A big welcome...

to the Butvin family! Halle's Mom and Dad just arrived for their very first visit to Uganda. If you've ever wondered who was including all those hand-written notes and free goodies in your shipment when you ordered... it's Halle's Mom! Cona Butvin... our customer service and shipping goddess. We had the pleasure of collectively seeing our brand new, organic fabrics being made. Double awesome. Here's a sneak peak at our adventure; come back on Monday when we'll share all the in-depth goodness with you about the fabrics we use. For now, Mr. and Mrs. Butvin, we're so happy to have you both here!

THINGS WE LIKE 'FRIDAY': A BRAND NEW feature.

We thought it'd be neat to introduce you to a brand new feature: One Mango Tree EATS.



It'll be a column teaching you all about the local foods and how they're prepared. Before living in Uganda, I really had no idea what sorts of foods were prepared locally. If you're anything like I was or you've visited a million times, this is for you. We're really excited about it, so sit back and enjoy... or if you're extra-awesome, get out your cooking utensils.

Let's begin! The first we're featuring is one of our favorites. It's local cabbage and long-grain white rice. This will serve 2. Simply double the portions to serve more. Prepare the white rice as directed. Here's how you can make the local cabbage:

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 1 head of Cabbage
- 1/2 large Tomato
- 1/2 red Onion
- Garlic (1-3 cloves to your liking)
- 4 Tbl. spoons of Olive Oil
- 2 Tbl. spoons of Salt
- 2 Tbl. spoons of Curry powder (or a meat-flavored powder)
*the women use something called "Roico" here

STEP ONE
Slice the head of cabbage into two halves; you will only use one half. Hold the half with one hand and using the other, use a knife in a downward motion to slice the cabbage into thin slivers (they can be long or short but it's very important they are on the thinner side).



STEP TWO
Chop the tomato, onion, and garlic. Drizzle the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and begin to fry the onion and garlic. (The tomato will be tossed in later.)



STEP THREE
Toss in the cabbage. Cover the pan and for about 2-3 minutes, let the cabbage cook down a bit. Toss in 2 tablespoons of salt and curry/flavoring of your choice. Feel free to add more to taste.



STEP FOUR
As you let it all marinate together, it will continue cooking down. Let it simmer for another 4-5 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Toss in the tomatoes.



Serve alongside the white rice. If it's nearby, the Acholi will DEFINITELY add slices avocado atop the rice and cabbage. Seriously delicious... from the mouth of an American (whatever that means).



Ta da! Pat yourself on the back and chow down... or just continue sitting there. More to come! :)

We are Okay.

If you've caught the news or spoken with friends, it's likely you've heard about the recent terrorist attacks that took place Sunday night in Uganda. We, as an organization, are collectively mourning the deaths of 75 local ugandans as well as a dear American friend of ours Nate Henn, who spent the past few years raising funding and awareness for secondary students in Uganda. As many innocent locals and foreigners came together to enjoy the final game of the World Cup, it's reported that Somalian suicide bombers from Al-Shabab (linked with Al Qaida) entered two separate venues and devastated the crowds.

We are appreciative of all of your concerns and so thankful to share that our ladies and staff in Uganda are all very safe. We're just experiencing a glimpse of the heartache this country has experienced in the past but together, we're all hopeful and standing united amidst these painful losses.

In times like these, we're reminded just how greatly needed consistency, love, and sustainability are here. We encourage you to share this story with friends and family and to continue supporting as we pursue employing and empowering these 30 phenomenal women.

If you're interested in reading more about the Kampala terrorist attacks, you can do so here.

With gratitude,
the One Mango Tree team

Our FAVORITE Summer Sandals.

We've officially fallen in love... with a sandal that's literally changing lives. That's why we're so excited to team up with Sseko Designs to release our very own One Mango Tree Sseko Sandals! We're releasing FOUR limited-edition colors for you to choose from!



