Good doings

On our way back from Halifax, R had me captive in the car listening to lectures he had downloaded from the internet and burned on cd. It actually wasn't a bad system. I knit. I had something to listen to. I could see moving scenery if my eyes got tired from knitting and I learned something on top of all that.

My favourite lecture of the trip was about social entrepeneurs: people who have created businesses or organizations that give back to the community. There were lots of cool ones. I had already heard about Kiva and I think they do fantastic things for people. Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of micro-financing. I discovered Kiva through some documentary R made me watch...again, held captive while I was knitting... but I love the concept and I'm definitely going to get involved once I have an extra $25 kicking around.

Recently, I came across this organization :: LJ Urban ::

First of all, they build ecologically sustainable houses. Pretty cool, huh?

Second of all, they've made a commitment (and this is taken from their website): "for every eco-urban house LJUrban sells, we will fund the training of a local mason to build sustainable homes for families in West Africa. We hope the long-term impact of this commitment means entire villages throughout West Africa will experience dramatic socio-economic transformation."

How awesome is that?

They are partnered with the Association La Voûte Nubienne (AVN) and not only are they going to build houses, but they're going to teach people in Burkina Faso how to build sustainable homes. Pictures on Flickr are :: here ::

Aren't you about to burst with the brilliance of this?

They've also decided not to do a marketing campaign. Instead, they're going to use those funds to train more people in Africa. A decision I whole-heartedly approve of. And since I approve of this decision, I've decided to help them advertise this commitment of theirs. This is where we, the blog world, comes in. For every 100,000 people who visit LJ Urban's dedicated website by July 1st, the company will fund the complete training of another local Burkina Faso mason. At last count, there have been just over 8,000 hits.

COME ON.

Click away people. And do some good of your own.

:: here ::