Dear Lovely person,
Thanks for taking time to log on and for taking my request for no presents seriously. It will give me much greater pleasure to have provided some support for people that will not be able to celebrate their fortieths so indulgently than to recieve 15 (I'm sure very lovely!!) vases. As you know (I hope I am evangelical enough) I am a bit of a nut about Fairtrade and Traidcraft are, I feel, the best at what they do. Some thoughts from them:-
The scandal of poverty
Almost a billion people are fighting a daily battle to survive on less than $1 a day.
It does not have to be this way. Traidcraft believes that change is possible.
Making trade work for the poor
Traidcraft was established in 1979 as a Christian response to poverty.
Our mission is to fight poverty through trade, practising and promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives.
Traidcraft is the UK’s leading fair trade organisation and is made up of a trading company (Traidcraft plc) and an international development charity (Traidcraft Exchange). This unique structure gives us many opportunities to influence opinion and behaviour in the charitable, private and public sectors.
We work in over 30 developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America.
Cottoning on to fair trade
Traidcraft’s work with cotton farmers in India shows how our trading company and charity work together to bring about change.
For farmers in the semi-arid Kutch region of Western India cotton is often the only source of income for food, shelter and education. However, farmers have suffered from increasing costs, lower yields and declining prices. In 2001, Traidcraft Exchange started working with Agrocel, our local partner, training 35 farmers to grow Fairtrade and organic cotton. Traidcraft plc provided an initial market for the cotton. The results of the project speak for themselves. Sales of Agrocel cotton have grown more than sevenfold to £3.2 million. Organic farming has reduced health risks and costs. Farmers have gained new skills and have seen a 43% increase in the income available for healthcare, education and investing in their business. The number of farmers involved has grown to 4000 and continues to rise. Having enabled the development of the Fairtrade Mark for cotton, the project has opened up opportunities for many thousands more cotton farmers around the world.
“I like working with Agrocel. The cotton price is better. We get technical guidance. There are also credit facilities and we can get good quality seed. With Agrocel I don’t have to worry about the price because it is finalised and I am assured of the rate. I hope that my children will get a good education and get a job.” Satbir Singh, cotton farmer.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Thanks,
Antonia
