Fairtrade Fortnight comes to Ealing
YMCA and Oxfam give you a taste of fairtrade products
Did you know that over £140 million was spent on Fairtrade products in the UK in 2004? The products are no longer the preserve of a tiny minority interest group, but are being taken seriously across the country.
The Fairtrade Foundation says:
"The relentless roller coaster of fluctuating commodity prices can have the same catastrophic effect on the lives of farmers and workers in the developing world as a natural disaster like a tsunami. Disastrous troughs in world prices for agricultural goods, alongside the long-term downward price trend, are devastating the lives of families and rural communities as farmers struggle to make a living from their land. The impact may be more gradual, but the spiralling effects of falling prices and loss of income can lead to under-employment, economic and physical hardship, homelessness, forced migration, and life-threatening poverty and disease.
Against this backdrop, Fairtrade is a positive model of trade which is fairer and more sustainable for farmers and has the potential to transform communities. CHECK OUT FAIRTRADE, the theme of Fairtrade Fortnight, is a call to consumers across the UK to find out about the FAIRTRADE Mark - the only independent certification scheme which guarantees a fair deal for farmers in developing countries. In a massive public response to the campaign, around 7500 local and national events are expected to take place during the two-week promotion, which also encourages the public to take Fairtrade certified products to the checkout."
So what's happening in Ealing? The West London YMCA and Oxfam are organising the following events. The YMCA says:
"From
noon on Thursday March 10th shoppers can browse at a range of Fairtrade
stalls over lunch, whilst children enjoy a lucky dip and bouncy castle.
At 1.30pm Julia Sarson (Traidcraft speaker) and Steve Pound, MP, will
speak about Fairtrade and the Make Poverty History campaign, followed
by a presentation by cocoa producers Anna Awere and Veronica Mintah from
Ghana who are touring London with the Day Chocolate Co.
Free Fairtrade teas, coffees, snacks and chocolate will be on offer. We
support Ealing Borough's objective to be recognised as a Fairtrade borough.
We sell Fairtrade tea, coffee and snacks in cafe "Y two five",
and stock a range of fairly traded jewellery in our Charity
Shop at 14, Bond Street, Ealing.
What we eat and how we shop can make a big difference to those we have
never met but can still care for.
As well as promoting Fairtrade , the event will be raising funds for Y Care International , the international development and relief agency of the YMCA movement. The money raised will go directly to YMCAs in the countries affected by the tsunami for relief and rehabilitation work."
Thursday
10th March
West London YMCA Y
Two Five Restaurant
St Mary's Road, W5
Fairtrade Event with Stephen Pound, Fairtrade Cocoa Producer from Ghana,
Traidcraft 1.30 � 3.00 pm
Saturday
12 th March
Oxfam - 34 New Broadway, W5 11.00 � 4.00 pm.
Try Fairtrade - Make Poverty History. Taste some Fairtrade Products and find out how to contribute to this important campaign.
www.ealingtoday.co.uk is planning to get together a list of all cafes in Ealing which serve Fairtrade coffee or tea. We know that Costa Coffee (ask specifically for it), Cafe Revive (all coffee products) and Starbucks do - if you know of any others, email editor@ealingtoday.co.uk and we'll publish it. Supermarkets also sell various products, and look out for the Co-op in South Ealing Road, which does a nice line in Fairtrade cakes and biscuits. Why not ask your local cafe or shop if they can get some products in stock?
March 7, 2005
