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www.hopedance.org
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| <back | home Bo Lozoff, Ex-Cons, Music & Biodiesel by Justin Popov Bo Lozoff has transformed hundreds of prisoners’ lives through his spiritual activism; now he wants to put parolees and ex-cons to work toward different transformation, a shift from fossil fuels to biodiesel. Bo is already well known for his "Prison-Ashram" project, which helps prisoners take an "inward journey" into their lives through silence and solitude in meditation, an environment synonymous with life in a prison cell. An ashram is defined as a place where people live for a period of time to improve their self-discipline and spirituality. He is also known for his book, WE’RE ALL DOING TIME, which looks into how fulfilling lives can be led regardless of surrounding circumstances. It includes exchanges between Bo and some of the prisoners he has guided over the years. The book is distributed to prisoners free of cost, a service made possible by the profits of the books sold to the general public. Bo and his wife Sita run an ashram they call "The Kindness House," which helps former prisoners prepare for the outside world by offering spiritual guidance and occupational skills. Bo envisions the biodiesel refinery as working the same way, offering training and practical skills to those who work there. The metaphor is fitting, giving ex-cons and parolees the training and skills to make themselves productive citizens in the outside world, all the while making a product out of used grease and vegetable oil that could conceivably reduce pollution and trim down our petroleum addiction . A conversation with a friend introduced Bo to biodiesel, who thought the idea was a good one. Despite lacking any previous knowledge of biodiesel production or experience in the field, Bo made a plan and dedicated himself to making it a reality. After talking to experts, reading whatever he could get his hands on, and traveling to the National Biodiesel Conference in Palm Springs, Calif., he enlisted biodiesel experts, environmentalist and members of the local business community to serve on the board of his new company, Carolina Biodiesel, Inc. Like Bo’s past ideas, this one too is not a typical capitalistic endeavor. When it came time to look for a building, he looked no farther than the owner of the organic food supplier "The Wizard’s Cauldron," John Troy. Troy was moving away and offered his North Carolina facility to Bo’s Human Kindness Foundation for $150,000, only what he owed to the bank and just half of the property’s actual value. The new project now had a building, a staff of parolees and ex-cons, along with the guidance of experts in the field. All they needed were funds to get started. Courting large investment firms may be the traditional way of funding the start-up costs of major enterprises, but neither Bo nor his enterprises are traditional. In fact, the Human Kindness Foundation has never borrowed money from a bank or even engaged in traditional fund-raising. This project would be no different. So to raise money, Bo put out a new CD, "Bo Lozoff and Friends: Whatever It Takes," and he hopes to sell 100,000 copies to reach his goal of raising one million dollars to get the project running. The CD includes seven songs inspired by a vow of total silence Bo took from September, 2001, to September, 2002, in which he did not utter a single sound. These tracks, coupled with a seven other original, unreleased songs produce a solid folk effort, an album that is only made better by the ideals that fuel it. The CD is available at the Human Kindness Foundation website, http://www.humankindness.org/, which also contains more information about their biodiesel and other projects. Justin Popov is the first-ever Cal Poly intern; and he's working out great. <back | top^ |