people here have eco bags, many still don't use them... So ideally we'd have a short quiz, info and pictures on the stall, maybe even a song or a few or a mini funny presentation/mini-play.
And repetition is 'mother of study'. Those ads on TV are repeated for a reason!!
Two teachers are interested in possibly showing Story of Stuff to kiddies in classroom, we've been semi-invited to have a stall at a future mini-festival (which may or may not take place, but it's still exciting to think about it!:) A shop has already agreed we can have a stall there.. Two lovely ladies are already sewing cloth bags...
Small steps.
Hopefully the lots of small steps will become a big step or two too. :)
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