The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade, earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the sixth day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

*Ayurvedic aromatherapy assorted dosha tea lights from the Mystic Masala would make luscious and fragrant hostess gifts don’t you see?

Buy now: Price: $20.00

Prices are in Canadian dollars.  We ship internationally, order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  For your on-line security, we use 2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade, earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the fifth day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

*Five sets of in-laws, mom & dad, hippy sister & baby!  Bamboo towels from Shoo-Foo bundled into “spa combos” are wonderful gifts for the extended family!

Bamboo towel small spa combo: $18.00

Bamboo towel large spa combo: $50.00
Our prices are in Canadian dollars.  We ship internationally, order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  For your on-line security, we use 2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade, earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the fourth day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

* The “Hippy Love Welcome to the World” Bundle, makes an adoreable gift for a new addition to the family and her mommy!

Photo by Jess and Meg of Co.lektiv Images.

Prices are in Canadian dollars.  We ship internationally, order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  For your on-line security, we use 2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

The Hippy Love Bundle includes:

* Exquisite home crafted Vintage Chenille baby jacket (made in a home cottage industry)
* Spicebodhi Mama and Baba massage oil and handmade soap (made at a women’s fair trade co-op in Nepal)
* Tie-dyed onsie (hand dyed by an amazing woman entrepreneur)
* 1 Shoo-Foo Bamboo washcloth rolled and wrapped with raffia (fair trade produced near the bamboo grove in China)
* Dream Child CD (recorded by three amazing Vancouver musicians)
* Hand crafted “Barefoot” Toy (made by an artist’s group in Sri Lanka)
* Wrapped in a hooded Shoo-Foo bamboo baby towel (fair trade produced near the bamboo grove in China)

The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade, earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the third day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

* Surprise some little ones with the “Bobs & Lolo” DVD.  Add in 2 CD’s for the car and make it a groovy gift of three!

Prices are in Canadian dollars.  We ship internationally, order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  For your on-line security, we use 2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

Bobs & Lolo – Music to engage, inspire, and educate

Since debuting in 2003, Bobs & Lolo have been capturing the hearts and minds of children, parents and educators alike. Creating shows and products designed to engage, inspire and educate, Bobs & Lolo teach kids to care about themselves, their neighbours and the planet. With regular performances at schools, children’s festivals and community events, Bobs & Lolo are a guaranteed hit with both the young and the young at heart.  These two amazing women entrepreneurs, teacher Robyn Hardy (Bobs) and environmental educator Lorraine Pond (Lolo) radiate positive vibes and sheer exuberance of having fun in the great outdoors.

The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade, earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the second day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

* A natural cotton hippy grandma BYOB shopping bag needs to be next on your list to bring home all the organic and natural holiday yummies!

Help “save the earth” with these eco-friendly, funky, practical and multi functional bags!

Prices are in Canadian dollars.  We ship internationally, order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  For your on-line security, we use 2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

Living a more sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard. It’s actually pretty easy; BRING YOUR OWN BAG when shopping, turn your lights out, turn your heat down, walk instead of drive…you get the idea.

Green Quotient: BYOB Hippy Grandma totes are made in Canada from 100% natural cotton/ canvas and are built to last a lifetime.  Each BYOB tote you use will prevent hundreds of plastic bags from ending up in our oceans, in our trees, or buried in our Earth.

The 13 Days of Green & Groovy Christmas Shopping From Hippy Grandma: a fair trade,  earth friendly eco-boutique.  Hippy Love for generations!

On the first day of on-line shopping for a green & groovy Christmas, hippy grandma said to me:

* A soft cozy and luxurious shoo foo bamboo bathrobe would make the perfect gift for both you and your honey!

Order before Dec 4th to ensure a “before Christmas” arrival.  We use  2checkout a secure e-commerce system.  2CheckOut.com Inc.(Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Hippy Grandma.

Green quotient: Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet. It requires no fertilizers, no pesticides and no water irrigation to grow. It can grow up to a meter a day and reaches maturity in 3-4 years. Bamboo is a tropical grass and it spreads as quickly as conventional western grasses. Because of these growth characteristics and its intricate root systems, bamboo is known to reduce erosion. This consequently improves soil quality and reduces water pollution. And it doesn’t need replanting!

