arts 4

Monday, November 25, 2013

MAGGIE KAISERMAN/MUSTANG NEWS

Stringing hope
BRENNA SWANSTON
@Brenna_Swanston
Ash and Ember began as a simple, do-good senior project for four Cal Poly students. Now, the project is sparking empowerment and hope in the Haitian community of Montrouis. A group of men and women in Montrouis spend hours every day hand-crafting beads, many from recycled paper. Ash and Ember purchases the beads, uses them to design jewelry, sells the jewelry and gives its profits back to the bead makers in Montrouis. Approximately twothirds of the money goes toward rent, food and educational expenses for the Haitians. The rest goes to jewelry-making supplies. Psychology senior Lauren Swart said she had no idea what was in store when she adopted Ash and Ember as her senior project. She has since traveled to Haiti, met the bead makers and fallen in love with Ash and Embers mission. It makes such a difference when you see a piece of jewelry and the name of the woman who made all these beads, and you know her face and you know her name, Swart said. Shes not just someone. Ash and Ember aims to provide its bead makers with a stable, sustainable income, she said. This inspired the programs name. Ash represents the darkness, brokenness and severe poverty in Haiti, while ember symbolizes hope glowing within the ash. The little bit of hope that they still have in actually having a sustainable income with this program could start a wildfire, Swart said. The idea for Ash and Ember began with the programs adviser, Breanne Minefee, Swart said. Minefee worked with Christian missionary organization Impact Ministries, which sent annual missions to Haiti. Impacts missionaries tried out several different methods for local Haitians to make sustainable incomes. When they stumbled upon the idea of bead making, it showed potential, but required a market in the United States to be effective. Minefee turned to Cal Poly students, hoping some might take interest in creating a market for the bead-making program. Swart, along with psychology senior Devrie Donalson, sociology senior Nicole White and business administration senior Caroline Dozier accepted the challenge. Thus, Ash and Ember was born but the project was not always smooth sailing. Ash and Ember had a rocky start because the Haitians were not used to working for financial relief. The women werent excited about it because they have never had to work hard for a living, Minefee said. Theyve just lived and someone has paid for their rent and made it work for them. Every year, thousands of organizations travel to Haiti to give relief, Minefee said. Most, however, resort to giving financial handouts. Thats what white people do in Haiti, she said. Its a lot of God providing for them in those ways, but its also not empowering them to do it themselves. Impacts bead making program sought out community members who were willing to work in return for money to cover rent, food and education, Minefee said. For half of them, its boring, or they think its too much work, or theyre not getting paid what they think they should, Minefee said. But half of them see it as an opportunity to improve their lives, and to make a difference in their families and save money and start their own businesses. Ash and Ember has generated approximately $3,000 since September, all of which went toward either jewelry-making supplies or the bead makers. In addition to giving financially to local Haitians, Ash and Ember also provides empowerment. Many female bead makers are unmarried with children, and Ash and Ember allows them to independently provide for their families a rare opportunity in their gender-segregated society. For husbands to be able to provide is a big deal, Minefee said. But for these women to be able to provide on their own without needing a husband, to do that for them is a really big deal. Right now, Ash and Embers biggest obstacle is its inability to build inventory. Each piece of jewelry Ash and Ember places on Facebook or its website sells within one or two days. Buyers are usually people who have visited Haiti or who are involved with Impact and sympathize with Ash and Embers mission. The programs only full-time jewelry makers are the four Cal Poly seniors and Minefee. They try to hold monthly volunteer days, providing snacks and drinks in exchange for people to help make jewelry. I think it can be successful, but we need to get someone on the ground in Haiti, Minefee said. Someone from here who has knowledge and experience and a desire to walk with those people and help them stay motivated, to figure out new and inventive ways for them to make a life for themselves. Swart and Donalson spent a month in Haiti over the summer working with the bead makers. Despite their cultural differences and language barriers, meeting the Haitians who worked with Ash and Ember changed Swarts perspective on the program, she said. It was a really cool thing, not even being see BEADS, pg. 5

