Local voluntary organisations were invited to the event at the Council offices in Farnborough on Thursday, to celebrate the annual Fairtrade Fortnight. This year’s national campaign is ‘The Big Swap’ and aims to get one million people to swap their usual products for Fairtrade ones.
With an Alice in Wonderland theme, a selection of Fairtrade teas and coffees were available to taste and a cake auction for the Haiti Appeal raised more than £50. The organisations also had the chance to enter into a cake competition, which was judged by Councillor Paul Taylor, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services at Rushmoor Borough Council. First prize went to St John’s Church of Cove, second to Parity for Disability and third place was awarded to Rowhill Nature Reserve. All the winners received a selection of Fairtrade goodies.
The tea party guests were also shown a short video about tea growers in the Thaishola Estate in Tamil Nadu, South India, which explores how Fairtrade is making improvements to the lives of workers, their families and their communities. The Fairtrade Foundation funds projects such as education, health care, transport for workers and even pension schemes.
Les Murrell, Energy and Environment Manager at Rushmoor Borough Council, said: “The aim of the event was for us to raise awareness about Fairtrade among local organisations. We would like to thank everyone that came along and hope that they think about swapping to more Fairtrade products. Every swap will be proof that the people of the UK want producers in the developing world to get a fairer deal. Little things like changing to Fairtrade tea will ensure that fifteen million people in developing countries get a fair price for their products. Currently only 10% of the tea sold in the UK is Fairtrade and a third of the world’s population still exists on less than two dollars per day, so there is a long way to go.”
Rushmoor achieved Fairtrade status in 2008 meaning that there are now Fairtrade products available in most food retailers and cafes in the borough and the campaign is supported by numerous organisations.
Further information on the Fairtrade Foundation can be found at www.fairtrade.org.uk.