Jacob Daniels, shown delivering school supplies in Prek Bongkong, Cambodia, in 2009, heads a company that markets fair-trade silk and uses profits to support educational opportunities.
By Cindy Cantrell
The Boston Globe Staff
December 18, 2011
Jacob Daniels of Wayland traces his passion for travel to age 16 when he embarked on a trip to Fiji that combined community service with ecotourism through Ohio-based Rustic Pathways.
“To go from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School to a completely foreign culture was incredible,’’ recalled Daniels, who grew up in Sudbury. “It really sparked my interest in global affairs and international relations.’’
In 2007, Daniels signed on to teach English at Pannasastra University of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, where he was struck by the sight of children wearing tattered clothing without shoes who picked through trash for objects they could sell for rice. Determined to provide educational opportunities to help them overcome the poverty he finds so distressing, he cofounded a fair-trade company dealing with silk, Cambodian Threads, with longtime friend Steven Patton of Allston in 2009.
With his “small budget and a big dream,’’ Daniels works with an extended family of artisans in Prek Bongkong, Cambodia, to sell traditional silk scarves, ties, and handbags online and at Mango Tree Artisans in Sudbury, Dunia Ecostore and Global Goods in Maynard, and Cambridge Naturals in Porter Square. He reinvests profits in the community by donating school supplies, sponsoring English classes, and providing scholarships.
The company’s chief executive officer, Daniels is working to increase international sales through an expanded product range in order to provide additional educational programs. Patton is responsible for US business operations and website design, while interns contribute to marketing initiatives.
“My intention is to impact the community in a way that helps people rise above the cycle of poverty,’’ said Daniels, who plans to return to Cambodia in February or March. “I’m excited to be a part of it. The company is going in a direction I feel really passionate about.’’
For more information, visit www.cambodianthreads.com.
ADVENTURES BY EAR: When his four sons were growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jim Ettwein of Acton said, they loved listening to the “Little Thinker’’ series on cassette. Now a grandfather, he purchased the rights from the company to reintroduce the series - which he renamed “Little Thinker Adventures’’ - so a new generation can enjoy them on CD.
The 19 hourlong adventures combine storytelling with suggestions for drawing pictures. In the desert adventure, for example, the narrator leads listeners on a ride in a dune buggy and exploration of plants and animals. Every 10 minutes or so, children are instructed to pause the CD and draw the scene with the enclosed Crayola crayons and sketch pad.
Ettwein said he is looking forward to sharing the series with his 1 1/2 year-old grandson and 1-year-old granddaughter when they get older. The series is designed for children 4 to 10 years old.
“This is truly G-rated entertainment,’’ he said, “and I’m so happy to be keeping it alive for another generation.’’
The “Little Thinker Adventures’’ series is available online via MP3 download and on CD at Willow Books & Café, 279 Great Road in Acton, and the West Concord 5 & 10, 106 Commonwealth Ave. For more information, visit www.littlethinkeradventures.com.
POETRY FOR ALL: Framingham poet Alan Feldman always remembered how much his teenage daughter, Rebecca, enjoyed the drop-in poetry workshop led by Alan Dugan, a Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet, in Truro in the early 1990s. So when Feldman retired after 37 years at Framingham State College in 2008, he and fellow poet Tony Hoagland began one of their own in Wellfleet, where Hoagland lived and Feldman spends the summers.
It proved to be so popular that Feldman has been leading a similar workshop during the school year at Framingham Public Library for serious poets of all levels.
The workshop meets on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Trustees Room at the library, 49 Lexington St. Participants generally range in age from preteen to 80s. Feldman typically begins each session with a discussion of a technical issue (such as diction or prosody) and examples of poems featuring a theme of the week. Following a 20-minute writing exercise, participants may choose to read their work aloud or share manuscripts for their classmates to critique.
While Feldman doesn’t usually share his own on-the-spot compositions, about two years ago he read a poem aloud and was told by a student, “That’s a keeper.’’ The poem was later published in upstreet, a literary magazine, as well as in a book, The Best American Poetry 2011.
According to Feldman, the fact that no money changes hands - the class is free and he volunteers his time - creates a unique atmosphere in which ideas are exchanged openly. The open-ended writing exercises allow participants to delve into personal issues, and in some cases work through them, such as grief at the loss of a child.
“I love the art and I like to help people enjoy writing and do it better,’’ Feldman said. “It’s even better when they benefit from it emotionally.’’
FASHION SUCCESS: Sherborn resident Arlene Handschuch, professor of fashion design and retailing at Framingham State University, won the ATEXINC Award for Excellence in Marketable Design - Professional Level for her original apparel design “Wind Chime’’ at this year’s International Textile and Apparel Association Design Exhibition, held last month in Philadelphia.
The exhibition, part of the industry organization’s annual conference, showcased 98 designs chosen by an international panel of judges.
Handschuch’s submission was developed for a project to design marketable womenswear out of Thai silk for the Institute of Sericulture in Bangkok.
