Here is a short excerpt from the linked interview at Trendhunter–you can read the full interview in the link.

“How do you get your inspiration?

We’re perpetually in brainstorm mode. We find that ideas and solutions present themselves when we let the questions percolate just below the level of consciousness. We don’t dismiss any idea, however bizarre or unrealistic, until we’ve explored it to its conclusion. The so-called impossible and bizarre can lead to innovation and solutions to serious problems like how to reduce poverty. But you have to be open to the ideas in the first place—if you’re not open to new ideas, you’re not going to innovate.”

Here is the excerpt from the profile of G-lish Foundation entitled Recycled African Bags.

On their website, G-Lish includes a descriptive overview of a social enterprise, noting how it differentiates from traditional for-profit or non-profit enterprises.

“We think the distinction could better be explained using the terms ‘for shareholder profit’ and ‘for community profit’ since the distinction is about who receives the profits, not whether profits are made or not,” the G-Lish explains.

Related posts:

1. Global Voices: Interview with YPWC Founder
2. Mentoring African bloggers
3. Interview with Godwin on writing the Insider’s Guide

Related posts:

1. Photos: Recycled Bolga baskets
2. Recycled African Bags Interview with G-lish
3. G-lish Featured at Cool People Care

“Around the World with 40 Lonely Planet Bloggers” takes readers on a world tour featuring almost 70 countries, and introduces the world of professional travel blogging. Within it, each blogger, hand picked by Lonely Planet, shares a collection of stunning photos that capture the essence of their travel.

Gail Walter from Uncommon Travel and Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil of The Planet D also contributed, along with 37 others (including me!) and both these blogs are well worth a click through. In fact, each bloggers’ profile and links are included in their entry in the eBook so you can take a virtual tour of top travel bloggers sites and see how they do it.

Unfortunately, the first photo (p36) for my entry is without reference, but many here will recognise it as the central part of Elmina Castle located in the Central Region of Ghana. I took this photo way back in 2005 during my first visit to Elmina Castle and Ghana, then, as it were. You can read more about that journey here at Ghana Guide and Blog. I also co-founded an organisation called G-lish Foundation last year in the north of Ghana and you can read more about that too. What a journey. I’m sure many of the blogsherpies have similar stories of life-changing travel and adventure so be sure to sign up to G-lish to download your free copy!

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1. World Travel Bloggers go Ballistic
2. Mentoring African bloggers
3. Travel Blogging Tips

Zen Vortex Rainbow

This rug is by Liora Manne who has all sorts of delicious textile products, especially rugs, for sale at her site.

maharam digital project Markus Linnenbrink

A Linnenbrink, on the brink of linnen, in textiles? Coincidence? The work of Markus Linnenbrink, a German artist working in NYC, is here.

Viva Terra Yes Bag

Viva Terra (awesome name) makes bags from recycled labels, sail cloth, vintage fabrics, and much more. Very pretty. For those who wish to “buy green”, this is a good start.

Happy Friday!

Related posts:

1. Art of Recycled Products Inspiration

Eggbox lamp

The egg crate lamp photo is courtesy of Inhabit. The lamp itself is created by Federico Otero showing off that “less” is “more”–simplicity.

buddha made from recycled tires

Increase the peace. I discovered the Buddha tyre sculpture at Greenopia which didn’t have a reference. If anyone is aware of the creator (no pun intended), please let us know. I like the fingers and the very happy grin this particular Buddha wears, even in what appears to be a bit of a weedy garden.

recycled horse

For those of us who collected random pieces of driftwood along beaches, or still do, and wondered what you could do with it, this is what. Well, perhaps we couldn’t quite do this. This recycled horse is a creation of artist Heather Jansch. Her site showcases many of her large-scale installations and sculptures. I’m amazed at how beautifully she captured the gait and stride of this horse.

Freitag Bag

The Freitag bag is created from recycled tarpaulins–the covers used on trucks. My Dad was a truck driver when I was a kid and I remember folding many a tarpaulin in the backyard. Never imagined they could end up looking this great. Freitag talks about the tarps, seat belts, airbags and inner tubes that they use in the wonderful products they produce. The photo is by nao-cha.

If you want recycled art overload, click this link to Google images.

The Freitag bag on the cover of this article is by Manfred Heyde.

Related posts:

1. Textile Art and Design to Inspire
2. Photos: Recycled Bolga baskets

Anyone who wishes to have a chance to win one of these gorgeous baskets need only subscribe to this site, G-lish, or “like” our facebook site for chance.

And, we have finally begun setting up a dedicated site for G-lish Foundation. Unlike our site here, which is concerned with broader global issues beyond Ghana, our project site is exclusively concerned with the project. You can have a look at G-lish Foundation.

We’ve also been receiving emails about how to buy the baskets online. We’re not quite there yet, but if you are interested you can email godwin@g-lish.

