Category Archives: Heifer Village

Fair Trade: Beyond the Purchase

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Shop@Heifer

Purchase fair trade jewelry at Shop@Heifer. Photo by Chelsey McNiel, Communications Intern, Heifer Headquarters

Yesterday, justice lovers worldwide celebrated World Fair Trade Day - an initiative of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) which advocates for farmers and artisans to get fair market prices.

According to WFTO, “a third of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day.” But will it really make a difference which products fill our shopping carts?

Heifer International thinks so. When you purchase certified fair trade items, like coffee, bananas and apparel, you can improve the quality of life for developing communities and establish strong businesses.

Supporting organizations like Heifer takes your impact beyond the practice of purchasing fair trade certified essentials. Heifer educates families and communities so they not only recieve a fair price at the market, but also receive tools and training to ensure a shift toward sustainable living.

Shop@Heifer supports Heifer’s mission of ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth with earth- and artisan-friendly goods.

Learn how you can go beyond the purchase

 

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Patrick Rothfuss Book Tour to Stop at Heifer Village

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Author Patrick Rothfuss created Worldbuilders.org to raise money for Heifer International.

Patrick Rothfuss, a master storyteller of the fantasy world, has helped Heifer International raise more than $1 million.

His Worldbuilders fundraiser has engaged gamers, sci-fi fans, comic-book collectors and fantasy lovers through lotteries, giveaways, auctions and product sales.

On May 9, Patrick’s tour will stop at Heifer Village in downtown Little Rock, Ark. During this free event, Patrick will read excerpts from his work, take questions from the audience and sign copies of his New York Times Bestsellers, “The Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear.”

Find out more about Patrick Rothfuss

Read an excerpt from “The Name of the Wind”

Limited copies of Patrick’s bestsellers will be available at Shop@Heifer at Heifer Village beginning May 6, 2013.

 

Event Details:

Thursday, May 9, 2013
Doors open at 6 p.m.
Event starts at 7 p.m.
Heifer Village
1 World Ave. Little Rock, AR

Due to seating limitations please reserve your spot by calling 501-907-2697 or email heifervillageregistration@heifer.org.

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Meeting a ‘Rock Star’ of the Development Kind

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Dr. Raj Shah, USAID Administrator, reviews Heifer Village's integrated farming model. He was escorted by Pietro Turilli, Vice President for Partnerships and Business Development and Elizabeth Bintliff, Vice President for Africa Program

Dr. Raj Shah, USAID Administrator, reviews Heifer Village’s integrated farming model. He was escorted by Pietro Turilli, Vice President for Partnerships and Business Development and Elizabeth Bintliff, Vice President for Africa Program

Rock stars are in the eye of the beholder, and last week week I met a rock star of the development kind when Dr. Rajiv Shah,  Administrator to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), came to visit Heifer Village. Dr. Shah, although he informally goes by Raj, was visiting Little Rock at the invitation of U.S. Senator John Boozman. When greeting him, I noticed three immediate attributes: He has 1) a warm smile, 2) a very firm handshake and 3) a deep and unabashed commitment to ending hunger and eradicating extreme poverty.

Raj Shah, USAID Administrator, holds weighted water buckets used to demonstrate to Heifer Village visitors the heavy burden of fetching water daily.

Raj Shah, USAID Administrator, holds weighted water buckets used to demonstrate to Heifer Village visitors the heavy burden of fetching water daily.

As he toured Heifer Village, he was sincerely impressed with the interactive and informative exhibits created to be interesting and dynamic for visitors of all ages. He even remarked that an exhibit like ours would make for a welcome addition the USAID headquarters in Washington D.C. (imitation, they say, is the most sincere form of flattery).

An hour after his time at Heifer Village I sat in the second row for his lecture at the Clinton School of Public Service, where he again focused on the “achievable” task of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, but that “we must speed up the transition from dependence to self-reliance.”

