Tuesday, 7 November 2006
Now you can buy products from Argentina's recovered companies
**Visit The Working World Market and spread the word!** http://market.theworkingworld.org/ Dear Friends of The Take, In keeping with our ambivalent attitude towards the seasonal consumer frenzy, we are sending you a message encouraging you to buy things after you've already done your holiday shopping! Thank you for your wonderful activism in the past year: with petitions, fax attacks and email floods, you have been dedicated in fighting for the Argentine workers' movement we documented in our film. But today you have a chance to support the movement in a new and constructive way. Many of you have heard of The Working World, an amazing organization started by Brendan Martin, an audience member who saw The Take in New York City. Over the past year, we have raised more than 100,000 to launch a democratic capital fund to support the recovered companies in Argentina. And we've hired many of the people in Buenos Aires who helped make The Take - including Lalo Paret, the movement organizer who is one of the main characters in the film. So far we've made 14 successful loans at minimal interest ñ helping cooperatives buy machines and raw materials, and helping create good jobs in democratic workplaces. Today, we're launching a new project: The Working World Market. http://market.theworkingworld.org/ The site is still in its infancy, but for the first time (if you live in Canada or the U.S.) you can buy products from Argentina's recovered companies, knowing that every possible cent is going directly to the workers themselves. We're still working the bugs out of our international/online ordering system, so by ordering from the site you'll also be helping out The Working World, as we grow and get better at this end of our project. When I saw the first draft of the website, I gasped: it is a dramatic reversal of the typical consumer experience. The prices are half what you would pay in a retail store. Instead of slick ads and shiny logos, you meet the people who made the products, and learn about their inspiring struggles. And the best part is that you see precisely where every cent goes: and the vast majority of it goes directly to the workers. In the months ahead we'll add many more products from other worker-run businesses, and expand our delivery to Europe and beyond. But in this season of endless shopping, we wanted to give you an opportunity to meet some of the workers you didn't meet in The Take, and be able to support them directly thanks to the efforts of one of your fellow audience members!
Happy Holidays,
Avi Lewis Director,
"The Take"
**Visit The Working World Market and spread the word!** http://market.theworkingworld.org/ Dear Friends of The Take, In keeping with our ambivalent attitude towards the seasonal consumer frenzy, we are sending you a message encouraging you to buy things after you've already done your holiday shopping! Thank you for your wonderful activism in the past year: with petitions, fax attacks and email floods, you have been dedicated in fighting for the Argentine workers' movement we documented in our film. But today you have a chance to support the movement in a new and constructive way. Many of you have heard of The Working World, an amazing organization started by Brendan Martin, an audience member who saw The Take in New York City. Over the past year, we have raised more than 100,000 to launch a democratic capital fund to support the recovered companies in Argentina. And we've hired many of the people in Buenos Aires who helped make The Take - including Lalo Paret, the movement organizer who is one of the main characters in the film. So far we've made 14 successful loans at minimal interest ñ helping cooperatives buy machines and raw materials, and helping create good jobs in democratic workplaces. Today, we're launching a new project: The Working World Market. http://market.theworkingworld.org/ The site is still in its infancy, but for the first time (if you live in Canada or the U.S.) you can buy products from Argentina's recovered companies, knowing that every possible cent is going directly to the workers themselves. We're still working the bugs out of our international/online ordering system, so by ordering from the site you'll also be helping out The Working World, as we grow and get better at this end of our project. When I saw the first draft of the website, I gasped: it is a dramatic reversal of the typical consumer experience. The prices are half what you would pay in a retail store. Instead of slick ads and shiny logos, you meet the people who made the products, and learn about their inspiring struggles. And the best part is that you see precisely where every cent goes: and the vast majority of it goes directly to the workers. In the months ahead we'll add many more products from other worker-run businesses, and expand our delivery to Europe and beyond. But in this season of endless shopping, we wanted to give you an opportunity to meet some of the workers you didn't meet in The Take, and be able to support them directly thanks to the efforts of one of your fellow audience members!
Happy Holidays,
Avi Lewis Director,
"The Take"
# posted by Taodhg @ 11:44 am 
