In July 2008, while travelling in Australia, Julie Gorman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. “To say this was an unexpected event that completely changed my life is an understatement, but it was also one that definitely changed my life for the better. I adopted a healthy lifestyle, and have been receiving continuous chiropractic care, from which I have had remarkable results. I also use visualisations, positive affirmations and NLP techniques to help me lead a happier, healthier life.
This journey has also taken me on a spiritual path. People say that “to get what you want in life you must put the work in.” What I wanted was to be healthy and I put the research and effort in. As a result, I am not taking any medication, and I believe I am healthier now than I ever was. I found the strength within myself to get what I wanted and I want to help people find their strength to reach their goals and live their dreams.
I believe that I am still on a journey, and that is to tell people about my story and help in any way I can. I want to make people become aware that we should question everything and that having a positive attitude and taking positive action can make a positive difference in our lives, whatever our circumstances may be.” Julie is now a qualified Life Coach and also a qualified Heal Your Life Workshop Leader, and is running powerful workshops and courses designed to motivate and inspire people to lead happy, healthy and successful lives.
www.coachme.ie

Willie Smits restores a rainforest

Biologist Willie Smits has devoted his life to saving the forest habitat of orangutans, the “thinkers of the jungle.” By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, he has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.
He works at the complicated intersection of humankind, the animal world and our green planet. In his early work as a forester in Indonesia, he came to a deep understanding of that triple relationship. He believes that to rebuild orangutan populations, we must first rebuild their forest habitat, which means helping local people find options other than the short-term fix of harvesting forests to survive.
His Masarang Foundation raises money and awareness to restore habitat forests around the world, and to empower local people. In 2007, Masarang opened a palm-sugar factory that uses thermal energy to turn sugar palms (fast-growing trees that thrive in degraded soils) into sugar and even ethanol, returning cash and power to the community and, with luck, starting the cycle toward a better future for people, trees and orangs.
“I created the place Samboja Lestari, and the idea was, if I can do this on the worst place that I can think of, where there is really nothing left, no one will have an excuse to say, ‘Yeah, but…’ Everyone should be able to follow this.”
www.masarang.org

Wave of Boats

A groundbreaking boat design is helping wheelchair users partake in water-based activities. Known as Wheelyboats, the vessels have been launched at fisheries, lochs, reservoirs, estuaries, rivers, canals and all sorts of other venues throughout the UK. Whether for the purpose of competitive angling, hobby fishing, family trips, bird watching or just to experience the tranquillity of being alone on the water, the elderly and less-abled can now join in on equal terms with their more able-bodied counterparts.
Handmade to order, the boats cater for any requirement, as well as being ‘chair operable’ so people can, if they choose, skipper at the helm without assistance. “Once on board, you’ve got access to the entire boat,” said Andy Beadsley of the Wheelyboat Trust, himself a wheelchair user and fly fishing instructor. “It provides less-abled people with a lot of independence for a variety of activities.”
www.wheelyboats.org

African Country Leads the Way

Recently, the Central African Republic became the first African nation to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 169 – the only legally binding international law that recognises indigenous peoples’ land rights. It also protects their right to control their own development and maintain their identities, cultures, languages and religions.
This historic action demonstrates the country’s commitment to its indigenous communities, included in its 4.5 million population, such as Aka Pygmies, who lead a semi-nomadic life in the heart of the tropical rainforests and are inextricably linked to them for their survival. Central African Republic’s ratification brings the total number of countries who have signed up, so far, to 21.
Although Central African Republic is one of the world’s poorest nations, it was declared by The Ecologist in 2001, to be a global leader in sustainable development with a substantial amount of its jungles remaining untouched.
www.ilo.org
www.survival-international.org

Creative Arts Bridge the Age Gap

A London-based organisation is using people’s memories as building blocks for bringing different generations together through the creative arts. Age Exchange has been working for over 25 years with vulnerable and isolated elderly people to bring value to their memories, creating exhibitions, plays, documentary films, publications and other intergenerational projects.

These workshops make use of older people’s memories with role-play and period artifacts, along with sound and film archive material. A school history lesson, for example, is suddenly made more real and tangible with first hand accounts of the past.

“Reminiscences is the opportunity for people to share life stories and be valued for doing that,” says Malcolm Jones, arts and education officer for Age Exchange. “Intergenerational work is where people want to be at the moment, because there is a feel good factor,” he adds. “They are probably the most marginalised group now in society.”

According to Malcolm, the purpose of this intergenerational work is not only to reach out to older people who are vulnerable but to educate the younger generation about the elderly rather than perpetuate stereotypes. “Media representation of old people is usually negative,” he says, “or it is only when they are doing something eccentric like ’85-year-old grandma does bungey jump’. But it is not representative of the community.”

Age Exchange’s recent theatre project, To Care For, performed at Greenwich Theatre, was an entire play based on real life experiences from Londoners’ memories of family, community and institutionalised care. People shared memories that were poignant and personal, from carers of Alzheimer’s victims, to family members who looked after elderly relatives.

It was a fulfilling experience, reveals Dave Savill, Age Exchange’s director of arts and education: “To see older people getting on a stage, telling a story, acting to people, non-professional actors as they are, and getting them to that level where they could communicate with an audience in a huge theatre, was enormously satisfying.”

