Fairtrade Fortnight begins Next week
Wed 21st February 2018
Fairtrade Fortnight 2018 will challenge the British public to open their doors to Fairtrade and help close the door on the exploitation facing the people who produce the things we love to eat, drink, and wear.
The nationwide campaign ‘Come On In’ will run from Monday 26 February until Sunday 11 March and will invite you to come in to the world of the people who grow our food to see what life can be like when farmers and workers aren’t paid fairly.
The Beverley Fairtrade Group will be fully engaged in this year’s theme, ‘Come On In’
Our main event will focus on Toll Gavel United Church in the town centre of Beverley. The church will be open as usual every weekday morning for Fairtrade coffee and tea and our weekly Saturday Coffee Morning which is held in the church hall.
The general public will be invited in during these regular opening times to find out more about Fairtrade and meet some producers. We will have information to take away as well as displays about individual producers and their stories of how Fairtrade has helped to improve their income and their prospects. Fairtrade provides them with an opportunity to earn their way out of poverty and transform their communities.
This year the Fairtrade Foundation tells the story of Marcial. He is a banana farmer working with the Coobana co-operative in Panama. Before Fairtrade stepped in to help, the price they received for their bananas was not enough to cover their costs and for 17 years the price did not change. Since their partnership with Fairtrade it’s made a mega revolution in their lives. The family used to live in a small room 10 feet square, and live, cook and sleep in the same room. Now they have their own new built house with separate facilities and privacy. The co-operative have spent 50% of their Fairtrade premium on social needs, 30% on production improvements and 20% on environmental projects.
Adam Gardner, Communities Campaigns Manager at the Fairtrade Foundation said: “It’s a scandalous reality that millions of farmers and workers are being ripped off despite working hard to provide the products we love. Unfairness in global trade is rooted in centuries of exploitation. Yet across the globe, millions of hard-working producers like Marcial are unravelling this legacy. They’re fighting for a fair deal, supported by Fairtrade, earning their way out of poverty and transforming their communities.
John Turner from the Beverley Fairtrade Group says,’We shall do our best to help and promote Fairtrade in the town, and offer a wide range of Fairtrade products to sell and find out more about.’
See you at Toll Gavel Church, open every weekday from 10.a.m. to 12 noon.
