Two years ago The Fairtrade Foundation launched their Fairtrade Fortnight campaign to Stick with Foncho, a banana farmer from Columbia. The campaign that Fortnight focussed on bananas……and thanks to twitter friends (including @sallyreith @FTBristol and @mrsFairtrade) the #BananaArmy was born.
Fast forward to 2016 and the #BananaArmy has reached new levels of campaigning with fairandfunky once again heading to Parliament, hosting two Fairtrade Conferences for Schools, leading Fairtrade football assemblies, organising a Fairtrade Fair, taking part in community breakfast events alongside Holme Valley Fairtrade AND producing TWO videos!
With Jason McCartney MP, Julio (banana farmer from Columbia), Holly Lynch MP and Patrick (tea farmer from Kenya)
Our trip to Parliament this year was with Holme Valley Fairtrade, to showcase their Cotton on To Fairtrade exhibition, AND to launch the APPG for Fairtrade with The Fairtrade Foundation. In her role as Chair, Helen addressed the event and shared her hope for the Fairtrade APPG:
“It doesn’t matter who we are or where we are from, we all have the power to take our own little steps to change the world. There are people in this room with the power to turn the talking about Fairtrade into action about Fairtrade. There are people in this room who can bring Fairtrade into policy decision making, ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals are met, and make a real difference to producers.”
Delegates at conference with workshop providers and Jo Cox MP
The turning the talking into action is something fairandfunky do every day, especially during Fairtrade Fortnight. We were delighted to host TWO fairandfunky Fairtrade Conferences for schools in Kirklees. Almost 200 primary school children took part in creative workshops, all inspiring delegates to take their own little steps to change the world. To read all about our conferences please click here.
Generation Fairtrade
The fairandfunky conferences, along with our workshops and assemblies don’t provide the solutions to ‘how to change the world’ – but encourage participants to ask their own questions; to find out…..where does our food come from? Who does make our clothes? It’s exciting to think that there is a generation of young people growing up, asking these questions and demanding answers. That people are taking action to demand fairness and Fairtrade for farmers and workers. And rightly so when half of the world’s hungry are farmers and too many Fairtrade farmers don’t sell enough of their produce on Fairtrade terms.
As consumers of Fairtrade our role is of paramount importance. We have to keep the pressure on retailers, supermarkets and companies to stock Fairtrade. We have to buy Fairtrade and keep making the switch to increase the number of Fairtrade products in our kitchen cupboards.
fairandfunky with Foncho – Fairtrade banana farmer from Columbia – inspiration for the #BananaArmy
If we don’t buy Fairtrade, farmers cannot sell their produce on Fairtrade terms meaning farmers are not receiving the full economic benefit for their produce. We have the power to change the world for producers – so join the #BananaArmy and take your little steps to change the world.
Here’s to another year of Fairtrade action and we’re already plotting Fairtrade Fortnight 2017…….watch this space!
Tweets by @fair_funky