Age Exchange continue to bridge the gap between generations, with the very simple tool of reminiscences and their project work is currently travelling internationally, including in Australia, New Zealand, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and parts of Europe.

www.age-exchange.org.uk

Mark Boyle has completed a challenge which has been heralded the ultimate tribute to environmentalism, socialism and even humanitarianism: a year of moneyless living.

On Buy Nothing Day, 28th November 2008, he pitched up on land at an organic farm on the outskirts of Bristol, armed only with a caravan – courtesy of Freecycle – a wood burner and a simple rocket stove.

Cash was replaced by the lost arts of foraging and bartering and by the newer pursuits of swishing (swapping unwanted clothes) and wwoofing (worldwide opportunities on organic farms, where helpers work in exchange for food and lodgings). Other lifestyle changes included using newspaper as loo roll, creating pens out of wild ink cap mushrooms and making use of people’s unwanted items.

Despite finishing his challenge at the end of November 2009, Mark continues to live without money, relishing the freedom and simplicity of his new life. He now plans to set up a community of like-minded people, volunteers for which are in abundance. During the last few weeks of his challenge, more than 2,000 people joined Mark’s Freeconomy internet site, which promotes skill-sharing without any money changing hands.

Mark’s debut book, The Moneyless Man, was published in May. The proceeds from which are going into a trust fund to buy land on which the Freeconomy community will be built.

The initiative, once off the ground, will encourage the general public to come and experience moneyless living. It will be a place where food, friendship, culture, education, skill-sharing, scavenging and foraging is at the core.

Contact: www.justfortheloveofit.org
Email: mark@justfortheloveofit.org

‘Stop Talking. Start Planting’

When Felix Finkbeiner announced that he wanted to take part in the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign, his teacher thought he only meant to plant one tree, but soon realised his nine year old pupil had a more ambitious project in mind. “Let’s plant millions of trees,” he proposed. “A million in each country of the world.”

Felix travelled the country to deliver his presentation on global warming to other schools, creating a network of young tree-planters and co-founding Plant-for-the-Planet. Two years later, his ‘Stop Talking. Start Planting’ campaign has rallied huge support from hundreds of other children and helped to plant a million trees across Germany.

At a recent youth conference, Felix informed Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General: “The students of Germany have taken responsibility for their future by planting a million trees. Thus, we have contributed to the worldwide target by a thousandth.” Reminding him, “It might not seem very much but we do have to go to school in the week!”

Felix has also set up several Plant-for-the-Planet academies, where students all over Germany, and more recently China, can teach each other to become climate ambassadors. “We kids are not planting trees because we want to be forest rangers or environmentalists but because we believe that we can’t leave the future up to adults alone,” he said.

Felix has gained global recognition for his work, named Champion of the Earth by UNEP in 2008, winning the Bavarian State Medal for services to Health and the Environment in 2009 and being the youngest recipient of the Utopia Award. Now 11 years old, he recently addressed the European Parliament and was invited to present his case at the G8-Summit.

Entering the stage, he reached for the microphone and said: “The future for you means 20, 30 or 40 years.” The audience fell silent. “For us, the future means 70 or 80 years. Whether the sea level rises this century by one, two or three metres is a scientific question for you. For us it’s a matter of survival!” The entire audience rose to their feet in applause.

“When we cross the street, our parents take our hands,” Felix said, “but as we go into the future, we have to take the hands of our parents.”

Contact: Plant-for-the-Planet,
Kreuzeckstrasse 2, 82396 Pähl, Germany
www.plant-for-the-planet.org

Sol Cinema

A mobile, solar-powered ‘micro-cinema’, commissioned by Undercurrents, will be touring the UK this year. The 1960s two berth caravan, which was converted into a cinema using recycled materials, will help bring the work of progressive film makers to diverse audiences.

Inside, Sol Cinema will comfortably accommodate eight people, yet it caters for outdoor audiences of up to a hundred. Power comes entirely from the sun, via two solar panels and is stored in state of the art lithium batteries ready for late night screenings.

Undercurrents is an alternative video news agency that focuses on social and environmental justice issues. Recently, its co-founder, Helen Iles, was named a Digital Hero of Wales at a ceremony in the House of Lords. The award celebrates outstanding people who are using digital technology to bring about positive, environmental and social change.

The cinema can be booked for events
Contact: Undercurrents, Old Exchange,
Pier Street, Swansea, SA1 1RY
Tel: +44 (0)1792 455900
Websites: www.thesolcinema.org
www.undercurrents.org

Ancient Cultures Rise for Time of Prominence

This is a moment in time when many indigenous peoples of the world believe they will ascend in influence and their way of life will be more prevalent again. For this reason, the recent gathering of indigenous peoples from across the globe at Tiwanaku, in Bolivia, to celebrate the inauguration of President Evo Morales, is particularly significant. Entering his second term as the country’s first fully indigenous Aymara head of state for hundreds of years, he won a staggering 63 per cent of the vote.

In a traditional ceremony at the ancient archeological site of Tiwanaku, Juan Evo Morales was attended by four ‘abuelos’ – two men and two women who are more than a hundred years old each. President Morales is now proposing a programme of ‘communitarian socialism’ and, in April, he is convening a conference on the rights of Mother Earth. Seeking to blend the old with the new, Evo, as he is popularly known, is striking a balance between the traditional and the modern.

Aymara Elders refer to an awakening of a new genetic code in humanity, which will begin expressing itself in 2010. Simultaneously, this year, other Elders will hold meetings in Tibet, Africa, Australia, Nordic countries and at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, among other historical places.

