By Juli Kloza
At our student association, SEISA, we currently have four active projects that are looking for a few more students to join to assist in various activities.
Impacto – Chiapas, Mexico
Impacto is a group that works to empower indigenous artisan women in Chiapas, Mexico to produce textiles and promote ethical commerce and consumption. Women are creating beautiful designs and selling them in local markets, but these designs are being exploited by popular fashion brands like Zara. Within this project, they have asked for help with marketing tactics and specifically with building a successful crowdfunding campaign to aid women artisans and communities affected by an earthquake last year. Any Spanish-speaking students would be a significant help to this project!
Learn more: http://impacto.org.mx/
To get involved, e-mail Samira at hasib.s@husky.neu.edu
Akaar Mini Factory – Langa, Cape Town, South Africa
This project involves taking an existing model of a ‘5-person mini factory’ in various locations of India and South Africa and attempting to replicate them in Langa, a South African township in Cape Town. These factories produce affordable and compostable sanitary napkins within their communities, and create dignified work opportunities for the women who supervise and run them.
Learn more: https://aakarinnovations.com/mini-factory/
To get involved, e-mail Nina at rossiter.ni@husky.neu.edu
Ecotourism – Arusha, Tanzania
Isaya Oleporuo, a student at Northeastern and a Maasai Warrior and Chief from Arusha, Tanzania, is looking for help in starting an ecotourism business in his home village. This is an amazing opportunity for students to work alongside and learn about sustainable tourism from someone whose people have often been exploited. Isaya is hoping to get help from a group of students to create a model for an ecotourism business.
To get involved, e-mail Jordan at massa.j@husky.neu.edu
Vision Spring Clinic – the United States
We are looking to partner with an optometrist and/or the organization Vision Spring in order to host a clinic in an underserved area of the United States to provide access to subsidized eye-glasses for people who otherwise could not have access. Typically done outside of the US, we are trying to replicate this clinic to an area of great need. The current areas of interest are Cleveland, OH and Bridgeport, CT.
Learn more: https://visionspring.org/
To get involved, e-mail Mason at fitzpatrick.ma@husky.neu.edu
