It’s like a Lego set except it’s life sized and extremely useful towards building a ‘small civilization with modern day comforts.’ Open Source Ecology is a movement driven by the efforts of farmers, engineers and supporters focused on developing tools for replicable, open source, modern off grid “resilient communities.” They firmly believe that “everyone in the world should have access to the technologies they need to escape poverty.” Using their open source industrial machines as a guide, one needs only to secure the scrap metal necessary and put in the labor in order to create fully functional farming and industrial equipment. From tractor pulls and bulldozers to hay balers and saw mills, this collection named the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) includes all the necessities to create a small village.

We at Vidafine love design and innovation with a cause. In a time when environmental initiatives are guiding principles for many organizations, we love how companies, through simple acts, are helping to replenish our planet with its natural beauty. That’s why we really appreciate how companies like WeWOOD are sharing their mission of creating a more sustainable future with the help of their customers.

For those of you who are not so fond of drinking plain milk, there may be a solution out there for you. I stumbled upon these very lovely Magic Milk Straws the other day and they sound irresistibly delicious! If you live with people who prefer the plain white stuff but you prefer something with a twist, you both can win. Buy regular milk and just add some flavour into yours using these milk straws.

While we all pray for Japan and other unfortunate countries, let us feature them for gracing us with another one of their brilliant inventions. I think it’s a great idea and could prove to be very useful (especially for us girls that recognize landmarks rather than street names).

If you’re like me, when someone asks you for directions, you’ll respond with something like “Keep going straight until you see McDonald’s. Turn right and make a left at the police station”. Sometimes, it can get confusing and when I get instructions with street names, I feel myself looking at the paper every two minutes – and that can be dangerous if you’re driving. It’s especially nerve racking when it’s your first time there and you don’t want to be late but it’s unknown territory.

What if we lived in a country where violence against women was perceived to be normal? Where spousal abuse, rape and other sexual violence is described to be the worst on the entire planet?

We would be living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Sharon from Interior Design Degree is our honorary guest writer on Vidafine focusing on eco-friendly interior design alternatives. Interior Design Degree aims to provide aspiring interior designers with information on how to get started.

“Imagine The Alternative” suggests the tagline for upcoming TV and online documentary series Roads Less Traveled. Launching on March 24th at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, the multi-part series is set to give viewers a glimpse into the other ways that people live.

When I first met Natalia Kantor, producer and director behind “Roads Less Traveled”, in a café in Toronto in the summer of 2010, we clicked immediately. What she was referring to – the existence of sub or counter-cultures and communities that offered alternatives to the conventional life – was something that I had already been exploring.

For some time I had felt that the familiar, conventional lifestyle that involved getting a degree, and then a salaried job, and then married with children, just did not work for many people. I’d seen evidence of this in my own life – with friends, work colleagues and family. As you may have also experienced “the formula”, does not guarantee happiness.

Chia pets and their variations always freak me out. Not sure what it is, but they definitely do not put a smile on my face (no offense to those who happen to love them). But the thought of receiving a mini-garden in the form of a postcard, well that piqued my interest! These hybrid greeting cards known as PostCarden are cleverly designed by the team at Another Studio for Design. Talented artists are commissioned to design the front of each card, capturing their own personal style and vision.