Is Jesus in your backpack..?

This video caught my eye mainly because it was shot in the town a few kilometres away from where i live. However, i was originally intrigued by the coverage of such a different side of backpacking that is very rarely unearthed, travel and its religious undertones.



Since the dawn of time, travellers have set out on 'missions'. Sailing across oceans, crusading across lands, all with the same intent - to bring the 'good news' to those they encounter by enlightening those that they meet on their mission. A mission bestowed upon them by a higher being.

When will the bible have a facebook fan page or does the big guy upstairs already use twitter to relay these messages?

Its all very controversial to say the least. Call me what you want, but pressure preaching is definitely not my cup of tea. Nor is the blind ignorance that someone can 'know it all' and have absolute unshakeable faith that their faith is 'the one and only' with little to no real substantial evidence.



Historically missionaries are held partly responsible for bringing death and disease to countless worldwide communities. From Africa to Latin America, the long arm of religion has spread its dirty paws. Needless to say the shaky dependence on this 'good news' that a saviour is coming or that the next life will be a cushy little number is still an empty promise. Its been 2000 years and still no cameo appearances..

I have travelled enough to see the effects of different religions on different societies, different individuals and religious organisations. I respect them all. Although I fail to respect those who blindly impose their beliefs on others. Its a fine line but i am generally skeptical of travellers with a 'religious message' for others who are generally less fortuante than them.



However, it is at the end of the day, each to their own. The slogan 'Live and let live' should be a religion. A backpackers religion. Nah, lets retweak that, if backpacking had a religion, it would read, 'live to travel, travel to live...'

So, was Jesus a backpacker? Safe to say, he was not a flashpacker....

Fairtrade Travel...

Fairtrade fortnight is coming to an end. Im always a big campaigner for fairtrade coffee and bananas. I buy them religiously at the supermarkets. Its been rippling through the consciousness of shoppers of late, this wave of 'think before you buy' mentality is overwelmingly positive. However the road is long. Fairtrade products make up a pathetic fraction of the space on supermarket shelves.

Its has always been glaringly apparent to me that whilst traveling, fair trade is so paramount in a humans mind. To the point that one will go to such extremes to ensure they are receiving a good deal that they end up crying or yelling; making such a fuss over miniscure amounts or raging because they think they have been taken advantage of.

Markets all over the world, shop fronts, street traders and vendors rely heavily upon tourism as a livelihood.
Tourists, travellers, backpackers, unfamiliar track hackers, content stragglers and market hagglers...we all expect a fair deal when we engage in trade on our travels. It shouldn't stop there. Bring that mentality back to your supermarket.



Its nearly the end of fairtrade fortnight but theres still time, only another 140,000 to go until the million and one mark.

Jump on the website and register your fairtrade swap pronto!!!

Heres the deal:

"Swapping your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff is a brilliantly small step to making the world a fairer place. It means that you get to show your support for developing world producers through what you buy. Two billion people - a third of humanity - survive on less than $2 a day. Unfair trade rules keep them in poverty, but they face the global challenges of food shortages and climate change too.

Fairtrade believes that developing world producers should be in control of their own lives, by getting a better deal for the work that they do. This is a different way of doing business. It's a way that puts the poorest of the world first..."



Im sure the majority of those reading this will have traded, bartered/haggled over something in s foreign country before. Its an exchange, a swap, a fair deal, between two parties, a common agreement reached by balancing both parties needs and wants.
Ethical travel. Backpackers do travel like this. Backpackers tap into that global consciousness. Theres an Ethicalpacker in all of us.
Make no mistake. World trade inhibits and dictates the way we all live.
Over a third of humanity does not get a fair deal at all.

Make your week a fair week. Join the revolution in demanding more fair trade products on the shelves of local supermarkets!!

Then maybe 2 billion people might have an opportunity to fulfil a dream, like travel....

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/thebigswap