Wishes Come True

Rebecca Wright, an aspiring, Australian musician living in Glasgow had a feeling that something big was in store for her this year. Her intuition told her to practice extra hard on the cello and guitar. Then, one day recently, she was contacted out of the blue by a Melbourne-based band called “Wishing Well” who were planning a six month tour of Europe. She had been recommended to them as a cellist by a mutual friend, and after sending them a few YouTube videos of her playing along to some of their songs, they invited her to join them on tour. She feels it’s a wish come true.

To have a listen, visit www.myspace.com/rebeccawrightmusic and www.myspace.com/thewishingwellband

Positive Irish News

We would love to print more positive Irish news stories, so if you have one, send it in to us. We know there are lots of them out there and we want to share them with everyone.

Email stories to patrick@positivelife.ie

The Star Inn in Salford was given three weeks’ notice of closure, but, after locals clubbed together, the pub is back in business as a community-owned co-operative. The new pub coincides with the launch of a report, ‘Calling Time on Pub Closures – The Co-operative Answer’, by Co-operatives UK which documents trends in pub closures and sets out advice on creating co-operative pubs.

Ed Mayo said: “Pub closures can be like pulling the plug on local communities. It is scandalous that pubs like The Star Inn are being closed at three weeks’ notice and it is a tribute to the community in Salford that they responded in an innovative answer to the threat of closure.”

“The Star Inn has been part of the community since 1867,” said Margaret Fowler, a local resident. “People really missed it when it was closed down and that brought us all together to invest our own cash to re-open the pub. It really was easy to set it up as a co-operative and now we have got our pub back, it’s the most fantastic feeling in the world.”

Julian Ross added: “We have shown that by working together, we can preserve something that is very important for the community. As a group, we believed we could safeguard our pub’s future and turn it into a co-operative, and I want to help encourage other communities to try what we have done.”

For more info, visit www.cooperatives-uk.coop …

The full set of stories can be read in the Spring 2010 issue of our print magazine, now available in health stores and holistic centres, or you can have it delivered direct to your doorstep 4 times a year for only €12. To subscribe, visit www.positivelife.ie/subscribe

For more info, visit http://agnieszkajurko.pl

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Will and Ed

Will and Ed, from Kent in the southeast of England, are on an unusual mission. Setting off from Canterbury in February, the twenty-somethings have been walking around Britain, singing traditional folk songs ‘for their supper’.
“We are singing for our supper… learning about this land, about the people that live and work here, the histories that have formed it, the cultures that have gone before… and that remain.”
In this age of hyper-quick travel and urban pop, the question is why? “It just feels sensible,” explains Will. “Walking defines our bipedal species. A walk has cumulative benefits – the sum of every step, everyday. The changing landscapes keep our minds fresh.” Ed continues: “Being on foot lets us learn deeply about this land. As the landscape folds outward, the grey doorways open inward.”
Will and Ed are learning nomadic skills – edible and medicinal plant lore, local history and culture. To pay their way, they sing traditional local songs, which are gathered as they walk.
“The songs seem to rise through us, from the soil beneath our feet. They want to be released, freed to the winds, given to new ears and hearts,” Ed says. “The lyrics concern day-to-day subjects. They are from our ancestors’ experiences of living and dying on this land,” adds Will.
“We’re invited into houses, schools, barns – we’re fed, clothed and watered. Our faith in Britain is constantly refreshed and reborn.”
Will and Ed are continuing to walk and sing around Britain for the foreseeable future. “What else could there possibly be to do?” they both laugh. “We’re just expressions of a very ancient and open way of life. It is free for the dream and all are welcome.”

You can catch up with Will and Ed through their website: www.awalkaroundbritain.com

Batteries Not Included

In a new book, ‘Nature’s Playthings’,  the author Alison Wilson Smith takes us on a trip down memory lane – a time when children walked to school, climbed the neighbours’ trees for conkers, entertained themselves outside all day and puffed on dandelion clocks to prove that it wasn’t yet time for bed.
When Alison Wilson Smith decided to write a book about the joys of playing freely outdoors, as she did as a child in the 1940s, it seemed a timely proposal. Now appears to be a particularly good time to recall the days when children could walk alone to and from school, and entertained themselves with whatever the seasons provided, from trees to pebbles, conkers to running streams.
‘Playing – particularly unstructured and loosely supervised activity outdoors – is vital. It develops the child’s physical co-ordination, facilitates social development, such as making friends and keeping them, coping with problems and working collaboratively. It also cultivates creativity, imagination and emotional resilience. This includes the growth of self-reliance, independence and personal strategies for dealing with any challenging and traumatic experiences.’
Now a grandmother, she recalls her own childhood to inspire this generation to play outdoors, to learn the rules of conkers, the joys of making leaf-boats, flea darts, grass whistles, daisy chains, poppy dolls and more. This practical and lively book will remind parents, grandparents, childminders, schools and playgroups, how to inspire young people to get outside and enjoy nature’s playthings.

www.merlinunwin.co.uk

Record-Breaking Peacemaking

More than 6,000 children gathered to fly their homemade kites on the beach near the city of Beit Lahiya in Gaza.  The activity symbolized Peace and Unity, and was actually a genuine Guinness World Record attempt. The challenge was to simultaneously launch 5,000 kites into the air for at least 30 seconds, to break the previous record of 967, set by Germany.  The children, media and spectators were not disappointed – an estimated 4,000 kites soared into the sky, high above the heads of the crowds, amid joyous cries of record-breaking excitement.
Nearly 250,000 young people participated in the United Nations ‘Summer Games‘ programme, with many local teachers giving up their holidays to help run it. The initiative is organised to restore hope and normality to the war-torn territory and foster a positive summer experience for Gaza’s children.  This year’s activities range from sports to theatre, traditional Palestinian folk dancing, arts, crafts and swimming.