Monday, November 25, 2013

arts 5

SLO Bacon Fest goes ham

@kttrom

KELLY TROM

It was a bacon lovers heaven and every pigs worst nightmare. It was the first SLO Bacon Fest held this past Saturday at the Alex Madonna Expo Center. Local vendors from restaurants, breweries, wineries and sweet shops donated bacon-inspired samples to raise money for Ward House Charities to start an after-school program to feed hungry children in San Luis Obispo County. Attendees wandered through the Expo Center with food piling high on tiny brown plates. Some even showed their devotion to bacon with their outfit choices. One man wore a T-shirt with Ron Swansons face, a Parks and Recreation TV character that loves bacon and breakfast food. Another had bacon pajama pants emblazoned with the words, Bacon is my life. Even more attendees

sported bacon-related shirts, one with the infinity sign made of bacon. The number of bacon-related food seemed infinite as well. Local vendors brought some of their most popular bacon menu items. For example, Woodstocks Pizza served up barbecue bacon pizza. SLODOCO brought another crowd pleaser: the maple bacon donut. But restaurants were not limited to what was on their regular menu, they could be creative. Chinos Rock and Tacos brought the heat with bacon-wrapped jalapeos and Creekside Brewing Company served a bacon stout brownie. And of course, there were breakfast favorites supplied by Old West Cinnamon Rolls and House of Bagels. They contributed bacon cinnamon rolls and breakfast bagels with eggs and bacon, respectively. Even the most fanciful combinations came true, with Old San Luis BBQ Co. serving not only a tri-tip sandwich with

candied bacon, but also a chocolate shake complete with bacon bits that were small enough to be sucked up the straw. And if all of the pairings of local wine and beer werent enough to satisfy your bacon cravings, Bakon Vodka was served by the self-titled company based in Seattle. Paso Robles resident Taryn Pollack came to the event with friends to sample all of the unique bacon pairings. We love bacon, beer and wine, and we are always looking for new events in the area, Pollack said. Despite the crowds moving up and down the four main aisle ways, Pollack and friends were able to make their way to a table to enjoy their samples. It is a little bit crowded, but I think the vendors are doing a good job at getting people through, Pollack said. There are some open spaces that you can hang out and get away from the crowd, which is nice. Pollacks friend and Ventura

DAVID JANG/MUSTANG NEWS

resident Megan Hellerstein liked the more traditional samples. My favorite sample was the G. Brothers sandwich, Hellerstein said. It was super flavorful. Animal science junior Samantha Smith, decked out in a pink tutu and pig snout, had been looking forward to

the Bacon Fest for months. I have been following the event on Facebook since May or June and telling all of my friends about it, and that was before they even released the date, Smith said. She came to enjoy all of the bacon samples and prove her

devotion to bacon through the Bacon Queen Pageant. I am actually a meat science concentration and have had an internship in the meat industry, she said. It sounds nerdy to say, but it has always been a big part of my life.

MAGGIE KAISERMAN/MUSTANG NEWS

I know those faces. I held their hands. I smiled at them. I cried with them. I know these people personally.
LAUREN SWART PSYCHOLOGY SENIOR

BEADS
continued from page 4

able to directly communicate with these people, but they knew the heart we had for this program and we knew their gratefulness and how thankful they were, Swart said. Those are the things you can feel without words the unspokens. Swart was able to bring skills she learned from her psychology courses into Ash and Ember as well as her experience in Haiti. I learned a lot about cross-cultural needs, Swart said. With psychology, its all about people and getting to know them and their thoughts and the reasons behind why they do the things they do. I was prepared as I could be to go into a thirdworld country and be multiculturally competent. Swart also learned how to work with a team in which each member has a different educational background. Each individual persons gifts can bring something new

to a really big project, she said. Its a huge dream, and just to see where its come so far, I cant believe that these things are happening already. I know it wouldnt have happened without the creativity, dedication and different visions of all the girls. Swart now hopes to make Ash and Ember her livelihood after graduation. It would be really rewarding to see this turn into a business that flourishes and that I would be able to put so much time and effort into because I dont have to put it somewhere else, trying to make a living, she said. However, Swart often finds herself distracted by school and concerns for her future. It definitely goes in waves, she said. Its not constant fire and passion for this. Its so easy to get distracted, especially in a college bubble. Youre so selfish and self-centered and worried about your future. When Swart becomes sidetracked by school or gets exhausted or frustrated by the programs demands, she simply looks at photos from her trip to Haiti. Seeing the

