Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Rubbout!
My first week of work went well. I like my new team, and I'm excited to get some productive stuff done for them. The one thing that is going to kill me is the commute. Sunday to Victoria, Wednesday back to Vancouver (~4.5 hours each way), Burnaby on Thursday and Friday (one hour each way), plus my evening class on Thursday nights and Rubbout five weeks away. Let's just way by mid-April, I'll be looking forward to just focusing on a full-time job!
Here are some of the Rubbout promotions coming out soon. Look out for advertising with Priape, Mr. S, Rubberzone and West Coast Rubber coming soon! I won't unfurl the new poster until next weekend, but look to a podcast about Rubbout coming out on NoSafeWord.com this weekend.
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Here are some of the Rubbout promotions coming out soon. Look out for advertising with Priape, Mr. S, Rubberzone and West Coast Rubber coming soon! I won't unfurl the new poster until next weekend, but look to a podcast about Rubbout coming out on NoSafeWord.com this weekend.
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Take these and post them to your blogs, please!
Hoxton Rubber's Latest
Jules sent me some teasers of the latest photoshoot at Hoxton Rubber. Check them out there, support the cause!
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They are attempting to use stencils to create trademarked outfits we are familiar with. Jules said they don't last very long; they're probably going to have to find a laser cutter and do the logos in latex.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Rubber Economics
Ivory Coast farmers abandon cassava for more lucrative rubber
The switch to a more commercial crop by farmers near Abidjan is putting food supplies – and a cultural tradition – in jeopardy
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 February 2013 14.21 GMT
Madeleine Coulibaly is a cassava farmer in Debrimou region, 50km west of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Photograph: Olivier Monnier/IRIN Farmers near Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital, are abandoning cassava, a staple for many Ivorians, and switching to natural rubber, a move that may jeopardise food self-sufficiency, analysts say.
Large numbers of farmers began to take an interest in rubber in the past decade because of high prices resulting from a surge in global demand, Alphonse Gnaoré Koh, an expert from the National Rural Development Agency in Dabou, a rubber centre 50km west of Abidjan, told IRIN.
Prices jumped from 200 West African CFA francs (£0.26) per kilo in 2002 to 1,200 francs in 2007, but have fallen back since to 550 francs, he said. The rubber rush is pushing out farmers of cassava, said agro-economist Daouda Dahaux, from Abidjan's Swiss Centre for Scientific Research, and there is evidence that cocoa farmers may not reign supreme for long either.
Ivory Coast started to grow rubber industrially in the 1950s, and the crop became more widespread when village plantations were created in the 1980s, according to Koh. The crop was originally grown in the southern forest areas along the coast but is now spreading north, especially in central-western and central-eastern parts of the country.
Stable income
Farmers say rubber gives them a more stable and predictable income because they can harvest 10 months a year, whereas cassava is harvested only once a year. Moreover, harvesting cassava is demanding work compared with rubber, which is easier to grow, Dahaux said. A rubber tree can live for 40 years.
"With rubber, we harvest and are paid every month. It's like being a civil servant," said farmer Jean Essis N'Guessan, based in Debrimou, a village near Dabou. He started to plant rubber last year on his cassava farm and plans to replace all the cassava in three years, when the rubber trees will have grown. Natural rubber can be harvested seven years after the trees are planted.
His brother, David Esmel, is a retired civil servant and planted rubber along with cassava two years ago. "For many farmers, rubber is more important than cassava now," said N'Guessan. Revenues from rubber are much more substantial than from cassava, he said. "With rubber, you can have the lifestyle of someone working in Abidjan. It's attractive."
One hectare of rubber can provide a gross monthly income of about 400,000 francs (£530), said Koh. Ivory Coast's minimum salary is set at 36,600 francs per month.
Farmers' interest in rubber has been boosted by the political crisis over the past decade, said Dahaux. "In the face of political uncertainty, many people have opted for perennial crops."
Ivory Coast, Africa's top rubber grower and the seventh largest in the world, produced 230,000 tonnes of rubber last year, according to Albert Konan, executive secretary of the Rubber Development Fund. Annual production of 600,000 tonnes is envisaged by 2025, he said.
About two-thirds of the farmland in the Dabou region is used to grow rubber and the trend is on the rise, Koh said.
A cultural tradition in jeopardy?
However, cassava is widely used in southern Ivory Coast to produce attiéké, a side dish accompanying most meals, and the switch to rubber could lead to shortages.
