I just can’t get over the cows (and bulls!). They’re everywhere, just wandering around the streets and paths. They park themselves where the mood strikes, regardless of heavy traffic that now has to inch around them.
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Ethical Fashion Blog
Checking into the Panorama Guesthouse, my eyes scanned the lobby walls as I waited for the clerk to record my passport and visa information in his registry book. Imagine my surprise as I looked up at this photo of the establishment’s roof top restaurant and spotted Michelle and Maureen!
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The Ganpati Festival is the annual celebration of Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of gods Shiva and Parvati. During the festival, Ganesh idols are paraded through the streets, on the back of trucks or perhaps camel carts, and brought to makeshift stages set up throughout the town. These are a few images of the Ganpati Festival we came across this week.
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I’ve never done one of these group e-mails before, but I think now is as appropriate a time as any. I hope you all are well and enjoying the Christmas season. As I sit here in the swelter of a city called Trichy, I can’t quite fathom a snowflake falling. Joni, Michelle, and I have been in India for 9 days now, and are exploring the southern state of Tamil Nadu. We are slowly adjusting to the myriad of cultural and social differences. Everyday I learn something new, but to be honest, I’ve got a lot of questions that still need answering. I guess it’s like a huge puzzle. All the pieces are in front of me, and yet I’ve got no idea how they fit together, or what they will look like in the end.
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I met Harshali two years ago when she was a shy 17 year old with limited English speaking skills. At that time she was working as a helper at our women’s cooperative and we struck up a friendship on our shared path home after work.
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Only better. As the gray fumes from passing vehicles pump in between the bars on the windows, blurring your vision slightly, the scenes that pass by are simply amazing. I’ve taken to riding around with a kerchief covering my nose and mouth, like most of the Indian women do.
Here in India – our destination for the next four months – the people have a habit of replying to questions with a sideways nod of the head.
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Michelle, Maureen, and I first went to India in December 2003 and spent 4 months backpacking the country as part of a longer round-the-world adventure. We stayed in touch with our friends and family back home through a new communication technology known as the group email. On that trip, Maureen fell in love…with shopping in India. She started Mata Traders, and has returned every year since. We’ll be posting excerpts from past emails to share some of our first experiences and impressions of India.
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Welcome to Mata Traders' blog!
We'll use this space so you can learn more about Mata Traders and the women's cooperatives and artisans that make our clothes and jewelry. Please check back here often for stories and pictures from our travels in India, anecdotes about starting up a small business, information on fair trade, and discussion of the latest fashion. We'll also use this space to offer special deals on our fair trade clothing and accessories and to announce events where we'll be selling our line.