The war rug above is part of a project I’m working on right now. I’ve talked about them before, but what I haven’t mentioned is how reluctant people have been to actually tell me anything about them. How is it we can be at war with a country and not even attempt to better understand the history of these rugs that have popped up in Afghanistan since the Soviet occupation began?
Craft and creativity have been ways to preserve culture for centuries. Given the 28.1% (male: 43.1%, female: 12%) literacy rate in Afghanistan, crafts are how they keep track of their culture. These rugs show how Afghans have perceived war for decades.
The information I’ve read online gets ridiculously contradictory: Some sites say the weavers are men, some women, there are arguments as to whether or not they’re propaganda, in Arabic or Dari or Pashto, and many fully admit that they have no idea when or where the rugs began. When we’re given a lens through which to better understand a culture that we’re trying to help rebuild, why have we been ignoring something so important?
I’ve also heard anecdotes about how the rugs made in the villages differ from the rugs sold to soldiers at bases. Different symbols, different pigments. How messed up is it that Afghan weavers have been making money weaving rugs based on their perception of what they think American soldiers will buy? In all wars locals have made money off soldiers, but the idea that they’re adapting their cultural history based on American tastes is incredible.
So I’ve been looking for resources (soldiers who have been in Afghan villages, books, articles, photos) for awhile now mainly in vain. As I buckle down on actually writing the article this week, it frustrates me more and more as to what is being ignored. Crafts help connect, teach and understand. Aren’t these all things we’re trying to do with Afghanistan right now, “hearts and minds” and all?
These creations are more than just things with which to line your hallway or wipe your feet, they’re a direct window into a culture so far removed from ours that we can’t even fathom anyone storytelling on rugs in the age of computers and technology. But not everyone has access to these things, sometimes all you have is some wool to share your story, to get your voice heard. We just need to remember that if we’re going to make a difference. We need to remember that sometimes the loudest voices aren’t actual voices at all.
So it turns out, yes, there are are apps for everything! Curious, I decided to road-test a handful of apps that have come out recently claiming they help make the world a better place.
The first time I opened this app the screen said, “Got a few minutes? Do something extraordinary” while also mentioning it was looking for opportunities for you to “micro-volunteer!” (Sounds so much better than armchair activist, doesn’t it? Plus “micro” is just fun to say.) Excitedly, I continued on… Until I got a big “DATA FORMAT ERROR” followed by a big loud exclamation mark followed by a quiet tiny “Please restart the application.”
So I did. A lot. While it was thinking about working, it kept giving me lovely little ideas like:
“Riding on the bus? Tag some photos!’
“Standing in line at the post office? Give website feedback!”
“In an airport? Help build a map of airport heart defibrillators!”
There’s a reason why there symbol is a giant Superman-styled E, because in a teeny tiny second you’re ready to take over the world thinking “YES! I DO want to help! Pick me! Pick me!”… Until it doesn’t work. Again. And again. And again. Hopefully it will work one day and I can save the world while riding the train. Just think of the possibilities! In the carpool line! Waiting for rice to cook! In line for the bathroom where there’s only one ladies room! Genius! Until it didn’t work.
Remember those emails you used to get that said something like “For every click on this page [some foundation, Bill Gates, whatever] will donate 1 [dollar, cent, banana] to [some type of cancer, demographic in need, poor helpless kittens?]” Well this app has been created so you don’t have to individually go to The Breast Cancer Site, The Animal Rescue Site and The Hunger Site to click for good.
“You have the power to make a difference at your fingertips. Touch to Give- it’s FREE. Touch an icon to select an issue.”
So I clicked to help the helpless little kittens.
Touch to Give bar popped up along with some merchandise for “The Animal Rescue Site,” and a notice you should “Touch to Give” daily and that any financial sponsors to this charity will “pay for treats” and “100% of sponsor money goes to charity.” One hopes they mean treats for the sweet pups with mange instead of the people who made this app.
