Silk and Solutions

We pause on this faux-spring Wednesday (it's cold and rainy with a chance of snow here) to reflect a bit on one of my favorite fibers and my favorite charitable cause. Respectively, that would be silk and Heifer International.




I got my copy of their publication, World Ark, today and in it is a story from which I borrowed the title for this post. It's about how raising silkworms in China provides a living for people. If you're like me and you love silk, then take a minute to read this story. Did you know that a Bombyx silkworm cocoon is made from a single, continuous strand of silk that can be up to 3,000 feet long? Pretty cool, huh. Read the article and you'll find out even more interesting facts.


If you feel so moved, consider making a donation to Heifer International. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given them a $2.5 million matching funds grant to support the new East Africa Dairy Development Project. The project aims to help 179,000 families – one million people – lift themselves out of poverty by giving them a more profitable way to produce and market milk from small farms.

UPDATE: I received a note from Heifer thanking me for my donation and saying that response to the matching fund had been tremendous. They reached the $2.5 million mark very quickly! That being said, donations to Heifer are alwasy appreciated, even when no one is matching them. :)

Like I said, this is one of my favorite charities. Hope you don't mind that I'm shilling for them today! At least I gave you some fiber information, too. :) And if you want other options, I recommend visiting Compassion International, my other favorite charity. :)