bead makers faces renews her drive for Ash and Ember. I know those faces, Swart said. I held their hands. I smiled at them. I cried with them. I know these people personally. Swart no longer feels only an academic obligation to her senior project, but a moral one as well. They have a need, and I have the opportunity to help, she said. How dare I not take advantage of that? How dare I not offer everything that I have for this program? White also tackled Ash and Ember for her senior project. She wants to work with nonprofit organizations in her future, and Ash and Ember has given her invaluable tools for achieving that goal, she said. This has taught me more than anything else could have, White said. Through things weve done well, things weve failed at, unexpected challenges or really awesome opportunities Ive just learned an incredible amount. White hopes to see Ash and Ember flourish in the future. I just really want this to be

something that can grow and really help create something sustainable for the people

were working with, she said. We have a long way to go and a lot of things to work on

and do, but I really see potential in it, so I hope that it continues after this year.

arts 6

Monday, November 25, 2013

The audio files

Parker Evans is an economics senior and Mustang News music columnist. English isnt an easy language to master. It has a wide range of sounds, a specific grammar and syntax, and depending on your definition, the largest vocabulary found anywhere in the world. Even so, Dan Bejar is kind of over English. After almost 10 years as the only constant member of Vancouver indie rock band Destroyer and part-time songwriter for The New Pornographers, Bejar announced Destroyer would be releasing an EP, straightforwardly titled Five Spanish Songs. The English language seemed spent, despicable, not easily singable, the accompanying statement read. It felt over for English; good for business transactions, but thats about it. The only foreign language Bejar knows is Spanish (not French like a good Canadian), so Destroyer recorded and released an EP covering five songs from Spains own Sr. Chinnaro. For the uninitiated, Sr. Chinarro is the pen name adopted by Antonio Luque. Constant across every one of Luques songs is a dry humor and a confident baritone voice think Bill Callahan but the music never gets in the way of his impressive descriptive talents, which are immediately apparent to even novice hispanohablantes. Five Spanish Songs gets off to a relatively strong start with Maria De Las Nieves. Originally from Sr. Chinarros fantastic Presidente, the opener finds Luques lyricism at its finest, depicting a captivating scene where partygoers are esterilizantes con alcohol, practicantes de una rara religin. Bejars adaptation here is faithful, perhaps too much so, but it highlights the problems inherent in Five Spanish Songs. Bejars Spanish is surprisingly passable (for a Canadian), but his voice lacks the authority required for Sr. Chinarros detached, observational judgments, and fans who recognize Bejar as that other guy from the New Pornographers will know that his reedy, thin voice isnt exactly a baritone. Equally problematic is the fact that too many of the covers themselves seem half-baked. El Rito starts out with an energetic power pop riff that Bejar cant quite seem to capitalize on, and Del Monton might as well be a parody of insipid European caf muzak. In every instance on Five Spanish Songs, the original trumps the cover. In some sense, even if all this EP does is turn more listeners on

@parker_d_evans

PARKER EVANS

English is so 2012: Destroyer releases EP of Spanish covers

the table. Theres a disconnect between artist and listener persisting throughout the 18-minute run time that goes deeper than a simple language barrier. Spanish does afford some creative liberties that go beyond being a novel diversion for an English-speaking band for one, it allows Luque to rhyme the words Franz Kafka, which might be challenging in English but it would be a stretch to call Five Spanish Songs anything more than a poorly conceived stunt. English is the native tongue of Mark Twain and Bob Dylan and David Foster Wallace, hardly spent and despicable. Right now, the Spanish-language indie music scene is better than ever (check out Chiles Gepe and Alex Anwandter or Venezuelas La Vida Boheme). It certainly doesnt need Dan Bejar. Its hard to tell just how tongue-in-cheek Bejars statement was. Regardless, if Five Spanish Songs had been designed as a tribute to an elite songwriter rather than a kiss-off to an entire language, perhaps it would have been more honest and creative.

... if Five Spanish Songs had been designed as a tribute to an elite songwriter rather than a kiss-off to an entire language, perhaps it would have been more honest and creative.
to Sr. Chinarro, it will have been a success, but Destroyer cant bring anything new to