Open Wednesday
mornings 11.30am -12noon
St Andrew's has been granted 'Fairtrade
Church' status. We use Fair Trade Tea, Coffee and Sugar for all
events and meetings run by the Church.
The
shop stocks an exciting range
of earrings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, clothing a wide variety
of food, beverages and stationery.
Fair Trade Wine
As many of you will know, we
have sold fairly traded wine for a number of years. We are planning to take
orders in late September and early October. Delivery would then be later on in
October.
So this
is what you do!
Have a little ponder now
about the colour, country of origin, and quantity of wine that you may want to
order. Some of the wines are featured on page 91 of the current Traidcraft
catalogue (available from the shop in the foyer). There may well be slight
variations in the new autumn catalogue coming out in August, and often
Traidcraft introduces some “specials”, but you’ll get a good idea of what’s
available.
Check
those cellars!
We will produce a
comprehensive order form which should be available from the beginning of
September, and this will give you plenty of time to consider further. We know
it’s impossible to buy all the wine you want for the year from us, but we can
give you a good start!
We also realise that some
wines bought in France or in UK supermarkets will be cheaper. However, we would
encourage you to at least order a few from us as well. In this way you will help
the wine growers whom we are trying to support. So get down in those cellars and
start to think!
Holiday
time
And talking about France, we
have sarongs for the beach and lots of different tops and T-shirts. There are
also bags of varying shapes, sizes and colours which are useful on holiday. Come
and have a look!
Fairtrade
News - 30th
birthday
In 2009 we are celebrating
Traidcraft’s 30th
anniversary. Over the last 30 years, the company has transformed many, many
lives, and its commitment to long - term relationships with producer groups
makes a real difference. For many women this means clean water, education and
food for their families, but for Firoza Begum, who joined one of the first
Traidcraft producer groups, The Jute Works, in 1980, fair trade changed not only
her life, but the lives of her daughter and granddaughter too.
Life-changing work
Thanks to a regular income,
and helped by a loan from The Jute Works, Firoza and her husband, Hassan Ali,
built a better life for themselves and their four children. Sadly, Firoza died
in 2006, but her legacy is still changing lives in her village.
“With the money she made we
changed our fate,” said Hassan Ali, her widower. “We made improvements and
maintained all the expenses of the house and the education of our children –
everything.”
Learning
and teaching
That education meant Nargis,
their daughter, was the first girl among the group members to attend school.
After gaining a degree, she returned to the village to set up a school, which
now has 6 teachers and 175 pupils.
“We are very proud of what
my mother did,” Nargis said. “It would have been quite impossible for me to go
to university if there was only my father’s income. I want to stay in the
village and teach the children.” Nargis now has a daughter of her own. Zarin
Rosny Provad, meaning ‘golden morning light’, was born in June 2006 – the third
generation to benefit from fair trade. Traidcraft still buys from The Jute
Works, for example the products on page 61 of the spring catalogue, so with your
support we can all help more women like Firoza and Nargis achieve their full
potential.
A great
result
Well, we certainly haven’t
been trading for thirty years, but the fairtrade fashion show held at the end of
March was our 17th, and was very well received. Takings for the weekend amounted
to £1,818 and since then we have had a number of related enquiries. Don’t worry
if you weren’t able to make it, as there are now lots of new items in the foyer
shop from Traidcraft as well as many other smaller importers! Please pop in for
a browse and pick up catalogues to look at in comfort at home.
Fairtrade
in North Bedfordshire
The North Bedfordshire
Fairtrade Directory is now available for you to take away for yourselves and to
give to anyone you think might be interested. North Bedfordshire has now been
granted fairtrade status. This means that as an area we have reached the minimum
standards required, NOT that we can sit back on our laurels and congratulate
ourselves! It is really good news, and very encouraging, but we must continue to
spread the word and encourage more people in our region to support fairtrade.
Everyone thrives on encouragement, and we certainly appreciate your support.
