Divine, a delicious Fair Trade chocolate company, has a tasty deal for all the top chefs out there. They’re looking for recipes that have "heaps of creativity, Divine appeal, and powerful statements about why contestants are hungry to change the world through Fair Trade." The sweetest entry wins a trip to Washington D.C. and some chocolate. The entries are due December 15th, and with the holidays coming, there’s a perfect opportunity to test out your creation on family and friends while introducing them to Fair Trade. If you need a snack to get your creative juices flowing, try out some of Divine’s or Equal Exchange’s recipes.

TransFair is sponsoring a Connect with Fair Trade video contest and the winner gets a trip to Peru. Simply create a short movie (less than 5 minutes) that shows how you connect with Fair Trade, and you could see first-hand the effect your Fair Trade purchases have on farmers. If you are a bit camera shy, you can enter the sweepstakes to win $100 gift certificate for Fair Trade products. No Oscar-winning performances required; simply tell how you connect with Fair Trade.

In conjunction with the launch of their new Fair Trade coffee line, Sam’s Club is offering a week long study grant in Brazil for teachers. "Study grants will be awarded to teachers who express exceptional ideas to educate students on the economic, social and business lessons surrounding fair trade." Eligibility is for teachers of grades 7 - 12 "who can reasonably expect to teach at least fifteen (15) hours a week during the 2008-2009 school year and dedicate at least five (5) lessons to topics related to Fair Trade." A 1,000 word essay must be received by December 15th and must detail how Fair Trade will be incorporated into five lesson plans.

Lessons could cover corporate social responsibility, international trade and economics, environmental issues, human rights and labor, consumer marketing, etc. Essays will be judged on (a) Professionalism in application (25%), (b)Coherent approach to examining relevant issues (25%), (c) Creative engagement with students (25%), and (d) Plans for documenting the trip to farming cooperatives and sharing the experience with students (25%).

This weekend I took the plunge and found myself standing on top of a roof, where I discovered there are many steps involved in a solar installation, only the last of which involves the panels.

When we arrived, the team leaders quickly divivded us up into a ground team and a roof team and then launched right into the project. While the ground team stayed below to size up the inverter and electrical circuits, the rest of us went up to the roof to learn how to set the feet and tracking system that support the rooftop panels.

I quickly learned that setting the feet can be a messy process. Applying tar to secure the feet and to stop up any potential roof leaks, I soon had tar all over my pants, hands, feet, and even in my hair… Luckily, the Grid Alternatives team came prepared with some biodeisel to clean all it off and I was soon reabsorbed in the next steps of aligning the tracking and testing the efficiency percentage of each panel.

The teams were an interesting mix of Grid Alternatives veterans and newcomers, and it quickly became apparent why people get hooked on volunteering for installs with Grid Alternatives: not only were the team leaders easy-going and interested in sharing their seasoned knowledge, the other volunteers were also quick to exchange practical and scientific experience with the those who didn’t have as much familiarity with the solar realm.

All in all, it’s safe to say I’m officially hooked. Learning how to install solar panels (for free!) was one of the easiest and most fun ways to spend my Saturday, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you’re interested in signing up for a training and an install day, check out www.gridalternatives.org, and I will probably see you there.

Here's how you'll do it:

Figure out where you'll hold this swap. It could be your living room, garage or yard. Maybe you'll want a bit of a bigger space and decide to do it at a church or meeting space of some kind.

Make the rules. We suggest the following: Items must be clean and in working condition. No furniture or gigantic items. Label items that others might not know what it is for.

Invite people. Make sure to explain that everything will be given & taken for free. One person's trash is another's treasure! Also explain that this swap will reduce waste, save precious resources & ease the burden on our landfills by allowing usable but unwanted goods to find a new owner.

Organize the items. On the day of the event, you'll want to have several sections set up for people to leave their items. One table may be for small appliances, another for shirts, a section for shoes, toys, etc.

Have fun! Enjoy yourself and have fun looking through the piles of stuff…you just may find that "thing" you've been meaning to buy. Now you have it for free!

Donate remaining items. At the end of your event, you might wind up with some items that no one wants. If it's a large event, you may want to arrange in advance for a Goodwill or other donation organization truck to come for a pick up. Otherwise, you may want to drop off the items yourself.

Freecycle in New York has now held several FreeMeets to this effect. One of which was recently featured on Current TV. Swaporamarama is also a cool event similar to this, but that is purely for clothes & fashion accessories.

Rebecca says: Let us know how your swap goes if you choose to do one! We're planning on holding one during our Earth Day celebration, EarthFest. I've already got some good stuff ready to donate!

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