text:
"Our ancestors can become angry because we don't respect them," said Hilario Muthembe, a local activist working with Oxfam America's partner MULEIDE in the bustling suburb of Jorge Dimitrov outside Maputo, Mozambique. The solution? Consult a traditional healer, who can help. "A small ceremony can show we respect them," Muthembe said, "and can cure the problem."
"Traditional healers play a number of very important roles in traditional society," said anthropoligist Gordon Chavanduka, president of the Zimbabwe Traditional Healer Association. "Firstly, they are the medical experts. Secondly, they are the cultural experts, and regard themselves as the guardians of their culture.
"They are also counselors, in all issues. Even the chiefs and headmen, who are the political leaders, almost all of them have a traditional healer as an advisor, to assist them in their governing."
Susan LeClerb Madlala, an anthropologist at the University of KwaZulu Natal, says that people find a certain satisfaction in consulting a traditional healer, who can not only treat the immediate illness or problem, but provide an explanation of the ultimate source of the problem itself, something a medical doctor can't do.
"Let's say you are hanging your wash on the line behind your house, and a snake bites you. Well, a medical doctor will treat the snake bite, but he can't answer a lot of important questions: Why did the snake bite you? Why was it at your house? Who sent that snake?"
Given the prominence of the spirit world in many areas, it is essential for rights organizations like MULEIDE to acknowledge the role of traditional healers in communities where they seek to intervene. Showing them respect and working with them, instead of dismissing them as "witch doctors," will help make the gradual changes in society that can lead to better respect for women, and recognition of their rights as full citizens, protected in Mozambique's Family Law.
]]>But first, they sing and dance, accompanied by whistles and drums. The entire neighborhood arrives to see what is happening. They sing songs of solidarity, and the power of women to overcome poverty and illiteracy, and about a new law in Mozambique they are using to redefine their entire society, one family at a time.
The Mozambique Family Law, promulgated in 2004 is designed to bring women's rights under law in line with international standards. Thanks to this new law, women now have a chance to inherit and own financial assets such as cash and property, and have a job that earns wages—without the permission of a husband or male family member.
And the Family Law recognizes customary marriages registered with local government—an important distinction in places like Jorge Dimitrov where couples can't always afford formal marriage ceremonies. Now, women living with a husband for more than a year have the right to a share of family assets if the marriage breaks up.
However, some people in Hulene and the greater Jorge Dimitrov area are basically unaware of the new law, and live by customs and traditions that are at odds with it. The problems this creates are most obvious in cases of domestic violence and other family conflicts.
"We see a lot of problems with couples," said Hilario Muthembe, an activist in Hulene. "Maybe the husband has an illness, and says his wife is a witch and wishes him to be dead."
And when families consult local traditional leaders or healers, the matter can be resolved based on traditions and local customs that favor those with the most power: men. The activists in Hulene said this opens up the possibility of domestic violence, and an abrupt "divorce" leaving a woman and her children on the street with no means of support.
Encouraging local leaders to respect women's rights under the Family Law is the mission of MULEIDE, Oxfam America's partner in Mozambique. The organization has trained more than 400 legal advisors in three provinces who work with traditional healers, the main custodians of local culture in neighborhoods like Bario Hulene.
Their mission is to make sure that women understand their new rights, and that traditional healers help protect them. "We want the illiterate grassroots women of Mozambique to know that there is a legal instrument that can help overcome decades of suffering," said Rafa Machava, executive director of MULEIDE. "So we need to engage everyone to balance their customs with the new law."
Traditional healers are the key to the strategy, as they advise local elites and families, and can be the ones to help create the long-term shift in culture that will promote respect for women's rights. Noemia Fernando, one of MULEIDE's trained legal advisors in Bario Hulene, said it is essential for her and the other activists in the community to enlist traditional healers to help women. "Traditional healers have the power to treat them, get the problem resolved, and unify the family," she said. "That is why we need them with us, they can help us do our work." Fernando and her MULEIDE colleagues explained the new law to the traditional healers in Hulene, and some healers are now helping them explain the new law to their clients, and develop non-violent solutions to conflicts.
Fatima Coelho, a traditional healer for three years, got her training on the new Family Law in 2005. And she is using her training to help ensure that women's rights are respected in her work. Coelho said it is a real challenge to help couples avoid violence. "I'm trying to teach that it is better to sit down and talk instead of beating each other—this is not the way to build up a family. This is the strongest value I gained from my training with MULEIDE in 2005, it is the best way to address these family issues."
Cecilia Reis, an elderly woman active as a healer since 1962, has been an ardent promoter of women's rights and has been working with MULEIDE since 1994. She is at the leading edge of creating a new culture of respect for women in Mozambique. Her comments show her commitment, her realistic outlook, and her aspirations. And at the root of her dedication are her own personal commitment and the training she got from MULEIDE, which is critical to her work as a spiritual advisor.
"Women and men should be equal. Women have to open their eyes and claim their rights. These issues will not change overnight—we have to fight, and get our men to [understand], because they are very difficult and don't want to change. But we still have to stand up, look them in the eye and say to them, "we have to share, because the Family Law says we have equal rights."
"There is no one who will chase me away from my house, not even my husband, he knows that I have my own rights. This is what we are trying to teach our women. But some are not open minded, and they are dependent on their husbands, sometimes they accept being beaten all the time, and sometimes they die of domestic violence, because they have nowhere to go.
"And they don't even know that there are lawyers at MULEIDE, and at the courts, who can defend them. We have lost many members of our community to domestic violence.
"But what can we do? We are a poor country, so we have to work hard. The few of us who are able to do this work, we have to stand up and work strongly."
]]>With the US looking to increase trade with Africa and Asia as well, Oxfam and its partners knew the negotiations around DR-CAFTA would set the stage for the US free trade agenda.
"In the US, this was a symbolic vote and symbolic debate. It was about much more than US trade with these Central American countries," Weinberg said. "For Oxfam and others, it was important to draw the line in the sand to say 'stop negotiating trade rules that fail poor people.' Our message to the US Congress and administration is 'get back to the negotiating table at the World Trade Organization to ensure a meaningful outcome that addresses key concerns for development.'"
The campaign operated on several levels. In Central America, civil society groups largely barred from democratic processes worked hard to open up avenues of debate with their government representatives negotiating the agreement. They also carried out grassroots education campaigns and mobilized people from across their countries to pressure their governments to stop DR-CAFTA.
At the same time, Oxfam sponsored delegations from all six Latin American countries that are party to the agreement.
Ten groups—made up of economists, small-scale farmers, generic drug company representatives, women's rights activists, environmentalists and former elected officials—came to Washington, DC, between 2003 and 2005 to speak directly with Congress members and their staff.
"It was an education for many in the US Congress, as well as a capacity building exercise for those who participated, because the people who came up learned a lot about how the US Congress and political system functions," Weinberg said.
At the same time, elected officials in the US learned about the reality on the ground in Central America, which provided a different story than the ones they constantly heard from Central American ministers and ambassadors. In one example, Oxfam America helped facilitate visits by rice farmers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic last April. They met with 20 different undecided members of Congress and their staff, and helped them hear directly from farming communities vulnerable to low-priced imports from the US. Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and his staff heard this message about rice, and issued a statement to his colleagues in Congress explaining the potential for unfair trade.
"While Central American countries will be forced to eliminate import tariffs on rice, the United States will continue to maintain generous subsidies for domestic rice producers. The US produces $850 million in rice each year, but subsidizes the industry to the tune of $1.3 billion; $450 million over the market price. These artificial supports lead to dumping on the international market, distorting trade. Huge agri-business reaps the profits, as 20 percent of US rice producers receive 85 percent of price support revenues," the statement read.
"Central American rice producers face an uncertain and bleak future with an imminent flood of unfair imports."
]]>Then there was the way DR-CAFTA was negotiated. The US insisted that the entire agreement be developed in just one year, and that the Central American countries negotiate as a bloc. This was an ambitious request, and asked a lot of countries which had little capacity to negotiate trade agreements with an economic superpower.
As DR-CAFTA was being negotiated, the countries in the region had few meaningful democratic traditions in place. The poorest and least politically connected members of society were unable to influence the negotiations. And with elite business interests dominating the input to trade ministries, DR-CAFTA was less likely to really help the poor farmers and others who really needed to experience the benefits of increased trade.
"Most of the region's organized poor were skeptical that a free trade agreement with the United States could in any way help improve their situation," said Thea Gelbspan, Oxfam America's Program Manager for Latin America. "DR-CAFTA ignored the rural poverty so many Central American farmers live with, and its claims to guarantee economic growth for the region weren't backed up by the policies it contains."
To address this concern, Oxfam America gave grant funding to a coalition of economic research and advocacy organizations working to inform the public about the details of the agreement, and seek meaningful participation by all members of society. Called "Iniciativa CID," the group included organizations in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Members of Iniciativa CID carried out research projects to inform legislators about the concerns of farmers and low-wage workers, provided training to farmers and farm workers about the DR-CAFTA proposal, and helped bring together citizens and their elected representatives to discuss international trade and poverty.
"The rules of the game really need to be changed... as well as the content of the agreements," said Rene Rivera, an economist at El Salvador's National Foundation for Development.
]]>DR-CAFTA is a regional trade agreement between the US and Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. If approved, the agreement would further open Central American economies to US exports and foreign investors. It would reduce local decision-making and fail to ensure international labor and environmental standards.
With Oxfam's support, representatives from El Salvador's FUNDE, Guatemala's CIDECA and Nicaragua's Centro Humboldt met with US Congresspeople and their staff.
Oxfam provides grants to the Central American partners, which lobby against DR-CAFTA and educate citizens about the consequences of the trade agreement, if ratified.
"Oxfam has allowed us to do a lot of research. And Oxfam has been instrumental in helping us come to the US to say, 'We really don't want CAFTA,' face-to-face," said Mario Rodriguez, 40, an economist specializing in intellectual property with CIDECA.
It's important for US citizens to lobby their Congressional representatives to make trade fair. But it also makes a big difference when Central American civil society representatives can speak directly to the US Congress to explain how their countries' development will be affected, said Stephanie Weinberg, Oxfam America policy advisor.
In addition to providing direct support to the Central American groups, Oxfam America also fosters connections between US farmers and farmers in other countries around policy debates like CAFTA. Working with US partners such as the National Family Farm Coalition, Oxfam has funded exchanges where American farmers from the National Family Farm Coalition meet with farmers in Mexico and Central America, and vice versa, with Mexican farmers touring US farms.
The exchanges help farmers from the North and South understand each other's situation and make tangible connections, farmer to farmer, about the impacts of agricultural and trade policies on their daily lives.
"My ability to explain to my fellow farmers why we should help didn't come naturally," said George Naylor, president of NFFC and a farmer from Iowa. "Meeting with farmers from other countries helped me understand."
After hearing the stories from the Central American and Mexican farmers he met, Naylor said he realized that CAFTA would further depress prices abroad and push more farmers off their land.
Any farmer can understand that threat.
"When everybody in the family ends up working off the farm, then what you used to think of as a 'family farm'—where everyone is involved in caring for the land and producing food—can't happen anymore," Naylor said.
]]>I am writing in regard to the imminent Congressional action on the US-Peru free trade agreement, titled the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). Oxfam America believes that trade can be an engine for development and poverty reduction, and we strongly support measures to improve trading opportunities that can reduce poverty. However, we also believe that trade agreements must take into account the economic and social disparities between trading partners and include rules that allow the poor to realize these important potential benefits. Unfortunately, as a recent Oxfam report indicates, the PTPA will cause greater hardship and could undermine development in Peru. For this reason, Oxfam is calling on Members of Congress to oppose this legislation.
The PTPA, as negotiated, will harm many thousands of Peru's small farmers who supply food to their domestic market, as they will be forced into an unfair competition with subsidized US agricultural exports. The agreement will limit access to affordable new medicines in Peru by unduly extending the monopoly rights of the international pharmaceutical industry. The PTPA will also restrict Peru's ability to regulate foreign investment to ensure it serves national development.
More than half of Peru's nearly 28 million inhabitants live in poverty, many of them in rural areas, and the PTPA will adversely affect the livelihoods of many of the poor if passed. Agriculture is the main source of jobs in rural areas, generating nearly a third of all employment nationally. The vast majority of Peru's agricultural production is for domestic consumption. The trade agreement makes permanent the export opportunities that Peru currently enjoys under US trade preference programs and will thereby benefit certain export sectors. Yet barely 8 per cent of Peruvian agricultural production is for export, only one third of which is destined for the US (coffee, as well as non-traditional products such as asparagus and artichokes).
On the other hand, the PTPA will fully eliminate tariff protection on basic crops, which the US International Trade Commission has estimated will lead to large increases in Peru's imports of US basic grains, such as wheat, rice and corn. This means that Peruvian farmers who supply their domestic market will be undercut by heavily subsidized, cheaper US imports that are dumped in Peru below their real cost of production. As a result, there is a risk that many Peruvian farmers who are no longer able to earn a living by producing basic grains will turn to coca cultivation, thereby undermining years of US foreign policy and drug eradication efforts.
It has been suggested that Peru's farmers could be compensated for the loss of their livelihoods. However, Peruvian agricultural leaders have stated that farmers would need close to $1 billion to compensate for their annual losses from the PTPA, nearly 30 times what the Peruvian government has committed to make available. This is also a far less effective way to promote development than providing full and effective safeguards for crops that are vital to livelihoods and food security.
Access to Medicines
The PTPA could lead to significant increases in medicine prices, another issue of major concern for poor people in Peru. Stringent, new intellectual property provisions in the PTPA will restrict generic competition and lead to higher prices for new medicines in Peru. Only half of all Peruvians have health insurance and about one-fifth of the population has no access to health care. Medicines account for one-quarter of all public health expenditures and 44 percent of household spending on health. People living in poverty are, for the most part, not insured and must either pay out of pocket or receive no treatment at all. Given these conditions, any increase in the price of medicines is likely to have significant negative consequences for the
The PTPA will unduly extend monopoly protections for the international pharmaceutical industry, which will mean that fewer Peruvians, particularly the poor, will be able to get the medicines they need. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Health in Peru has shown that provisions in the PTPA will increase the cost of new medicines, and the Health Minister has reported that an increase in public health care expenditures will likely be required in future years. Imposing new burdens on an already cash-strapped health care system will further exacerbate poverty and inequality in Peru. The primacy of public health over private patents has already been well-established at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet the PTPA ignores this by restricting the use of public health safeguards allowed under the WTO and requiring adoption of new intellectual property rules that exceed the WTO standards.
The rules on investment in the PTPA give foreign companies leeway to challenge investment regulations, such as laws to protect the environment and public health. This will undermine Peru's ability to ensure that foreign investment contributes to national development, rather than exacerbating poverty. For example, Peru's Law for the Promotion of the Agricultural Sector grants the farming industry certain tax benefits if at least 90 percent of its inputs are sourced nationally. Under the PTPA, this law could be challenged and potentially repealed. Likewise, efforts to regulate the operation of the mining industry to address its health and environmental effects could be challenged.
While the economic impact of the PTPA on the US is likely to be negligible, the economic and social costs to Peru will be high, especially among the poor. Peruvian agricultural exports to the US will expand little, as noted by the ITC, given that these products have already enjoyed duty-free access to the US market under Andean trade preference programs for the last 15 years. Contrary to promoting stability in Peru and the Andean region, the PTPA is likely to exacerbate the existing problems of poverty and inequality and undermine regional integration and development.
Although the PTPA has been actively promoted by Peru's outgoing president and approved by its lame-duck Congress, there is deep concern among much of Peru's population about agreement. Broad cross-sections of civil society in Peru have actively opposed or questioned the trade agreement. The PTPA was a significant campaign issue in the recent presidential elections, and the winner, incoming President Alan Garcia, campaigned on a promise to closely review the agreement's potential impact and renegotiate it if necessary.
Oxfam believes that in order for trade to truly be "win-win" for developed and developing countries, trade rules should be negotiated under the multilateral trading system at the WTO. The Doha Development Round was launched with the understanding that it would deliver on the promise of development for poor countries. A successful conclusion to these WTO negotiations that provides new opportunities for developing countries will also benefit the US by promoting more stable economies and increased purchasing power in the developing world.
Bilateral trade deals like the PTPA complicate the global trading system and divert efforts to achieve a more valuable global agreement at the WTO. Furthermore, the PTPA includes rules that weaken the ability of Peru to enact policies that reduce poverty and further national development.
For these reasons, and because of the harm it will cause to the poor in Peru, I urge you to vote no on the US-Peru free trade agreement.
Sincerely yours,
Raymond C. Offenheiser
I believe there are interests that we share that are very important to the work we do in Nicaragua—natural disaster preparedness work, extractive industries, and irrigation issues.
Oxfam also helps build campaign support, political understanding and meaningful participation.
We have firsthand information about what's going on with CAFTA. We are trying to provide that information to those people who don't have access to it.
We are influencing public opinion and pressuring the government to prevent the agreement from being ratified in the countries throughout Central America.
At the international level, we are trying to convince members of Congress who are undecided that CAFTA is not the thing to do.
CAFTA will have very serious consequences on the Central American environment. Even though there is a chapter on the environment in the agreement, it is not enough to mitigate the negative effects CAFTA will produce if approved.
The intellectual property rights provisions will allow exploitation of all the local environmental capital that Central America has. This chapter will just benefit big corporations at the expense of local companies and communities.
The big corporations will tap the genetic information in tropical forests and use it for their own needs. In this agreement, foreign investors will benefit to the detriment of local businesses in Central America.
Biodiversity is an area in which Central America is very rich. And those resources are at risk under CAFTA.
Another major problem for the environment is genetically modified organisms. US agriculture allows the use of these kinds of products without a problem. If CAFTA takes effect, increased trade will bring these products to Central America. Right now, these genetically engineered products don't exist in Central America. This would lead to contamination of the local resources.
We don't know what type of problems these new seeds will introduce. We don't know what consequences there will be.
After the agreement was negotiated, the nature of the activities changed. We moved from a phase where we constructed proposals to a second stage, which involved getting information to the people about what had been negotiated.
I believe that the US Congress is near a decision. It will be very tight, a very close call. So, this is a very important time. This is the time to influence the decision.
We still have to wait for the final result, but we have provided them with important information so they can make an informed decision.
]]>Oxfam has allowed us to do a lot of research. And Oxfam has been instrumental in helping us come to the US to say, "We really don't want CAFTA," face-to-face.
We believe that public opinion has been manipulated. The business sector, which is pushing CAFTA, has said that people in Central America want CAFTA. The reality is totally different
For example, in El Salvador, this agreement was approved late at night and behind closed doors. In Honduras, when they approved it, the legislature had to leave through the back door because there were protestors out front. In Guatemala, the people are asking for a national referendum even though the president says they can't afford it.
We believe that this is an important decision for the future of our countries. There has to be a national referendum so people can say what they think.
I believe that the negotiations and ratification process is totally undemocratic—because the negotiations have been carried out, and still are being carried out, by a very small group of people. We have asked the Congressional representatives in Guatemala if they understand the agreement. And they say they don't even have a copy to look at. But they have been pressured to vote in favor of CAFTA. That's not democratic and says a lot about the process.
If CAFTA really is a good thing, why do they have to hide negotiations and do it behind the people's back?
I got news of the police repressing local people who were protesting against CAFTA. I don't think CAFTA has been approved yet, but it can happen at any moment. (Guatamala's congress ratified CAFTA on March 10, 2005. The agreement is awaiting ratification by the US congress).
We lobby the Guatemalan congress. At the national level, we are part of Mesa Global, which has been leading the protests this week. We also present proposals and research on issues related to the negotiation process and the potential impact of the trade agreement. We have been working with people involved in the negotiations and ratification of CAFTA, as well as with local organizations.
I'm very sad because I feel that the future, whatever it is, will be decided here in the US. They don't have the right to make decisions about our lives.
]]>Other students held events on their college campuses. Creative ideas included a "CAFTA Carnival" that featured rigged games to illustrate unfair trade. In one, participants were challenged to shoot a basketball at a net—the distance was determined by whether they were representing a US- or Central American-based business. Students and other activists also held more formal debates and discussions with experts on trade policy. Activists held more than 250 events during the Week of Action, a significant proportion of which were focused on DR-CAFTA.
At the end of July, the day before the last debate in the House on CAFTA, a small group even staged mock tug of war before the votes on Capitol Hill to show the uneven trade benefits DR-CAFTA provides.