www.artwfg.ps
www.flickr.com/photos/31315139@N03

Hope Flowers

Palden Jenkins started supporting the Hope Flowers School in Bethlehem through his role as web creator and as a member of the Jerusalem Peacemakers – a network of independent, interfaith, peace builders. The school was founded in 1984 and has become a centre for democracy and peace education. Palden has been helping to rebuild their website and is assisting in the development of an English language out-reach programme. He is also working with six other villages, giving psycho-spiritual support to community workers and encouraging people to reunite.
Palden’s aim is to collate the school’s experience and take it to other areas of conflict worldwide. “Hope Flowers has the world’s most advanced knowledge in trauma recovery, conflict management and community development,” he says. “It’s a tremendous resource.”
Recording his observations in a blog online, Palden is heartened by the warm welcome he has been receiving. Noting a powerful sense of community, selfless mutual support and genuine desire for peace, he writes: “This is indeed a holy land: scintillating, energising, enlightening, yet tragic, contradictory and rubble strewn. Despite its bizarre, challenging aspects, it’s a remarkable place to be.”

paldywan.blogspot.com
www.hopeflowersschool.org

Impulse Power

A revolutionary solar aircraft, designed to fly continuously without fuel,  even at night, has just been unveiled by two renowned adventurers.
Bertrand Piccard, who set a world record with the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight and André Borschberg, an engineer and pilot, will make history by flying a piloted, solar-powered craft right round the world. “Yesterday it was just a dream. Tomorrow it’ll be an ambassador of renewable energy,” Bertrand declared.
The Solar Impulse should make its first test flights by the end of 2009, while a complete night time flight is planned for 2010. The results will be used to develop a second aircraft. Scheduled for 2012, it will circumnavigate the world in five stages, each lasting for several days and requiring the pilots to swap. “The plane could do it non-stop theoretically but not the pilot,” Bertrand told the BBC.
People wanting to follow the adventure can enrol to receive news alerts, adopt a solar cell, book a VIP visit at the Solar Impulse base or even put their names on the aircraft’s fuselage.

www.solarimpulse.com

Many Layers of Green Energy

Steven Gill and his brother David have been cultivating and processing onions for 25 years, but now, they have taken the lead when it comes to green energy. The growers, who employ over 400 people, are no longer throwing away the excess tops, tails and peel. Instead, they have found a unique way to convert the waste into energy: a fuel cell power plant that runs on onion juice.
True to the company motto, Waste Not, Want Not, Gills squeeze every last drop out of every piece of peel, converting it to biogas and then using it to power the processing facility. With their state of the art anaerobic digester, Gills have been cutting their greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking 5,000 cars off the road.
Gills, who recently earned recognition as a Cool Planet Project by The Climate Registry, continue to find ways to make the company greener. “Achieving zero waste and improving water conservation are both achievable goals,” says Steven Gill. “We’re excited about our future.”

www.gillsonions.com

Life just keeps getting better and better, and even though the challenges in some areas of my life seem to be getting tougher, the good times far outweigh the bad, and the clouds always have a silver-lining with a lesson to learn and grow from.
It’s becoming easier to find positive news stories from home and abroad and, as always, it’s an absolute joy to share them with you, dear reader.  So, without further ado, here are some of our favourites.

THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE
The Festival of Life is a one-day indoor festival, taking place at Conway Hall in Central London on Sat Sep 26th. Now in its 6th year, it is also Europe’s largest living food and sustainable lifestyles festival. Last year, it attracted 1,200 visitors – including some from the USA, across Europe, and all over the UK – with a range of activities from music to meditation; feasting to fasting; dancing to chanting; children’s edutainment to natural parenting; plus many methods to rejuvenate from the effects of 21st century living. The festival welcomes people who are new to living foods and environmentally friendly ways of living, as well as those who are already knowledgeable.  It is family-friendly, with facilities and activities being planned for children.  For more info, visit www.festivaloflife.net

HOMES FOR GOOD
At the centre of the Homes for Good exhibition, held at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter, was a simple but stunning display of native plants and trees, which caught the attention of the crowds. They were planted in peat-free compost, in big ‘dumper bags’, and it was revealed that all the foliage on display had a use, from food to medicine.
Urquhart & Hunt and Dana Assinder are two garden design practices. They collaborated at the exhibition to create an edible forest garden, in line with sustainability and biodiversity principles. The brief was to create a productive, permanent garden applying the concept of how plants grow out in the wild. The garden mimics a natural woodland by incorporating layers of productivity: a canopy layer, a layer of small trees, a shrub layer, climbers, ground cover and a woodland edge.
For more info, visit www.ecostrust.org.uk/h4g and www.urquhartandhunt.com and www.dkagardendesign.co.uk

BELO HORIZONTE
The government of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil took the necessary steps back in 1993, to improve nutrition and food security for all of its three million citizens. Determined to lift its population out of poverty, the region declared that food was to become a right for all.
Working with the local farmers has enabled this project to be successful. The city’s government buys as much produce as possible from local, small and family owned farms. By purchasing directly and avoiding third party intermediaries, the city pays a lower price, while the farmers earn a higher income.  For more info, visit www.positivenews.org.uk

THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Annette Morris Keane from The Ripple Effect sent me this story her Gran told her that made her day.  “Granny’s friend’s son – a tradesman, did some work for a man he knew could not afford to pay him, so rather than just cut his cost, he did the job for nothing and refused to take any payment from the man who had employed his service.  The man in question was so grateful, he bought the tradesman some lottery tickets to the value of €100. Well, that’s not technically true – because they were actually worth €10,000 in winnings!”  For more from Annette’s good news group, visit http://ripple-vibrations.blogspot.com

THE REUSER
Looking into how we can better organise our waste management, I can across an Irish machine called The Reuser.  It’s a reverse vending machine (RVM), which is an automated recycling system that compacts, crushes and/or shreds used beverage containers, reducing volume by a ratio of 30:1.  Based on either a barcode or material recognition, it is capable of storing cans and bottles separately.  One unit can hold up to 3,800 cans and 1,800 plastic bottles and/or 400 glass bottles.  This reduces the need for transportation and storage of these materials, thus cutting down on related CO2 emissions.
When I got in contact with Dean Keating of Reuse Reward Limited, he told me, “The project has been a great success to date.  We would have recycled in excess of 1.5m containers in the Dublin area in 2008, 2m in all of Ireland.  The cans are recycled into cans for reuse.  The PET bottles can be recycled into numerous items ranging from clothing to kids toys.  We have worked very well with schools at both primary and secondary level.  All of the schools who have used the Reuse machine and applied for a green flag have been successful.  We also have incentive schemes which allow participants to claim rewards based on the amount of recycling they do.
At present, our sites with public access are: National College of Ireland; Finglas Leisure Centre; Ballymun Leisure Centre; and Killinarden Community Centre.  We are working closely with the councils in implementing this new scheme.”  For a full list of the rewards available, as well as more info regarding The Reuser, visit www.reuse.ie

PERSONAL RECOVERY
Joyce Fegan emailed us her own inspiring story of recovering from an eating disorder:
“This experience is often something that you cannot share with everybody you know and love.  At times I found it isolating and felt like I was a liar because people in my life didn’t know.  I think a healthy balance of honesty is needed.
For me, my recovery lay in recognising the extent and depth of my negative thinking.  The thinking created the feeling and the feeling created the behaviour, so in order to recover I needed to work on my thinking first and then everything else would fall into place.
My life went from 90% negative and destructive to 90% positive and hopeful.  The other 10% of the time, you are becoming aware of another little pattern or you are realising that you have changed and so has your vantage point, and maybe the people around you don’t relate to you or attract you in the familiar way you are used to.  However, at the end of the day, these are all positive and productive steps.  It’s only change.
I feel that you emerge from this process as an entirely revived and refreshed person.  Recovery is learning to live, to leave destructive ways behind, love the freedom and enjoy the ongoing learning.
It is agreed the world over that sufferers of eating distress are highly sensitive people and when they learn to marry this with inner strength then the sensitivity is a force for good and fosters and speeds up their recovery process.  Full recovery exists – for everyone.  Hope is the bridge between the negative and the positive.”
Marie Campion who set up the Marino Therapy Centre in Dublin 3 is adamant that recovery is possible for everyone and states that doing mental house cleaning is a significant factor in what is needed for the recovery process to take place.  Marie herself suffered from an eating distress for many years and after full recovery into freedom she felt the urge to help others.  To visit Marie’s “Iceberg” website, log onto www.eatingdisorderselfhelp.com

INSPIRE US!
If you know of some positive news or have an inspiring true story, please email it to patrick@positivelife.ie as we’d love to read and share it.  Thanks.

Now is the perfect time to see if we are a glass half-full or a glass half-empty nation?  Can we see the silver lining through the rain clouds?  Certainly in the circles I move in there’s an increase in creativity, sharing and bartering.  You give me a massage and I’ll give you some energy-healing.  I help you set up your Dance Event and you let me attend free of charge.  Any combination of commodities you can think of can work.

Dinner parties are becoming the new eating out.  Someone offers their home as a venue and everyone brings something to eat or drink.  Every time there’s something different and the sense of community grows more and more with each meal.  What a blessing we’ve been given in this ever-changing universe of duality.  Whether or not you can enjoy it depends on what side the duality you’re focused upon.

I know from personal experience that when you’re knocked head over heels by an unexpected turn of events, the first place you can find yourself looking is at the negative, but thankfully I’ve been around the spiral of experience enough times now that I realise that within every upset is a gift worth receiving. So, now, when I find myself thinking, “Here we go again!”, it’s something to look forward to and welcome with open, loving, understanding arms.

And with that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the obviously positive news from around the world…

Emily’s One of the Next Big Things

University Student Emily Cummins has been named “Ultimate Save the Planet Pioneer” at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards 2008.

Emily was recognised for her practical eco-friendly, ethical product designs – and it all started with a hammer – a gift from her grandfather when she was just four years old.
Emily used to watch her grandfather while he crafted toys and jewellery boxes out of odds and ends. She was captivated by the notion that she could also create things using simple scrap materials and a few tools. “I loved the fact that we could make stuff out of seemingly random bits,” she remembers. This early interest soon blossomed into a serious ability to solve problems through clever design.