The institution is promoting new labeling standards and emblems to protect Thai silk from imitators.
By Cindy Cantrell
The Boston Globe Staff
December 18, 2011
Jacob Daniels of Wayland traces his passion for travel to age 16 when he embarked on a trip to Fiji that combined community service with ecotourism through Ohio-based Rustic Pathways.
“To go from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School to a completely foreign culture was incredible,’’ recalled Daniels, who grew up in Sudbury. “It really sparked my interest in global affairs and international relations.’’
In 2007, Daniels signed on to teach English at Pannasastra University of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, where he was struck by the sight of children wearing tattered clothing without shoes who picked through trash for objects they could sell for rice. Determined to provide educational opportunities to help them overcome the poverty he finds so distressing, he cofounded a fair-trade company dealing with silk, Cambodian Threads, with longtime friend Steven Patton of Allston in 2009.
With his “small budget and a big dream,’’ Daniels works with an extended family of artisans in Prek Bongkong, Cambodia, to sell traditional silk scarves, ties, and handbags online and at Mango Tree Artisans in Sudbury, Dunia Ecostore and Global Goods in Maynard, and Cambridge Naturals in Porter Square. He reinvests profits in the community by donating school supplies, sponsoring English classes, and providing scholarships.
The company’s chief executive officer, Daniels is working to increase international sales through an expanded product range in order to provide additional educational programs. Patton is responsible for US business operations and website design, while interns contribute to marketing initiatives.
“My intention is to impact the community in a way that helps people rise above the cycle of poverty,’’ said Daniels, who plans to return to Cambodia in February or March. “I’m excited to be a part of it. The company is going in a direction I feel really passionate about.’’
For more information, visit www.cambodianthreads.com.
ADVENTURES BY EAR: When his four sons were growing up in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jim Ettwein of Acton said, they loved listening to the “Little Thinker’’ series on cassette. Now a grandfather, he purchased the rights from the company to reintroduce the series - which he renamed “Little Thinker Adventures’’ - so a new generation can enjoy them on CD.
The 19 hourlong adventures combine storytelling with suggestions for drawing pictures. In the desert adventure, for example, the narrator leads listeners on a ride in a dune buggy and exploration of plants and animals. Every 10 minutes or so, children are instructed to pause the CD and draw the scene with the enclosed Crayola crayons and sketch pad.
Ettwein said he is looking forward to sharing the series with his 1 1/2 year-old grandson and 1-year-old granddaughter when they get older. The series is designed for children 4 to 10 years old.
“This is truly G-rated entertainment,’’ he said, “and I’m so happy to be keeping it alive for another generation.’’
The “Little Thinker Adventures’’ series is available online via MP3 download and on CD at Willow Books & Café, 279 Great Road in Acton, and the West Concord 5 & 10, 106 Commonwealth Ave. For more information, visit www.littlethinkeradventures.com.
POETRY FOR ALL: Framingham poet Alan Feldman always remembered how much his teenage daughter, Rebecca, enjoyed the drop-in poetry workshop led by Alan Dugan, a Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet, in Truro in the early 1990s. So when Feldman retired after 37 years at Framingham State College in 2008, he and fellow poet Tony Hoagland began one of their own in Wellfleet, where Hoagland lived and Feldman spends the summers.
It proved to be so popular that Feldman has been leading a similar workshop during the school year at Framingham Public Library for serious poets of all levels.
The workshop meets on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Trustees Room at the library, 49 Lexington St. Participants generally range in age from preteen to 80s. Feldman typically begins each session with a discussion of a technical issue (such as diction or prosody) and examples of poems featuring a theme of the week. Following a 20-minute writing exercise, participants may choose to read their work aloud or share manuscripts for their classmates to critique.
While Feldman doesn’t usually share his own on-the-spot compositions, about two years ago he read a poem aloud and was told by a student, “That’s a keeper.’’ The poem was later published in upstreet, a literary magazine, as well as in a book, The Best American Poetry 2011.
According to Feldman, the fact that no money changes hands - the class is free and he volunteers his time - creates a unique atmosphere in which ideas are exchanged openly. The open-ended writing exercises allow participants to delve into personal issues, and in some cases work through them, such as grief at the loss of a child.
“I love the art and I like to help people enjoy writing and do it better,’’ Feldman said. “It’s even better when they benefit from it emotionally.’’
FASHION SUCCESS: Sherborn resident Arlene Handschuch, professor of fashion design and retailing at Framingham State University, won the ATEXINC Award for Excellence in Marketable Design - Professional Level for her original apparel design “Wind Chime’’ at this year’s International Textile and Apparel Association Design Exhibition, held last month in Philadelphia.
The exhibition, part of the industry organization’s annual conference, showcased 98 designs chosen by an international panel of judges.
Handschuch’s submission was developed for a project to design marketable womenswear out of Thai silk for the Institute of Sericulture in Bangkok.
The institution is promoting new labeling standards and emblems to protect Thai silk from imitators.
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