Related posts:

1. Photos: Recycled Bolga baskets

What has Wangari Maathai done?

• She set up an organsation that has planted over 4 million trees across Kenya: Greenbelt Movement
• She prevented monstrosity skyscrapers from being built in Nairobi’s equivalent of Hyde or Central Park
• She helped get political prisoners released
• She helped establish true democracy in Kenya
• She made corrupt leaders listen to Kenyan women
• She wrote an autobiography for which former President, Clinton, gave a front-cover endorsement.

And soooo much more. No wonder she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

And she inspired my guest post at A Traveler’s Library where writers are invited to share books that inspired them to travel to a place.

It’s not that I’ve been inspired to visit Kenya. Her story inspired me to another kind of travel. Reading Unbowed inspired me to help make the “grass” a little greener” right here in Ghana.

Read why here.

Image by America.gov from the 1 million trees for Ethiopia project

Or read an excerpt:

Related posts:

1. In Honour of Wangari Maathai on International Women’s Day 2010
2. Trashy in Name Only
3. Volunteer Abroad Opportunities for Seniors and Lawyers

“This young and growing organization is working in Ghana to provide sources of income for women and to make an environmental statement.”

What we love about Cool People We Care is that they make changing the world much easier for those of us who live busy lives. Monday to Friday short features are called “5 minutes of caring” and are 99 words long. That’s about 1 new Facebook post or a couple of tweets. Simple.

This is perfect for younger readers who are easily distracted but happen to be the leaders of tomorrow and need this stuff to make sure they can do their bit when the time comes. Relief Needed in Pakistan is also compelling.

Cool People Care also publish longer articles about how to make a difference that go into detail about the issues they discuss–perfect for those with more time on their hands.

An interesting post called “How to find a lost pet” shows that there are many ways to make a difference and find help when you need it.

Related posts:

1. Cool People Do Indeed Care
2. Are you MaD?: Young People
3. Young People Speak Out

I Can’t Help It

When someone asks me why I do what I do, all I can say is: “I can’t help it.”

I can’t help it in the same way you can’t help writing, for those who feel the need to write, or calculating planetary orbits, if that’s what rocks your day, or teaching others how to do something, if that’s your heart starter, or meditating on mountain tops, if you dare.

Different things drive different people. Porches for some. Fame for Miss Hilton. Status for Mrs Becks. Creating for the Coen Brothers. And Danger for the Real Madrid goalie.

It’s the “helping” thing that gets my groove going.

But we need different types of passions. The helping people, the innovating people, the Barry Manilow people, the sensible people, the wordsmiths—and you don’t have to be one or the other, you can be many of these people at once.

For instance, did you know that the hunky, spunky Viggo Mortensen (best known as Aragorn from Lord of the Rings) is a published poet, writer, artist, painter and a musician too?

And if you’re a numbers person and a wordsmith, like the Australian comedian and braniac Adam Spencer, who graduated with a double major in law and pure maths, then buggar off. Over here. Where I can laugh and be in awe at once.

Nine to Five…

I am also awed by Dolly Parton. She might not be your cuppa, but you can’t question that infectious spirit and her passion and commitment. Decades of it. You could say the same of Leonard Cohen, commitment- and passion-wise. (I bet ya never seen those names in the same paragraph before?) Cos Leonard Cohen didn’t write brilliant song lyrics for the past forty odd years because he wanted to, but because he had to.

And to that we cannot but hum: Hallelujah!

And if you’re one of the seventeen people who’ve never listened to one of the 150 cover versions of Cohen’s original then please track at least one version down. Or listen to Hallelujah as performed by Mr Jeff Buckley.

I don’t miss a nine-to-five job, though, with a beginning and a Friday and a weekend. I like sitting on the floor on Saturday night figuring out solutions to problems for people who have virtually nothing—watching Sex & the City or The Godfather (because I’m still human). And I relish running around on the back of a motorbike in the mud on Sundays to meet people that must be met in order to help them.

I love exposing the potential in people who, through no fault of their own, never had a chance to realize it, and helping them realize it—in fact, that one particular element is the thing that drives me most: Helping others realize their potential. It’s extremely fulfilling. I love it. I’ll be happy doing that until I meet the devil for real. I’m hoping the devil plays a guitar.

I Don’t Want Anything Else

We all tend to be in awe of people who can do those things we struggle with. I am still awestruck by people who can do physics or run a marathon because, well, I never, ever could. And I’m in awe of Marta because I’m never going to be the world’s best female footballer. They probably think I’m retarded because, no doubt, it comes somewhat naturally to them.

And I get excited over American Idol. Hey, at least I’m honest.

