Donate

Blog

  • 2021 Continued Support for Carteret Islanders

    For several years now JCJ has helped fund initiatives for the Tulele Peisa, the organisation helping relocate Carteret Islanders from their climate change threatened atolls to the larger island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. 

    The Carteret Islanders on their homeland of low lying atolls. (Tulele Peisa)

    Our support in 2016, 2018 & 2019 was centred around funding the establishment of cocoa farms which allowed the islanders to make a living on their new land. They have purchased cocoa seedlings, powered their administration building & tractors, ran workshops around cocoa farming, financial literacy & climate change adaptation with JCJ funds. They also constructed raised garden beds on the atolls to prevent saltwater intrusion from ruining crops for the people still living there.ย 

    Top & Middle Left: Workshops at community centre, Right: Planting cocoa saplings, Bottom Left: Drying first crop of cocoa beans.

    This last project was all but wiped out by immense king tides in February 2021, a devastating and visible consequence of climate change. 

    In June 2021, we funded a chartered boat to provide plants, seedlings, and food to the 2,700 people who still inhabit the island. Moved by the Islandersโ€™ predicament, the JCJ committee used some of their personal money to fund the charter, with the remainder of the contribution coming out of JCJโ€™s project fund.ย Watch them preparing supplies here >>

    Read about our projects in more detail here >>

  • JCJ Selling Recycled Sari Bags

    We are excited to announce that we are now selling our beloved Recycled Sari Bags!

    The committee decided to order some more from the two Sri Lankan women who make them for our partner organisation ECO-V. We saw how popular they were from our last order and decided to allow any Australians to purchase them, not just those who attend our events (as we had done previously). They are perfect for you, friends or family (they also make great gifts!).

    There is nothing quite like them on the market. They are super lightweight & crunch down into a tiny pouch making them perfect to pop in your pocket.

    Not to mention, they are wonderful for the planet! ECO-V has collected non-biodegradable Sari’s from around Sri Lanka to prevent them from polluting the environment.

    It is a great way to support JCJ as well as the Sri Lankan women’s’ livelihoods that have been impacted by the pandemic.

    We are also offering multiple local pickup options for Melbourne, Australia.

    If you wish to share the link please use this: https://www.journeysforclimatejustice.org.au/shop/.

  • Sri Lankan Plant Nurseries during COVID

    Newton’s Nursery

    Islyan Newton, a youth leader trained during the first Yathra (Journey) in 2011, has been busy during COVID-19 maintaining a native plant nursery that JCJ has supported. 140 plants were given away in November 2020 to be cultivated in the fields of northern Sri Lanka.

    In January, Newton conducted a full-day workshop for 25 young people. The workshop raised awareness about healthy food, natural living and sustainable waste management. He gave some plants from his nursery to each attendee to care for, and the rest are to be maintained collectively by the group.

    Gayani’s Nursery

    During COVID-19, Gayaniโ€™s work with garden training sessions from ECO-V (our sister organisation in Sri Lanka) dried up. At that time there was a growing demand for indoor air purifying plants, and so she was given some of JCJโ€™s funds to start and maintain a nursery for 6 months.

    When she went back to work in January, the plants were big enough to start selling. Despite COVID-19 still ravaging the country and making sales very difficult, she has already managed to sell some to an online store.

    If you are interested in our work, consider subscribing to our quarterly newsletter, and following JCJ on Facebook.

    Subscribe
    Facebook

  • Support for KAMY – Late 2020


    KAMY (Climate Action Malaysia) certainly havenโ€™t let the pandemic stop their work since their last report! JCJโ€™s financial support has allowed them to pay for their website domain, zoom account and an infographics site access. These have given them a wider reach in their country during the pandemic when so much has moved online. They have taken part in, and run, many online rallies, discussion panels, campaigns and community engagement programs. Below is a snapshot of their activities!

    One in particular, also funded by JCJ, is the Indigenous and Climate Art Project. It aims to use video to share the complex traditional knowledge held by the indigenous group KAMY are working with, and to show how climate change is affecting their way of life. The videos, which can be viewed below, promote cultural awareness in more urban Malaysian areas and stress the importance of supporting indigenous groups in their struggles.

    If you are interested in our work, consider subscribing to our quarterly newsletter, and following JCJ on Facebook.

    Subscribe
    Facebook Page

  • AGM 2019/20 on Zoom

    Join us on Friday 25th at 6pm to celebrate the beginning of JCJ’s 10th year anniversary. We have brought in some exciting guest speakers!

    It is a very exciting time for JCJ because it was 10 years ago that our founders Kanchana and Jim met and conceived the organisation!

    To celebrate this anniversary, we have organised a very special line-up for our AGM that reflects the past, present and future of JCJ.

    Zoom Link –
    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89717974009?pwd=c1ZJTEpQR0ptaHFIUXpUVkx5eVIwdz09

    Ursula Rakova
    Director of Tulele Peisa, a community-based organisation in Bougainville that is helping set up sustainable livelihoods for Carteret Islander climate refugees. Ursula speaks all over the world about the Carteret Islands and is in high demand, so we are very grateful she has made the time to speak to us.