Although Emily was only one of two girls in her wood and metalwork GCSE class, her very first invention earned her a regional “Young Engineer for Britain Award” in 2003 – a water carrier that enables people in the developing world to carry five times more than before. “I wanted it to be simple to manufacture, so that local people could produce it themselves, helping to reduce costs and create new jobs,” Emily explains.

The carrier also won a “Sustainable Design Award”, which motivated her to begin working on her next project – a sustainable fridge. This is now being used by some of the world’s poorest people, who have no mains electricity to store medicines or food. Understandably, the device has earned her a second “Young Engineer for Britain Award”.

Emily deferred her university place to travel to South Africa and Namibia. Emily says. “I was able to devote time to see how people actually live and what it’s like to live without electricity. I saw how resourceful people were and how we should be learning from them, not them learning from us.”

Emily was awarded an Undergraduate Enterprise Scholarship from Leeds University and she is now a business student. Currently serving as an ambassador for the “Make Your Mark” campaign, she is helping other young people make their ideas happen too.

Recently, Emily was recognised as one of the “Future 100 Young Entrepreneurs of the Year”, while The Independent has coined her as “one of the next big things”.

Website: www.emilycummins.co.uk

A Little Jar of Sunshine

Jam jars just store plain old jam but Sun Jars collect and contain sunshine. This ingenious and delightful home lighting concept based on a design by Tobias Wong will automatically turn itself on when it gets dark and glow warmly with the days sunshine for about five hours through the night unless you switch it off, that is.

The Sun Jar is also environmentally friendly, safe, wireless, fully portable and water tight, so you can take a jar of sun with you to bed, to your tent or to dinner on the patio. In fact, it can even be left outside in the pouring rain.

Made to look like a traditional bell jar, it will sit on your windowsill, busily storing sunlight all day. Okay, in truth, the jar contains its own solar charging panel, an automatic light-sensitive on and off switch and a low-voltage bulb with a sumptuous orangey glow. The light is diffused by frosted glass, giving the appearance of sunshine radiating from the jar and for those of you who would rather bottle moonlight well, now you can, with a cool blue Moon Jar.

Contact: +44 (0)20 7923 0011
Website: www.suck.uk.com

Salt is the Solution

Power towers – water tanks on stilts, surrounded by hundreds of mirrors that tilt on two axes – will follow the sun as it moves across the sky during the day and continue to track it over the course of a year. Beneath each tower will be a large tank, containing tens of thousands of gallons of molten salt.

The salt, which is non-flammable and non-toxic, melts at 220 degrees celsius and can be kept liquid at 290 degrees in an insulated “cold” storage facility. When electricity is needed, the salt is pumped out of the storage tank to the top of the tower, where concentrated sunlight heats it up to 565 degrees celsius. The hot salt then produces superheated steam and is piped into a series of turbines, causing them to spin and make electricity.

The uniqueness of this solar system is that power can be generated even in periods of cloudy weather or at night, by using the stored thermal energy in the hot salt tanks. The containers are well insulated and could store energy for up to a week. The towers will supply 540 megawatts of heat and in turn, produce 250 megawatts of electricity – enough to power a city.

“You take the energy the sun is putting into the earth that day, store it, capture it, put it into the reservoir and use it on demand,” explains Terry Murphy, chief executive of Solar Reserve, who plan to have their first molten salt solar power plant up and running by 2010.

This breakthrough technology comes at a time when governments are actively seeking to promote renewable energy resources on an industrial scale. It will put solar power firmly into the race to become the world’s dominant electricity source. Economically competitive and not reliant on fossil fuels to operate, the process has zero harmful emissions and is oblivious to the increasing price of oil, gas, coal or other dwindling fuels.

Website: www.solar-reserve.com

Positive Feedback

We here at Positive Life love hearing about and experiencing all of the wonderful new products and practices, teachings and techniques, events and endeavours that are constantly being created, as well as all the positive Irish news stories, so if you have information that you think we’d appreciate, send us 100 – 200 words and a website address (where applicable) to patrick@positivelife.ie

by Patrick Bridgeman

The team here at Positive Life magazine recently went for a belated Christmas dinner in Oliver‘s Eatery at Vaughans Eagle House, Terenure.  While organising the night out, Paul told me that the restaurant he chose had received a Michelin Star.   This evoked in my mind, images of posh, rich people eating the highest quality food.  On the way there, Paul told me it was in a pub.  This evoked a whole other set of images in my mind.  It wasn‘t until I got there and experienced how these two could combine so perfectly that I realised what a blessing Oliver‘s Eatery truly is.

Recently opened by Olivier Quenet, formerly of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and one of the people behind La Maison des Gourmets in Castle Market. He maintains that he is determined to show Irish people that they can eat well from local produce at modest prices (all meat here is sourced from organic butcher, Danny O’Toole, whose premises is just across the road).  The menu features what could be called high quality good old fashioned dishes, which makes perfect sense when you consider indulging in Michelin Star Pub Food.  “Good raw materials being subjected to sensitive, skilled cooking.”

As luck would have it, we were joined by our Graphic Designer Manu’s friend Conrad, Oliver’s right hand chef.  He provided us with great insight into the menu, as well as two free bottles of wine.  Then, after a delicious dinner, when Paul and I set our sights on the Chocolate Fondant, only to be politely told that there were none left, Conrad went so far as to run off to the kitchen and bake us some from scratch.  A memorable and enjoyable night, and with a satisfying food menu ranging in price from €4 to €14.50, anyone and everyone can head along and laugh in the face of the recession!

