The Information Blanket is a baby blanket imprinted with information about how to care for a newborn, including a growth chart with average ranges for one, three and six months, feeding and vaccination frequency, high temperature alert, doctors appointment reminders and a list of illness warning signs.

The blanket is made from eco-friendly 100% double knit North Carolina cotton. Soft and durable, it meets the strictest U.S. environmental standards on dyes and finishing. The fabric is pre-shrunk and shipped to New York City where local craftsmen cut it to swaddling size and double lock stitch the edges. The informational graphics are then screen-printed using non-toxic water-based inks.

The blanket is being distributed in Uganda with future hopes to continue the program in other under-developed areas all over the world. BMB NY selected Uganda as the first location for distribution because the East African nation has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world due to minimal pre-and-post natal education and limited health care access. The first 1,000 blankets will be handed delivered by BMB NY during their visit on May 21st – 29th. In addition, an English version is available for purchase via the campaign’s website.

Visit: http://theinformationblanket.org/

“This seminal volume on the indigenous African Dinka group is a landmark documentation of a vanishing people in war-torn Sudan. World-renowned photographers Angela Fisher and Carol Beckwith have devoted their lives to documenting the rapidly disappearing ceremonies and cultures of the indigenous people of Africa. In breathtakingly poignant images, they present a story that started with their first visit to the Dinka thirty years ago. Living in harmony with their cattle, the Dinka have survived years of war only to find their culture on the brink of vanishing forever. Where the White Nile River reaches Dinka country, it spills over 11,000 square miles of flood plain to form the Sudd, the largest swamp in the world. In the dry season, it provides abundant pasture for cattle, and this is where the Dinka set up their camps. The men dust their bodies and faces with gray ash—protection against flies and lethal malarial mosquitoes, but also considered a mark of beauty. Covered with this ash and up to 7’ 6″ tall, the Dinka were referred to as “gentle” or “ghostly” giants by the early explorers. The Dinka call themselves “jieng” and “mony-jang,” which means “men of men.”"

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this is one of the most famous and definitely my favorite tune from The Cinematic Orchestra.

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

http://blogs.reuters.com/fullfocus/2010/11/15/best-of-the-year/

In a place like Nairobi, You will probably need this type of solution when the lights went out. Deforestation and environmental degradation leading to frequent blackouts. One street vendor has cashed in on the crisis with this wonderful gadget called “Juakali Lamp”.

Via AfriGadget

Breathing Earth is a real-time simulation displays the CO2 emissions of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates.

Visit: http://breathingearth.net/

Bicycle Portraits – everyday South Africans and their bicycles. from Bicycle Portraits on Vimeo.

South Africans Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler are currently spending as much of their time as possible traveling through South Africa by bicycle to meet and photograph as many fellow cyclists out there as they can find. They are looking at who rides bicycles, why they ride them, and if they love using bicycles as a primary method of transport. Visit their constantly growing, frequently updated site –

www.bicycleportraits.co.za

The Bicycle Portraits project has raised over $15,000 though the pledge-for-reward social-network Kickstarter during their first successful fundraising effort.

For Bicycle Portraits / Part II they are raising an additional $7,500 to get them closer to realizing their goal of printing 3000 copies of the Bicycle Portraits photographic book. To find out more please visit -

www.bicycleportraits.co.za/kickstarter

Help them bring Bicycle Portraits to life and promote cycling as a means of independence for all.

Music : ‘Utata Uyadlala’ (Papa was a Rolling Stone) by African Noise Foundation

www.myspace.com/africannoisefoundation

Roz Savage is an environmental campaigner known for her inspirational solo row across the Atlantic Ocean. She will now row solo across the Pacific Ocean and walk from London to Copenhagen armed with an environmental mission called Pull Together. This initiative aims to inspire people to take action on CO2 levels by walking more and driving less. Calling upon her supporters around the world to Pull Together, Roz will challenge them to match her 10,000 oar strokes each day with 10,000 steps. All the steps logged by participants around the world on the site will be aggregated and expressed by a number of laps around the earth completed during the challenge. For every 53 people that complete 1,000,000 steps, an earth lap will be added. Just before her 24 May launch, she will provide the opening remarks to attendees of Al Gore’s Climate Project Summit and become a Climate Change Ambassador.

Via UNEP
Visit http://rozsavage.com/

Photo by Hikaru

Sun Come Up Trailer from Sun Come Up on Vimeo.

Sun Come Up follows the relocation of some of the world’s first environmental refugees, the Carteret Islanders – a community living on a remote island chain in the South Pacific Ocean. When rising seas threaten their survival, the islanders face a painful decision: they must leave their beloved land in search of a new place to call home. The film follows the Carteret’s relocation leader, Ursula Rakova, and a group of young islanders led by Nick Hakata as they search for land in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea 50 miles across the open ocean. The move will not be easy as Bougainville is recovering from a 10-year civil war. Many Bougainvilleans remain traumatized by the “Crisis” as the civil war is known locally. Yet, Sun Come Up isn’t a familiar third world narrative. Out of this tragedy comes a story of hope, strength, and profound generosity. San Kamap (Sun Come Up) means sunrise in pidgin and reflects this sentiment – the resilience of the community, and the hope that’s present at the start of a new day.

” Traveling Denim ” Recording color fade for two years from Takayuki Akachi on Vimeo.

“Crowdrise is about volunteering, raising money for Charity and having the most fun in the world while doing it. Crowdrise is way more fun than anything else aside from being all nervous about trying to kiss a girl for the first time and her not saying something like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me.’”