All are welcome to join the Winterhaven Lights Walk on Friday December 18th at 6:00pm.
Lutheran Social Services has organized an evening walk through Winterhaven, the Tucson neighborhood notorious for its spectacular holiday decorations. This is an event bringing together Tucsonans, refugee families, volunteers and refugee resettlement staff for a little holiday sightseeing.
If you can volunteer to transport refugees to this event, contact us at (520)440-0100. Otherwise, meet at gas station on northwest corner of Country Club and Ft. Lowell at 6:00pm.
We hope to see you there!
EMM (Episcopal Migration Ministries) will be visiting from NYC with a film crew as they are filming a small documentary about refugee resettlement in the US so you may be caught on film if you attend. The footage will be used for web modules that encourage activities ‘beyond the basics’ to resettlement agencies and to encourage involvement from sponsors and faith based organizations.
Below is an great opportunity for any graduate student interested in studying African refugees. Forward this along if you think you know someone to whom this fellowship applies.
Deadline very soon...
African Diaspora Graduate Fellowships Deadline: December 15, 2009
TIAA-CREF will award up to $30,000 for Ruth Simms Hamilton Research Fellowships to support graduate-level research on the dispersion and settlement of African peoples once they left the African continent.
It would be good to get a graduate student working on research with our African refugee contingency here in Tucson or Phoenix!
When? Friday, December 11th through Sunday, December 13th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The B Line restaurant has once again generously donated the patio space adjacent to the restaurant to Iskashitaa so we can participate in this winter's 4th Avenue Street Fair! We are looking forward to sharing and selling our fruit products and refugee-made crafts (see our holiday catalog). Stop by, check out our booth and say hi to staff and refugee volunteers at any point during the 3 day fair.
Have time to volunteer? We still need volunteers this weekend! Please come down for a few hours to help us out. Working at the Iskashitaa booth at the street fair is a wonderful opportunity to interact with refugees, see refugee-made crafts, and enjoy the fun, food and entertainment at the fair! This is a great experience for both veteran and first-time volunteers. If you are available, call or email Tara at 520-722-9285 or tarapullano@gmail.com.
Visit www.fourthavenue.org for more information on the Winter 4th Avenue Street Fair
Iskashitaa will be at the 5th Annual Poets Corner Holiday Art Sale this Saturday, Dec. 5th, 10:00-4:00pm (4221 E. Burns St. -NW of Broadway and Columbus).
Iskashitaa is showcasing the items found in our Holiday Catalog along side the unique works of over 20 artists. Come out and enjoy some refreshments while persuing local, organic food products, refugee-made crafts, ceramics, mixed media, jewelry, fiber art, origami lighting, succulent hangers, garden art, paper sculpture and more.
Also, we would love some volunteer help with this event. Contact Tara at tarapullano@gmail.com if you are interested.
Friday November 27th, Iskashitaa will selling our refugee-made, local products at a Local Artisans Market at Placita Plaza (downtown at Church and Congress), as part of the Buy Local Day Events organized by Local First AZ. From 9am to 4pm, we are offering you numerous great gift options:
Local marmalades and vinegars
Recycled rag rugs
Burundi baskets made from recycled material
Plarn water bottle holders
Stylized crocheted bags
Sewn cloth shopping bags
Handmade harvesting bags for the locavores
Quilts & pillows
Baby booties
Skinny scarves perfect for Sonora--more style, less warmth
Hats
Drawstring giftbags
Stockings for your stuffers.
We look forward to seeing you supporting local refugee artisans this Friday! Also, thank you to Chris' Cafe for hosting us.
Iskashitaa's Honor's College Civic Engagement Team (HCET) from the UofA is teaching refugee families how to get utility discounts from TEP, SWGas, Qwest and Cox lifeline telephone service. We have offered assistance to refugees from all over the world: Iraq, Bhutan, Somalia, Burundi, Congo, Eritrea, Cuba, ANYWHERE!
