Feel Good Friday - Last Minute Gift Guide

Happy Feel Good Friday! Hanukkah is here, Christmas is coming... if you're like me, you've waited until the last minute to do your shopping. Don't worry, there's an upside!

For today's Feel Good Friday, we're going to take a look back at companies we've profiled in 2014 that have a feel good product to sell. Given how last minute this list is, you may need to make these presents for the new year or save them for someone's birthday in 2015. But hey, now you've got your birthday shopping taken care of too. You're welcome.

Click on the links below to go to the original FGF posts and get all the details!

Guardian Princesses - books about "super heroines who work together to protect the people and the planet."

GoodWeave -  rugs made without child labor by a group that also provides "education and opportunities to rescued and at-risk children."

Thistle Farms - beauty products made and sold by women in Tennessee "who have survived lives of prostitution, trafficking, addiction and life on the streets."

luminAID - a solar-powered, waterproof, inflatable light. When you buy one for yourself, take a moment (and get a discount) to buy one for a person liven in a country without reliable access to electricity.

ChopChop Magazine - a magazine full of recipes to teach kids how to cook real food with their families.

GoldieBlox - engineering toys designed for girls to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Wonderbag - "a non-electric, heat-retention cooker that allows food that has been brought to a boil, to continue cooking after it has been removed from the fuel source." For every Wonderbag you buy, one is sent to a family in Africa!

If you'd rather make a donation to another organization in someone's name or buy a goat for a family in Guatemala, you can scroll through the Feel Good Friday archives to get ideas or just to feel good.

Happy Holidays!

Feel Good Friday - Wonderbag

Last week, we talked about Wello, a system for transporting large quantities of water in a rolling barrel, rather than in a container on the top of your head. My guess is, if you're reading this, your water comes out of a tap from every sink in your house.


This Feel Good Friday, I want to talk about something that can benefit everyone - the Wonderbag!

What's so wonderful about this bag? As explained on their website, "The Wonderbag is a non-electric, heat-retention cooker that allows food that has been brought to a boil, to continue cooking after it has been removed from the fuel source." An old concept, but one that Sarah Collins, modernized to help women in her home country of South Africa.

For women using the Wonderbag it means they need less wood, gas or paraffin to cook their meals, saving them time and money gathering fuel and reducing the smoke in their home. Plus, these women spend less time watching their pots boil, giving them more time for childcare and other activities. For you, it means slow cooking a meal and being able to leave the house without worrying you're going to burn it down.

The visual and impatient among us will appreciate this video, which gives an excellent summary in less than two minutes. Those of you who like your news a little more in depth can read this recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Best of all, for every Wonderbag sold in the US, one is donated to a family in Africa! You can order one on Amazon right now. If you're unsure what to cook, you can check the Wonderbag recipe page. All that and a Facebook page too.

Will you be the first on your block to own a Wonderbag?