In the end, watching the DR-CAFTA floor vote during the last week of July was "gut wrenching," said Sophia Lafontant, Student Trade Campaign Organizer at Oxfam America. But she was comforted by the many memories of activists around the country showing such passion in their grassroots efforts to defeat the agreement.
"I have to admit that I took this loss hard. It is difficult to pour all of your energy and passion into one issue and have the outcome end up not as you hoped, especially when the impacts of DR-CAFTA are so real," Lafontant said. "However, I am consoled by the fact that DR-CAFTA passed by such a slim margin. Let that be a reminder to us that we are doing our job and that we are being effective. The impact that trade has on development was a theme in the debate."
]]>It is a stark example of the impact of HIV and AIDS on rural Zimbabwe. In addition to her own 10 children, Mrs. Nyuwani, 48, and her recently disable husband took in another dozen children. "The 12 came here because their parents passed away and they were living as street children. So my husband I brought them here," she said. "Six are of my late sister, others are my brother-and sister-in-law's kids, and the grandchildren of my sister."
This would be a tremendous challenge for anyone. But Nyuwani has a thoughtful, peaceful air about her as she takes a deep breath and describes how the family copes: "At first it was disturbing, because I thought about where to get food for all these children," she said. "But now I am used to looking after them? I treat them all the same, and share the food equally."
Survival comes down to just that: food. Nyuwani has seven hectares (about 17 acres) of farmland at her disposal, and is an experienced farmer. "I manage all this by farming, and the older kids help in the fields," she said. "During the rainy season there is a lot of work to be done, because I have to tend to the crops and the children as well."
Lack of cash and time to look for farming supplies like seeds and fertilizer make it extremely difficult for Nyuwani to plant and harvest enough to sustain the family. These constraints and the number of AIDS orphans on the Nyuwani homestead made her a candidate for the seed distribution project implemented by the Single Parents and Widows Support Network, in partnership with Oxfam America. Single Parents gave Nyuwani some seeds in November 2005, and by the end of May 2006 she had a decent harvest: she estimated growing about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of groundnuts, 100 kilograms (440 pounds) of corn, and 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of sorghum.
This was an improvement over previous years when lack of seeds as well as rain diminished the agricultural yield for the Nyumanis. But the food won't last forever. "I got a better harvest this year, but it won't last until the next season since I have such a big family," Nyuwani said. "For us to survive, to the next [growing] season, two of my daughters will pan for gold in river beds near here. We will also cut back on our meals to one or two a day. We will eat sadza [corn meal] and okra—that's what we have here—no tea, no sugar, no bread. During this [rainy] season we also have some pumpkins and cow peas, but we don't usually eat them apart from the rainy season."
Oxfam America and the Single Parents and Widow Support Network are exploring possibilities for a winter garden project that would help families grow vegetables over the winter. This would help bridge the food deficit many families will be experiencing before the end of the next growing season, and improve nutrition for families taking care of chronically ill people.
For now, the food is sustaining the homestead. "I appreciate the seeds I got from Single Parents," Nyuwani said. "I was very happy with the sorghum and maize seeds I received. I am also happy with the groundnuts."
In addition to improving their diet, groundnuts are also an economic opportunity for a family low on cash with a lot of kids who need to go to school. "If you can grow more of these to sell some, you can get some money," Nyuwani said. "Some of the children were chased away from school due to lack of school fees, but I sold some groundnuts and paid for six who are now at school."
]]>September is the end of winter in Zimbabwe. After four years of erratic rains and low yields, many farmers were desperate as they headed into another growing season. Most had no money to buy seeds, fuel, or fertilizer—or if they did these essential farming supplies were simply not available due to the economic crisis gripping Zimbabwe.
Many families in Mudzi were caring for people living with HIV and AIDS, which is infecting more than 20 percent of Zimbabwe's population. This took away the time they needed to travel in search of seeds to plant and grow corn.
"For the last five years, few had been able to produce a crop," Mariga said. "People were surviving on wild fruits, and they did not have access to any grains or other sources of food."
Mariga, Oxfam America's humanitarian program officer, had no time to waste. He immediately started working with representatives from a local development organization called Single Parents and Widows Support Network, carrying out a rapid assessment of the most vulnerable families. Coordinating with special committees comprised of local volunteers, Oxfam and Single Parents surveyed the population in Mudzi and identified 5,000 families that needed help the most.
"Our criteria prioritized families with chronically ill family members," Mariga said, "Households taking care of more than two or three orphans, women-headed households, child-headed households, and those with older grandparents taking care of the young."
"Mudzi is a dry area of Zimbabwe," Mariga explained on a visit the following May. "It only gets between 300 and 350 millimeters (1.2 to 1.5 inches) of rain during the growing season. It's not ideal for agriculture and there are a lot of people living here who have to scrounge for a living, and grow what crops they can."
In consultation with farmers, Oxfam and Single Parents devised an agricultural support program that would get families the seeds they needed to plant before the rains started in November. The priority was on drought-resistant small grains like sorghum, as well as corn, pumpkins, and groundnuts (peanuts).
It was a race against time: Oxfam America and Single Parents procured the seeds and distributed them to the 5,000 project participants just in time for the rains. Suddenly, the most vulnerable families had a glimmer of hope.
"The seed package was really well received by the farmers," Mariga said. "They had something to grow, they would not have to scrounge for money to buy these inputs, and they could use their money for school fees, and health care for those who are chronically ill."
By the middle of April, the results were clear: farmers grew substantially more than in previous years, and would have more food to eat in the coming winter. "Our final round of monitoring indicated that about 40 percent of the participants harvested a crop that would sustain them until December," Mariga said. "Another 20 percent will have food until the next harvest in May 2007. This is a milestone for an area that has not been able to produce much in the way of crops for the last four to five years—it is a real achievement."
Bridget Masarauru, the program director for Single Parents, said that the agriculture program is making a big difference for the people they work with in Mudzi. In the previous years of low rainfall, Masarauru said it was common to see people faint during community meetings as the lack of food caught up with them. "People can now confidently say that they can have two or three meals a day, at least during the rainy season," Masarauru said. "This is something really tangible we can do."
David Kanjere, the elected councilor for Masahwa ward in Mudzi, was enthusiastic about the seed program. On a late-May tour of Masahwa, the second-largest ward in Mudzi with more than 24,000 people, Kanjere said this year's harvest was significantly larger thanks to the seeds and a bit of rain. "People started harvesting last month, and they are still harvesting now. Right now, people's lives are changing with this yield."
Oxfam and Single Parents are now turning their attention to helping farmers in Mudzi to store their seeds for the next season, and create ways for them to sell or exchange seeds and make them more widely available to other farmers. They will also look at ways to help the minority of participants who had trouble maximizing the potential of their seed basket in the 2005-2006 growing season.
]]>The matriarch of the family, Chisero's mother, was in Harare, 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) away getting medical treatment. She has been living with HIV for seven years'a long time for a farmer in rural Zimbabwe to survive with HIV—which makes Minor Chisero a very good daughter indeed. There is a lot of pride in Minor's voice when she says, "Yes, I am the one who takes care of her."
It is a close-knit group. "We work as a family in the fields, and we eat as a family," Chisero explained. "It is a little better now, we can eat three meals a day, compared to last year when we were only eating once a day."
The increase in food is due to an increase in crops they grew this season with seeds supplied by the Single Parents and Widows Support Network, through a grant from Oxfam America. The family had recently harvested five 50-kilo bags of groundnuts (about 550 pounds), seven bags (770 pounds) of sorghum. They were still harvesting their corn in late May, and were hoping to have as much as five bags.
This 2005-06 harvest was a lot stronger than their 2004-05 yield, when they grew only one bag of corn, three bags of sorghum, and two bags of groundnuts.
The increase in groundnuts this year is not only helping their diet, but their income as well. It is also making it possible for the children to attend school. Chisero and her sisters are roasting and grinding part of their groundnut supply to make peanut butter, which they are selling to cover their health care and school fees for three of their children. "All of the children here are in school," Minor said. "We pay the school fees by selling groundnuts, maize, and livestock."
School fees are 1.5 million Zimbabwean dollars per year, or about $US 15 at the official exchange rate. Peanut butter demands a high price in Mudzi: Chisero said they can get about a million Zim dollars for a liter of peanut butter (about $US 10 a pint).
Minor and her family are making the best of a tough situation. Although they are eating more than they were last year at this time, their meals consist primarily of sadza, or ground corn meal, the main staple food in Zimbabwe. As Chisero puts it, "Our meals are a little bit better—three meals a day, but it is still sadza in the morning, sadza at noon, and sadza at night. It is not a balanced diet."
But in between the sadza and peanut butter revenues, the family is coping for now. Chisero expects their food supply to last through September.
"This program helped us a lot," Chisero said. "If it was not for this seed we got last year we would not have been able to plant our fields, because we have no money."
]]>"We were given the commandment early on not to design anything that looks weird," said Jeffrey Fugate. "We have tried very hard to create something that is culturally appropriate."
In collaboration with Oxfam America, MIT graduate students in Reinhard Goethert's class have come up with a plan that does a whole lot more than meet that rural aesthetic. Goethert and his students worked closely with Oxfam partner organization TRAC, the Terrebonne Readiness and Assistance Coalition, to learn how their ideas could be matched with needs in the local community.
What sets the Lift House apart from other housing programs is that it attempts to combine a concern for affordability with hurricane-ready sturdiness, and ease of construction—easy enough to turn a crew of hammer-swinging volunteers loose on the project.
Volunteers serve another purpose besides making the Lift House affordable. Their energy and enthusiasm also help strengthen a community's foundation.
"You can make this a festival of rebuilding the community," said Reinhard Goethert, director of MIT's SIGUS, or the Special Interest Group in Urban Settlement. "It's not just a physical house. You're stabilizing and rebuilding the community. People want to help. I think this is a good way to do it."
With an above normal hurricane season forecast for this year, and weather patterns that could produce storms of increased frequency and intensity for years to come, the Lift House approach may offer a sustainable housing approach to communities throughout the Gulf Coast.
Last January, when Fugate visited Dulac, Louisiana, a poor bayou community in Terrebonne Parish, he was struck by how precarious the setting was for homes—low, muddy, and not far from the wind-whipped waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
"It's a beautiful but not a gentle landscape," said Fugate.
The students' objective was to design a bayou home that would neither flood nor get blown away. They had to take into account the corrosive salt water, soggy ground, and winds tearing across the flatlands at hurricane speed—all the while remembering the admonition that "weirdness" could sink even the best of ideas.
Coupled with that warning was the students' recognition that regardless of how hard they studied the place, they would never know it as well as the locals. When Fugate suggested that carpeting would make a good floor cover for a house lifted high above flood waters, he found himself corrected: In the muddy bayou, shoes caked with muck are a fact of life. Better to install easy-to-clean tiling than carpets.
"It's a two-way learning street," said Fugate.
Among the design features the SIGUS group did settle on was a hipped roof—"it's sloped on all four sides, like a pyramid, it's more aerodynamic and less prone to lift," said Fugate, "and it has a 'floating foundation,' meaning a concrete slab that can move with the shifting soils that are a reality in low-lying bayous." Pilings through the foundation anchor the home and are deep enough to support a house lashed by fierce winds and storm surges.
"If you're going to splurge a little, splurge on the roof and foundations," said Fugate. "If you can keep your house from floating away or leaking, that's half the battle."
The design calls for volunteers to build homes that eventually stand high above the ground—a place most workers are wary of going.
"Our idea is to build the house low and then lift it onto pilings when it's completed. Volunteers—and professionals—get nervous when they have to work on a platform," said Fugate. "To my knowledge, no one who uses volunteers has looked at stilt housing before. The big idea of building it on the ground and lifting it on stilts is our solution."
The students are still exploring the most efficient—and most affordable—means of lifting the house once it is built. One technique student Matt Hodge finds compelling is a chain hoist, which uses a pulley set on top of the pilings to hoist the house with chains.
"It's potentially safer because you don't have anyone under the house while you're lifting," said Hodge, whose background is in civil engineering.
With the design 98 percent complete, the next stage of the effort calls for the SIGUS group to work with local engineers to approve the concept and create a set of drawings that meet local building codes, said Goethert.
"When you talk about new ways of doing things, it takes a lot of talk," said Goethert. "You've got to change mindsets."
SIGUS and MIT are planning a two-week program in July for MIT volunteers interested in helping TRAC move forward in the realization of the first of these homes and to help repair damaged houses in the bayou. In the first house to test and design, contractors will set the pilings and build the bulk of the homes themselves, with volunteers being used to help with the finish work inside.
Once the design and construction kinks are ironed out, Oxfam and MIT hope to see other volunteers and local community groups pick up the design, enlist an army of helpers, and begin to build affordable, storm-resistant houses wherever people need them.
To help those crews avoid potential pitfalls in the process, SIGUS students are also developing a hands-on guide for the aid groups. Called "Going Up?" it will be chockfull of tips on smart ways to work with coastal communities and on coordinating all the different elements—supplies, engineering, design, construction, finance—needed to get the project accomplished.
"All too often, academics' great ideas never have the opportunity to be tested in the real world, while local community groups rarely have the resources to tap the best and the brightest or apply innovative concepts born in the classroom to their local realities," said Bernadette Orr, Oxfam's Gulf Coast emergency program manager.
"The Lift House project will be an opportunity for MIT and TRAC to bring those two worlds together in a way that will create tangible benefits all around. We know that the Lift House is going to attract a lot of attention and, we hope, replication once it goes up.
"We plan to help promote the manual with local groups working on affordable housing all along the Gulf Coast, so there could be many Lift Houses that eventually get constructed from Mississippi west to Lake Charles."
]]>But now Hanshaw, and a growing number of other women in the Gulf Coast community, have a new foundation from which to begin rebuilding part of their lives: Coastal Women for Change, or CWC, a fledgling group of newborn activists determined have a say in the recovery of their neighborhoods.
Whatever the 2006 hurricane season brings, CWC may serve as a buffer to additional hardship. It has taught many of the women that each of them has a voice, and those voices count—individually and collectively.
"Our mission is to empower these women with knowledge of what they can do," said Hanshaw, the group's new director. "It's unlimited. You can build. You can go back to school. You can call your local officials. You can talk to them. They're there for us."
Now numbering about 25 regular members, with a core group of 10, CWC was launched with the help of Safiya Daniels, a community development specialist for Oxfam America, who has been working chiefly in Biloxi and Gulfport.
"One big difference that I saw between these two cities was the existence of organized community groups," said Daniels. "I realized that outside of the churches, Biloxi had none. I also noticed there was very little institutionalized female leadership in Biloxi."
Daniels also worried that there seemed to be few community gatherings in Biloxi to discuss what direction the city was taking as it began recovering from Katrina. Long-range community planning was not on anyone's neighborhood radar screen.
"This was a dangerous situation," said Daniels. "Everyone else was making a plan: casino developers, condo developers, and the city, but there was very little evidence of broad community participation."
She knew the concern was there—"in every community there are lots of concerned women who want a vibrant, healthy, and safe community for their families to live in"—but how to turn that interest into action was the missing piece. So, Daniels called a meeting.
"I brought a group of women together to talk about what was happening in their community, what issues and problems they faced, and how these could be addressed," said Daniels.
That first meeting grew into a series of sessions which blossomed into action, spawned weekly gatherings, attracted new members, and finally gave birth to an official group with a name and stated mission. Its goal is this: "to make a difference in our communities through securing and revitalizing our neighborhoods." Information sharing is the critical tool in achieving that end.
"I don't want people to be left out," said Hanshaw. "I want to give them knowledge. Knowledge is power."
Knowledge starts with asking questions, and one of the first events CWC sponsored was a Biloxi community forum to which it invited the mayor, city councilors, and members of the city planning department. Questions abounded—about flood elevations mapped out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about affordable housing, about displaced people. Nearly 200 residents showed up for the forum.
Attendees not only got some answers, some of them learned a deeper lesson as well.
"Democracy works only if people make it work," said Daniels. "And we do that by holding people accountable. There possibly has never been a time during the mayor's 13-year tenure that he found himself in such a position, being watched and held accountable by this particular community, and in such a public way."
Asking questions is the first step. Having a say in the answers is the next step. Right away, CWC members sought seats on a planning commission formed by Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway. Called Reviving the Renaissance Committee, it was given 90 days to come up with a plan for the city's recovery.
Five CWC members have been weighing in on matters of finance, education, land use, and affordable housing—the subcommittees for which they signed up. And people are beginning to listen to CWC's opinions.
"We are in the paper every week," said Hanshaw, adding that she gets the sense she is even making some of the powerbrokers nervous.
"They try to turn their heads when I come up," she said. "Especially the developers. They don't want to talk to me. They know where I stand."
For Cass Woods, working with CWC has given her a direct link to her community, and that link is allowing her to make things better all around.
"It makes me feel good to help someone," said Woods, who has been living in a government issue trailer—the size of a matchbox, she said—parked in her back yard for months. "That's what has helped me get through my loss."
With a $30,000 seed grant from the 21st Century Foundation, CWC will be able to pay Hanshaw a salary, purchase office supplies, and begin to look ahead at how to fund itself into the future.
Meanwhile, the organization is undertaking a new task: a survey of East Biloxi to find out the childcare needs of the community's residents. To renew its license, a local day care organization is being required to assess the need for its services in the area.
"This is our first project," said Hanshaw. "Another accomplishment under our belts."
And it's just the kind of project Daniels had a hunch a group like CWC could offer the community.
"The needs of the community will drive what CWC takes on," said Daniels. With those needs being constant—as they are in every community—Daniels expects the new organization to have a long and productive life.
"It's going to stand on its own. I am confident of that," she said. "I could see it truly growing into a coastwide organization."
]]>Last September, coffee farmers from seven countries traveled to Salvador, Brazil, to add their voices to the World Coffee Conference, a special meeting of the International Coffee Organization. The ICO is an intergovernmental organization that brings together coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries.
The World Coffee Conference kicked off Oxfam America's campaign to influence the next International Coffee Agreement. That agreement was a key issue at the ICO meeting in London this past week, but no specific proposals were forthcoming to solve those ongoing economic problems.
Oxfam has been working to make the agreement better reflect the needs and concerns of small-scale farmers who are struggling with the changing face of the coffee crisis.
"I wonder if the participants at the World Coffee Conference know what the coffee crisis has truly meant for producers," said Pradeep Nandipur of the Karnataka Growers Federation in India.
"In my region, farmers committed suicide because they could see no way out of their mounting debt. They had no way to repay it because their income was gone."
To survive these challenges, farmers and farmworkers said they require some stability, the kind that only comes through long-term capital investment, access to markets, and political representation.
When the international price of coffee dropped to historic lows in 2001, family farmers in places like Guatemala and Ethiopia fell into crisis.
With a glut of coffee on the market, many couldn't find buyers for their crops. Others couldn't pull in enough profits to pay off their farming expenses and feed their children.
Many farmers who survived the price drop were members of fair trade cooperatives. By agreeing to certain principles, such as transparency with members, democratic elections, and setting aside a percentage of profits for the community, cooperative members received a guaranteed minimum price for their crop.
"When the prices were low, fair trade was the best market we had," said Moise Coz, administrator of the IJATZ coop in Guatemala.
Farmers who were part of fair trade cooperatives said they made enough money to buy food, clothe and educate their children, and buy more farmland. Some coops even had enough money to buy mills to process their own coffee or to help local schools buy chalkboards and desks.
But even as farmers were counting the benefits of their fair trade premium, the crisis was changing. The price of coffee began to recover, creating competition between the coops and local middlemen representing importers or mega-roasters.
Some farmers now find themselves in an awkward position. They can sell their coffee to their cooperative for less and wait a few months for payment. Or they can sell to middlemen, called coyotes, willing to pay a higher up-front price.
The cooperatives try to remain competitive by using some of their savings to pay the difference between their price and the coyotes' price. But many fall short.
They need to use their savings to pay the administrative staff or electricity bill. In the end, the best thing cooperatives can do is try to remind farmers that what goes up must come down. When the international price drops, the cooperatives will be the only ones offering a price safety net and specialized training.
"We explain why they aren't receiving the money up front. We have costs to pay off," states Guillermo Campa, President of the IJATZ cooperative.
"We tell them that they need to think about the future. Think about the price dropping like it did in the past. If they work with fair trade, they can have a stable price."
But that argument doesn't always work. "People who live day to day can't just depend on what happened in the past," said Carlos Reynoso, manager of Manos Campesinas cooperative in Guatemala.
So how do coffee cooperatives respond? How do they get their members to sell them enough coffee so they can fulfill their contracts with importers and roasters? And how does the International Coffee Organization help?
Stronger cooperatives are more competitive in a fluctuating market. In order to get there, cooperatives need access to debt refinancing, low-interest loans for working capital, long-term capital investment, information, and markets. With a voice at the ICO, small-scale farmers and their cooperatives can advocate for these interests.
At the World Coffee Conference, Oxfam America and its partners presented coffee producing and consuming countries with a declaration articulating the needs of small-scale farmers and their cooperatives. The declaration calls for these issues to be addressed in the next International Coffee Agreement.
This is just one component of a strategy to give the world's 25 million coffee farmers a real chance to do what they've done for generations—and turn a profit that makes it all worthwhile.
"We need to take advantage of this historic opportunity," said Seth Petchers, Coffee Program Manager at Oxfam America. "We can use these negotiations to put measures in place that better address what these farmers face."