For more reviews, maps and menus

www.oliverseatery.ie

El Sistema Scheme is Music to their Ears

A revolutionary music project developed in Venezuela more than 30 years ago, is now being trialled in Scotland. Maestro José Antonio Abreu’s El Sistema network of youth orchestras has transformed the lives of an estimated quarter of a million underprivileged children living in South America’s barrios. Now, for the first time outside his native country, José Abreu’s methods are being used in the deprived Raploch estate of Stirling.

“The experience in Venezuela is that the structure of the symphony orchestra offers a chance for everyone to play their part, be challenged and learn together,” said Dr Richard Holloway, Chair of Sistema Scotland. “It’s an activity which touches the entire community. Everyone is welcomed, accepted and contributes.”
The power of music and playing as an ensemble, helps children to improve their skills and attainment. It also encourages communities to feel a greater sense of cohesion and mutual respect.

“Both adults and kids work as hard as they can,” said George Anderson, Big Noise orchestra spokesman. “No effort is spared. If any kid wants to play in the orchestra, our music teachers will do their utmost to make it possible for them and to make it fun. In the ‘Take a Musician Home’ project, our teachers will go to a child’s home, take tea and cakes and perform for their family. All our children are really positive and excited by the whole project… They are learning to be good citizens through music.”

Contact: www.makeabignoise.org.uk
and www.inharmonyengland.com
Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise orchestra launch concert.

Songs for Survival

Bruce Parry, star of the groundbreaking BBC series Tribe and Amazon, has teamed up with some of the music world’s biggest names to create a fundraising album for Survival International – the human rights organisation for tribal peoples.

Bruce, who has spent years immersing himself in some of the most remote tribal cultures on our planet, said: “I’ve got so much from my time with tribal people that I really wanted to do something for them in return. So, bringing together this fantastic group of musicians seemed a perfect way of doing just that. It’s been really wonderful to see how they’ve been inspired by some of the incredible tribal music that we’ve recorded.”

Bruce has worked with music producer Martin Terefe on the album, which also features artists such as Will.i.am – Black Eyed Peas, Yusuf Islam, Johnny Borrell – Razorlight, KT Tunstall, Hot Chip and Mike Oldfield. Every track is exclusive and has been written especially.

Songs for Survival is a double album. The first CD, entitled Amazon, features songs inspired by issues affecting tribal people and our planet. The second CD, Tribe, is a collection of dance and experimental songs by the Go! Team, Hot Chip, Blue States, Roger Sanchez and more.

All of the tracks are written around field recordings made by Bruce, when he lived with the indigenous tribes during the making of the series – drumming from Babongo initiation ceremonies in Gabon; war chants from the Kombai of Papua New Guinea; reed playing from the Penan in the rainforests of Borneo and hymns from the island tribe of Anuta, in the Solomon islands.

‘Bruce Parry Presents Amazon Tribe:
Songs for Survival’ – a double album released by Kensaltown Records,
is available from Amazon, price £7.98
All profits go to Survival International
Contact: www.amazon.co.uk

Poznan Climate Change Summit

by David Woollcombe

There were many positives about the Poznan meeting: it was held in a former Soviet era barracks converted into a massive conference area, stimulated by a variety of events, presentations and exhibits. There was a massive hangar devoted to 118 industry exhibits of post-carbon technologies – everything from windmills to a disco where dancers pounding the floor generate electricity! There were also over 300 workshops and presentations about climate change by many of the finest world experts on these issues! In fact, I learnt more about these issues in 2 weeks than any student could from several, expensive 3-year university courses.

2009 has to be a year of mobilization the like of which has never been seen on the planet. Few observing the bleary-eyed bureaucrats walking the halls in Poznan and listening to their hedged-about statements, would disagree with one young commentator: “If the fate of the planet is in the hands of these guys, we may as well not get up in the morning.” But – of course – our fate is not in the hands of those guys. It is in our hands! The Youth Delegation in Poznan led the way: in between their jokey and irreverent Fossil of The Day Award and ‘Yvo da Bear’ video. They got 80 governments to sign up to a defining resolution: “The survival of all countries and all people must be assured!”

For further information
unfccc.int/2860.php
www.ukyd.org

Life is beautiful.  The other night I went to “The Funky Seomra“, a wonderful alcohol-free dance evening, where lots of my friends and I danced for hours in the huge room above Cultivate, the sustainable development centre in Temple Bar, Dublin.  We drank herbal teas, home-made chai and bicycle-made smoothies, ate all sorts of cakes and heart-shaped cookies and rested on big comfy Buddha Bags and meditation cushions.  It was the perfect environment to ask my girlfriend Eveanne to marry me, so I presented the sapphire and white-gold engagement ring and she said “Yes”.  The fantastic organiser and DJ, David Mooney, made an announcement and played our song “Better Together” by Jack Johnson.  We danced in the middle of everyone who gathered around and moved in to give us one big group-hug.  Now that’s positively newsworthy.

by Patrick Bridgeman

Here are some other great stories from around the world…

Alexandra’s Lemonade Stand – Continuing to Make a Difference

It started 8 years ago. 4 year old Alexandra Scott pursued a “career” as the owner of a lemonade stand. But the stakes were a little higher for her. She was trying to raise money to help her doctors find a cure for kids with cancer because she herself was stricken with it. Her brother Patrick joined in and for the next 4 years, regardless of Alex’s health, the team would hold an annual lemonade stand to raise money for childhood cancer research.

