Sojourns

Sojourns, fair trade, adventure, art and peace? What does it all mean and how do these terms connect. I wasn't really sure what a fair trade store was before I visited and did some research. I learned that the word Sojourn as a verb means to stay as a temporary resident or to travel about. Sojourn as a noun means the travels of exploration. Sojourns has heeded a statement  made by English Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, who once defined civilized society as one that exhibits “the five qualities of truth, beauty, adventure, art, peace.” 

Walking into the store I immediately smelled inscents, heard ethnic music, and saw many beautiful things. It all set the atmosphere for the store. I walked slowly, examined everything and saw many things I wanted. Hand carved wooden figurines, a bamboo vanity set, glass tea sets, paintings, woven baskets, toys, purses, candles, soaps and jewelry. What more can a girl ask for?   

I ended up buying a bar of bora bora bubblegum soap that has an international coin inside and two bars of white chocolate candy. The soap seems to last forever so I haven't made it to the coin yet, but the white chocolate was delicious! I will definitely go back for more stuff soon.

 I did not learn much from just being inside store, but it did make me think a lot about people in third world countries trying to make a living. I did, however, learn a lot about fair trade from the Sojourns website. Their website states that we live in a world of gross social and economic inequalities which is leaving millions of people without basic necessities such as food, water, housing, education, and health care. Most of these people are being affected by globalization, international trade policies and third-world debt. These people are losing their farms, livelihoods and are unable to feed their families or provide the other basic necessities. Fair trade plays by a different set of rules than normal commerce. Fair trade is based on economic and social justice rather than exchanging goods or services based on driving hard bargains. The key goal of fair trade is to empower low-income, disadvantaged artisans, laborers and farmers around the world. I believe this store is a fantastic idea that would help people everywhere.

I don't believe many stores consider or are concerned with the economic production of other countries, but they should be, because, the world is connected and we are all dependent on each other. Overall, I learned a lot about fair trade, considering I knew nothing about it to start with. Before entering Sojourns, I had a feeling that everything would either be really cheap or really expensive. However, everything was reasonably well priced. I was surprised at the different products that were being sold, many were hand made and simple but had an unique quality. I would venture to say that my research on fair trade left me with a better understanding of human variation. While at Sojourns, I noticed many similarities and differences in the products being sold. It is interesting to know that a group of people can be so alike and so different at the same time. I will be going back to Sojourns for two reasons. One, because they have lovely products, and two, because I love the idea of helping third-world families support themselves.