Now… who are CharityUSA.com, the website linked at the bottom of all three sites? According to Wikipedia:
The Hunger Site was started by John Breen, a computer programmer from Bloomington, Indiana, in June 1999. Originally a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, the site became popular rapidly. Faced with increasing costs, Breen sold the site to GreaterGood, “a Seattle-based online shopping mall that gave part of its sales to charity” for an undisclosed amount in February 2000. [1] In July 2001, following the dot-com bubble crash, GreaterGood ceased operations after losing $26 million dollars in venture capital. In 2001, CharityUSA.com, LLC, a privately held, for-profit company based in Seattle, assumed control of the company for one million dollars[2]. CharityUSA owns and operates various click-to-donate-sites. CharityUSA currently claims that 100% of the website’s sponsor advertising revenue is paid to the aforementioned non-profit partners. [3] The Commercial Fundraiser Profile Report page on the Secretary of State’s web page for the state of Washington [4] calculates the percentage that CharityUSA returns to its charity clients as being 17% of the company’s total revenue (labeled as contributions, although the company’s explanation on the same page defines this as mix of contributions and sale of products).
Hmm… Not sure what to think of that? That’s A LOT of trading and changing names, don’t you think? And 17%? Think of all the abandoned ferrets that need homes.
This awesome little app won’t open for me. It crashes, but it’s so cute! And inspired by Free Rice.
Happily, however, there is an article over at Addict3d.org that explains how you can actually play the game. Since I am really great at spelling 3-5 letter words, I can’t wait to play so I can dominate… While saving the world. Win win!
Apparently with this I have to “complete a task” and “the same task is assigned to a marginalized person in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or Haiti. When your answers match and the task is verified, this person gets paid for the work you did together.” Seeing that I’m currently looking for writing jobs, I figured it would feel pretty good to help fill someone else’s wallet while mine is bleeding out.
So I clicked on “Tasks,” where I see “Tasks Available,” where I’m able to:
*Get 5 points for “How much do people like The Karate Kid?” [YES! I LOVE THIS ALREADY!]
“We are trying to analyze trends though statements on Twitter. Below are some things people have said on Twitter regarding the movie The Karate Kid. Please tell us if the statement is positive or negative.”
The tweet just said “Cool kid!” and I was given the choice to rate it either Positive, Negative, Neutral or Can’t Tell. So I clicked on my answer, clicked “Give work” at the bottom of the screen, advancing me to the next question where I could do more helping. Yay! Helping! Easy peasy…
Next up I had to analyze a tweet from Chris Brown (who I want to punch) AND Fred Durst (Are you KIDDING me? What f*cked up algorithms are being used here?). Now I’m getting stressed as I want to pick the answers these displaced people pick so they can earn money. Mini panic attack, as the whole point of trying this app was to help. Judging tweets by my least favorite “celebrities” wasn’t making it any easier. So to distract oncoming anxiety, I started counting the number of questions I answered. 40.
40? Will it ever end? How do I get off this ride? So I clicked again to review yet another tweet and up pops up:
RT from ralphmacchio “wax on, f*ck off” whoever RTs it “wins a ‘84 Karate Kid DVD signed by me!”
Ah, saved by Ralph Macchio. Seeing this as a sign, I took a break (after so much clicking it was needed) and watched the Ralph Macchio masterpiece Wax On, F*ck Off as mentioned in the above tweet. I will warn you it does have some, ahem, adult language. There is also Molly Ringwald, so it evens things out.
Even though I was feeling refreshed after this interlude, after 40 questions, I caved and hit the “next” button at the top of screen… Which takes me MORE questions! So in desperation to stop the madness, I clicked on Stats, which told me “The more you work- the more you help.” (Yes! I know this already!)
*Points you’ve earned 270.
