2007

Jorah LaFleur - Passionate, insightful, and dynamic, Jorah LaFleur is a spoken word poet whose primary focus on stage is the formation of an intimate human connection with the audience. Over the last seven years Jorah has performed in poetry showcases, clubs, plays, poetry slams, open mics, and at festivals, always hoping to inspire and educate as well as entertain. She champions the use of spoken word as a means for making social commentary, and as a tool for personal growth.

Dave Shapiro ~ An urban herbalist, solar infuser of massage oils, tracker, writer, prankster, didgeridoo player, naturalistorian, and papa, Dave has lived and grown in Portland, OR since 1999.  An avid appreciator of taoism and the power of place, Dave has been a student of nature since he can rememeber.  Dave has developed a knack for fun in the woods and part of that fun has been eating wild foods and getting to know the intimate details of landscape through its species.

Elvy Musikka was born with congenital cataracts and after years of medical treatments developed glaucoma in her mid thirties, and as a result, was propelled into activism through her experiences as a glaucoma patient. Elvy is a passionate speaker, singer, activist and legal expert. She is a monthly recipient (one of eight) of federal Cannabis for her glaucoma. Elvy is a very active and in high demand for public speaking, as an expert witness for court trials, as well as legislative, university and high school presentations.

Gerry Shapiro, activist and businessman, founder in 1994 of Locally based Merry Hempsters, launched The Merry Hempsters at the Southern Oregon Barter Fair. Inspired out of forest activism, Gerry says "It became easier to start a business to educate people in the uses of hemp". The Merry Hempsters, one of the first to use organic herbs and plant oils in the industry, has made hemp based body care products available nation wide.

Brad Lerch is a partner of Royal Blue Organics, purveyors of Café Mam organic, fair trade coffee. Joining the family business in 1991, Brad has been the driving force managing the company. Café Mam has been a leader in the Fair Trade movement, working closely with the farmers and paying a fair wage since its inception, long before there was a Fair Trade certification in the USA. Through these efforts, Café Mam has helped better the lives of countless Mayan farmers and their families in Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala.

Lenda Hand - Mother, activist and business woman, Founder, Humboldt Hemp Foods. The Hemp trail for began for her at Reggae on the River.  Humboldt Hemp Foods began as a fund raiser for her son’s non-profit alternative school, and evolved into one of the premiere Hemp food businesses. Starting with clothing, Lenda soon decided the future for her was in the exciting new uses of the hemp seed.

Olowo-n'djo Tchala gathered shea nuts as a boy to pay for clothes and school. He arrived in the U.S. in 1998 speaking not a word of English. Five years later he had degree in organizational theory -- the study of capitalism, helping him understand the root causes of poverty. Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care was born – pumping money and resources into the tiny West African nation of Togo, furnishing schools, planting trees and reducing the maternal death.

Kevin Murphy’s poetry is exuberant, comic and slightly mad, and comes from a place where stones are alive and potatoes talk. With nods to the beats, the bards, the surrealists and the blues, he accompanies himself on guitar and percussion. Kevin has toured throughout the Northwest and beyond as a member of the entertainment/ education extravaganza known as the New Old Time Chautauqua. His new book is called A Beautiful Chaos Demands Energy, and his CD is Between Onions and Oxygen (2002).