text:
Tag Archives: Alan Kertz
Mon, Jan 16, 2012 | 23:29 GMT
Kertz exits Battlefield 3 team for unrevealed project
Core gameplay designer Alan Kertz has left the Battlefield 3 development team. Fellow designers Gustav Halling and Tim Kjell are among those who remain on board ongoing support for the shooter. Kertz has not detailed his next project, but has reaffirmed the change does not entail a departure form DICE.
Wed, Jan 04, 2012 | 02:10 GMT
Battlefield 3 tweaks inbound thanks to player feedback
Core gameplay designer Alan Kertz has begun an overhaul of Battlefield 3′s accessories. A few days ago, the developer posted a lengthy detailing of his proposed changes on Reddit, seeking – and receiving – critique and suggestions. No ETA on the patch.
Thanks, games.on.net.
Mon, Nov 14, 2011 | 00:26 GMT
Battlefield 3 patch to address tactical light complaints
DICE plans to do something about the tactical light in Battlefield 3 before any more controllers are snapped in rage.
Thu, Oct 27, 2011 | 03:59 BST
Quick Quotes – Tempers fraying at DICE
"You're on crack, there's been no controls changes since the beta."
DICE gameplay designer Alan Kertz responds to an unhappy Battlefield 3 gamer's complaints of post-beta control switcheroo. The developer's staff have been under siege through social media since the game's staggered global launch kicked off.
Thanks, Carl!
Thu, Oct 13, 2011 | 23:31 BST
Battlefield 3′s Online Pass confirmed
A DICE staffer has revealed that Battlefield 3 will indeed use an Online Pass system.
Tue, Sep 06, 2011 | 04:25 BST
Battlefield 3′s unlocks may take 100 hours to collect
Those who feel the need to achieve everything in Battlefield 3 could be looking at a significant investment of time.
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 | 21:05 BST
BF3 blog update discusses building the game "from the gun out"
DICE has updated the Battlefield Blog to chat a bit about weapons in Battlefield 3 and how varied guns will be in order to reflect different play styles.
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 | 14:06 BST
DICE details new dynamic dog tag system for Battlefield 3
DICE has posted over on the Battlelog blog information pertaining to the game's new dog tag system, which allows players to choose an initial design based on an in-game stat that will be tracked dynamically in the game.
Sat, Jul 09, 2011 | 14:11 BST
Assault, Engineer, Recon and Support detailed for BF3
DICE has updated the Battlefield Blog with details on the four classes players can choose from in Battlefield 3.
Sat, May 28, 2011 | 13:38 BST
Video – Step inside Battlefield 3 and Back to Karkland
PWNED has released a behind-the-scenes look Battlefield 3, specifically the Frostbite 2 engine and the Back to Karkland map pack.
Thu, Oct 21, 2010 | 18:23 BST
DICE: Battlefield 3 needs "special attention" on PC
Developer DICE is well aware of PC gamers' fears Battlefield 3 will be "consolized": designer Alan "Demize99″ Kertz acknowledged the concern in a forum thread on EA's BF3 messageboard this week.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
De dentro do livro
49 páginas correspondentes ao termo Urban Design neste livro
Onde está o restante do livro?
Resultados 1-3 de 49
O que estăo dizendo - Escrever uma resenha
Năo encontramos nenhuma resenha nos lugares comuns.
Livros relacionados
Real estate development: principles and process Mike E. Miles,Gayle Berens,Marc Allan Weiss,Urban Land Institute Visualizaçăo de trechos - 2000 |
The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage B. Joseph Pine,James H. Gilmore Visualizaçăo parcial - 1999 |
Business improvement districts Lawrence O. Houstoun,Paul R. Levy,Urban Land Institute,International Downtown Association Năo há visualizaçăo disponível - 2003 |
Outras ediçőes - Visualizar todos
Termos e frases comuns
acres affordable housing architects assets Associates Bank of America Bay Area Beach brownfield California campus capital city's Club commercial companies conservation construction corporate cost County create Denver devel director district downtown E-mail economic environment environmental equity facilities financing firm funds golf course Green Building historic increase industry infrastructure investment investors land plan Landscape Architecture lease LEED light pollution loans located master plan ment million mixed-use multifamily neighborhood offer open space owners parking Partners percent preservation rates redevelopment regional residential residents resort retail San Francisco says sector senior Silicon Valley smart growth square feet strategies Street sustainable design tenants timeshare tion Transbay Terminal transit-oriented development units Urban Design Urban Land Urban Land Institute velopment vice president waterfront Website xeriscape York zoning


