Fairtrade Delegation visits St. Patricks College Thurles
Report by Una Johnston, Thurles Fairtrade Secretary.
A major highlight of Fairtrade Fortnight , here in Thurles, was the visit yesterday to St. Patrick’s College and the Presentation Secondary School by Fairtrade coffee producer Mr Josephat Sylvand, and Mrs Hella Alikuru, Kenya, who represents plantation workers in East Africa.
The visitors were welcomed by the staff and students and by the Thurles Fairtrade committee.
Josephat Sylvand is the Assistant Export Manager at Kagera Co-operative Union Ltd. KCU was the first exporter of organic coffee from Tanzania and is the largest supplier of organic Robusta coffee to the Fairtrade market. Josephat is a son of a coffee producer who was a committed member of KCU Ltd. By being a member of KCU and its Fairtrade practices, he has managed to educate his family, some even to university level.
Josephat himself joined KCU Ltd in 2005 as a graduate and worked as a coffee trader. At the same time he was being trained on all issues relating to coffee export and marketing. Currently he is an Assistant Export Manager, and his role includes negotiating coffee contracts and offering and receiving bids for the coffee.
KCU is made up of 124 Primary Cooperative Societies representing over 60,000 small farmers since 1988 they have been selling an increasing part of its members’ coffee under Fairtrade terms.
KCU’s mission and objective is to seek, establish and maintain favourable markets in order to improve the income and well-being of its farmers. It is a pioneer of Fairtrade in Tanzania. It has been involved in the promotion of Tanzania coffee abroad, always focused on increased sales and higher remuneration for the farmer. Through active involvement with, and direct selling into, the Fairtrade market, KCU has paid its farmers up to 100% more than generated through the commercial price. It is also involved with Export Promotion of Organic Products in Africa (EPOPA), whose objective is to promote innovative and environmentally sound farming techniques aimed at improving the well-being of the community.
Josephat told the Thurles audience that when members collect and market their coffee together, they create a fund to which deductions from coffee sales are deposited to assist members’ children in attaining education, health services and other basic needs. This chance is usually wasted when coffee is collected by private buyers, who most of the times lack a collective responsibility drive. The Fairtrade social premium has enabled our members to construct/improve roads and bridges to their crop collection centers. Also classrooms and health centers have been constructed, which cements not only the relationship within our members, but also creates a strong partnership between KCU members and the Fairtrade buyers Josephat said. With the Fairtrade minimum price, KCU members have also been able to invest into an instant coffee factory, to ensure that value is added to the coffee that is exported by the union. Josephat said that his organization currently sells 30% of its coffee on Fairtrade terms. With the support of Irish consumers, this can keep rising, ensuring that the social, economic and environmental benefits of fair-trade continue to flow to his colleagues in Tanzania.
Mrs. Hella Alikuru is the Regional Coordinator for the International Union of Food & Agricultural Workers (IUF) Nairobi, Kenya. She advises the trade unions/workers on their participation and their rights within the Fairtrade system. In East Africa, Fairtrade has mainly been involved in flowers, coffee and tea, on large plantations.
On many of these estates there are 3-7,000 people employed and the workers have to live on the estates, which are often remote and cut off from the outside world. Workers earn less than one euro per day and have to buy food, clothing and all necessities with that money. Often they do not have access to electricity or running water. Conditions are very poor in many cases. Children may go to school but often their teachers are unqualified and children are really seen as workers in training. Their poor levels of education ensure that they are locked in a cycle of poverty as they end up as estate workers. Hella worked as a trade unionist on one estate where a woman died giving childbirth and for 5 years Hella campaigned to get some maternity health services in place for the staff.
Hella is involved in Fairtrade activities as an IUF representative for the African region. Although Fairtrade schemes have existed for years on some farms, the challenge has been how to use the premium funds to benefit the workers and enhance their participation in joint employer/worker bodies. In Tanzania, the workers have formed Savings and Credit Schemes and the workers borrow the funds with no interest charged.
In Kenya, using Fairtrade premium funds, some farms have purchased vehicles for the transportation of workers and set up computer training facilities, and in Uganda the funds are mainly used for infrastructure development. For Hella, Fairtrade represents a way out of poverty for the people she represents.
