Postcard Project at Helping Hands Festival

On Saturday in Indianapolis, The Fair Trade Resource Network kicked off a national tour of my project “From One Farmer to Another.”  The project features a postcard dialogue between a fair trade community in India and another in Guatemala. The Helping Hands Festival hosted the exhibition as one of over 100 events in Indianapolis’ annual Spirit & Place Festival, which fosters collaboration and dialogue among community organizations.

I delivered a keynote address to about 70 people who gracious came at 9:30am.  They heard about the history of Santa Anita La Union in Guatemala and Sanjukta Vikas Sanstha in India, the reactions each community had to seeing photographs of the other, and the postcard exchange that ensued.  As the day went on, a steady stream of people came to view the exhibit.  One of the festival’s board members enthusiastically told me that she overheard someone calling friends and insisting they come to see the show.  A few community organizers sought my input on how to do community history projects around photographs.  I had a lot of fun answering questions and hearing about the organizing going on in Indianapolis.  It’s a vibrant community, and I was warmly received.  Thanks Becky and Michael Wigginton for hosting me on Friday night, to Roberts Photography and Bruce Westphal for producing the exhibition at a generous discount, and to St.Richard’s School for hosting the event.

Currently, two more locations in the Indianapolis area are slated to host the exhibition.  If you are interested in bringing “From One Farmer to Another” to your town, get in touch with Sam Carpenter at sam@globalgiftsindy.com.