Please Help, want to do positive customer patronage of SC

i looked at this map and it looks like there's more purple, and surprisingly blue!, counties in your state than i would have imagined.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2622500#2622726

now even though i may be working on boycotts, i want also to work on patronage. i see that there's much potential in some counties in SC. but i, being an outsider, am at a loss for local information. this is where you come in.

1. what are the names, resources, needs of these counties?

2. anyone know any progressive companies in these counties that do mail-order business?

it would really help me -- i'm thinking of promoting these businesses amongst us to improve their strength. from wild rice, to handcrafted christmas tree ornaments, i want to know some good companies we can spend our dollar on.

Help me, a californian, help you, south carolinians, to help ourselves. we are one people now, even if we be blue like smurfs.

I know there used to be a "Tea Plantation" Group of folks growing their own tea and packaging it for sale in Gift Shops and through mail order. It was called the "Charleston Tea Company." Do a Google to see if they still exist.

Then there's a Winery on Wadmalaw Island just outside Charleston who's trying to do "lowcountry wines" and they have a tour of the vinery. Maybe Google would come up with something for that.

Otherwise..wasn't sure what you meant?

bought out the local growers:

Bigelow buys South Carolina tea plantation
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Charleston Tea Plantation, at one time the nation's only commercial tea farm, has been sold at a court auction for $1.28 million to R.C. Bigelow Tea.
Bill Hall prepares tea leaves for tasting at the plantation
USDA, Ken Hammond

The 127-acre plantation on Wadmalaw Island had been owned by Mack Fleming and former business partner William Hall until it ceased operation last spring.

Eunice Bigelow, who runs Connecticut-based Bigelow Tea with her daughters and husband, David, son of company founder Ruth Campbell Bigelow, says the company plans to keep cultivating tea at the plantation.

"We are very happy," Bigelow said after Thursday's auction. The plantation, she said, is "something we're very proud to own." The Bigelows have known Hall more than 30 years and plan to have him run the plantation.

Hall said he is working on a business plan and was unsure when the property will reopen for tours. "There are no definite plans as to the whats and the whens," Hall said.

It has also not been decided whether the tea will be marketed as Charleston Tea Plantation Tea, although "it will have Charleston reference," Bigelow said.

Bigelow Tea was started in 1945 when the company launched "Constant Comment" tea. Bigelow now offers dozens of flavored teas and sells honey, gift sets and other products.

The plantation sale spells the end of a partnership between Hall, a trained third-generation tea taster, and Fleming, a horticultural researcher.

USDA, Ken Hammond
Sam Simmons harvests tea at Charleston Tea Plantation.

They bought the plantation in 1987 from Fleming's former employer, the company that makes Lipton tea. At one point their American Classic Tea was sold at more than 1,000 retail outlets and the plantation employed 40 people.

But profit margins for tea are low and the company had trouble selling consumers on American-grown tea.

After ending operations last year, Fleming said he and Hall had different visions for the company and compared the split to ending a marriage.

Fleming, a horticultural researcher at Trident Technical College, had hoped to buy the plantation but was outbid at the auction.

While the plantation was considered the nation's only working tea plantation, there have been efforts in recent years to develop a tea industry in both Oregon and Hawaii.

i hear that often they are economically depressed, predominantly african-american areas historically called the "Black Belt." they might not be, but i know very little of these areas. i need your local knowledge of the state. now i'd like to help any progressive/libreral/minority businesses in those areas. i need to know who they are, what they sell, and whether they do mail-order. in this way far-off customers from other blue areas can support them and make them wealthier. i think this would be a good thing.

can you help? :D

workers on the SC Tea Farm. So that would qualify as buying American and supporting farmers. I would keep them on the list. They have a web site..if you Google.

They also tend to have rescued greyhounds.

Buying American handcrafts supports so many good things:

An American small business

Original and inventive workmanship that would otherwise be lost to corporate homogeneity.

An American family that relies on an American breadwinner.

Preserves crafts and skills we nearly lost.

And their stuff is beautiful.

The Sun News | 10/06/2004 | Sumter products used far and wide
... Sumter products used far and wide. Wrenches, screwdrivers made locally By Krista
Pierce The Associated Press. ... Each was emblazoned with the words "Sumter, SC". ...
www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/ sunnews/2004/10/06/news/local/9847005.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

Adams SC 818 Series Titanium Driver Reviews
... way of getting feedback on our new line of custom-made golf clubs ... driver on ebay
after trying it out at a local pro shop ... Model Reviewed: Adams SC 818 9* TITANIUM. ...
www.golfreview.com/Drivers/ Adams/PRD_299076_2948crx.aspx - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