We help refugee friends to reduce electric and phone costs only and save:
Save $8.00 off electric bill/month Save $7.95 off phone bill/month Total savings of $15.95/month SAVE UP TO $191.00 each year!
HCET has worked with apartment managers, Tucson International Alliance of Refugee Communities (TIARC), and Bhutanese Mutual Assistance Association of Tucson (BMAAT) to reach a variety of groups. We have visited over 8 apartment complexes and impacted nearly 100 families since September!
To find out where we will be helping to fill out the forms or for more information/questions call Danny: (602) 513-1203 or dmayasich08@gmail.com.
Thank you Honor's Civic Engagement Team and the refugee community volunteers for helping accomplish this lofty goal!
Have extra pumpkins from Halloween sitting around? Eat 'em!
It's pumpkin and squash season and here are a few recipes Iskashitaa recommends for doing some seasonal cooking.
Elegant Stuffed Pumpkin From the Vegetarian Times Cookbook Modified by “Fun with Fruit”, Iskash*taa Harvesting Network
1 five pound pumpkin
2-3 cups brown or white rice, cooked
2 cups crumbled dry bread
1 onion, chopped
½-1 cup chopped celery and leaves
2 local apples (tart, chopped)
Handful dried fruit (any)
1-2 cups vegetable stock
¼- ½ cup butter, melted, or safflower oil
Sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, & paprika to taste
Soy sauce or salt to taste
Cut off top of pumpkin to make a lid. Remove seeds and scrape out any stringy pulp. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well with hands. Add stock and butter, and mix well, adding soy sauce or salt if desired. Stuffing should be moist by not wet. Pack loosely into pumpkin, replace lid, and bake on an oiled cookie sheet for 1 ½ hours or more at 325 °F. It’s done when a fork pushes easily through the pumpkin. Transfer to a casserole dish and serve at the table, scooping out some of the tender pumpkin flesh with each serving of stuffing.
Serves 5-6
Stuffed Squash From the Vegetarian Times Cookbook Modified by “Fun with Fruit”, Iskash*taa Refugee Harvesting Network
1 large squash (Hubbard, butternut, or 2-3 acorn squash)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, minced
6 celery stocks (with leaves)
2 chopped local apples
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup soup stock or water
3 cups cooked brown rice, millet, or bulgur
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon crushed sage
½ cup toasted and chopped almonds, cashews, etc.
Handful dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cherries, any)
Pumpkin (& Raisin) Chutney By Joanna Farrow Modified by “Fun with Fruit”, Iskash*taa Refugee Harvesting Network
2 lbs. pumpkin, seeded
1 large onion, chopped
1 large cooking apple, cored & grated
1¼ cup raisins, dried cherries & currants
1 ¾ cups white wine vinegar
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 ½ oz fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons salt
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
Cut the pumpkin (or firm winter squash) into ¾ -inch chunks, discarding the skin.
Put the pumpkin in a large, heavy-based saucepan and add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and cook gently, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until the chutney is thick and pulpy. To check whether the chutney is cooked, draw a wooden spoon through the mixture, it should leave a clean trail on the base of the pan that slowly disappears.
Spoon the chutney into sterilized jars and lids. Store in a cool place for a month before using or not.
Makes 2 ½ lbs
Roasted Pumpkin with Cheese Soup
from Ruth Reichl Tender at the Bone
Cut off the crown and scoop out the seeds and strings. Layer it two thirds full with toasted bread and grated gruyere cheese. Then fill it up with cream and chicken or vegetable broth at a 1.5 to 1 ratio. Put the crown on and bake it at 350 degrees for two hours (or less for a very small one). Serve it at the table right from the pumpkin, scooping out the pumpkin meat with the goodies.
The Love Club of Catalina Foothills High School invites you, your family and friends to join them this Sunday for a Refugee Fundraising Concert!