text:
From playtime to naptime and everything in between, Hertz Furniture has all of the items you need to create a functional and inviting learning space. Choose from a wide range of storage options, imaginative play toys, cozy cots and more to find a winning combination that little ones will love.
Many of the activities in a preschool take place around activity tables. Hertz Furniture offers a huge selection of sizes, colors and styles so you can find the best preschool tables for your classroom. Choose from horseshoe, trapezoid, rectangle, kidney, square, circle, flower and clover shaped preschool tables. You can find toddler activity tables with matching edge banding and leg uppers, colored surfaces or vibrant ball glides. We carry models from Mahar, Academia and KFI.
Looking for preschool tables and chairs that match? Choose from a wide variety of sizes and colors to provide a custom fit for young learners in any setting. Make sure to purchase preschool chairs that are the right height for your students. If you are looking to outfit a preschool or daycare, 10"- or 12"-high chairs are a good fit.
Once you have settled on a table and chairs, there are plenty of other preschool furniture items to think about. Shelving and cubbies are important for any classroom. They can provide great storage for books, toys, art supplies and more. Open lockers or cubbies give children an easy place to keep their personal items, backpacks and jackets throughout the day.
Colorful educational toys and carpets can really spice up a preschool or daycare. For the youngest learners, a wide selection of Children's Factory soft-play toys can help develop both gross- and fine-motor skills. Wood Designs sand and water tables come in a variety of sizes, configurations and heights that will fit any space or age. Hertz Furniture also offers many imaginative-play toys.
You're probably wondering, so what should my preschool classroom look like? A preschool classroom should look like a fun and educational space. If you are looking for a way to spice-up your classroom, a colorful classroom carpet is a super choice. You can choose a classroom rug that teaches about geography, shapes, math or letters, or a design that is just for fun. We have preschool rugs from popular manufacturers such as Joy Carpets and Carpets for Kids.
When playtime is over and it's time for some rest, your students can enjoy a comfortable nap time while dozing on a selection of rest cots and mats. Cots are available in a variety of sizes, some of which can be stacked for storage when it's time to play again. Foldable mats make it easy to setup or cleanup the nap area in no time. Don't forget to section-off the rest area with a curtain so sleepy children won't be distracted by what is happening in the rest of the room.
Overwhelmed by all of the considerations and options for your preschool furniture? Hertz furniture is here to help you choose just the right items for your space. Whether you are just looking for an extra bookcase or you want to outfit an entire early-childhood program, you can trust that the furniture experts will offer great advice that suits your needs. Many of our items come with extended warranties.
- Refined By
- $20 - $124.99
- $125 - $149.99
- $150 - $199.99
- $200 - $249.99
- $250 - $399.99
- Laminate
- Metal
- Plastic
Colors Available
- Black
- Blue
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Red
- Woodgrain
- Yellow
Tabletop Core Material
- Fiberboard
- Particleboard
Tabletop Surface Material
- Laminate
Power Option
- No Power Option
Tabletop Weight Capacity
- 300 lbs.
- 400 lbs.
Green Certification
- MAS Certified LEED
Certified Green
- See All Green Products
Group-Study Rectangular Table Toddler Ht (48 x 30)
Group-Study Rectangular Table Toddler Ht (72 x 36)
Hercules Rectangular Activity Table (36x72)
Prima Rectangular Table
Hercules Round Color-banded Activity Table (48"dia)
Prima Round Table
Hercules Round Color-banded Activity Table (60"dia)
Hercules Trapezoid Activity Table (30x60)
Educational Edge Square Activity Table (48x48)
Hercules Rectangular Color-Banded Activity Table (24x72)
Hercules Rectangular Activity Table (30x72)
Hercules Round Color-banded Activity Table (36"dia)
Edu Edge Activity Table - Rectangular (60x30)
Hercules Rectangular Color-Banded Activity Table (24x48)
Hercules Rectangular Activity Table (30x48)
Elevate Series ADA Table (24x36)
Prima Rectangular Table
Hercules Clover Activity Table (48")
Prima Rectangular Table
Hercules Square Activity Table (48x48)
All of Academia's models are designed for long-term use in the educational environment. In fact, with 25-year and Limited Lifetime Warranties you are guaranteed to enjoy the benefits of this versatile and colorful school furniture for many years to come. The huge selection of styles and materials is sure to fit any budget or preference.
Classroom work spaces can be supplied by activity tables or school desks. Activity tables are appropriate for children from preschool through elementary school. Academia school tables come in a number of sizes, styles and shapes. No matter what shape you choose, Educational Edge tables offer a great way to add a splash of color to a learning space. They will make any classroom more lively and inviting.
School desks aren't what they used to be. Although the classic four legged design with a book-box underneath the work surface is still available, Academia brings you a number of viable alternatives that are suited to the modern classroom. Their exclusive WoodStone desktops have the durability of hard plastic, yet they cost and weigh significantly less. For maximum strength and versatility, models are available with adjustable-height and U-braces for reinforcement.
Student chair desks should be considered when purchasing classroom furniture. They come in the same durable materials as school desks, but with the added convenience of attached seating. When a classroom is full of combo desks, teachers can be sure that students won't lean back in their chairs, and there are always enough chairs to match desks. Combo desks also guarantee that chair and desk heights match up.
For those who opt not to furnish a classroom with chair desks, school seating must be purchased so students have a place to sit in class. Academia offers some tough classic poly shell and hard plastic models as well as attractive new designs from the Inspiration Series. These sleek school chairs come in vibrant colors and feature 17 reinforcement ridges for a durable, flexible and supportive design.
Even your youngest learners deserve to learn in an environment with appropriately-sized school furniture. Academia activity tables and school chairs come in any height that you need, so you can have first-rate preschool furniture as well. When young learners have school chairs and activity tables that are just the right size, it is easier for them to develop proper posture and skills.
While the classroom is where students spend the bulk of their time at school, there are a number of other rooms that also require appropriate furniture. Whether they are learning how to utilize technology for educational purposes or harness their musical talents, your pupils need furniture that supports their endeavors. With the right pieces, you can channel the hard work of children and young adults toward future successes.
Computers are becoming increasingly important in the educational environment. Some functional computer tables can help support technology in the classroom, or furnish a contemporary computer lab. In order to ensure that your setup promotes ergonomic positioning, some appropriate computer chairs are necessary as well. With the right computer furniture, students can learn how to type correctly and hone their online research skills.
When furnishing a music room or band room, regular tables and chairs just won't cut it. Music furniture is specially designed to help student musicians play in a healthy position so they will learn how to hold their instruments and breathe correctly from the beginning. Academia's musician chairs support students as they play, whether in practices or performances.
Another room that requires special furniture is the science lab. Having appropriate lab furniture ensures the safety of students and teaches proper experimentation techniques. Academia offers a number of excellent lab stools that enable students to sit comfortably as they take notes or experiment at counter-height surfaces.
Creating an environment that is conducive to education and growth begins with appropriate layouts for learning. In order to make sure that students are properly supported with the physical tools that are needed for success, you want to give them the best school furniture out there. Academia school furniture provides the models you need to put students on the path to success as they gain critical knowledge that will be carried far into the future.