Sadly, I can’t hold a note. I mean, if musical notes were solid, three- dimensional objects, you may as well chop off both my hands because that’s how awesomely I can hold a note. As a result, and just because it makes me smile on the inside, I adore watching someone open their mouth and just…sing. I get goose-bumps. They’d probably think I was a bit stupid too.

I also get a kick out of the self-deluded would-be singers whose parents or spouses or friends–or all of the above–are not kind enough to tell them the truth. My suggestion is that if you want to do the stuff you love to do, and it involves front of camera action, or front of people action, it’s not a bad idea to get a second opinion. And if you do get a second opinion, ask Randy. Just sayin’.

Of course, if the next American Idol wants to make a go of it, they’ll have to stick with it like Dolly. Not like Bros. (I never went to a Bros concert. Except once. Were they ever truly famous?) And they’ll have to make it past the detractors and the devil himself. Simon. They’ll need commitment and passion, Tina Turner style. And if they make it, well, it won’t be because they’re faking it. It will be because they’re committed and perhaps a bit lucky too.

But they’re just doing the stuff they love to do. The Waifs can’t help it. The Waifs aren’t exactly famous, but hell are they committed, passionate and fucking awesome. Hard to pigeon hole, you could say they’re a folk, rhythm and blues group originating from the great Western Australia who’ve been playing on the road in the US and Canada and Australia for almost two decades. Not like Bros. Or Milli Vanilli.

Of all my albums and CDs, and they’re quite diverse, the Waifs are what I choose over and over and over and over and never tire of listening to. Most days I kick off the stuff I do with Fisherman’s Daughter from the live albums A Brief History. I dare you not to get big, hot, goose bumps after the first thirty  seconds of that. And when you hear their version of Willow Tree you’ll understand why Keiffer Sutherland shouted them drinks after returning to watch them perform night after night and why Bob Dylan asked them to support.

No. I don’t want to be famous, but I do want to be The Waifs of the stuff I do. I’m just doing what I love to do. I can’t help it. And if I can strut my stuff the way Dame Judi Dench still struts hers when I’m where she is now, then I would have earned the second “M” in comMitment.

As I write this, Godwin is exhausted after a full day starting around 2 am this morning and every day for quite a few weeks—holding down three jobs. But right now he walked in the room and said, “I just have to cut a bit more.” (He means strips of cloth—for baskets.)

I gave him a look that said, “Dog, you’re awesome, but you need rest, man.” Not certain if he got the Randy in the look.

But he said, “You know when you’re tired but then you think about the people waiting for you and what it does for them and you get this energy and you can’t help it. It’s all I want. I don’t want any thing else.”

Bingo. I explained that that’s precisely what I’m writing about and that’s how I feel. And we didn’t even confer. Chuckles.

You can’t help it. It doesn’t feel like work. It’s the stuff you do.

After five years it’s so obvious.

I’m shutting the lap top to plant my bum on the floor—no sand or mountains in sight—and be the best damned problem solver in the world this Saturday night because the thought of how this will help others down the road gives me the itch. Even if I’m up all night.

What a way to make a living!

Are you committed and passionate about what you do? Is it obvious yet?

(Balloon photo by Ken Ballinger and nine-to-five typing woman by brutapesquisa)

Related posts:

1. Five Years of Faking It: Part I
2. Top 10 travel moments in past 4 years

But then you have your Clint Eastwood’s and The Smiths and the Dame Judi’s.

“Go ahead, make my seven thousand awesomely committed days, because I started something I couldn’t finish, my Shakespearean sister!”

Don’t Punch Me

But don’t you just want to punch people who say: “If you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life”? Great for those who love what they do. But please don’t punch me. I love what I do.

So, what’s another word for “work”? Labour? Toil? Slog? Drudgery? None of those words fit my experience of work anymore. In fact, work is precisely the wrong word.

I’m not sure what the best word is for doing what you’re passionate about every day. “Bitch”?

I certainly don’t want to take time away from it. Time away from what I love to do? The stuff I do?

These days the stuff I do mostly involves finding solutions to problems. Most of the problems relate to finding ways to make life better for people in developing countries. It also happens to involve a fair bit of running around in Satan’s finest conditions. It involves a fair bit of connecting people around the globe. And writing.

I love problem solving. I love helping others. The devil’s own conditions don’t bother me TOO much, although the Topless Insanity post would beg to differ. I love connecting people who can help each other. And I love writing.

I go a bit mad if I don’t write every day. I go a bit silly if I don’t eat salad each day too. I just make sure to get a bit of both every day, even if it’s just half a carrot or two paragraphs.

But hindsight is 20/20, ya’ know.

Some people grow up knowing they want to help others less fortunate. Others have told me they wanted to work in fair trade since they were teenagers. I grew up wanting to be a vet or an interpreter.

But I never became a vet or an interpreter.

And I ended up working in the developing world helping others—and loving it—in my 30’s.

