Help Gadling buy this woman a cow

by Neil Woodburn on

If you’ve ever traveled to a third world country and fell in love with its people, you know that feeling of guilt that inevitably arises when you realize just how difficult life can be for those less privileged than you.

Most travelers caught up in this epiphany often wonder what they can do to help, how can they give something back to the wonderful locals who made their trip so memorable? Unfortunately, so many of us return from our travels with good intentions, but poor follow-through.

If this happens to be you, than today is your lucky day; Gadling is here to help and it’s not going to cost you a thing.

Just in time for the Holidays, Gadling is teaming up with Kiva, a unique non-profit that provides micro loans to “help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence.”

The concept is simple. Local entrepreneurs contact Kiva’s field partners around the globe requesting small loans to help out their businesses–which are often not much more than a single cow or perhaps a roadside stand selling melons. The field partners determine risk, and if acceptable, will then post a description of the loan on the Kiva website. In addition, the field partners will also post information about the borrower, thus adding a human face to the transaction.

Anyone interested in providing a micro loan can then sign on to the Kiva website and lend money ($25 minimum) to the entrepreneur(s) of their choice.

So this is where you come in. Gadling is looking for your guidance to help direct our loan to a deserving individual whose business we will then spotlight over the next 8-12 months while the loan is being repaid.

We’ve included six choices below (with descriptions provided by Kiva) but feel free to visit the website and expand the selection. Loans surprisingly move quickly on this popular site–Fatima Huseynova featured in the photo above just received money for her cow last week–so let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section below as quickly as possible and we’ll announce our choice next week.

Tajikistan
Alisher Musoev has been in the bakery business for 7 years. So that he could provide for his family, he started working as a trainee in one of the local bakeries at the age of 16. For one work shift that usually lasted 17 hours he was only paid 6 to 7 loafs of bread, which was not enough for his family. He started looking for a space so he could open his own business. Once he found one, he started his own bakery. In the beginning, he was only baking for special orders for weddings because he was short of cash. After a period of time, when he accumulated more funds, he started producing bread for the sales on the market. Currently, his father and two hired employees, who are paid 450 somoni, are helping him in the business. Alisher is asking for additional funding so that he could increase his production.

Cambodia
Mrs. Sout Sro Em, age 25, is a traditional musician, earning around $5 each day. Her husband works driving a trailer attached to a motor-bike to transport passengers, making about $4 per day. They have one child who is too young to attend school. She would like to request a loan of $1000 in order seek an additional income source by purchasing pigs to breed and sell. She also plans to fix her husband’s broken trailer so he can better operate his business.

Lebanon
Fatima is a 47 year old mother of four children. Fatima is a very serious and committed microentrepreneur. She lives in South Lebanon, in the region of Saida. Fatima works with her husband cooking falafel, chickpeas and beans. She needs a loan of $1200 to buy a new chickpea processor and provisions for the business. This is the sixth time Fatima is asking for a loan from Al Majmoua.

Peru
Farming and the production of fruits are the main activity of most of the settlers of the Peruvian forest. Don Rolando is one of these men, who learned from his parents the skills and secrets of this beautiful activity. This education has now allowed him to be a man with multiple skills for agriculture and most of all it has allowed him to support his dear family in these days of multiple economic problems. He has a partner and his desire is to get married and build a small house and condition it to open a small grocery store to help with the expenses of the house. He is asking for a loan that will allow Rolando to have a bigger income this year and achieve all these goals.

Pakistan
I am Amna Bibi. I am a mother of six: four boys and two girls. Currently, only the elder two attend school while the others are too small. My husband works for skimpy pay and I own a few cows and sell their milk. Last year, I took a loan for my business, which resulted in increased profits, and I was able to save $250. Now I wish to further expand my business and require a loan of $350 for this purpose.

Azerbaijan
Djeyhun (his sister is pictured) has his own business. He was born in 1984 and lives in the Salyan region in the village of Yenikand. This man is single. He has been in this business for 8 years. Now he needs a loan of $1,200 to buy foodstuffs for improving his business.