We don't want to spare you any of the goodness:

WHAT ARE SSEKOS? Ssekos are sandals produced by a group of beautiful, intelligent young women in central Uganda that have graduated secondary school and want to continue their education into college/university. When you purchase this sandal, you're directly helping to fund and empower these ladies to become successful lawyers, doctors, and professionals. You are planting a seed. The sandals themselves are incredibly easy and the best part is that you're fully capable of creating your own, unique sandal by tying, twisting, and looping the fabric in different ways. Don't worry! We'll feature some upcoming posts with cute, creative ways to tie your Ssekos.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? In Uganda's impoverished and male dominated society, to see a woman attend university is a beautiful rarity. Over the past decade, with rising school fees and cultural roles encouraging women to return home to take care of the family, few girls can afford the time or fees to attend university. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. Many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time. Sseko hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These sandals are paving a future for these bright girls.

WHO ARE THE WOMEN THAT MAKE THESE SANDALS? Edna, Mercy, Betty, Harriet, Teddy, Robinah, Teopista: I had the opportunity to spend a day with these ladies and I was absolutely taken aback by the diversity and beauty of these women. You're welcome to learn more about each of them on Sseko's website.



See more of the sandals that are changing lives in our ONLINE STORE.

We love Wholefoods.

"THINGS WE LIKE" FRIDAY

If you haven't seen or heard of "The Girl Effect," we highly recommend you soak every ounce of this up. We believe in it.



And if you love it as much as we do, we encourage you to pick up the book "Half the Sky" by New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof. Don't worry, you can thank us later. :)

MEET Our Ladies: Prisca

Prisca is one of the most phenomenal women I know and I think before you know anything else about her, you have to know that she has the best laugh I’ve ever heard (high pitched, soft, and short if you can imagine it; I promise, it’s great.). She loves Nigerian films and always begs me to stay late and spend the night at her home with her family. She was one of the very first ladies at One Mango Tree and because of her incredible integrity and work ethic, she now manages the office in Gulu on a daily basis. She has a quiet disposition but works incredibly hard from dusk through dawn: in the office, she’s taking care of the women, making sure they have everything they need, that deadlines are met, and things are running smoothly. She has a lot on her plate. At home, she’s taking care of three beautiful babes, cooking, and cleaning… and there’s a particularly remarkable thread of consistency running through all areas of her life – she is consistently sacrificing for those around her.



She and her husband live just outside of Gulutown and because of the economic stability she’s developed through working at One Mango Tree, they’re close to finishing a brand new home… but this time, rather than a circular mud hut, it’s a solid brick and mortar home. It’s beautiful and should be finished in December… don’t worry, we’ll invite you to the house party!



To say her home life is full of laughter might be an understatement… and it’s all thanks to these three. Goretty, at 4, is her youngest and she is always bouncing, smiling, and trying to be helpful. Once, we decided to surprise Prisca by cleaning up the house and after mopping one small area of the floor, Goretty got ambitious and decided to mop the entire house without being asked. Isaac, at 7, is the only boy and definitely takes after his father (who works in construction) as he wanders everywhere with a hammer in hand. He’s incredibly bright, number one in his class to be exact. When he's not studying english and math, he's running around, building things, and climbing trees for mangos. He also has an affinity for pushing Prisca’s buttons which most definitely prepares her for life at the OMT office. Cynthia, at 9, is the oldest and the one thing you’ll notice about her is that she’s always laughing. Prisca confidently describes Cynthia as “stubborn” which really means she's extremely outgoing compared to other girls within the Acholi culture.

For all the conversations I’ve had with Prisca, there’s one statement that continues to return to me: “Without One Mango, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my family. My one hope is that we can keep making our bags and that people will keep enjoying them.”

I say this time and time again but your purchases are changing lives. Halle developed One Mango Tree as a way of using trade to provide a sustainable income and empower the local women of Northern Uganda. We’ve seen exponential growth in the hearts and lives of our women; these stories are rich and full of proof that when you empower a woman, you’re changing the lives of everyone in direct community with her. So, thank you to those of you who love and share the story of One Mango Tree with friends, families, and strangers. It’s because of you that all of this is taking place. Making the conscious choice to value the person who makes what you purchase truly transforms everything.

In the words of Donald Miller (one of my favorite authors), "The stories we hear change the way we see life. Stories teach us what is worth pursuing, what is worth living for, what is worth sacrificing for. If you aren’t telling a good story to the people you love, who is? Is it the television, your kids friends, your wife’s boss, the girl who works at you husbands gym?”

- Lauranne

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To see more photos from my visit with Prisca on our brand new FLICKR.