*5 points: 1 tomato, 1 large banana, a small bunch of greens
*500 points: 1 week of cell phone data plan (enabling access to email)
So I’m guessing this means I earned something like a cabbage, a cinnamon stick, a yo-yo and 4 bananas. But, wait, wasn’t I supposed to be GIVING WORK? NOT FOOD? Eh? Not so sure, but at least I’m giving something to someone, no?
So to recap. Who’s the winner* here?
I really wanted it to be either The Extraordinaries or Sproutster because they seemed like they would be awesome. I’m sure they will be awesome, once they work. [UPDATE! According to the people behind The Extraordinaries, it's working now. Yay!] Which means that Give Work was the clear winner here, mainly by default with thanks to Ralph Macchio.
As for the click-and-donate apps? Just make sure you learn how much of your money you’re donating to charity before you click, okay?
*Clearly the real winner is Ralph Macchio, but I’m not writing about him, so will have to default to the apps instead.
ETA: Tweaked some words, added some links and pics. Posting while sleepy = dangerous.
This is a post was originally posted on Make & Meaning on February 14, 2010 in its entirety, as the site said goodbye recently after opening up the floor of the craft and creative worlds to ask deeper questions about just what is it that we’re doing here? My fellow Make & Meaners were Pip Lincolne, Alice Merlino and Kim Werker with Diane Gilleland and Paul Overton at the helm. RIP, Make and Meaning, I’ll always love you!
As of tonight, I’ve been back a week from Guatemala. It’s funny how I was there only a few days, but have spent the past 7 mulling the disparities in our lives. The knowledge that I know they’re never going to be equal in my lifetime, no matter how hard I try to suss it out, cuts me to the core. And I have an idea. Maybe it will resonate with you, maybe not. I just wanted to air out the thought.
After writing about the altruistic applications that craft can have for years, it was eye-opening to be faced with a situation that we could really help change, if only a little. Right in the middle of everything, just past the field where the children play, smack dab between two houses, next to a pasture with a sad looking cow, with a path running down its right edge leading to more houses, was the village dump.
Literally smoldering in a heap of rotting food and crisp packets and carrier bags and other daily detritus, was exactly what we try so hard to ignore. What we hide from sight, our dirty little secret, a melange of foul odors and disintegration, what is taken from our houses and placed somewhere faraway and out of sight. And this is just trash of a small village, without the luxuries of microwave meals and individually packaged tea bags.
But in the DIY community that’s one thing we’re good at, right? Using our trash in creative ways? What have we learned from those crafty trials and late night genius ideas, are they just fodder for our personal blogs and craft forums? Is it proof positive that we are creative? Do we do it for ourselves, or for the possible recognition?
As I walked through the village, I asked one of our interpreters what the wisps of material I kept seeing tangled up in the power lines were. They were kites made by children. Constructed by crossing thin sticks together to make a hexagon frame with cut-up plastic bags laid taut on top, and tiny strips from bags fluttering as the tail. What else could they make from trash, perhaps something they could play with that couldn’t get loose and fly away only to be trapped out of arm’s reach?
I’m not writing this to be damning or critical of where you choose to show your creations, I’m just enlivened by what could be done. It’s a challenge, really. What toys, household devices, yard items, gardening tools could we, the DIY community, come up with? We’ve managed to decrease the size of our own household trash and recycling bins. Why are we doing it? To create? To reuse? To save the earth? What about saving people with these same ideas? Is that too much of a leap? Does it make things too real, too big?
I think the answer is no. I think we are ready to use our ideas to help others in developing countries. I think it might gives us the jumpstart we all need to truly challenge our creativity. We’ve shown our peers and parents and television audiences how to reuse and remake and how to be crafty, what about seeing what we can do with a slightly different demographic?
The main (and most toxic) thing that needs to be tackled are ways to reuse the plastic put in the dumps, mainly plastic carrier bags, snack packets and soda bottles. Burned in the dump, on the curb, in houses the plastic enters the lungs of children as they run around streets already filled with broken bottles and disease-ridden homeless dogs looking for shade and scraps.