As the story of their lemonade stand grew, so did business. Inspired by their example, thousands of lemonade stands sprung up across the nation, creating a formidable fund raising team.

On August 1st, 2004, Alex Scott died peacefully at the age of only 8 years old. She had raised over $1 million for childhood cancer research in her short lifetime.

But her spirit lives on…and so does her lemonade stand. As of July 2008, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised over $20 million for childhood cancer research. That’s some positive news for children with cancer…and positive news for lemonade stands everywhere.

On the Trail of the Urban Scout

Peter Bauer started reading books on the structure, history and future of humankind.  From there, he began a life-long journey to rewild – a process of ‘dismantling’ that he believes is vital for the continued development of ‘us’.  “I decided to walk away from this culture and learn to hunt, gather and garden for all of my necessities,” he says, referring to his previous city-slicker lifestyle.  “I have a duty to mythologize the process I’m going through and inspire others to join the rewilding renaissance,” Urban Scout explains. “So I write stuff, make videos, take pictures, design things, teach classes and maintain a blog that’s a public exhibition space.”

Now 25, Scout has pioneered an internet community for fellow rewilders or for those who want to learn more worthy ‘living’ skills – an online field-guide, gathering and providing valuable information on primitive or sustainable practices. “Our elders have long since disappeared,” he explains, “and the information they held and the skills they used, only exist now in pockets – a few books, a few schools and practiced by only a few… We need something else to stand in for our elders… This website attempts to do just that.”

Visitors to the forum can learn, for example, how to organise their own rewilding camp, how to seek out water and test for heavy metals before consuming it or find out which native plants are edible and, more importantly, which are not. They can search for courses on subjects such as foraging for wild fruits, nuts and vegetables or how to extract oil from plants.

“Civilisation has been a process of making people perceive the world as dead,” Scout informed Marjorie Skinner for the Portland Mercury. “It’s time we create stories that will inspire new cultures and bring the world back to life.”

Contact: www.rewild.info and www.urbanscout.org

Art E Amor

Arte E Amor, which translates as Art and Love, has found a second life for old or discarded glass products by turning them into beautiful, marketable jewellery.

Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20 year old Leandro and Jucimeire, aged 23, wanted to improve the quality of life for young women considered impoverished and at risk. The aim was to generate an income, while at the same time recycle, educate and help to clean-up the community.

Now Leandro and Jucimeire employ dozens of young workers, who melt down hundreds of pounds of unwanted glass and turn it into fashionable necklaces, earrings, belts and rings. They sell the jewellery at local markets, using a share of the profits to fund the upkeep of other invaluable community projects.

In two years, they have sold thousands of items and created successful income-generating jobs for many young women in their neighbourhood.

For more positive news stories, log onto www.positivenews.org.uk

There are those who believe that the world is getting more and more desperate. We are here to tell you that the world is getting better and better, and better, in every day-and in this moment-for everyone who insists on focusing there.

If all you did was just look for things to appreciate you would live a joyous, spectacular life. If there was nothing else that you ever came to understand other than just look for things to appreciate, it’s the only tool you would ever need to predominantly hook you up with who you really are. That’s all you’d need.”

Abraham Hicks

Happiness and its Causes

Happiness & Its Causes is a conference like-no-other bringing together 40+ leading speakers to debate the underlying causes of happiness and wellbeing for you as an individual, your workplace and society at large. Over four days – the two-day conference and two days of pre- and post-conference workshops – 40 of the best minds in psychology, philosophy, science, education, business, the arts, medicine, and politics will provide answers to these fundamental questions and explore techniques for achieving happiness and well-being, for ourselves and others. For more info, check out www.happinessanditscauses.org

Global Transition to Renewable Energy

Governments will be invited to Germany to launch an International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, to rival the Inter-national Atomic Energy Agency towards the end of the year. Dr Hermann Scheer, Chairman of the World Renewable Energy Council, said: “We’re talking about the most important and exciting structural change of civilisation since the beginning of the industrial age.” In Germany, already 250,000 people are employed in the renewable energy industries and the country is on course to be 100 per cent renewable by 2030. It is the best and cheapest job creation scheme ever invented. For more info, check out www.irena.org

World Youth Symposium on Biodiversity 2009

The City of Ottawa, in Ontario, Canada, is to be the proud host of the 2009 World Youth Symposium for Biodiversity. The focus of the event will be to: welcome students from around the world and to celebrate the work they are doing at home and in their communities; experience Canadian biodiversity using a full scale Bio-Blitz; and develop methods to implement the Global Youth’s Accord for Biodiversity. Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, stated that: “Young people have a central place as bearers of tomorrow’s solutions. Their engagement is essential if we are to reduce the loss of biodiversity and ensure the future of life on Earth.” For more info, check out www.biodiversitymatters.org

Positivity Festival
A Celebration of Being Human
20th – 21st September
Cork, Ireland

Plenty of free events to enjoy during this festival including a Creatively Positive Workshop with Tai Chi, Yoga, relaxation and drumming. Harmoniously Peaceful – a truly relaxing and uplifting music and dance event. Also Playful Positive with clowns frolics and fancy dress. All brought together with the world peace flame being paraded through the streets to a final ceremony and celebration of peace.

To book or get more information visit: www.positivityfestival.com or contact Paul on 086261656