The Peace Exchange + YogaWorks

On the morning of Saturday, March 21, we spent a wonderful day in Santa Monica partnering with two different YogaWorks studios—the Main St. and the Montana St. locations—to spread The Peace Exchange message and show off our fun and funky yoga mat bags.

In fact, we had so much fun that we will be back at the Main St. studio with even more gear next week! If you're in the Santa Monica area on Friday, April 10, please stop by for a class and to take a look at all the hand-sewn, fair trade products we will be selling, including yoga bags, beach blankets, wine, grocery and sling bags—all handmade in the Congo by some truly remarkable women.

Check back here for updates and shop our collection online—Mother's Day is coming up, after all!

The Peace Exchange + YogaWorks

Friday, April 10—Main St. Studio

2215 Main St.

Santa Monica, 90405

310-272-5641

World Water Day: More Than Half of Congo's Population Still Lacks Access to Clean Drinking Water

A UNICEF report on worldwide access to clean drinking water released today said that while sub-Saharan Africa — the region with the lowest drinking water accessibility in 1990, has been gaining access to drinking water at the rate of 50,000 people per day since the year 2000 —  the region which includes the Democratic Republic of Congo (where The Peace Exchange works with women seamstresses) still accounts for more than 2 out of 5 of those without access globally.

That's 325 million people.

Most countries in the region are not on track to meet the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals' target, which expire this year. 

"There are now only three countries; Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea where more than half the population do not have improved drinking water," according to UNICEF.

• Of the 748 million people globally still without access to clean drinking water, 90 percent live in rural areas and are being left behind in their countries' progress.
  
• On average, nearly 1,000 children die every day from diarrhoeal diseases linked to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor hygiene.
  
• For women and girls, collecting water cuts into time they can spend caring for families and studying.
  
• In insecure areas, it also puts them at risk of violence and attack. UNICEF estimates that in Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking to collect water. 

Women in Nepal Are Exiled Once a Month

The Peace Exchange recently began working in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a group of at-risk women, many of whom escaped inhumane conditions working for slave wages inside Nepal's notorious brick kilns and factories. Nepali women face many challenges — systemic, economic, and cultural.

According to the New York Times, 

In far western Nepal, many believe that women who are menstruating are impure and bring bad luck. And so they are exiled each month, leaving them vulnerable to rape and other horrors.

Rooted in Hindu and other traditional Nepali beliefs, the practice of banishing women from their homes during menstruation is known as chaupadi. Even though the Nepalese government outlawed it 2005, the practice still persists.

International Women's Day

A year ago to date ~ this is where we were... on the ground in Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo to be exact.  The Peace Exchange celebrated International Women's Day spending time with the women of Eastern Congo.  Women of all ages walked miles, even hours to gather in support of one another.  The day was filled with stories of hope and empowerment.  Allowing the women to gather in community and be heard, there were moments of laughter and tears.  Speakers were brought in to discuss issues of safety, women's rights, sexual violence, education and fair trade.  The meeting was one that will always remain as a powerful image in the mind's-eye.  As the founder of The Peace Exchange, I am honored to travel off the grid and go into parts where women struggle for basic rights ~ things that we take for granted.  DRC is one of the hardest places on the planet to be a woman.  With so many single mothers working for less than $1 a day, it breaks my heart.  This is why fair trade is so important... it is a gateway, an open door to empower women. #Makeithappen www.internationalwomensday.com #PeaceExchange www.ThePeaceExchange.com