Fairtrade Fortnight 2019

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 starts in just two weeks time, this year the theme that the Fairtrade Foundation have selected centres around cocoa and the farmers around the world that grow it. Many of the farmers are not paid a living wage and the Fairtrade Foundation are working on changing this.

More information below about events at Cinderford Churches

Worldwide, many cocoa producers are women and as such they are often most affected by poor wages.

In the past two years, there has been a catastrophic drop in world cocoa prices, pushing many farmers further into poverty. In Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, farmers have seen their income fall by 30 – 40 percent per year.

Despite the cocoa prices the farmers are receiving falling so drastically, for the most part the price we are paying for our chocolate has remained steady, so someone on the supply chain is benefiting (just not the farmers!).

Fairtrade makes a big difference to cocoa farmers. But a mere EIGHT percent of UK chocolate bars are Fairtrade certified. Only six percent of cocoa produced in Cote d’Ivoire is sold on Fairtrade terms.

The Fairtrade Minimum Price provides a safety net to volatile markets protecting over 200,000 farmers. In 2016, farmers also received a further £22 million in Fairtrade Premiums, allowing farmer-led organisations to invest in equipment, training, schools, water, healthcare, roads and infrastructure to transform their businesses and communities.

The reasons behind the injustice in the cocoa system are deep-rooted and systemic and although Fairtrade has made huge progress, certification is not the only answer. However, as consumers it is one of the best options we have to help the farmers who grow the cocoa we enjoy so much.

Buying Fairtrade helps support farmers to be more productive, diversify their income sources and strengthen the cooperatives that are so important in representing the interests of millions of individual smallholder farmers.

Of course, governments can also play a huge part. Policy decisions that favour smallholders and prevent exploitation can be made both here and in countries such as Cote d’Ivoire. And we can be a part of that by contacting our own representatives in government.

We can also choose where to spend our money and which treats we will enjoy. This enables us to put our trust in companies where more of the share of the profits is invested in those growing the cocoa, ensuring that farmers are getting a living wage.

Meaning whilst we savour our chocolate treats, we know we are being part of the solution and not the problem.

Events at St Stephen’s

There will be lots more information about Fairtrade, cocoa production, living wages, women’s empowerment and much more at the Fairtrade Fortnight events at St Stephen’s Church.

There will be a Pop-Up Shop the first week, starting on Monday 25 February and this will culminate on the Saturday (2 March) with the Big Brew and BakeOff.

There will be lots of Fairtrade products to browse, samples to try, special offers and Fairtrade hot drinks and treats. At the Big Brew there will also be delicious lunches available and, of course, the wonderful array of entries to the BakeOff to purchase and enjoy once judging has taken place.

All money raised at the Big Brew will be donated to Traidcraft Exchange, which is the charity arm of Traidcraft and each year works with over 300,000 people in some of the world’s poorest communities, helping farmers, artisans and producers to get a fairer deal from the hard work they do, helping them leave poverty behind for good.

BAKEOFF information

All entries for any category should include Fairtrade sugar and entries will be judged based on number of Fairtrade ingredients along with taste and overall appearance.
A the Fairtrade Foundation’s theme this year centres around cocoa production and the empowerment of women, one category will simply be “Chocolate” so as long as your entry includes Fairtrade cocoa or chocolate you can use your creativity to come up with whatever you want, from chocolate brownies to chocolate chip cookies and anything in between!
The second category will be “Freestyle” which covers anything you can think of, you can let the focus be the flavour of the cake or the decoration.
The third category this year will involve purchasing a pack of Fairtrade ingredients that you can then add whatever you want to come up with your creation. The pack will include a variety of ingredients but not flour, fat, etc; so you will be able to use them to come up with a huge variety of creations.
(The ingredients pack will be available from the Fairtrade stall at St Stephen’s Church from Sunday 10 February)

Lots more details on our Facebook pages including the amazing companies who have sent (or have promised to send) samples for people to taste.

Fairtrade in the Community

There are more Fairtrade Fortnight events happening around the Benefice in the local community, including a chocolate tasting event at Cafe Thirty One (Market Street, Cinderford) on Friday 8 March!

If you would like Rachel to come to your group and talk about Fairtrade, please get in touch! [email protected].