"If nothing is done to support cassava, and if we consider the population growth in a city like Abidjan, there will likely be substantial shortages in 10-15 years," Dahaux said. "The threat is real."
In Debrimou, the first signs of cassava shortages have already appeared, inhabitants told IRIN. "There's less and less cassava in the region," said Madeleine Coulibaly, 48, a mother of three. "Without cassava, how will we eat in the future?"
Southern ethnic groups, including the Adioukrou from Dabou, are among those making balls of attiéké and selling them, but producers now have to travel up to 150km to buy cassava, the price of which has consequently risen, Coulibaly said. A ball of attiéké, which used to cost 250 francs a few years ago, now costs 350-400 francs, Koh said.
"Without cassava, Adioukrou women don't have anything to do," said Joséphine Koproyeï, 62.
The National Centre of Agronomic Research has created new varieties of cassava with better yields in the past few years, bringing women more autonomy and a sense of achievement. Coulibaly complained that this is not the case with rubber. "Our husbands are planting rubber for them, and only for them. It does not suit us," she said.
A cultural tradition is in jeopardy, stresses Jacques Lathes, chief of a neighbourhood in Débrimou. "Attiéké is part of the culture of the Adioukrou people. Our region derived its wealth from cassava. All the remaining cassava plantations are about to be invaded by rubber. This is worrying."
It is fascinating and troubling at the same time just how pervasive capitalism is into all social and commercial systems around the world, and how we are all so intertwined with its machinations and outcomes. Traditional cultures are irreversibly changed for economic reasons to the point that massive disruptions to cultures, even food supplies, can result. Even those of us involved in something as seemingly innocuous as rubber fetishism are not free of culpability in these matters...as if we didn't know that already.
The switch to a more commercial crop by farmers near Abidjan is putting food supplies – and a cultural tradition – in jeopardy
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 February 2013 14.21 GMT
Large numbers of farmers began to take an interest in rubber in the past decade because of high prices resulting from a surge in global demand, Alphonse Gnaoré Koh, an expert from the National Rural Development Agency in Dabou, a rubber centre 50km west of Abidjan, told IRIN.
Prices jumped from 200 West African CFA francs (£0.26) per kilo in 2002 to 1,200 francs in 2007, but have fallen back since to 550 francs, he said. The rubber rush is pushing out farmers of cassava, said agro-economist Daouda Dahaux, from Abidjan's Swiss Centre for Scientific Research, and there is evidence that cocoa farmers may not reign supreme for long either.
Ivory Coast started to grow rubber industrially in the 1950s, and the crop became more widespread when village plantations were created in the 1980s, according to Koh. The crop was originally grown in the southern forest areas along the coast but is now spreading north, especially in central-western and central-eastern parts of the country.
Stable income
Farmers say rubber gives them a more stable and predictable income because they can harvest 10 months a year, whereas cassava is harvested only once a year. Moreover, harvesting cassava is demanding work compared with rubber, which is easier to grow, Dahaux said. A rubber tree can live for 40 years.
"With rubber, we harvest and are paid every month. It's like being a civil servant," said farmer Jean Essis N'Guessan, based in Debrimou, a village near Dabou. He started to plant rubber last year on his cassava farm and plans to replace all the cassava in three years, when the rubber trees will have grown. Natural rubber can be harvested seven years after the trees are planted.
His brother, David Esmel, is a retired civil servant and planted rubber along with cassava two years ago. "For many farmers, rubber is more important than cassava now," said N'Guessan. Revenues from rubber are much more substantial than from cassava, he said. "With rubber, you can have the lifestyle of someone working in Abidjan. It's attractive."
One hectare of rubber can provide a gross monthly income of about 400,000 francs (£530), said Koh. Ivory Coast's minimum salary is set at 36,600 francs per month.
Farmers' interest in rubber has been boosted by the political crisis over the past decade, said Dahaux. "In the face of political uncertainty, many people have opted for perennial crops."
Ivory Coast, Africa's top rubber grower and the seventh largest in the world, produced 230,000 tonnes of rubber last year, according to Albert Konan, executive secretary of the Rubber Development Fund. Annual production of 600,000 tonnes is envisaged by 2025, he said.
About two-thirds of the farmland in the Dabou region is used to grow rubber and the trend is on the rise, Koh said.
A cultural tradition in jeopardy?
However, cassava is widely used in southern Ivory Coast to produce attiéké, a side dish accompanying most meals, and the switch to rubber could lead to shortages.
"If nothing is done to support cassava, and if we consider the population growth in a city like Abidjan, there will likely be substantial shortages in 10-15 years," Dahaux said. "The threat is real."