Sun.Star Cebu - Cebu software development firms reap awards at E ...
... victory to urge local businesses to patronize locally made software to ... “A critical
mass of quality local software producers ... SC assures Poe of just decision. ...
www.sunstar.com.ph/.../2004/02/19/bus/cebu. software.development.firms.reap.awards.at.e.services.fair.html - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

Charleston.Net: Local News: Sumter manufacturing goes global 10/10 ...
... Sumter manufacturing goes global Locally made products sold around the nation, world
Associated Press ... Each was emblazoned with the words "Sumter, SC". ...
charleston.net/stories/101004/loc_10sumter.shtml - 34k - Cached - Similar pages


OB People's Food Store
... We specialize in featuring locally hand-made products that are unique and hard to
find as well as carrying the popular national name brands like Dr. Hauschka ...
www.obpeoplesfood.com/departments.htm - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

Baskets: Sweet Grass Baskets
A gallery of sweetgrass baskets hand made in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sweetgrass basketmaking was brought to South Carolina by ...
www.visitsoutherncomfort.com/sweetgrasbas.html - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

CharlestonSweetgrass.com · Original Hand-Made Charleston South ...
... As a part of Charleston SC, the history of sweet grass baskets dates more
than 300 years. Visit our online store for more info. ...
charlestonsweetgrass.com/ - 49k - Nov 5, 2004 - Cached - Similar pages



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THE WISDOM OF THE SWEET BASKET MAKERS
by Marlene Biondo
Locals often make this recommendation to newcomers, or visitors, "You'll have to make sure you get a sweet basket at the Charleston marketplace. They are beautifully made baskets, and this is the only place in the world you can find them." The first time I heard this, I wondered why anyone would say this to a complete stranger. I was a basket collector, most exclusively of the Longaberger line, but not everyone collects baskets. After studying the sweetgrass baskets, and experiencing many of these one of a kind hand made originals, I have a better understanding of why these baskets are the pride of South Carolina's Lowcountry.

Sweet grass baskets adorn places in homes where most people display fine art. As anyone from the Lowcountry knows, these baskets are treasured. Inquiries about basket purchases result in stories that are quite similar. The owner's eyes open wide, and an enthusiastic explanation follows. One particular basket sat center stage at the focal point of the home's foyer. Its 3" flat handle swept upward and twisted to the other side of the basket. The basket was tightly woven with no apparent flaws. It appeared in perfect condition. It was 3 years old, but had never been put to utilitarian purpose. It had been awarded the treatment of a priceless work of art. . .and that is exactly what it is. It was a special occasion and several years may have passed since the previous basket had been purchased. The collectible status of sweet grass baskets is legendary in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. These baskets are often found in historical museums, and art galleries alike, but these baskets aren't just objects d'art. They are also art history.

The techniques used to create sweetgrass baskets were first developed in West Africa. In the late 17th century, blacks were imported to the colonies as agricultural slave laborers, and this practice increased markedly throughout the next century, and into the l9th century as well. Native Africans were captured, chained, and sold in the colonies as if they were objects themselves. The slaves were fundamental to the economy and southern society. The cultural tradition of weaving sweetgrass baskets continued in the Lowcountry because of the ample supply of sweetgrass, bulrush and pine needles found in the marshlands and swamps. These weaving skills have been passed down from generation to generation.

The sweetgrass basket was a necessity on the plantation. The art of weaving baskets was occasionally passed down from father to son. Men often created the "fanner," or winnowing basket. The "fanner" was used to separate chaff from the rice on the rice plantations. As African slaves had worked in the same agricultural disciplines in Africa, the process of separating the chaff from the rice was familiar to them. Sweet grass baskets were used for other agricultural purposes including grain and cotton storage, and containers for fish and shell fish.

Women carried on the African tradition of handing down weaving skills from mother to daughter. These functional baskets were used primarily in the home. They were used for storing bread, fruits, sewing materials, clothes and miscellaneous items. Women sometimes used sweetgrass baskets as barter within their community. Plantation masters ordered baskets to be crafted for their homes, for their plantation owning friends, or to simply be sold for profit. The industrious sweetgrass basket makers were appreciated by the master, as the sweetgrass baskets were a source of pride of his plantation.