text:
Date:March 21, 2013
Location:Bent 101A
"Disrupting Ourselves: The Problem of Learning in Higher Education"
Dr. Randy Bass, Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Georgetown Univesity
Join us for this "Digital Humanities" presentation sponsored by the English Department, the Dean of St. John's College, and the St. John's University Provost. Dr. Randy Bass will discuss the implications of new educational technologies for high-impact interdisciplinary curricular development. The presentation, based on his work with the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown and his long experience developing American Studies educational technologies, promises to be of interest for university core studies as well as programs in the liberal arts and sciences.


text:
Renowned for its unspoiled natural beauty, fishing and colorful Native culture, Ketchikan was once known for mining due to the discovery of gold and copper, followed by a flourishing logging industry throughout the 20th century. Today it is billed as the "Salmon Capital of the World," due to an economy primarily based on fishing. The surrounding waters teem with 5 types of salmon, making it popular with fishermen.
Despite being only 12 blocks long, Ketchikan is the 5th largest city in the state. Major attractions include 3 totem pole parks celebrating tribes indigenous to the area (the largest collection of original 19th-century totem poles in the world) and shops for one-of-a-kind hand-carved items. Misty Fjords National Monument is a nature lover's paradise, plus, don't miss your chance to see world champion lumberjacks battling it out for bragging rights. Of course there is the magnificent wildlife with spawning salmon, black bears coming to feed or an up-close encounter with bald eagles.
Places to Explore
Visitor Information