    Chapa Erandi Amarasinghe
    A trained youth leader from the 6th Yathra, Chapa co-led the most recent Yathra and has worked full time with ECO-V for two years. She is now conducting environmental awareness programs, working/ volunteering with ECO-V and working for another NGO in Sri Lanka.

    Ili Nadiah Quarantasei
    Head of KAMY (Klima Action Malaysia) a grassroots climate movement led by youth who call for representative climate action in Malaysia by empowering vulnerable groups and communities: youth, women, and the marginalised.

    Islyan Newton
    Newton has been a participant of every Yathra since its inception, and co-leader of the most recent Yathra. He now volunteers in youth programs and maintains a nursery that provides plants for reforestation in Sri Lanka.

    Please RSVP before the meeting to help us know the approximate number of participants.
    Email us on jcj.secretary1 @ gmail.com or text 0 4 1 1 1 3 1 3 3 5.

    If you’d like to become more involved with JCJ, consider nominating for a position on the committee – all committee positions will be up for re-election at the AGM.
    To nominate, email or phone the Secretary by Friday the 11th of September.

  • 2020 Jaffna on Pedal

    Nava, an ECO-V 2018 Yathra trainee, started running a weekend cycling project to get young people involved in nature in the highly biodiverse Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lankaโ€™s north. Navaโ€™s dream is to make Jaffna a cycling destination by 2030. We were happy to support this initiative by providing some initial money to purchase food for the attendees.

  • Portraits of Change Climate Action Competition

    In conjunction with Michael Chew’s ‘Portraits of Change’ exhibition, JCJ will be holding a environmental ideas and photo competition with the theme: ‘Acting on Climate – what can you do with $100?’

    The competition expands upon the global stories of environmental action in Michael Chewโ€™s โ€˜Portraits of Change Exhibitionโ€™ to inspire people to take local action on climate change and environmental issues in their own lives and communities.

    The competition’s purpose is to inspire people to translate the exhibition theme – motivational local action in the face of both devastating impacts and living with basic needs – into Australian life. The constraint of $100 invites participants to think outside the box and reinforces the idea that actions can be easy and accessible.

    Both JCJ and Michael Chew will be assessing the competition and there will be prizes for 1st to 3rd place.

    Below is the link to the competition, which will be open from 8pm 26th of February until 10pm 18th of March (3 weeks).

    Enter competition here

  • Sustainable Living Festival exhibition from Michael Chew

    Michael’s culmination of years of research will be shown in a moving photo exhibition from Wednesday 26th Feb to Sunday 1st of March at Monash University, Caufield.

    Michael has been working with JCJ for many years on various projects and has also continuously offset with us. We have collaborated on various projects; such as the Climate Caravan in 2014. The ‘Climate Caravan’ travelled through Bangladesh, India and Nepal over 18 days to learn, share, participate, increase solidarity networks and strengthen local movements in the global struggle for food sovereignty, climate and gender justice.

    We are very excited that Michael is completing his research and sharing some of what he has learnt and seen with us here in Melbourne.

    JCJ is also very excited to be hosting the related Portraits of Change ‘Climate Action Competition’ that asks participants to explain an idea that has an effective impact on the environment and climate change under $100. Click here for the competition link and information.

    Description of the exhibition:

    The Portraits of Change Exhibition connects young people from Australia, Bangladesh and China through positive-themed photographic storytelling around climate change and environmental issues. Discover powerful and moving photo-stories and videos created by youth participants across the three countries who are taking inspiring local action in the face of environmental impacts. Contribute your own message in response, or a photo-story showing environmental action in your own life or community.

    Details:

    Entry: Free

    When:
    Exhibition open 26 February โ€“ 1 March 2020, Weekdays 11 am- 6 pm, Weekend 10-5pm.

    • Wed 26th Feb 6 pm:  Opening night celebration
    • Thurs Feb 27th 5:30-7 pm and Sun March 1st 1-2:30 pm: Photo and project workshops
    • Sat Feb 29th 1-2 pm: Artist talk and tour
    • Sun Mar 1st 3-4 pm:  Closing celebration

    Where:
    MADA Gallery, Monash University, Caulfield, Building D, Ground Floor, 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East

    Info: http://www.slf.org.au/event/portraits-of-change-global-photography-exhibition/ and https://greenphotovoice.org/
    Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/262875901343270/

  • Website Revamp

    JCJ has not updated our website for quite a number of years, and our volunteer committee identified last year the need for an updated look.

    Over the past couple of months the committee has spent many hours trying to create a great looking website and rewriting or reorganising content. The aim has been to make the website easier to navigate and to understand the how JCJ operates with ease.

    We hope you enjoy this new look and thank you to our committee for working so hard!

  • 2019 Support for Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY)

    KAMY is a new grassroots youth-led climate organisation started in 2019, based in Kuala Lumpur. KAMY advocates representative climate action by empowering vulnerable groups and communities in Malaysia. Their activities include capacity-building workshops, climate protests, and community and indigenous advocacy. JCJ began a relationship with them by donating to help build their website:ย  https://en.klimaactionmalaysia.org/. This donation helped them kickstart their organisation and connect with target communities around Malaysia. It has been a valuable and versatile tool to grow their organisation through donations, subscriptions, and publicity.