Out of Christmas ideas? Try rhino poop.

by Grant Martin on

About ten years back, my parents officially had everything they needed, so when it came to Christmas time I had to start working super hard to find something unique that they had never heard of or only partially needed. These days, I’ve started moving towards consumables like plane tickets, wine and special olive oil; something they can enjoy for a little while but that will eventually go away. I’m even starting to consider philanthropic gifts, as in giving to a charity or NPR in their name.

But I never thought of rhino poop.

The International Rhino Foundation recently posted the auction of some of their most endangered species’ excrement, in what has to be one of the strangest fund raising tactics that I’ve ever seen. It’s actually an interesting idea and I really like the fact that they have found unique ways to raise money for a great cause — I’m not sure how well a piece of rhino poo (albeit in a nice glass case) would fit on my mantle.

As of November 29th, four specimens, those of the White, Black, Indian and Sumatran Rhinoceros became available on Ebay, with staggered starting prices based on the rarity of the animal. You can check out the auctions by searching for “rhino poop” or following the links through endangeredfeces.org. Right now the White Rhino poop is the best deal at 125$, but bid early! Someone might snipe your rhino poop out from you at the last second and you’ll be up shit-creek for a holiday gift.

Stuff Your Rucksack With Things to Help Local Charities

by Martha Edwards on

Hands down, the most moving of all my travel experiences was a visit to an orphanage in Western Thailand, near the Burmese border. To see children so poor and yet so happy was all at once heart-breaking and life-affirming. I don’t cry often — even The Notebook brought nary a tear to my eye — but that was a day where I tried to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks. I gave them a small donation and they gave me a handmade Christmas ornament. But I wish I could’ve given them something more than money to show how much they had given to me — alas, all I had with me was some stale gum and my passport, which I surely wasn’t giving up.

Stuff Your Rucksack is a website where travellers give tips to other travellers on what to bring to give to local charities. Past travellers can submit information for upcoming travellers to bring with them — things like English books, toys and sporting equipment can all be found around your house, and they’ll make a world of difference to the recipients. So do your part — the look on a child’s face will more than make up for the extra weight you carried in your pack.

One for the Road: Lonely Planet’s Guide to Volunteering

by Kelly Amabile on

There are already loads of online resources, books and magazines about volunteering that suggest opportunities to folks who are looking for meaningful ways to give back while traveling. The team at Lonely Planet has recently joined the club with their own Guide to Volunteering — a handbook meant to inspire and help travelers make a difference as they move through this world. The guide offers advice on how to choose the right volunteer experience, raise the funds and extend the goodwill once you get home.

Traveling responsibly means looking for ways to make a difference, whether it’s a small act of giving back while on holiday, committing to a long-term overseas assignment, or establishing a grassroots movement or charity. The book has case studies and interviews with dozens of volunteers, and is organized by type of experience: structured or do-it-yourself. If you are considering a volunteer encounter on your next trip, this is a great new resource to turn to for ideas on how to get started.

Only in OZ: Beer Can Boat Journey

by Kelly Amabile on

Three intrepid Aussies who like their grog decided to do something special with their growing mound of discarded beer cans.

“We were just sitting around in our shed drinking beer and wondering what we could do with all the cans,” Brad Gillam told reporters on the banks of the Brisbane River today.

Following in the footsteps of the annual Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta, the three Queensland pals decided to make their own “tinnie” and embark on a three-day sailing trip. The trio collected cans for over two years, aided by donations from fellow beer guzzling folks. Their vessel was constructed from 8000 empty cans, as well as silicon and plywood.

Their initial idea was an ambitious recycling project, but the death of Mr. Gillam’s 10-week-old daughter in January from SIDS made the journey an opportunity to spread the word and raise money for the fight against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Skipper Gillam and his shipmates hope they will be able to donate up to $200,000 to the Sids and Kids Queensland charity.