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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sustainable Building Expo 13/11; Cambodian Women's Health Centre fundraising event 14/11; Hepburn Hollow working bee 28/11

Don't forget SHARE's Sustainable Building Expo this Saturday. Details on the SHARE website share.asn.au. HRN will have a stall, so drop by to say hi and let us know if you'd like to help us wo/man the stand.

Some news from some local women is copied below about a fundraiser this Sunday for a Women's Health Centre in Cambodia.

Also, note in your diary now, there will be another Hepburn Hollow bushfire preparation working bee on 28 November. Full details next week (though you probably know the drill by now anyway)...

"A fundraiser is being held on Sunday 14th November to collect items for a group of five local women and three children to take over to a Women's Health Centre in Cambodia where they will volunteer for a few weeks.


For women in Cambodia, “crossing the river” (giving birth) is seen as the most dangerous day in a woman's life. Extreme poverty, nutritional challenges, isolation, ill equipped hospitals and lack of knowledge about warning signs in pregnancies all contribute to Cambodia's high maternal mortality rates.


Denise Love, a registered nurse and midwife from Sydney and her husband Gary self funded the Women's Health Centre in Takao, which officially opened on 1 August 2010. In the first eight weeks over 800 women were seen. Denise says that “Whilst we first went to Cambodia with the intention of supporting pregnant and birthing women, it became obvious that we also needed to start with basic life skills. The villages we have been visiting and talking with are asking for some very basic help such as how to access clean water, reducing diarrhea, help with coughs and how to grow fruit and vegetables. We are also opening a small school for 5-7 year olds on December 1 2010. A local 16 year old Khmer boy is going to be the teacher and is looking for any support we can give him. It is a school for daily living skills.” Denise is now living in Takao and plans to stay there until the centre and school are able to run successfully and sustainably without her there.


Denise has been coming to Daylesford during the past year to train doulas or birth attendants. Minna Graham, Maggie von Glesch and Jacinta Saunders are all doulas travelling over to work with Denise in the centre. Selena McVeigh and Joe Arrow are horticulturists joining the volunteer team to help plan and implement a food and medicine garden at the health centre and also plan to set up a seed bank.


The fundraiser is being organised to collect donations of needed items that can be taken over by the volunteer team in their backpacks. Items needed include packets of gauze squares, cotton wool, disposable gloves, rubber gloves, wound dressings, any basic bandages, tennis balls for schools, colouring pencils and pens, wooden toys, books for children, and used childrens back packs filled with  pencils, pens and paperstring balls, toothbrushes for children, B&B soaps, undies girl sizes 3-14 any woman’s sizes, baby singlets, non-hybrid seeds. Any cash donations are very welcome! $2 would buy a village family a chicken, $45 would sponsor a midwives wages for a month, $25 would sponsor a midwife to attend a conference. Donations can be either collected at the fundraiser or deposited straight into the Relief Fund. ANZ Surry Hills, NSW a/c name LifeOptions Inc. – Cambodia Relief Fund BSB 012487 a/c # 250001495.

The fundraiser is being held at the Hepburn Springs Reserve Playground at 2pm on Sunday 14th November. There will be lots of empty backpacks there ready to be filled with donations. The girls have a luggage allowance of 160kg. If the weather is rainy the backup venue will be the Palais. We look forward to seeing you there!

For further information on this project please check out www.lifeoptions.asia"



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Reminder: Film night 11/11; Ideas for the ESAC EDAP?? (Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee Energy Descent Action Plan); SHARE Sustainable Building Expo

Don't forget to call us on 5348 3636 or email, to book for next week's dinner at Conti, Thursday 11 November. Dinner is at 7pm, the film, Design for Life - Permaculture - The Food Forest Story is at 8pm (no booking required for the film only).

If you haven't heard yet, Su is our HRN representative on the new Council Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC). Part of the mandate for this committee is to create an Energy Descent Action Plan for our Shire. Please talk to Su if you have any ideas to contribute. She will keep us informed on the committee's progress as well. Keep up the good work Su!

An upcoming Sustainable Hepburn Association (SHARE) event reminder as well, in case you aren't on the SHARE email list. Find out more about SHARE at share.asn.au.


WHAT: Sustainable Building Expo
WHEN:  10:30am – 4pm Saturday 13th November 2010
WHERE: Daylesford Town Hall
As a way of helping people to reduce their energy use and to promote local green businesses, SHARE is holding a Sustainable Building Expo on Saturday 13th November.   Our aim is to set up a market place in the Daylesford Town Hall where people can learn and ask questions of experts about all aspects of sustainable building for either a new house, an extension or retrofitting an existing home.  We want to de-mystify green building.
We are asking stallholders to provide clear information about how their product/area of expertise can help people to live comfortably with a much smaller carbon footprint.  We have invited our local Town Planners, Architects, Builders, Plumbers, Electricians, Energy Assessors as well as suppliers of photovoltaics, solar hot water, low volatile organic compound finishes, black/grey water treatment plants, energy efficient lighting/appliances, double glazing and other suppliers of green building products. Gary Thomas of Spade to Blade will be selling delicious organic food and drinks.
Entry: $5 adults, SHARE members and all kids free. (Sign up for membership on the day if you like!)