Posts Tagged ‘environment’

Building of FairMail’s eco-office in Peru started

Thursday, February 4th, 2016
Casi Casa Design

Casi Casa Design

In Peru work has started on FairMail’s unique eco-friendly new office in the “Casi Casa” complex.

FairMail Peru teenagers and volunteers working on the outer wall

FairMail Peru teenagers and volunteers working on the outer wall

Using only sustainable materials like straw bales, mud, bamboo and wood an alternative living, working and experimentation centre is being created overlooking the pacific ocean in  the fishing village of Huanchaco.

Besides the environmental benefits of the alternative building techniques used they will also create and inspiring and healthy working environment for FairMail’s photography classes and group activities.

FairMail founders Peter and Janneke on their construction site

FairMail founders Peter and Janneke on their construction site

To save costs and get more fun out of the construction all the work is being done with the bare hands of FairMail founders Peter and Janneke, occasionally helped by FairMail volunteers and some of the FairMail teenagers.

Throwing mud on the wall, cutting glass bottles for the windows and carpentry are great fun to do together and help relax the mind.

FairMail Peru teenager Dante helping Janneke to cut  some bottles

FairMail Peru teenager Dante helping Janneke to cut some bottles

Besides the new FairMail office the “Casi Casa” complex will house a workshop for sustainable technologies, a yoga and meditation space, a loam pizza palace and the apartment of FairMail founders Peter and Janneke.

To follow the construction process you can like Casi Casa’s Facebook page or watch the time-lapse video of the erection of the first floor of the first round tower.

The making of Casi Casa’s North Tower from peter den hond on Vimeo.

New fairtrade postcards printed with bio-degradable inks

Monday, October 26th, 2015
FairMail's new fairtrade postcard collection

FairMail’s new fairtrade postcard collection

We are very excited to share with you FairMail’s new postcard collection! Just about everything about them is good. The colourful designs with typewriter texts, the inspiring story behind each photo and now also their environmental credentials as they are printed with vegetable based inks! Seriously, does it get any better than that?

The 36 new card designs cover a wide range of card occasions like birthday, good luck, love, get well soon, good trip, thank you, congratulations, condolence and new home.

Our Dutch publisher Context Cards was só satisfied with the print quality of the bio-degradable inks that we hope they will decide to use bio-inks for all other card ranges as well. Hurray, a great victory for Mother Nature!

Get hold of the new cards in our webshop by clicking here!

Turning garbage into school fees

Sunday, July 6th, 2014
FairMail Peru team during beach clean-up

FairMail Peru team during beach clean-up

The great thing about FairMail is that it allows our teenagers to transform the free resource of local beauty into money to pay for their own education. During four “Garbage Art” workshops we went one step further, transforming garbage collected during clean-ups into large scale works of art. Some pictures of the art work will be available on new FairMail cards soon.

The workshops were inspired by the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and his Waste Land project at Brazil’s largest garbage dump on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. After seeing his work the FairMail teenagers in Peru and India developed their own ideas for huge works of art made from garbage.

FairMail India team collecting garbage

FairMail India team collecting garbage

To make the garbage art suitable for FairMail cards we gave it a little FairMail twist, using greeting card themes like “Good trip”, “Freedom”, “Thank you” and “Get well soon”. With the whole team we headed out into the Nagwa slum and along Huanchaco’s polluted beach to collect garbage in the necessary colours to actually make the art work.

Below you can see the end result and “Making of” time lapse videos of the four groups of FairMail teenagers: “Los 5 artistas”, “The photo Ninja’s”, “los Wheels” and “Los Genios”.

Thanks to FairMail volunteers Julian, Jessica, Michael and Samantha who organized and helped out during the workshops.

Los 5 artistas (FairMail India):

Los Wheels (FairMail Peru):

The Photo Ninja’s (FairMail India)

FairMail India office evacuated due to floodings

Sunday, September 15th, 2013
View of the street from the FairMail office

View of the street from the FairMail office

Every year from June to September the heavy monsoon rains fall on India’s dry soil. This is vital for the rain fed agriculture. However this year intense rains have caused the worst flooding in the past 10 years. The situation got so bad that even the FairMail office got surrounded by the rising water and had to be evacuated.

The FairMail office is situated in Nagwa, in the pilgrim city of Varanasi on the borders of the holy Ganges river. The river had to carry so much rain water that the river left its borders. This happens every year during the monsoon. But this year the amount of water was so much that the water flooded parts of Nagwa too. First the water entered the houses of a few of our teenage photographers and their families.