text:
Kids Bedding
Girls Bedding
Boys Bedding
Kids Sheet Sets
Crib Bedding
Girls Crib Bedding
Boys Crib Bedding
Crib Sheets
Baby Blankets & Swaddling Blankets
Kids Pillow Shams
Kids Duvet Covers & Comforters
Crib Bedding Separates
Kids Quilts & Coverlets
Children's Decorative Pillows
Kids Bed Skirts
Kids Throw Blankets
Crib Bedding Accessories
Cradle and Bassinet Bedding
Moses Baskets
Toddler Bedding
Canopy Bedding
Kids Window Treatments
Fabric Shop
Mattresses & Foundations
Kids Bedding Designers
Girls Pillow Shams
Boys Pillow Shams
Girls Decorative Pillows
Boys Decorative Pillows
Girls Cradle & Bassinet Bedding
Boys Cradle & Bassinet Bedding
Sheet Size:Please ChooseQueen (4)King (5) $(+10.00)
Amala Fitted Sheet by Designers Guild Complete the look of your child's bedroom or guest bedroom with the Amala Fitted Sheet. This fitted sheet features a gray floral pattern with small yellow flowers. This soft and beautiful fitted sheet will complement the Amala Duvet Cover perfectly. Youthful enough to use is a child's room, yet high enough in quality to use in any guest bedroom. The Amala Collection is the perfect addition to your beautiful home! Offering inspiring room linens and chic bedding accessories, Designers Guild was founded by Tricia Guild in 1970. Today Designers Guild continues to be lead by Tricia Guild as the Founder and Creative Director, and her brother Simon Jeffreys as the Group Chief Executive. Designers Guild's philosophy is to incorporate creativity and innovation with the highest level of quality and product design. By shopping Designers Guild, you will find unexpected color palettes and modern motifs with a vintage flair. Decorate your kid's room with the wide selection of kid bedding, blankets, rugs and pillows that Designers Guild has to offer!
SIZE: Multiple Sizes
Category: Bedding, Kids Sheet Sets
©2004-2013 Rosenberry Rooms, LLC. All Rights reserved. | 709 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC, 27603
ecommerce enabled by fastpivot | PRIVACY POLICY


text:
I gone on java.sun.com but I found this package only under windows and solaris.
Where I could find this package please.
Results 1 to 2 of 2
Top DevX Stories
Easy Web Services with SQL Server 2005 HTTP Endpoints JavaOne 2005: Java Platform Roadmap Focuses on Ease of Development, Sun Focuses on the "Free" in F.O.S.S. Wed Yourself to UML with the Power of Associations Microsoft to Add AJAX Capabilities to ASP.NET IBM's Cloudscape Versus MySQL |


text:
User Reviews Video Reviews LFC20770SB 4.6 5 69 69 Pleasingly Surprise I received my LG refrigerator (model # LFC 20770ST) yesterday and I am very happy with it. To see the refrigerator in my kitchen looks much better than in the showroom against all its bright lights and location. The stainless steel design is sophisticated and looks beautiful in my kitchen. It holds much more than my previous smaller refrigerator, definitely can accommodate a household of two and larger. Although the shelf height is limited for tall items even with the shelves adjusted, the large gallon door bins do the job nicely. The fruit and vegetable bins in addition to the deli draw are also great space savers, allowing for more space in the refrigerator. The LED lights are great, visualizes everything inside. Since I use the freezer less frequently, to have it located on the bottom is convenient, easily accessible, with lots of room to neatly pack things away. This is my second LG product and I am very happy with the quality of both their performances and design. It's only been a day, but if first impressions mean anything, this refrigerator has been impressive so far. I highly recommend this product. November 27, 2013 This product is well made and quiet This refrigerator is very quiet and is very well made. This is a good quality product. November 26, 2013 Very little about this product I don't like! I love the refrigerator as a whole. It did take more than one dumping of the automatic ice cube maker to get rid of the plasticy taste to the cubes.(It took 3) November 1, 2013 Love my new French Door refrigerator. The quality is great. the performance is fantastic. I would recommend this appliance to anyone considering the purchase of a new refrigerator. October 2, 2013 2 3 4 5 ... 18 Next>>
Large Capacity 3 Door French Door Refrigerator (Fits a 30" Opening) LFC20770ST (114) $169999 Suggested Price Where To Buy
Large Capacity 3 Door French Door Refrigerator (Fits a 30" Opening) LFC20770SW (69) $149999 Suggested Price Where To Buy
Large Capacity Counter Depth 3 Door French Door Refrigerator LFC21776ST (63) $239999 Suggested Price Where To Buy
Ultra-Large Capacity 3-Door French Door Refrigerator with Smart Cooling (Fits a 33" Opening) LFC25765SB (78) $169999 Suggested Price Where To Buy


