The Hemp Report

     Tired of scrounging eBay for a new pair of old stock hemp Adidas in your size? You did find them in your size, but someone was willing to pay more than $200 for them? Well, now's you chance to get some new hemp Adidas products in your size at a reasonable price.

     Besides the Adidas Superstar Hemp - Natural/Brown pictured above there are also these new offerings from Adidas:

Adidas Superstar II Hemp - Black/Rasta

Adidas Supermodified - Green Hemp

Adidas Hemp Cap - Natural

Adidas Hemp Cap - Brown/Green

Dear Hemp Report Readers,
     Here is an excellent opportunity to help with the tsunami relief effort. You money will go directly to people in need to help them self-sufficient once again. You can make a difference!

     Please make a donation to Second Aid today.

Thanks,

Arthur Hanks, Tom Murphy, and Jason Freeman
The Hemp Report

Dear Friends and Colleagues in the Hemp Industry:

     Some of you know that I've worked for several years in Sri Lanka on yet another versatile natural resource, coconut fiber (coir). First as consultant to a USAID project, I'm now also developing new applications and markets for coir with my friend Bernd Frank at BaFa, the largest German processor of hemp. After the tsunami struck we thought that with our network of personal and business friends in Sri Lanka we should provide more direct help to some of the people worst hit - small micro enterprises in coastal Sri Lanka. With friends in the U.S., Sri Lanka and Germany we started the project SECONDAID (in German: Zweite Hilfe) - and we're asking for your support.

     Many small entrepreneurs have lost not only family members and homes but also their livelihoods, i.e. equipment and supplies, and have no money or access to credit to replace them. These businesses - fishing, repair shops, craftspeople, vendors, canteens - give vital jobs in coastal and rural areas with a high poverty rate. Most of the displaced now live in refugee camps with little to do. Aid organizations have prevented large-scale starvation and disease and are providing shelter. Yet, our local colleagues confirm that there has been minimal support to help small businesses get back on their feet.

     Virtually all of us in the hemp industry are "small businesses" and can identify or sympathize with their plight. Thus, SECONDAID's concept may appeal to you: with funds raised in the U.S. and Germany, we provide businesses with in-kind donations of specified, needed smaller items or with revolving, interest-free loans for larger equipment. We will also give financial and technical aid to select communal projects. To identify needs, purchase and distribute goods, and administer loans we work with trusted individuals and local organizations.

     In his usual generosity, David Bronner has offered to match contributions from members of the hemp industry - and the Dr. Bronner's Family Foundation has already financed our first project in a camp near Colombo. There, we just provided 25 family businesses with the equipment necessary to resume their work, at a cost of $2,020. Nutiva has pledged $2,500 to support recovery of agricultural land, which has suffered in some areas. Our initial goal is to raise $30,000 for direct aid. With typical needs of businesses in the $100 to $500 range, this will help many families to start back up and rebuild their lives. During this initial phase, all project members are donating their time and expenses to the project, thus there are no overhead costs. Please download SECONDAID's brochure for additional information on the project. And if you can't contribute personally but want to support our work, please spread the word and pass on the brochure.

Thanks much for your support - and please give a call or send e-mail with questions or suggestions.

Best regards,

Gero Leson

PS. Donations will be tax deductible, as our friends at Fiber Futures have agreed to let us use their 501(c)(3) status. For details, please see our brochure. Checks should be made out to "Fiber Futures" and "Second Aid" should be written on the memo line. Please mail checks to the address in the Second Aid Brochure.


About SECONDAID

Second Aid - Zweite Hilfe is a non-profit aid organization founded through a private initiative in the U.S., Sri Lanka and Germany. We provide unbureaucratic financial and technical support to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka who are not being reached by either government or larger aid organizations. These are cottage industries, run by families who have lost their tools and supplies, and who have neither funds nor access to credit to replace them. Our direct aid enables mechanics, sewing shops, grocers, canteens, and fishermen to work and resume earning their livelihood - without long waits and high overhead costs.

Field 05 to be held at Craik, Saskatchewan, Canada on August 20-21, 2005.

     It is now official; Craik, Saskatchewan has been selected as the site for Field 05. This innovative event combines music and performance with sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. It will all take place right in the middle of a field of hemp grown and sculpted specifically for Field 05.

     "We approached Craik because of their commitment, through their eco-centre and other initiatives, to a sustainable and green future", states Patrick McAuley, Event Coordinator for Field 05.

     Field 05, to be held August 20 through the 21st, brings together diverse groups from across Saskatchewan and the Canadian prairies to celebrate Industrial Hemp and all its wide-ranging uses as a sustainable crop. Along with Hemp workshops for farmers and the general public there will be a number of exhibits and opportunities for the public to purchase the varied amount of industrial hemp products that have proliferated since legalization in March of 1998.

     Along with the hemp, Field 05 will be a showcase of the best in contemporary Saskatchewan and Prairie music. Music will start in the early afternoon of August 20th and will continue until early Sunday morning. Roots, reggae, rock, funk, hip hop and electronica from some of the Prairies most progress groups will provide for a high energy event. Fada Dance performances and Fire dancing will round out the great list of performers.

     There will also be a beer garden on site as well as vendors selling non-alcoholic refreshments. Certified organic bison and certified organic vegetarian dishes will be available for hungry concert goers.

     Field 05 is sure to be an exciting and unique event that is not to be missed! Please mark it on your calendars now and plan to get involved.

     Sponsors include: Hemptown Clothing, Farmer Direct Co-operative, fairDeal food non-profit, and the Saskatchewan Hemp Association.

For more information please contact Jason Freeman at 306-352-2496 or email jason@farmerdirect.ca.