What have we been up to lately? We are so glad you asked! Hello dear Otesha Lovers of all shapes and sizes - welcome to our final newsletter for 2011 - We hope you have time to read it as we would LOVE to tell you about all the wonderful adventures we have been having in Otesha land  (currently located in a train carriage near you!)  We have just completed a VERY successful year of Otesha inspiration - a successful bike tour to visit our National Leaders and inspire new ones along the way, completed our pilot drama program with the help of an awesome partnership with Kildonnan and a group of inspirational young girls from Whittlesea Secondary,  and not only that we are in full swing with strategic planning for 2012 - and do we have plans for you!  In 2012 there will be (fingers and toes crossed)

• MORE drama Workshops - Hopeful Hooligans a Go Go
• THE Australian version of the Junk to Funk book
• The Otesha on the road documentary
• AND home made lemonade stands a plenty!!
• Bikes and Feminism
• Green Xmas Ideas

We are deep in the process of applying for funding for a continuation of the Theatre Workshop program in The City of Whittlesea for 2012. We have aptly named the program (with inspiration from our Canadian counterparts) The Hopeful Hooligan High School Theatre Program. We already have an enthusiastic school interested in having us come in and inspire some of their most creative year 10 students, who are still searching for inspiration. We think we will be 'just the ticket' so watch this space for future details of this Hopeful Hooligan Theatre program getting going in early 2012. And please let us know if you are keen to help out info@otesha.org.au THE Australian version of the Junk to Funk book We are also in the process of finding a sponsor for the Australian version of the Junk to Funk Book -  As we know its awesome and we know its full of useful ideas and fun things to do to get sustainable - But we REALLY want to make it our own - Australian Style - with tips, hints and fun things to do down under. We hope to have this project up and running a final draft ready for printing around the start of the Tassie Tour - So please send us your awesome Aussie Ideas on conserving water, saving energy, how to make sure we easting well for ourselves and the planet, how to wear and make our own sustainable threads, choosing bikes as transport and any other awesome fun way to be a hopeful hooligan in your home town in OZ! And lets get this book published on on the shelves soon info@otesha.org.au The Otesha on the road documentary Otesha is eagerly seeking any individuals willing to help out on 2011 Capital City Tour Doco!  If you haven't already viewed the fabulous 2009 Doco check it out at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWW6et9xReo) Its great!  And it inspired us to hit the road this year with a video camera in hand to capture all the fun and joy, the tears and tantrums and the moments of hilarity on the way from Melbourne to Canberra. If you have any skills in editing, movie making, ideas for a narrative or if even if you would like to write a song for the soundtrack......please let us know at info@otesha.org.au.  Any level of experience warmly welcome!

AND Home made lemonade stands a plenty!!

The Otesha Co Directors and lovely volunteers decided to finish off their fun filled action packed year with a good ole fashion lemonade stand fundraiser! And we couldn't have picked a better day, as temperatures hit 30 degrees the market goers, volunteers and staff at CERES could not get enough of our homemade thirst quenching beverage. So much so that we SOLD OUT and were asked back, by popular demand, to the CERES volunteer end of year lunch the following week. Big thanks goes to all my neighbours lemon trees, The Good Brew Company and our wonderful volunteers for donating their goods and services. With your help we made lots new friends, had a wonderful time and have a little money to put in the bank for our upcoming 2012 Tassie tour. Well done!

Bikes and Feminism

If you have some time on your hands we encourage you to read this awesome article written by our dear friend Tori from Kildonnan - All about how bikes are a symbol of our power as women (and men) to express ourselves freely - Otesha was used in this article as an example of women inspiring women around Australia, with Tori's vision of women and bikes in Australia being;

'the combination has the potential to be a powerful agent for feminist social change and activism as it has been in other countries such as the USA'She describes Otesha as an organisation that; 'appears to be predominantly run by young women and the majority of the volunteers each year are also young women. What better way to promote cycling and sustainability to girls than for them to see a group of young mostly women trekking through the countryside on two wheels sharing their stories, strengths, and skills?' We feel so honoured to have this article written about our organisation from such an unique perspective. (And we do continue to honour all the men folk who are or have been a part of Otesha too!) For more reading fun please visit the following link to view the whole awesome article; http://feminaust.org/2011/06/10/friday-feminaust-tori-pearce/#more-789

Green Xmas Ideas We are all swamped with commercials and advertising convincing us to spend lots a cash on our loved ones - to show them how much we care.  Well Otesha says - give gifts full of LOVE and CREATIVITY that take a bit of TIME and are a LOT of FUN to MAKE! Here is the Otesha top ten Xmas Tips for 2011!

1. Give a homemade or handmade present (eg. bake organic biscuits, cakes, puddings, jams in reused jars or a personal artwork, poem or song!)
2. Give an experience - such as a massage or tickets to a show by a local musician or theatre group.
3. Give a local present -buy gifts from craft stalls,CERES Market, local shops and galleries to support local artists and artisans, rather than mass-produced objects made by offshore companies.
4. Give a fair trade present -Choose Fair Trade consumables such as chocolate and coffee or Fair Trade goods.
5. Give a second hand present- Visit markets, op shops or antique shops to find that special second-hand sustainable gift.
6. Give a recycled present - give something you already own and think your loved one would love just as much as you did!
7. Give a donation - through charitable organisations such as The Salvation Army and Oxfam to help people here and overseas. Or even donate to Otesha! (Either a few dollars or even some vollie hours!)  http://www.otesha.org.au/donate
8. Give The gift of You - your time, energy or expertise are just as gift worthy as something that can go in a box.
9. Give less presents - Consider a Kris Kringle with your extended family.
10. Check out http://www.buynothingchristmas.org to check out more actions (or inactions) you can take.

Further Awesome Resources to refer to -http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bndhttp://www.ethical.org.au/christmas.phphttp://www.fairwear.org.au/engine.phphttp://foe.org.au/shop/http://www.oxfamshop.org.au/

We really love and appreciate all your support for us this last year, and hope that you stick around in 2012 to keep up with the next exciting adventures of The Otesha Project (Australia) - Cycling for Sustainability!! With much Otesha love

-Nyssa, Alison, Kate & The Otesha Gang-