Shoo-foo bamboo resources grow naturally in China. Bamboo is harvested and transformed into bamboo yarns and threads by local communities. In order to minimize our eco-foot print on the planet, Shoo-foo manufactures its products on site and ship the final products directly to the destination market.Shoo-foo bamboo products are organic, eco-friendly, biodegradable, fair traded and so soft.

Sadhana of SOUP

Written by Glynnis Osher, Ayurvedic practitioner (CAP) and Creator of the Luscious Mystic Masala Aromatherapy Products for Hippy Grandma
www.themysticmasala.com

Sadhana is a simple act of awareness in everything we do from the smallest task of washing dishes to the profound act of love in preparing our food. Sadhana is a spiritual practice, imbuing our every act with peace and love and consideration for the natural flow of life. When we are mindful about how we shop, prepare our food, when and how we eat, we will find a shift in attitude and health and remind ourselves of the beauty that we are.

This is the season to nourish and warm our bodies, it is the season of the Vata dosha in Ayurveda. The Vata constitution is  made up of the elements of air and ether and the Fall season is most aggravating to this dosha as it is drying, cold and mutable. Vata is about mobility and change and in order to create a balance we need to observe a lifestyle that is grounding, nurturing and calming to the nervous system. Most of us have somewhat of a Vata imbalance due to eating on the run, external distractions and busy lifestyles.

In ayurveda, soups are used for cleansing, nourishing and balancing especially in the colder seasons. Soups are kind to the digestive fire-agni. Preparation of soup is simple and satisfying and beneficial to the Vata dosha, a whole meal can be done in a very short time, filled with flavor and nourishing benefits. Creating a good soup without a recipe is an intuitive process, which in itself is an act of grace. Grain and bean soups are thicker, used for strengthening and nourishing the tissues. Clear, thinner soups such as broths and watery kichadis are used for cleansing as they are easy to digest and least challenging to the whole digestive system. Soups made with grains, vegetable s and beans are alkaline which is the ideal state of balance for the body. Our diets are highly acid when we overindulge in sugars, trans-fats and stale, preserved, canned foods, which have been allowed to sit and become denatured. And so soups begin to tonify the gut and nervous system which may have been made sluggish, acidic and clogged with too many heavy fast meals on the run.

Offering a hearty soup to a weary traveller is traditionally a very welcoming gift in many cultures. The idea of Chicken Soup as penicillin is symbolic for the healing offering of soup to the sick and convalescing. With the gift of water and a wise blend of very few simple ingredients, soups on!

Use your vegetable offcuts and peelings to make soup stock to enrich any soup base (use instead of plain water) Simmer offcuts for about 1 hour or until vegetables are completely soft and all minerals and nutrients have been absorbed into water. Use as you go or refrigerate and use within a couple of days or freeze for future use. It is always great to have a good stock on hand for a quick soup. Also use to enhance cooking grains, adding extra minerals and nutrients as well as flavour to your food.

BUTTERNUT HARVEST MOON SOUP
Preparation time: 35minutes
(serves 6)

4 pound butternut squash or pumpkin
2 TBS fresh grated ginger
2 TBS grated orange peel
1 onion diced
6 –8 cups water
2 TBSP ghee/olive oil
1 1/2 tsp toasted ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp toasted, ground coriander
1 tsp sea salt
Garnish: Chopped arugula, cilantro or watercress
Additional optional garnish: toasted pumpkin seeds

Cut squash in half and put face down on foil or roasting dish and bake/roast in oven at 375 degrees for half hour to 45 minutes. This gives the soup a delicious roasted flavour. When squash is cooked, remove skin and seeds and set aside. Saute diced onions in ghee/oil until onions partly caramelize. Add ginger and orange peel and sauté for another minute. Add water and bring to boil. When water has boiled, add roasted squash and blend. Add in the ground spices and stir in. Blend with a hand-held blender or regular blender to puree.
Thin with more water if needed. Garnish and enjoy!

This soup is sweet, nourishing and festive. A wonderful introduction to the cold seasons.

AYURVEDIC TIP

ABOUT ORGANIC FOOD
Buying organic may be more expensive, but the long term hidden cost of not eating organic is far higher. Chemicals and GMO’s used for growing food affects healthy fertility of men and women, not to mention other harmful toxic outcomes. Support local co-ops, farmer’s markets and friendly organic gardeners in your own neighborhood, or grow your own. This is real food security and health for generations.