In Debrimou, the first signs of cassava shortages have already appeared, inhabitants told IRIN. "There's less and less cassava in the region," said Madeleine Coulibaly, 48, a mother of three. "Without cassava, how will we eat in the future?"
Southern ethnic groups, including the Adioukrou from Dabou, are among those making balls of attiéké and selling them, but producers now have to travel up to 150km to buy cassava, the price of which has consequently risen, Coulibaly said. A ball of attiéké, which used to cost 250 francs a few years ago, now costs 350-400 francs, Koh said.
"Without cassava, Adioukrou women don't have anything to do," said Joséphine Koproyeï, 62.
The National Centre of Agronomic Research has created new varieties of cassava with better yields in the past few years, bringing women more autonomy and a sense of achievement. Coulibaly complained that this is not the case with rubber. "Our husbands are planting rubber for them, and only for them. It does not suit us," she said.
A cultural tradition is in jeopardy, stresses Jacques Lathes, chief of a neighbourhood in Débrimou. "Attiéké is part of the culture of the Adioukrou people. Our region derived its wealth from cassava. All the remaining cassava plantations are about to be invaded by rubber. This is worrying."
It is fascinating and troubling at the same time just how pervasive capitalism is into all social and commercial systems around the world, and how we are all so intertwined with its machinations and outcomes. Traditional cultures are irreversibly changed for economic reasons to the point that massive disruptions to cultures, even food supplies, can result. Even those of us involved in something as seemingly innocuous as rubber fetishism are not free of culpability in these matters...as if we didn't know that already.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Montreal Fusion Weekend
The Montreal gay kink community has combined their city leather and rubber titles together the past few years in a weekend of contests and play. This past weekend, two new leather and rubber titleholders were chosen. Montreal presents Sebastyan Leduc as M. Rubber Montreal 2013 and Sebastien Goulet as M. Leather Montreal 2013. Félicitations à tous les participants!
Jason Lynch, Mr. International Rubber 2013 who passed away last Monday was to have attended the Fusion Weekend to serve as a judge for their combined Leather and Rubber contests. On Friday night, co-emcee André Patry led the audience in a toast to Jason, and on Saturday night he led a moment of silence in honor of Jason and a local leatherman who passed recently, Maître André.
This celebration of life for Jason was one of many that occurred across the continent on Friday and Saturday. There will be many more to come.
This celebration of life for Jason was one of many that occurred across the continent on Friday and Saturday. There will be many more to come.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Rubbout Update
- EXCLUSIVE use of the venue
- Doors open at 8, close at 10pm
- Dress-code enforced
- Renovated venue, newly opened
- Gear available for use (slings, vacuum bondage devices, sleepsacks, etc.)
- Lube wrestling pool
- We encourage bringing your personal gear (bondage devices, sleepsacks, electro, etc.).
- Gear bag checkin available
- Easy, walking-distance from host hotels
If this isn't a sweetener for those on the fence about coming to Rubbout this year, I don't know what is! I'm really looking forward to it.
Speaking of coming to Rubbout, the weekend passes have gone on sale as of today. Weekend passes this year are $60CAD plus Paypal service charge. We think it's a good deal considering some of the costs at other weekends are a lot more...Rubbout is still a great deal! Though most of the events on the weekend are free to attend, the play party, the brunch, and all the goodies and freebies that go on during the weekend are all included in your weekend pass.
DON'T FORGET: Our Rubbout 22 Kickoff takes place on March 16th at Pumpjack. We will be unveiling the new Rubbout 22 poster banner at the bar, doing some vacuum and inflatable bondage demos that night, and maybe even handing out some prizes! Come join us if you can!
I would like to thank all of our sponsors that have stepped up and helped us out again this year. Priape, Mr. S, Rubberzone, Xtra!, Kinkstore, Healing Touch Massage, Gayvan.com and West Coast Rubber (so far) :)
You can buy weekend passes for Rubbout 22 and check out all the newest updates at the Rubbout website or search for Rubbout on Twitter or Facebook and follow/like us there!
I would like to thank all of our sponsors that have stepped up and helped us out again this year. Priape, Mr. S, Rubberzone, Xtra!, Kinkstore, Healing Touch Massage, Gayvan.com and West Coast Rubber (so far) :)
You can buy weekend passes for Rubbout 22 and check out all the newest updates at the Rubbout website or search for Rubbout on Twitter or Facebook and follow/like us there!
Friday, March 1, 2013
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