The sweetgrass basket carries a history much like those who created them. Slaves were fundamental to the success of the plantation system, and also to the development of southern society. This agricultural system began in the latter half of the 17th century and is responsible for the continuous importing of African slaves until the l9th century. When the l3th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect in l865, slavery was finally abolished. However, it still left some African-Americans confused and wandering. They had to rebuild their lives and their society without the plantation master's control. Some felt that they were better off with the master. Others forged a life for themselves and their families and were thankful for their freedom. With the emergence of building this new social structure, the tradition of the sweetgrass baskets was almost lost in the 20th century. Because African-American culture was unstable, so was the tradition of weaving sweetgrass baskets. In the l930's there was a renewed interest in the baskets and they were more often seen in gift shops, and museums. As African-American society was strengthened, so was the cultural tradition of weaving sweetgrass.

the sweetgrass baskets look beautiful, by the way.

i was trying to keep it to progressive companies, ones that do not support bush and this madness, and unfortunately i'm at a loss with these companies. i'm gonna try to do research down the list. a bit overwhelming though.

it's a start though, perhaps you can tell me if you know they are all progressive (aka blue) companies. i'd also love to assist those blue counties in SC, what are their names so i could look into them?

ps: XOXO for all the help!!

our holiday presents from local people? Forget China and the rest of them. Buy local State's own produce, products, and artisan's wares?

Could we do this?

You might have to repost this and expand it to a DU list of products from each of our states. Wouldn't that be a wonderful project. I know I would like to give only gifts made by local Americans and by folks who need the money.

Thanks for your post.

you read my mind... ;)

maybe we can bring positive consumption along with negative boycotts. maybe this was the key we were all overlooking.

trying to compile and thanks for the help. into the favorites list it goes and soon we'll make a list just like you said, god-willing. :D

of those Mobil Homes. NC might be the second largest...but I don't know if that's true or not. There are plants all along I-95 going South so those are locally made homes, here in America.

I don't know if that's something that we can give for a Holiday Gift but possibly setting up a fund to buy a needy family a mobile home would be worthwhile?

i'd love to help if the mobil home producers were progressive-minded, but even if they were it might be a bit impractical. but maybe it's a thought. our mileage may very, but i won't not count this.

which liberal mobil home industry do you recommend?

Have I correctly listed the names of the counties that are strongly blue on this map? (is so tiny... my eyes hurt...)

Allendale
Bamberg
Orangeburg
Williamsburg
Richland
Fairfield
Lee
Hampton

if so, know any local, 'librul' businesses in these regions? Retail that does mail-order?

ps: ...oh my eyes... my eyes! so tiny!

important to buy from them, though.

Are you using the CNN map showing the red and blue counties?

There are Democrats even in the counties that show red in SC. Remember that 50 counties use those Touch Screen BBV machines. And the Repugs run SC. There are nice people in that state. I wouldn't just support folks in blue counties when there are nice folks in all counties.

i don't know who's naughty and who's nice. some good kiddies deserve wonderful toys this holiday season, some deserve a big lump of coal.

i can tell you who and what in my area is naughty and nice. i'm sure you and other South Carolinians can too.

SCs blue counties are poor, black, rural and did I mention poor? Liberal businesses? In the summer time you might find an old black man (if white, forget it) standing at an intersection selling boiled peanuts or watermellons.

Sorry, but those counties are still in the 19th century. Business owners are white and whites don't vote dem anymore, and never were anything even close to liberal.

I'm so glad I escaped SC. I am a native SCer.

with income and race. You will notice, as the poster above said that most of the solid blue counties here are poor, rural counties that may not have a lot of businesses. However, I would like to point out, that because of this, any attention you can give those that exist will be that much more valuable. I'll try to find out more.

http://www.sciway.net/maps/data/biwcomparison-2000.html

Couldn't find 2004 yet.

extremely rural, you will probably find that there are more actual blue voters by numbers (rather than percentages) even in very red looking, populous upstate counties.

I would look for progressive companies whereever they occur in this country - but also be aware that publicizing your company as progressive would not carry the cachet in the South that it does in the North.

A good place to look for info on SC in general is http://www.sciway.net/
You might try calling or emailing the people who run that site, they can probably point you in the right direction.

edit: and maybe the SC Progressive Network could give you some leads - http://www.scpronet.com/

And another possible source of leads http://www.scglbg.org/ The South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Business Guild. Of course, make sure their not Log Cabin Repugs. :eyes:

http://www.scda.state.sc.us/buyscproducts/buyscproducts.htm

and Specialty Food Association Directory
http://www.scda.state.sc.us/buyscproducts/specialtyproducts/scsfadirectory.htm
Gifts to ship and so on.

Local food shopping - be sure to use the local farmers markets - not shipped cross country, the money stays locally, and they're cheap!

And the road side stands and pick your own farms - http://www.scda.state.sc.us/consumerinformation/scroadsidemarket/scroadsidemarket.htm

And if you're looking for anything that can either be raised, or used on a farm - from rabbits, to llamas, to lumber to pecans to monkey grass - try the farmers bulletin http://www.scda.state.sc.us/marketbulletin/marketbulletin.htm

While you probably won't know the politics of the local producers and it would be kind of rude to ask in one of the farmers markets, at least you know that your money is staying in the local community rather than enriching a fat-cat corp.