the global kitchen

now, i love to peruse all of those popular design blogs just like any girl- you know, the ones that feature gorgeous pictures of fashion, jewelry, obsessions, and all-around glamour? it's fun to be frivolous. it's delightful to feel luxurious and lustful of beautiful objects.

BUT, ever since i started this blog, i've felt a twinge of guilt... why? because we all love to "want" and covet things that don't really matter, and it's easy to forget that there are women in the world who will never get to wear the latest fashion, will never have the money to buy the pretty, decorative things that are so accessible to us.

that is why i am writing about the global kitchen, a non-profit organization started by my friend wendy, whose mission is to "empower women, families, and communities through the celebration of indigenous cuisine and culture."

so far this month, wendy has traveled to vietnam and cambodia and is soon heading for laos and thailand to document local womens' cooking methods, recipes, and talents to share on her website. the women get paid for sharing their cultural knowledge and will receive royalties once the videos are published. isn't that a fantastic idea?

unfortunately, wendy's work is necessary- many women in poorer countries all over the world are marginalized by lack of education and skills necessary to work in the industrialized world. many are forced to stay home to raise the kids and thus unable to earn an income. and worse, many young girls are forced to join the sex trade in order to help earn money for their families. according to wendy, this horrror is still a pervasive problem in the these cultures, as she saw first-hand. (her 20 year old son was offered a young girl's "company", which he, of course, declined).

yum, right? i will definitely be looking out for these recipes once wendy is able to post them.

i don't even know what are in these dishes, but they are making me hungry!

a traditional silk-weaver. fabulous.

please support the global kitchen and help improve the lives of women all over the world. you can donate money, watch the videos (when they are available), and even use this good search tool to give pennies to the organization every time you use their search engine. even if it's not much, it all adds up.

visit the global kitchen website/blog

visit the global kitchen on facebook

all photos by wendy