Our  Hippy Grandma: “Grandmafesto”

Hippy Grandma: hip, happy, hippie women caring for Mother Earth and her next 7 generations!

It’s a state of mind
It’s a movement
It’s a radical BE-INg.

We envision: a healthy, peaceful and vibrant world anchored in a “partnership model” (Rianne Eisler).
Our mission: to lovingly care for and nourish future generations and the planet through beautiful earth friendly wares while having fun doing it!
Our purpose: we sell luscious eco-friendly, unique baby gifts and other treasures on-line to support the economic growth of women and care for children and mothers of the earth.
We weave in the principles: of conscious capitalism and the triple bottom line.
We believe: as does the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean (Canada’s Govenor General) and Kofi Annan (former UN secretary-general), “that the future of the world rests on women’s shoulders.”
We believe: that elder women, particularly “grandmas” (spirit grandmas and birth grandmas) carry the wisdom forward and are a re-emerging “wisdom council” for the world.
We believe: that as the women of the world continue to increase their financial security, the children of the world benefit.
We believe: in the harmony of natural law.
We believe: in the goodness of people, in kindness, in joy, in the future.
We honour and respect: our elders, the children of the planet and Gaia herself.
We value: love, beauty, freedom, sustainability, community
We use: cooperation, cool-laboration and co-creation as our organizational guiding principles.
We integrate: the principles of the ES Business Planning Matrix for Women Entrepreneurs ™

namaste,

Zoey, a happy hippy and hippy grandma founder

For the past 7 years, I have been following some wonderful marketing gurus like Seth Godin and Michael Port.  What I love about these two is that they are “renegades”, blast open conventional thinking about marketing and are tech savvy, understanding the dynamic of social networking to tap into niche marketing success.  I also love the book “Attracting Your Perfect Customer: the power of strategic synchronicity” by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez (Stringer).  I have been further educated by my friend, Pamela Chatry “A Personal Business Manager” about the power of customer driven processes and plans.

Hippy Grandma , an “on-line eco-boutique selling fair trade and earth frendly treasures” is all about niche marketing and shared success!  Our niche market is “the woman over 50 online” who feels she is a “hippie at heart” who will make purchases from her heart on the basis of the “eco, fair trade and green quotient” of that product.  This woman may consider herself a “cultural creative”, practices yoga & meditation, loves reading, is interested in the difference between religion and spirituality and may feel compelled to participate in social action especially around issues to do with women and children.

We also tap into a secondary niche market, one of the “quirky collector ones” and that is the market of vintage chenille bedspread collectors and lovers!  We sell exquisite baby jackets made out of vintage chenille, similar to that being modeled above by Sophia!

I would love your help in identifying further characteristics of our “perfect customer”.  Please add your feedback and comments below.

namaste,

Zoey, a happy hippy and hippy grandma founder

photo by Meg & Jess of Co.lektiv Images – Photography for jewelry, fashion and luscious products.

Here’s what others are saying about the wonderful Dream Child CD!

“I was a sleep deprived mom with two young sons (age 2 and 5) who were awake most of the night.  This CD has helped my sons get some sleep.   Now I am getting more sleep as I leave it on repeat all night long to soothe them back to sleep when they wake up.” – Cassandra Hogland, mom of two boys
“Dream Child is an inspiring, uplifting CD for children.  It includes relaxation techniques, motivating songs and magical stories, all designed to foster gratitude, love and a connection with nature.  Your child will hear enchanting stories so soothing they’ll want to play it over and over again.”
- from BC Parent Magazine reviewed by M. Hucul-Kambolis, Child and Family Therapist

“We received Dream Child as a gift.  My children listen to it every night before bed and a variety of the same wonderful stories and music would be soooo appreciated. Your CD was a big part of helping my kids learn how to go to bed and go to sleep instead of bedtime being a terrible wild time. We used it so much, we wore it out and had to get another one.”- Kerri Watson, N Vancouver mom

Do you know a sleep deprived mom?  This CD would make a wonderful Christmas gift for her and her baby!

namaste,

Zoey, a happy hippy and hippy grandma founder

www.hippygrandma.com

Your dollars have heart and soul! Support fair trade and earth friendly gifting by Christmas Shopping
at Hippy Grandma: an online eco-boutique selling unique gifts for babies, hippy chicks, mamas and grandmas!