The Love Club and U of A Eller students are helping Iskashitaa empower refugees with this fundraiser night at St. Francis with ethnic food, refugee services and plenty of things to do:
Come view the Refugee Exhibit in Ravenscroft Hall
Try Nepalese food
Get a henna tattoo done by Bhutanese refugees
Spice up your hair with African braids
Shape your eybrow using the Asian tradition of threading
Watch or participate in an Open Mic/talent show
Learn a Bhutanese dance or two taught by refugees
Browse the refugee arts and crafts and Iskashitaa's local marmalades for sale.
It's a busy month for Iskashitaa and saving good fruits and vegetables from going to waste! Iskashitaa will be teaming up with the Community Food Bank next Wednesday and Friday (11th and 13th) to harvest squash and pumpkins from Buckelew Farms, about 30 minutes outside of the city. We are in need of people to help with the harvest, especially drivers for refugee volunteers. If you would like to go and can drive please email me how many you can fit, and what days you are available. Click here to view a flyer about the event. This should be a fun day at the farm, hope you can make it! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call or email me,
Saturday, November 7th--Mesquite Pancake Breakfast
This Saturday morning, November 7th, Iskashitaa is contributing local food and juice to the 7th Annual Desert Harvesters Mesquite Milling Fiesta and Mesquite Pancake Breakfast at the Dunbar Springs Community Garden (corner of 11th Avenue and University Blvd). We will be selling our refugee-made jams and marmalades along with crafts made by the Tucson Refugee Sewing and Crafts Circle. Don’t miss this great opportunity to enjoy a local organic breakfast, catch up with Iskashitaa and get some Christmas shopping done.
The mesquite pancake breakfast is from 9pm to 12pm and the mesquite bean pod milling is from 8am to 2pm so don’t forget to bring your own mesquite pods!
Sunday, November 8th--Saint Francis Meet Yourself
Sunday morning from 10am to 12:30pm, Iskashitaa will be talking about our organization and selling local food products and refugee crafts at Saint Francis in the Foothills UMC (northwest corner of River and Swan) for the St. Francis Meet Yourself event. Learn more about Iskashitaa and be sure to check out John Sartin's Refugee Photo Exhibit in Ravenscroft Hall. For years, John has been Iskashitaa’s trusted friend and photographer, capturing images of refugees, harvest events, refugee crafts and more. This spectacular exhibit also features refugee-made arts and crafts. Don’t miss it!
Below is a message from Michael, our harvesting coordinator.
Hello all,
I would like to thank everybody that participated in this Saturday's apple harvest. Thirty-six refugees from 18 different families, many of whom have never been outside of Tucson, got to spend a wonderful day picking in Wilcox, AZ. With them were over 20 Love Club volunteers from Catalina High School and several Iskashitaa volunteers. All told we came home with 21 large boxes of apples, many of which have been redistributed among the volunteers and the Refugee families that participated.
Special thanks to the Love Club, without whom this opportunity would not have been possible for so many families. Also, to the many Iskashitaa volunteers that helped coordinate and pick-up. Lastly, I would like to extend great thanks to June and Brown's Orchard, who generously gave all of the apples to us for free, and accommodated kindly a much larger group than was anticipated. We hope to do a similar event again in the future with this wonderful Orchard.
Michael Mayette Harvesting Coordinator and Product Manager
Photos of this event should be forthcoming and will be posted on this blog. Be sure to check back.
Iskashitaa and members of the Catalina Foothills High School Love Club recently teamed up to distribute toilet paper to refugee families in Tucson. The students donated over 800 rolls of toilet paper collected during their toilet paper drive last spring.
Iskashitaa and the refugee families thank the Love Club for all their work and we look forward to working together in the future!
Photo: Iskashitaa's director Barbara Eiswerth and volunteer coordinator Tara with just a few rolls of the love club's tp donation.
Welcome to Iskashitaa Refugee Harvesting Network’s Blog! This blog is meant to keep you informed of what we are doing in the Tucson community, the partnerships we build and sustain, and how you can be involved with our organization.
If you have questions or comments about this blog, please email Beth at Eam4586@gmail.com.
All are welcome to join the Winterhaven Lights Walk on Friday December 18th at 6:00pm.