text:
Hirepool - the place to go for all your equipment hire
With our New Zealand-wide footprint, Hirepool can offer you nationwide capabilities, a 'best in class' fleet and the most experienced staff in the industry. With more than 50 years' experience and the largest inventory of hire equipment in the country, we can provide you with enhanced products and services and unrivalled customer support.
We look forward to working with you today, tomorrow and beyond.
To help us ensure we meet your requirements every time, please feel free to provide feedback on your hire experience by contacting your local Hirepool branch or by emailing your comments to email@example.com.
Vehicle Hire
With over 40 years experience taking care of recreational, business and commercial travellers, our success is providing you with the right vehicle and friendly, personal service you can rely on.
Read moreabout:Vehicle Hire
Hirepool Events
Hirepool Events is one of New Zealand's largest party and events hire companies. Serviced by five dedicated Events branches throughout the country and complemented with over 50 General Hire branches from Whangarei to Invercargill we have the country covered.
Read moreabout:Hirepool Events


text:
- Musician's Friend Best Selection, Price & Service. Guaranteed.
Need Help? Ask our Experts or call 800-449-9128
Asistencia en Español 866-226-2919
Need Help? Ask our Experts or call 800-449-9128
The Legere Bb Clarinet Reed is made of a new low density material that is extremely similar to conditioned cane. Legere reeds represent the best synthetic reeds on the market today. Perfect for ALL types of playing. Sold individually.
Our product catalog varies by country due to manufacturer restrictions. If you change the Ship-To country, some or all of the items in your cart may not ship to the new destination.


text:
SKU: 244827 Weight: 0.50
In stock
List Price:$11.69 Your Price:$9.99 You Save: $1.70 (15%) International customers, please view our shipping page for information on additional shipping fees. CLICK HERE
FISKARS-The 3-in-1 Corner Punch. Triple the possibilities! This versatile Corner Punch enables you to get three designs in one tool! Customize your scrapbooks; cards; gifts and more! Give your corners a decorative punch. Punch size: 3-1/2x2-3/4in. Design sizes: approximately 3/4x3/4in. Punch color is blue and orange. Imported.


text:
You're watching...
After the Show Show: Florida Georgia Line
Country duo perform newest single 'Get Your Shine On'
Dec 13, 2012
You're watching...
Country duo perform newest single 'Get Your Shine On'
Dec 13, 2012
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advanceThis transcript is automatically generated
It's time for the after the show showing what -- the guys from Florida Georgia line let me issued issued -- Tyler covered.
You're from Monroe Georgia -- letter.
And then you get Brian Kelly he is from Ormond Beach in -- back.
It's not playing games and what you named and yadda you know ahead he's well after did nothing Millen I just like you guys are gonna have variety yet another -- you guys you from Florida Georgia team.
-- okay we're back everyone around here from all over the place well that makes up a good mix that we liked it to have found success so early.
You know on its.
Nancy -- -- The before congress in Washington -- but now it's it's an honor for us I mean we've been working hard for last two years in the last eight months just a true.
Dream come true force I mean really it's been all from.
You guys started playing in church and I understand you you met that at a university there in Nashville -- he said OK gonna give ourselves two years -- who you know will wait tables do whatever that rotates for two years.
How long did it take you before you hit it.
Will -- our first song and I'm not so I mean we we -- for a couple good years and I'd say I don't know a year ago a time.
-- are taken all you are right at the end of your two years Tripp -- you know we started feeling pretty good about you know and -- -- We didn't really know the -- wanted this so you know we might not Clinton years but but -- a lot longer here we got a good team around us and very.
This and it is a good to have a goal like that you know that you worked towards you probably work a little bit.
Harder toward the -- So so anyway -- -- you hooked up because now which you were actually roommates that we view one of your friends as a roommate of one of new.
-- -- -- class with his buddy you know -- like thirty erratic class like transfer in the Belmont and he's has but it Tyler's condescending you're doing I would get along oracle -- together and it's kept us how we got our starting and we enjoyed hanging out write songs and one degree of separation what's that he's hundreds I element is currently -- it looked very fortunate very lucky -- You know we -- -- musical connection and you know -- became best friends really quick so of the better than.
In -- Senator Kennedy always guys -- not play music it's it's -- I notice you have a Jack Daniels thing on your.
Guitar strap yes is that -- -- and it.
Did better than it has any -- any further questions wise that there you know I don't know what does.
Those -- Russia -- my guitar case and really.
Others going to be some bits on allies like -- nine lob.
Was not a life.
We in addition to -- in the number one song in America two weeks and broken gradually things that guy's going to be -- coming up in January going to be touring we have an Andrea Thompson square and -- -- -- friends of the show.
Yeah absolutely or or super honor to be on that -- side assuming Braylon was like -- process so.
You know I'm -- video slam out there on the road but we're excited -- Virginia -- I think it -- -- seen that in addition to the great country music you guys do.
-- like rap music.
I would love an arm and we love Iraq country Christian.
Rat lungs was -- a little wings this year some ramp from you guys.
Which again how many -- -- and as a.
-- only to allow a player not a one off the record.
I -- -- a little wrap before you do you remember he do it.
We did this is what we're doing.
-- -- Now again -- got enough of that.
It's early.
I think on the bus you do something that you're not about to jesuit order that we are doing and we're a little bit of this that we are -- and I -- -- -- -- maybe it's okay a so what we can't play instead.
We'll play we'll -- our next singles competition now.
-- excellent Hillary appointment -- there going yeah.
-- Now.
Filter by section


text:
Leafs place Connolly on waivers
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed forward Tim Connolly on waivers, according to Darren Dreger.
Connolly signed a two year deal worth $9 million last year, and was due to make $4.75 million this year.
In 70 games for the Leafs in the 2011-12 season, he recorded 13 goals and 23 assists.


text:
That was pretty awesome. So was the live-action Ambiguously Gay Duo. It took me a good deal of effort to spot Carrel and Colbert.
Gamertag DackAttac
Obligatory DLC Wishlist Reel Big Fish, Fountains of Wayne, Motion City Soundtrack, Collective Soul, BNL, recent MCR
Just watched the "Event" finale and as I feared, they left us hanging with no chance of closure. They FINALLY said what the Event was, but also delivered a neat twist. I never understood the hate for the show. Never at all. I guess my "good" is the rest of the world's "bad". I do not watch a lot of TV, so I guess I'm pretty much pleased with anything.
DLC Wants:
Moody Blues
Beach Boys
Arcade Fire
Watched the House finale. It was...interesting, to say the least. He really went over the edge in this one though. Can't wait to see where the take the show in it's (hopefully) final season.
I know I'm waaaaayyyy late to the party but I just got around to watching the first episode of Breaking Bad and I'm already hooked. I had been meaning to watch this show for a long time and just never got around to it. But I was in a store today and found the first three seasons on blu-ray on sale for $15 each so I got brave and blind bought all three. Guess I know what I'll be doing for the next few days.
Stone In Love - Journey
Rose of the Devil's Garden - Tiger Army
Don't Change - INXS
Highway Song - Blackfoot
Tonight She Comes - The Cars
Watched the pilot episode of Death Note, since it was free on iTunes, making it my first anime.
The basic story line of Death Note is a brilliant student named Light finds the Death Note, a notebook that was dropped by Ryuk, a rogue Shinigami death God. Light quickly discovers that anyone's whose name is written in the Death Note dies 40 seconds later of a heart attack, unless the cause of death is also written down. So then Light decides to use the Death Note to rid the world of evil, by essentially killing criminals from his bedroom.
I have a PS3 now. Send me a friend request maybe?
PSN ID: GreatJedi7
I enjoyed the hell out of the first half of Death Note. After a certain point, I was marathon watching it, not because I was extracting any pleasure from it but because my delight in the first half demanded a conclusion. But the format for that first half is incredible. (Save for the potato chip sequence... y-you'll know it when you see it.) It sets up stipulations and rules and then it uses them like a chess game in which the two main characters to duke it out in the most balls-out fashion imaginable. Surprisingly cerebral.
Is the whole thing still up on Hulu? It was last year.
Gamertag DackAttac
Obligatory DLC Wishlist Reel Big Fish, Fountains of Wayne, Motion City Soundtrack, Collective Soul, BNL, recent MCR
Death Note is certainly a good thriller, but eventually you start scratching your head around halfway in when the writers try to keep the thing going when a notable conclusion would be far more fitting then dragging it on for 15 or so more episodes. So, yeah; I really do enjoy watching most of it, but I still notice problems with it as it goes on.
Official Sonic the Hedgehog Fanatic
Film/Music Snob Extraordinaire
Let's kill Hitler!
PSN: NV_Spartan
Who do I have to get drunk in order to get "Red Solo Cup" in Rock Band?


