CONISTON AND THE WORLD - Fair Trade

CONISTON AND THE WORLD So many people in Coniston and Torver are buying, selling and using Fairtrade goods that it is hoped they may soon be declared Fairtrade Villages. Goods bearing the Fairtrade Mark are guaranteed to give a better deal to the farmers and workers who produce them in developing countries so every purchase does that little extra in the fight against world poverty. The range of goods available is wide and ever increasing. Tea, coffee, fruit, fruit juices, wines, clothes, biscuits, sugar . . . the list goes on. Coniston and Torver Fairtrade Group grew from a general meeting of Christians Together in Coniston and started in Fairtrade Fortnight 2004, running a Fairtrade Coffee morning every day in those two weeks. This proved to be so popular that it developed into a weekly event that still continues. Besides publicising the idea of Fairtrade it has also been able to make large donations to a variety of development projects. The most recent was a gift of £1000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for drought-stricken Niger and neighbouring countries. The Group’s main aim remains achieving that Fairtrade status so that Coniston and Torver will join other Cumbrian places such as Kendal, Keswick, Windermere and Bowness and Ambleside and Lakes Parish in bearing that title. It means that, though we are a small community tucked away in a corner of England, we are playing our part in helping people in even more remote places around the world to trade their way out of poverty. The G8 Summit last July made some progress along the road to making Poverty History but so much remains to be done. In particular, the issues of Trade Justice will resurface this autumn as another round of talks at the World Trade Organisation takes place. Just what will rich and powerful countries and their associated mega-companies be willing to concede to nations struggling to get onto the bottom rung of the world trade ladder? The answer is probably “very little” if past experience is anything to go by, yet how important it is that these people be given a fair chance to work to improve their own situations. Meanwhile, we can all do our bit by making a point of buying those Fairtrade goodies. If you would like to find out more, come along to St Andrew’s any Wednesday morning between 10am and 1pm, for a cup of coffee, a bowl of soup, one of those wonderful Fairtrade biscuits and a chat.