As always it is wonderful to have the opportunity to meet the people from the Fairtrade front line and to hear about the difference that Fairtrade makes in people’s lives. Despite the recession, sales of Fairtrade products are growing so Irish consumers remain convinced that their purchases are making that difference.
Thurles was awarded Fairtrade Town status in December 2005 following an eighteen month campaign supported by many local volunteers. The present nine member steering group, which is chaired by the current Mayor of Thurles, Mrs Evelyn Nevin, are asking all Thurles residents and visitors alike to fully support Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.
Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 will run from 22nd February – 7th March.
They’ll be asking you to swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff; e.g. your usual tea, coffee, chocolate or bananas for Fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate or bananas. Each swap will be proof that we as a nation want developing world producers to get a better and fairer deal.
How you can get involved
There’s lots of ways for you to make your mark on Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.
Big, small and medium sized – every single action counts. You could swap your sugar to Fairtrade, mix up a Fairtrade cocktail for friends, arrange a flask mob or get your entire town to swap to Fairtrade.
Each swap that you make helps raise the issues that affect farmers, workers and farming communities. It proves to companies and governments alike that Ireland wants a fairer trading system. Hold Big Swap events in your local schools, church, library, club, workplace…etc to raise awareness of Fairtrade.
Why not host a swap your breakfast, break, lunch or supper. You could also get your workplace, school or college to permanently swap to a Fairtrade cuppa, also don’t forget the option to swap to Fairtrade sugar and snacks.
How about a Pamper Swap! you can swap your body lotions and cocoa butter products for Fairtrade ones. You could also host a cotton swapping event, swap your t-shirts, undies, socks, shopping bags to Fairtrade ones.
Go on, you know it makes sense – just do it and let us know what you are up to here on thurles.info or mail Una Johnston at email address una.johnston@mementomori.ie for more advice.
We here at Thurles.info will help you to promote your event.
Thurles Fairtrade TownCommittee are asking all workplaces in Thurles to switch to products carrying the Fairtrade Mark as a meaningful way to make a real difference to the lives of farmers and workers in developing countries.
Thurles became a Fairtrade Town in December 2005 and each year we are required to audit the support for Fairtrade in town, in order to renew our Fairtrade Town status. We would love to hear from you if your workplace has switched or wants to switch to Fairtrade, so we can include you in our report to Fairtrade Mark Ireland!
The benefits to workplaces of making a simple switch so that Fairtrade tea, coffee, fruit juice, sugar, chocolate or biscuits are available to employees in the staff canteen or vending machines, in meetings or through corporate catering, even to the flowers at reception, would be significant and would include:
A visible gesture of your support for Thurles as a Fairtrade Town.
Thurles has been a Fairtrade Town since December 2005. We were awarded Ireland’s Most Creative Fairtrade Town in 2007. The Council has installed permanent signs announcing our Fairtrade Town status on the five approach roads. The current Mayor of Thurles chairs our meetings.
Joining our network of high profile Fairtrade supporters in Thurles.
There are over 50 shops, cafes, restaurants, businesses, schools and community groups in Thurles that actively support Fairtrade. Companies that serve Fairtrade to their staff, customers and clients include Dew Valley Foods, Tipperary Institute, Hayes Hotel, Thurles Chamber, St. Patrick’s College and Thurles Technology Park. Continue reading Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility Say Thurles Fairtrade
Pictured here is Gerard O’Hara, Thurles Fairtrade Town committee, presenting competition winner Jerry Comerford, Templetuohy, Thurles Co.Tipperary with a Fairtrade hamper, accompanied by Noel Kennedy member of Thurles Fairtrade Town committee.
Meanwhile the first Fairtrade Certified products from Palestine were launched in Ireland recently. Zaytoun’s range of organic and Fairtrade Certified Olive Oils are the first FAIRTRADE Mark products of their kind, and the Zaytoun company hopes the Fairtrade link will open up new markets for marginalised Palestinian producers in the West Bank and Gaza regions.