I’ve only recently become aware of Dr. Shah and his impressive resume, but in his short tenure at USAID he has established an important and impactful partnership between private and public investors leveraging many billions of dollars transforming the lives of many with regard to better nutrition, sustainable development and health education.  I believe Dr. Shah when he states that the partnership aspect is imperative to successfully ending hunger and extreme poverty — its a partnership that involves us all from business, to donors, to non-profits to participants, we each have a role to play.

 

 

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Celebration of Living Gifts Coming to Heifer Village

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Come to Heifer Village’s Celebration of Living Gifts on December 1

Get your holiday shopping done early. We have something for everyone on your list.

Celebration of Living Gifts Flyer-HV

Can’t make it to this Celebration of Living Gifts? Donate online now.

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Heifer Village Hosts Special Visitors

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Yesterday Heifer Village hosted a session of “Experience America,” a State Department program designed to introduce members of the Diplomatic Corps and their spouses to U.S. cities to cultivate relationships and promote partnership opportunities. The spouses arrived at Heifer Village and were greeted by Heifer International President and CEO, Pierre Ferrari along with some friends of the animal variety from nearby Heifer Ranch.

Heifer Village Hosts Foreign Ambassadors

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer Village Hosts Foreign Ambassadors

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

The more than 40 attendees listened to Ferrari’s overview of Heifer’s project work, then the group self-selected to learn more about projects organized by area programs –  Central and Eastern Europe, Asia/South Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.

In addition to Heifer Village, the group visited the Clinton Presidential Center, the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock Central High School and the Governor’s mansion. The group’s two-day visit also includes a trip to Fayetteville to tour the University of Arkansas’ facilities, explore Crystal Bridges Museum of Art and meet with local and regional business representatives.

According to the State Department website:

In bringing these distinguished diplomats to “The Natural State,” the Office of the Chief of Protocol seeks to strengthen America’s relationships with countries around the world by planting the seeds for new international partnerships and providing our visitors with a deeper understanding of our nation’s people and heritage.

Experience America is organized by the Diplomatic Partnerships Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol, whose mission is to foster international goodwill and cultivate relationships between the Diplomatic Corps and the people and institutions of the United States through an exchange of ideas, cultures, and traditions. This is the eleventh Experience America trip since 2007, and previous destinations include Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, as well as multiple cities in Alaska, California, Florida, Texas, and Wyoming. Since 2009, ambassadors from more than 100 countries have participated in Experience America trips.

While their time at Heifer Village was brief — only about 60 mins — we were honored to host this very special group of international visitors to educate them about Heifer’s work and the great city of Little Rock.

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“Udderly” Delightful Coloring Activity

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If your youngster is bored on spring break, here’s a fun activity you can tackle.Heifer International has a new coloring sheetfeaturing a drawing of a real Heifer cow.

Kids candecorate this coloring sheet any way they wish – with markers, glitter, paint,or even found materials.
The sheet wasproduced in conjunction with the “Design for a Cause” exhibit at Heifer Villageat our headquarters campus in Little Rock.The exhibit features the art and graphic design work of Heifer and threeother nonprofits.
If you’veever received one of Heifer’s gorgeous honor cards as a gift, you know that Heiferemployees do amazing design work, even on a tight nonprofit budget. If you’rein the Little Rock area, feel free to drop by the exhibit between March 21 andApril 9.
Meanwhile, letyour children’s imaginations go wild. A magenta cow? Turquoise? Why not!
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A Garden We Can See From Our Desks

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A new Educational Garden on the Heifer International headquarters campus will expose the public to locally-grown food and appropriate technologies for family gardeners, and provide a hands-on opportunity to learn about sustainable food systems.  

Our chief operating officer Steve Denne announced the exciting expansion of our education programs today at the Heifer Village Learning Center in Little Rock, AR. Since opening in 2009, more than 80,000 people have experienced this exhibits-based learning center.

The Educational Garden will also serve as a learning environment that supports and informs Heifer’s work in sustainable food systems in the US and around the globe.

As work continues on the Educational Garden we will provide updates and insights to events taking place at the Heifer Village Learning Center.
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