text:
Allen Welsh DullesDulles, Allen Welsh (dŭlˈəs) [key], 1893–1969, U.S. public official, b. Watertown, N.Y.; brother of John Foster Dulles. He entered (1916) diplomatic service and became (1922) chief of the State Deptartment's division of Near Eastern affairs. In 1926 he resigned to practice law. During World War II he was a prominent member of the Office of Strategic Services. Returning (1951) to government service as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Dulles became director in 1953. Under his direction the CIA was strengthened and made a more effective element in the U.S. intelligence system. Dulles resigned in 1961 after a series of events (most notably the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba) in which the CIA played a controversial role that aroused much criticism. His works include Germany's Underground (1947), The Craft of Intelligence (1963), and Secret Surrender (1966). See P. Grose, Gentleman Spy (1994). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Allen Welsh Dulles from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies |
24 X 7Private Tutor
Explore Equation , Grade 6 Math


text:
Steve Reeder says it's no secret among his Facebook friends: He's a Republican.
But after he began posting news articles and political cartoons on his page that reflect his support for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, his friend count began falling off. Today, it's down by several dozen.
"One day, they are there. The next day, they just disappear," said Reeder, 53, of Roswell, Georgia. "Most (people) don't say anything to me about it. So I just say 'good riddance.'"
It's a story that's been playing out on Facebook and Twitter with growing frequency among friends, family members, colleagues and acquaintances as an already contentious presidential campaign between Romney and President Barack Obama enters its final, frenzied weeks. Your close friends may share your political views, but that eccentric uncle, former co-worker or high school classmate may not.
Nearly one-fifth of people admit to blocking, unfriending or hiding someone on social media over political postings, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The biggest gripes: The offending person posted too often about politics, disagreed with others' updates, or bothered mutual friends with partisan political postings.
"In the real world, we navigate these issues all the time. We know not to bring up politics around certain friends or family members. We try to avoid people who are constantly looking for an argument or trying to sell us on their pet ideas," said Aaron Smith, a Pew research associate.
"Since blocking, unfriending, hiding people is the closest social analogue to those real-world examples, it's not necessarily surprising to see people taking these steps in the virtual space."
Muting the rhetoric
It's the hateful tone of the political conversation that is particularly disturbing to Luis Stevens, who has temporarily muted the Twitter voices of roughly 150 people and blocked more than 400 others until after the November 6 election.
More than one person has threatened to show up on Stevens' doorstep after he disagreed with them on Twitter. A few more have called him names. And at least one stepped across a political "red line," endorsing a pundit that Stevens finds offensive.
"This is a pretty mercurial campaign on both sides. People on both sides tend to get heated pretty fast," said Stevens, 37, of Ruidoso, New Mexico. As a result, he said, "there are way too many people on Twitter who are a little scary."
Stevens tweets under the pseudonym @pettybooshwah. He doesn't post pictures of himself, nor does he release details about his whereabouts.
But he's not shying away from political debate.
"When you don't follow people with the opposing viewpoint, Facebook and Twitter can become an echo chamber where everybody agrees," Stevens said.
'Facebook is not a democracy'
But that's just fine with Andre Kelly, who took to Facebook in recent weeks with a posting decrying political opposition on his page.
Simply put: For Kelly, Facebook is not a democracy.
"This is not about platforms and political theory, from this point forward, to me, it's about people simply picking a side," Kelly, an Obama supporter from Los Angeles, said in a Facebook post shortly after the Republican National Convention in late August.
He warned off supporters of Romney from posting on his page, writing that he was "simply NOT having it."
Since then, Kelly's post has been repeatedly shared, finding a home on pages across Facebook's political and not-so-political discussions.
"This was amazing and I loved every second. I'm glad he took the time to think and word this the way he did. I believe and agree with this 100%," wrote one admirer.
Kelly, who works as a touring comedian, hasn't defriended anybody on his Facebook page, though he believes he has probably lost a few social-media followers.
Battling allegations
The political divide on social media has become so wide that some people have been trying to silence one another.
On Twitter, conservatives have accusing liberals of trying to squelch their voices by falsely reporting them for spam, a violation of Twitter rules that can result in the suspension of an account.


text:
You can follow Seven Peaks on Twitter!
You can follow Seven Peaks on Facebook!
Seven Peaks is pleased that you have come to visit on our new beta website! We are working on a payment process that will be simple and fast for customers to use. In the meantime, please visit us at our location or call us at (801) 972-3300 to make purchases.


text:
2014 Mellow Mushroom Calendar
Welcome aboard! You're the lucky winner of a fabulous tour of the mysterious and magical Mellow Island. What an itinerary we have in store for you. Come on in to your local Mellow and pick up a free 2014 Calendar, while supplies last.
Gift Card Holiday Offer
For every $25 in-store gift card purchase, receive $5 Mellow Bucks just for YOU! Must be redeemed at location received.
Mellow Out & Fly Away
Show us why you deserve a trip to Chicago. You've got 6 seconds to prove that you need a getaway to the Windy City. Show us what you've got, and you could be on your way! Create a video on Vine and then share it on Twitter using #MellowGoose.
Mellow Gear
Mellow Gear is guaranteed to be hip, fly, and a bunch of other adjectives your parents still think you use.
Gift Cards
Mellow Mushroom gift cards are the perfect gift for the person who has everything, especially hunger.
Mellow Trivia
Ah, Trivia night at Mellow Mushroom. Good food, plenty of beer, and a chance to empty out all that useless crap that's been gumming up the RAM in your head oh these many years. Yes, you may be humiliated, but then again there's a chance you may come out looking like Einstein. Or what Einstein would be like if he watched every episode of Star Trek, like nine times.
Gluten-Free Dough
We now carry Gluten Free dough! Create your own pizza with a variety of Gluten Free ingredients!
Mellow Mushroom provides wireless internet service for our customers to make life a little easier.
Enjoy the gorgeous weather and people watch as you dine on our outside patio.
We have many Vegan menu options to choose from including dairy free Daiya Vegan cheese. Call us for details.
Mellow Mushroom is proud to serve Marietta with delicious pizza, hoagies, calzones and salads. Providing quality food since 1974, we use fresh ingredients on all our menu items. Mellow Mushroom is more than just a pizza restaurant; it is where Marietta pizza lovers and beer lovers gather. Our menu and locations are as eclectic as our fans. Join the beer club, shop our Mellow shirts and see the unique artwork in each of our locations. The search for the best pizza in Marietta is over.
Everyday something on our wall for $2.50 or $10 dollars


text:
They're "bootiful"! New Christmas Market mugs arrive after record breaking sell-out
The beloved Christmas Market mugs have sold out in record time as more than 100,000 revellers take their mugs home as a memento of their visit.
The beloved Christmas Market mugs have sold out in record time as more than 100,000 revellers take their mugs home as a memento of their visit.
Manchester Town Hall is to be lit in the colours of the South African flag as the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela.
Learners and inspectors alike have praised Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES), which is successfully giving local people the skills and confidence they need to secure sustainable employment.
East Manchester schools have chosen Sunny Lowry, the first woman to swim the channel, to be immortalised in the name of a new road.
A new website designed to showcase Manchester's rich history is now live.
A series of ambitious targets for a more prosperous and self-sustaining Greater Manchester are published in the new Greater Manchester Strategy.
A magnificent portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst is to take pride of place in the Rates Hall in Manchester Town Hall.
Manchester residents and visitors are being invited to sign a book of condolence which has been opened following the death of Nelson Mandela.
The Housing Investment Fund is a ground-breaking home building model that uses available development land owned by Manchester City Council while an investor finances the build, delivering 241 homes.
Local schools will present to a panel of judges at the Etihad Stadium who they think should be immortalised in East Manchester.
Manchester City Council has been named the North West's Macro Employer of the Year at this year's National Apprenticeship Awards.
Plumber Liam Gurney has been ordered to pay nearly £4,000 after putting residents' lives at risk by inadequately installing a gas boiler.
A new vision for the future of Fallowfield Library has been announced, which aims to build a sustainable future for the centre.
Shoppers looking for the perfect Christmas present for the Mancunian in their life are invited to visit Manchester's new online Poster Shop.
One of England's leading health chiefs has visited Manchester on a fact-finding mission to see several of the city's health initiatives.
Manchester residents are being encouraged to become 'HIV aware' as the city prepares to mark World AIDS Day with a procession and candlelit vigil in the city centre.
Manchester City Council and the National Trust are to meet English Heritage and Marketing Manchester to continue discussions about developing a partnership to shape the future of Heaton Park and Hall.
A man who saved nearly £30 a month on his gas bills after using a new comparison site is urging other people to follow his lead.
Local residents are being invited to view the plans for a brand new leisure centre in south Manchester.
Around 200 young people are set to receive special commendations and awards today at Manchester City Council's annual Achievement Awards for looked after children, young people and care leavers.
Three of north Manchester's long-term empty residential tower blocks will breathe with a new lease of life as substantial development work gets underway.
Young people from Manchester's Youth Council and the city's councillors will spend today, Friday 22 November 2013, debating the issue of lowering the voting age to 16.
Manchester's Youth Council will be celebrating the opening today, 22 November 2013, of a permanent new home for them in Manchester Town Hall.
Leaders from the UK's ten largest cities outside of London have presented a signed declaration to the Prime Minister calling for the fast delivery of High Speed 2.
Two students who created a logo for Northenden Village have gained plaudits from top creatives - and are now set to make their mark on the graphic design industry.
Residents are being asked for their views to help Manchester City Council shape the future of mental health and wellbeing services in the city.
Social entrepreneur Rose Marley is leading a call for nominations to recognise the outstanding work carried out by Manchester women ahead of this year's International Women's Day (IWD).
A man from Newton Heath has been ordered to pay £400,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act for a number of offences including fraudulently obtaining benefits.
A group of Manchester youngsters have named a pair of camera cars which will be looking out for motorists parking illegally outside the city's primary schools.
Thousands of people flocked to Manchester city centre for the annual Christmas Lights Switch-On, marking the start of the festive season in the UK's Christmas capital.


text:
Gary either ignore chriza or stop hitting alert.
Gary either ignore chriza or stop hitting alert.
Number 1, you have an awful personality...Number 2, I would bet you are a stiff dick away from becoming a full moe. Try the twink sites.
Have you thought about getting another porker so you both could plan meals together?
Do you hate Chriza because he is better than you in every possible way and you are just completely disgusted with yourself?
Why did Vyb move your thread Gare?