Soul Economy

In 2006 I embarked on a London working holiday (like most Aussies do) however had the fair trade encounter that inspired the direction I have taken today.
The first encounter was when my partner and I wandered into Progresso café (in need of a caffeine kick after browsing Portobello Markets). This place had a menu offering [...]

I visited the Organic Expo featuring the Green Show in Sydney on the weekend. I really enjoyed it, not the least of which the little squealing piglet from kiddie’s Farmyard Friends, who did not like being patted. I was pleased to learn that while it was held for 3 days, the first day was for [...]

Last weekend it rained and rained. We were all a little snuffly, cold and listless. So we dragged out the cards and board games and taught the children to play. And in the process they taught us some valuable life lessons. On a rainy Sunday afternoon.
We started with a game of Snap. The cards were [...]

For the second year running Australian Ethical sponsored the Australian Ethical Art Prize with all entries exhibited at the TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney. The winner of the 2008 Ethical Art Prize was Amanda Seddon.
After a week of exhibiting the entries at the TAP Gallery, the prize was awarded to Amanda last Saturday, 17 May. [...]

What does City Council have in store for Sydney? Sustainability is high on the agenda it seems. See plans, listen to podcasts and check out the many visions for the Harbour City all here.
You can also visit the 2030 Exhibition at Customs House until 30 May 2008.

[ May 15, 2008; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ]

As part of this year’s National Volunteer Week (NVW), goodcompany is bringing together Australia’s leading corporates, charities and skilled professionals in a meaningful Exchange of ideas and aspirations.

To celebrate this year’s NVW theme – Volunteers Change Our World – this event will share vital information about the sector, some amazing success stories and open opportunities [...]

While I have restricted myself from indulging in chocolate in more recent times, my partner arrived home the other night from the Fairtrade Fiesta (as part of Fairtrade Fortnight 08) with a gift of 3 blocks of fairtrade, organic chocolate. One was from Cocolo - the Dark Mint Crisp flavour - and the other 2 [...]

Fairtrade Town is defined in Wikipedia as “a status awarded by a recognised Fairtrade certification body describing an area which is committed to the promotion of Fairtrade certified goods. By extension, the organisations also award the statuses of Fairtrade City, Fairtrade Village, Fairtrade Zone, Fairtrade Borough, Fairtrade Island, Fairtrade County and Fairtrade University.”
The Fairtrade [...]

You can view Danish architect, Jan Gehl’s vision for a more sustainable city - here - and view the dates of upcoming talks too!

I picked up a postcard at the council recently that was promoting “Help Green Our Parks”. The Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery, a volunteer community group reintroducing local plant species to the area, was seeking new volunteers.

In turning over the card there was the usual part about “made using 100% recycled paper” but then [...]