Who is the LRA?

Have you heard? President Obama is sending 100 US troops to Central Africa to help and advise government forces battling Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels accused of murder, rape and kidnapping children.

While Northern Uganda has now seen a few years of sustained peace, the LRA continues to terrorize villages in Eastern Congo, Sudan and Central African Republic. Earlier this month, Invisible Children and Resolve announced the launch of the LRA Crisis Tracker - a mapping tool that reminds us, even though Northern Uganda is relatively safe, this conflict has not ended. 

All of the women working with One Mango Tree in our Gulu workshop have been affected by the LRA. Many lost brothers, fathers, and uncles. Several of our tailors were abducted and forced to fight. Others became child mothers when they were raped by LRA rebels and forced to serve as their wives. Almost all were displaced from their villages and have lived most of their lives in fear. While we are all glad to see peace in Northern Uganda, we cannot forget that this group continues to tear apart families and communities in other parts of Central Africa.

So, who is the LRA?

Who is the LRA from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with President Obama's decision to send troops?

'THINGS WE LIKE' FRIDAY

Have you ever had that good friend that digs up all of the most incredible, crafty, interesting bits on the web? We at One Mango Tree have an affinity for amazing blogs and in celebration of handmade, fair trade, and women... we want to share with you some of the things we like EVERY FRIDAY. You're welcome to start looking forward to it, mark your calendars, tell a friend, and share your ideas with us if you'd like to see them featured. Enjoy!



We're big fans of this vintage-inspired way to send your love with a message in a bottle... she'll typewrite your message of choice (hello! amazing.), seal it with wax, stick it inside a glass bottle, and ship it to your best friend, your mother, your dreamy boyfriend...

Available through Miniature Rhino in her ETSY store. Great work, lady!

A Day at the Owino Market

Here at One Mango Tree, I’ve discovered that one of the most exhausting but extraordinarily rewarding times of the season is spent searching for the brand new fabrics our women use on the items they continually sew and create. Updating our fabrics gives us the much-needed freedom to move with the seasons and consistently release new items, thus empowering our women and giving them ownership through sustainability and a regular, fair-trade income.

There’s really only one place in Uganda that we can find the fabrics we use... and that’s Owino Market. Choosing fabrics may sound easy but to be frank, it’s a tough job. In all its’ glory, the infamous Owino lies in the heart of Kampala and is an absolute circus of people, second hand gems (if you dig long enough!), and our favorite - local fabrics. When we say circus of people, we mean it - the streets are absolutely cluttered and everything begins to look the same after you’ve spent an hour or two wandering the streets.



Last week, I was introduced to what it felt like to be knee-deep in the process of finding Spring fabrics for our favorite ladies. It took three of us, lots of serious hunting, endless amounts of walking, two full 8-hour days, and our not-so-shabby bargaining skills to emerge with the brand new Spring 2010 fabrics. Needless to say, we at One Mango Tree are more than excited for you to see and wear the treasures the women are making for the upcoming season and for the ways in which their lives are sincerely being transformed your purchases.

Thank you for being apart of our story and get ready to be inundated with brand new media and stories!

- Your new friend, Lauranne