Always was a bit slow. Coming to something late, however, does not make any of us less authentic than those who dreamed of doing the stuff they do since they were baby pandas. Susan Boyle anyone?

And for the first time ever I don’t have to struggle to be committed to the stuff I do. At least, not with my internal self.

It’s the same way that people who are naturally patient don’t have to think, “I wish I were more patient.” The thought of patience doesn’t even occur to them. They just are. People who are naturally un-shy don’t have to think about being un-shy, they just are too. Similarly, people who are naturally funny don’t have to try. The rest of us can only wish and wonder what it’s like to make others laugh without effort.

In other words, our innate qualities and talents simply are—an existence that can no more be denied than the sun. And if we don’t have them, we can no more fake these qualities than we can fake attraction to the wrong person.

Be the Best Damned Bitch in the World

When I was a teenager my Dad went off on one of his famous lectures again:

“I don’t care if you want to go and sit on mountains and meditate for the rest of your life, just make sure you’re the best damned mountain meditator in the world.”

Yeah right.

“And I don’t care if you want to be a beach bum, just make sure you’re the best damned beach bum in the world.”

Bet he wouldn’t have said that if I wanted to be a politician or a stripper.

Anyway, the fact that neither mountains nor beaches were of interest to me (hence there was no danger of me actually bumming on them forever) wasn’t the point. The point was to live an authentic and passionate life, whatever it is. And he has a point.

It’s not that life is too short, but it is that life is too short. To not have something truly bum-worthy to commit to. But I never understood that feeling of commitment to the stuff you do until five years ago. I certainly never felt that passion when working for multinational corporations.

I only came to know I could truly be committed to the stuff I do after I began to do it. No clairvoyant or careers counselor could have convinced me I’d enjoy or be good at the stuff I do now.

Genuine Commitment to the Cause

It was an odd realization when it hit me. “This is what it feels like to want to ‘work’.” It was about three months after arriving in Ghana, Africa, as a fresh volunteer and traveler in the developing world. Admittedly, I was still wearing rose-coloured glasses and I wasn’t exactly taxing myself. Everything was gritty, alive and punching me in the five senses all day long. It was hard not to be dazzled. Incidentally, I also began to like beaches in Ghana (says a girl from beachside Sydney, Australia).

But, five years later, the rose-coloured glasses are well and truly flung and my senses have acclimatized to routine overload—and I live 800 kms to the nearest beach. But I’m still here walking the walk. And I still feel satisfied.

After several years of trying and loving lots of different things, the common denominator was obvious. I realized that helping to make others’ life better was not only personally satisfying, but what I loved to do—without thinking, without struggle, and even without coffee.

In fact, it was so motivating that I was able to overcome my greatest fears to make sure I could keep doing it—that’s how much I wanted to commit.

Whether working in a fair trade organisation or as a teaching assistant in a tiny school in Kumasi or training disadvantaged people in South East Asia or helping small and struggling NGO’s find their feet or helping some of the most impoverished people I’ve ever known…helping others is the stuff to which I willingly commit—without coffee.

I can’t help it.

Of course there were “struggles,” but these struggles came from outside: context, people, power companies, naysayers, thieves, mosquitoes.

For example, electricity cuts suck on deadline days when you have to print receipts and pay craftspeople who rely on you to deliver so they can pay for stuff to live. Teachers beating small children with canes every three minutes while you’re trying to help those children overcome their fear of making a mistake in class, you know, so they don’t get caned, is another external hindrance. The only internal struggle then was how not to beat the teachers myself. Instead, one day I gathered all the canes together and threw them out the classroom windows. The only thing I faked that day was knowledge of the canes’ whereabouts, but not commitment.

No, you can’t fake this passion.

If you don’t have genuine commitment and passion for the stuff you do, you won’t do it.

You certainly won’t last five years. You won’t last through the power cuts, the water shortages, the regular illnesses, torturous conditions, or when someone or other tries to obstruct the stuff you do—or whatever shit happens in your line of work. Horse shit, I guess, if you’re a vet or a politician.

You must be committed to survive all that. And not just survive, but accept the sacrifices as well.

My sacrifices: Distance from family and friends (about 15,000 kms); distance from cinemas, malls, cafes, fresh coffee, galleries, magazines, books—about 800 kms. There is none of that. And then there is distance from doctors and medical help. Scary sometimes.

To do the stuff I do each day the driving force must come from within, not outside.

Does the driving force to do the stuff you do come from within?

Part II coming to a blog near you soon…

(Images: Rocket by Epic Fireworks Photos; Sparkle Motion by Just Jefa)

Related posts:

1. Five Years of Faking It: Part II
2. Godwin Talks: If Ghanaians’ enthusiasm for football touched other aspects of life we might be truly great.
3. Top 10 travel moments in past 4 years