SUMERU BOOKS

Plot to Save the Planet badge

$1.50

In 2013, Sumeru teamed up with Mickey Glantz and Dhiraj Pradhananga to launch a Facebook group: Plot to Save the Earth. It's a global Buddhist eco-initiative, open to all.

Our mission is to raise awareness about the need for sustainable development on our fragile planet, about the role Buddhists are taking on in that transformation, and about helpful resources.

The group now has more than 500 members around the world. We invite you to join us. Share your knowledge, voice and commitment.

Mickey Glantz is a world-renowned climatologist from Boulder, CO. (http://fragilecologies.com) When the Vietnamese and Americans normalized relations after the Vietnam war, he was the first person they invited to visit. He designed the badge while he was in Kathmandu for a climate change conference.

Dhiraj Pradhananga runs Small Earth Nepal (http://www.smallearth.org.np), an environmental organization promoting sustainable development in the Himalayas.

These PLOT TO SAVE THE EARTH badges are manufactured by cottage industry ladies in Nepal for $1.50 each. Good business for local handicrafts persons, working out of shops the size of half a North American single-car garage. So you are helping woman-run micro-businesses. We're on our second batch of 100 now; the first batch sold out and much of the funds went for earthquake relief after the devastating quake in Nepal in 2015.

I’m selling them, at cost, plus shipping and handling and any donation you care to make ($5+ suggested, covers costs and a small contribution). All profits will go to NGOs in Nepal and Bhutan: environmental action, education for girls, and orphanages.

What we really want is for people to take pictures of their “Plot to Save the Earth” badges in front of their favourite local nature spots, all over the planet, and send them to Sumeru or the FB group to post. They're also great to give as gifts. I’m hoping the pictures also start popping up all over the web. It’s a great heartfelt message for anyone who has the good fortune to see one of them. How cool is that!