Maybe it’s just me that’s near breathless with the possibilities that could be created for people who have next to nothing. Something solar? Something handy around the house? Something waterproof? I can still see and smell the stomach-wrenching blue fumes steadily drifting down the village street. And while I might want to look away and ignore it, it’s already singed me and got my brain on fire. What about you?
The last photo above is from my trip. The other photos are by Tommydavis209 and Islandgyrl, respectively. Many thanks to Kelly Rand for some of these awesome links!
[ETA: I wrote this last night, but I think I've been phrasing this all wrong. The reason why I'm so excited to uncover ideas that are made by the DIY community and see how they could be used in developing nations is not because I think we're doing it wrong. Instead I see the power, the strength, the genius that we hold in our hands but don't necessarily recognize. I don't think we truly see how fascinating our creations are and how they could have broader applications. Sometimes our crafts get dismissed as hobbies or weird pastimes, and they are anything but. They are actions and thoughts and ideas that have true, real world power. We have gifts to share not only within, but beyond our own community, and are more powerful than we may realize. We are powerful, smart and important, moreso than we often give ourselves credit for. Don't just celebrate craft, celebrate your own unique strength, ingenuity and vision- whether by yourself or with the rest of the world.]
When I started craftivism.com so many years ago, I had no idea what I wanted it to be. In my wildest initial dreams, I would have loved for it to have been Craft Hope, that Jade Sims has so lovingly and amazingly created. A site that is a catalyst for mass action, but sometimes what we hope isn’t a) what we’re good at, b) what we’re meant to do, and c) where we’re needed.
Yesterday I received my copy of the new book, Craft Hope, on my doorstep, and it is so incredibly lovely and just, well, perfect! I am so honored to have been included as a designer in this book, along with some amazingly and incredibly talented people.** I whipped up some easy peasy fingerless gloves to donate for people who might want to do some mindless knitting for the greater good and just have a small bit of time and/or a small bit of wool.
Congratulations, Jade, on such a lovely book and for all the thousands of people you’ve aided along the way with donations from your Craft Hope projects! And thanks for filling the void that I thought I initially needed to fill, doing a mightier job than I ever could of done because it’s where you need to be.
Even though they don’t know who to thank, there are thousands of people out there with items obtained from Craft Hope projects (like the recent project collecting hand towels for the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies to help clean animals effected by the oil spill, over 65,000 items!) whose days you’re making brighter.
More info:
*Craft Hope over on Facebook
*Interview about the book with Jade over at Lark Crafts
*All month this month over at Craft Hope: Month of Hope! Giveaways! Links! More about my fellow designers!
*BOOK GIVEAWAY! I’ll have an extra copy of the book to give away, and am not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, as I’ve been working on other things than the blog the past few months… Give it away here? Donate it?
The above pillow is part of Fine Cell Work’s newer collection of pillows.
Currently Fine Cell Work is in need of volunteers in Yorkshire. If you know anyone in Yorkshire that might be interested, please pass this along or direct them to the Fine Cell Work website.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!
Fine Cell Work is very eager to hear from any keen stitchers who might be interested in chatting to us about the possibility of going in to HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire to teach our group of male stitchers there. The group is well established and is full of very able men but currently no teacher is visiting and they would really benefit from a weekly or fortnightly visit from anyone who is familiar with stitching, either tapestry or surface embroidery – or even better both!
We are looking for 2 to 3 volunteers to go into the prison together and would need people who could commit to at least a year on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is a keen needleworker to help foster and encourage our stitchers in a prison where the group has been established for some time but is now needing more regular contact from a visiting tutor.
If you are interested in helping us at HMP Wakefield then please phone the office and chat to Kim Nightingale on 0207 931 8973 or email kim@finecellwork.co.uk
And that’s only one example of programs that allow inmates to dually gain from the therapeutic process of craft and the practical product to sell. Here are just a few more examples:
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