FairMail  teenagers helping to evacuate the volunteer from the FairMail office

FairMail teenagers helping to evacuate the volunteer from the FairMail office

The water just kept rising until also the streets around the FairMail office where flooded. There was no other option then to evacuate the FairMail office and look for another temporary housing option for our volunteer and to suspend the free photography classes until the office would be accessible again.

We were very lucky that the FairMail office is on the third story. Four of our teenagers were less lucky as they had to move themselves and their belongings to the roofs of their houses. Instead of being desperate their reaction was more calm. “You just have to manage it” is mostly their reply when the going gets tough.

FairMail teenager Anil Rao in front of his house

FairMail teenager Anil Rao in front of his house

Like with FairMail teenagers Anil Rao who is brushing his teeth up to his knees in the water running through the street in front of his house.  There is perhaps a lot of wisdom in their reaction. Because in the end it all comes down to how you handle a situation and can manage with the means you do have available.  Like this man on a rikshaw below.

You have to manage it

You have to manage it

FairMail Peru office adapts to climate change

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
Jorge, Sebastian and Renato putting on the new roof

Jorge, Sebastian and Renato putting on the new roof

A fresh wind of change is also blowing through the FairMail office in Peru where the photography teaching area and storage room are being remodeled. Due to climate change the dessert city of Trujillo is now regularly hit by surprise rain showers neither the city nor the FairMail office where prepared for. The tent above the teaching area wasn’t giving enough protection anymore. Also the red glow it gave to all the pictures taken under the tarp had been a nuisance for a long time.

Part of the FairMail Peru team enjoying the new roof

Part of the FairMail Peru team enjoying the new roof

So when, with the help of a donation from a photography traveler, the opportunity was there we decided to replace the tent with a decent and transparent plastic roof. This is now finished as you can see in the pictures with the new classroom only needing a new paint job. Thanks to the help of the teenagers who helped during the construction really making it their classroom again.

Next on the list, remodel the storage room

Next on the list, remodel the storage room

Next on the list is the construction of a professional photo studio in the former storage room. With FairMail’s changing business model towards concept and picture licensing instead of own card production the old storage room is no longer necessary. With the increased demand from our customers for “table top photography” in different greeting card themes we decided to change the storage room into a mini photo studio. The old shelves will be converted into glass tables letting through soft light on which we will place the new tabletop photo studio’s we bought with the help of a donation by Back Picture. We are also looking to install special lighting and increase the space so all the teenagers have enough space to let their creativity go wild.

We are very happy that now in Peru the teenagers can do what they do best under better circumstances and would like to thank Marlies Ketelaar and Back Picture for their valuable financial support in improving our production facilities. The Peruvian teenagers are very happy with their more professional photo studio.

FairMail cards printed with biodegradable ink

Friday, December 9th, 2011

FairMail believes that besides the people and the profit also the planet should benefit from its activities. Also regarding the environment FairMail wants to be the 100% responsable alternative greeting card! So what does that mean in practice?

In January 2011 the first FairMail cards where printed using so called bio-inkts. That means that the ink used is based on vegetable oils like line seed and soy oil. You might never have thought about it but conventional inks use mineral oils as basis and so aren’t bio degradable plus make use of a non renewable resource!

Besides that our envelopes and cards are printed on FSC certified paper. That means the woodpulp comes from sustainably managed forests that comply with the criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council.

Since spring of 2009 FairMail uses cello bags made from biodegradablecorn starch to pack our cards. So after unpacking your card you can throw it on the compost heap!

The next step for FairMail is printing the cards closer to the end used. That way we can reduce the transport distance and the CO2 emision.

FairMail now 100% biodegradable

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Good news for the planet: FairMail is now 100% biodegradable.

The cello bags we use to pack our folded greeting cards are now made from biodegradable corn starch. So after unpacking your card you can chuck it on the compost heap to fertilize your garden.

FairMail cards where already printed on FSC certified paper and the envelopes made of recycled paper. The only thing missing now is to persuade our Peruvian printer to switch to soy based bio-inks.

That might still take a little while, but you bet we want to give it a shot. So FairMail doesn’t only have a good social story, but, so the environment also benefits if people buy FairMail cards in stead of ordinary cards.

Just look at how happy that makes our card packers!

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