I stepped in from the cold. Walking down the stairs into the warm downstairs retail space, I was greeted by an array of bumper stickers with slogans like “Coexist” and shelves of Zinn and Keynes. I’d found it: the Peace Nook.
The Peace Nook, nestled “downstairs, under the peace flag and rainbow flag at 804-C East Broadway,” as its [website states](http://blog.midmopeaceworks.org/p/peace-nook.html), is an offshoot of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, a non-profit that began as a nuclear weapons freeze group in the ’80s but has since widened its mission to include sustainability, climate change and social justice.
When I arrived, staff member Kim Dill –– an MU Journalism grad and former Maneater copy editor, no less –– was negotiating with “an anonymous local artist” who’d come to sell a few pieces of jewelry he’d crafted by hand.
As I waited for Dill and Mid-Missouri Peaceworks Director Mark Haim, I took a look around the store.
In one corner, there were books on topics like feminism, the LGBT community, justice, sustainable farming, vegetarianism and veganism, spirituality, war (and the protest thereof), and of course, peace.
Another section boasted a wide collection of fair-trade products, including clothing, food and home decor. In fact, the Peace Nook, Haim says, was Columbia’s first fair trade store when it opened in 1990.
Haim would know; he’s been a volunteer with Peaceworks since 1982 and became a full-time employee in 1986.
“One of our slogans is ‘Fair Trade at a Fair Price,’” he says.
The Peace Nook is committed to buying products made by workers who are treated fairly and paid enough to sustain a reasonable quality of life. The store strives to then sell those goods at a reasonable price to conscientious Columbia consumers.
Another key element of the Peace Nook’s business model is the idea of “vote with your dollar.”
“Each time we spend money, we’re casting a vote for what we want to see more of,” Haim says. “When people make purchases at the Peace Nook, their ‘vote’ is in support of local education and advocacy.”
The store encourages consumers to buy responsibly produced items.
Those products include the aforementioned book section, which contains works of poetry and prose, autobiographies and non-fiction volumes on causes related to Peaceworks’ mission.
Another aspect of the Peace Nook is Blue Planet, a service through which one can preorder Peace Nook products in bulk. When people buy things in bulk, Haim says, it’s not only cheaper in the long run, but it’s also more sustainable and eco-friendly, as less packaging is required, and less energy is used to transport one large order instead of, say, three smaller orders.
There’s no membership requirement to purchase from Blue Planet, and there’s also no volunteer requirement, although volunteers do receive a small discount.
Speaking of volunteers, Haim encourages anyone interested in Peaceworks’ mission to become a volunteer. Volunteers, who typically work in shifts of two hours a week, help out in the store and at events Peace Nook holds, like its annual Earth Day celebration. (If you’re interested, either stop by the Nook or call the store at 573-875-0539.)
What’s the best part of working at the Peace Nook? Dill says it’s the feeling that she can “make a difference in the world.” She says she enjoys being able to help people find responsibly-made products they enjoy.
The MU journalism and anthropology grad, who has worked at the Peace Nook in the past, became a staff member in July and is now doing graphic design and bookkeeping for the store.
As I was leaving, I passed by the display of buttons and bumper stickers featuring various slogans and messages. One in particular caught my eye: It featured the famous Gandhi quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
It seemed fitting, given that that’s Peace Nook’s goal: Changing the world, one purchase at a time.