Current political circumstances mean that Palestinian producers are only accessing less than a quarter of their EU 2000-tonne-a-year quota for olive oil. Fairtrade campaigners say the launch of the Zaytoun Fairtrade olive oil brand will help create a viable, long-term market for thousands of Palestinian farmers while the Fairtrade premium will also help farmers modernise and expand their production.
“Gaining access to markets in the west for Zaytoun olive oil is a very important step forward for our producers. We are very proud that Zaytoun is the first olive oil product in the world to achieve Fairtrade certification. We also hope that this launch will focus attention on Palestine as a place of agricultural production and highlight the difficulties Palestinian farmers face in getting their produce to domestic and international markets”.
The finale of Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 was a huge success! From noon Friday 6th March to noon Saturday 7th March over 30,000 people all over Ireland ate a Fairtrade Banana and helped to set the world record in conjunction with the other countries across Europe. Helping achieve this record were pupils from the Community School here in Cashel Co.Tipperary.
During Fairtrade Fortnight Cadbury and Fairtrade Mark Ireland announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the country’s top selling chocolate bar, by the end of Summer 2009.
Anne Sawbridge, managing director of Cadbury Ireland, stated
“We are proud to make this announcement, which builds on our heritage of working with our supply chain to ensure the quality of life of farmers in the communities in which they live. By working in partnership with Fairtrade Mark Ireland, we are going to ensure more people in Ireland buy Fairtrade products and we look forward to achieving more together than we ever could individually.”
This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana, both increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, as well as opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system. This move will represent a 45% increase in Fairtrade sales in Ireland.
All across Ireland, students and teachers are raising awareness and availability of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark.
A Fairtrade School is one that has made a commitment to supporting and using Fairtrade. They ensure that Fairtrade products are available in their canteen, tuck shop, staff room and vending machine. They raise awareness of Fairtrade and the benefits that it brings to producers in developing countries.
The recent visit to the Ursuline primary school by the Fairtrade team with guest of honour John Nuwagaba was organised to promote Fairtrade Fortnight and the positive benefits of changing purchasing behaviour to guarantee a better deal for third world producers.
Pictured are; (back row) Catherine Reynolds (Acting Principal, Ursuline Primary School) and Laurenz Egan (Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee). Seated; (Left to right) John Nuwagaba (Ankole Coffee Co-op, Uganda) Sister Mercedes (Ursuline Community Thurles), Dunstan Burke (Fairtrade Mark Ireland), Rita Kenny (Visiting teacher) and Catherine Corcoran (Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee).
Fairtrade is the people’s movement for change that aims to tip the balance of trade in favour of poor producers. Fairtrade is needed more than ever and we all have the power to create positive change for both people and planet.
Speaking at Gaelscoil Durlas Éile today to a large audience on the benefits of supporting Fairtrade, Dunstan Burke from Fairtrade Mark Ireland stated:-
“Two billion people – a third of humanity – still survive on less than $2 a day. Unfair trade keeps them in this poverty, but they face the global challenges of food shortages and climate change too”.
Pictured here are staff from Gaelscoil Durlas Éile with members of the Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee including Dunstan Burke from Fairtrade Mark Ireland and guest of honour John Nuwagaba, general manager from the Ankole coffee co-operative in Uganda.
The event was organised as part of the Thurles Fairtrade Fortnight Awareness 2009 campaign.
So come on folks, share in Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 and play your part by joining a powerful global movement for real change!
Thurles warmly welcomes Mr. John Nuwagaba, General Manager of the Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union Ltd (ACPCU) on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th February as part of a 14-day tour of 17 Fairtrade Towns in Ireland during Fairtrade Fortnight, February 23rd – March 9th.
Mr Nuwagaba has a degree in economics and political science and a post graduate diploma in management. As the General Manager, Mr. Nuwugaba is responsible for the day to day running of the ACPCU co-op. The objectives of the ACPCU co-op include enabling members to have more control of their coffee business and increasing the income of the majority of farmers by adding value to the product.
The ACPCU co-op is located in the southwest of Uganda, which is the tenth largest coffee producing country in the world. 80% of the population (31m.) are involved in agriculture and the major exports are coffee, tea, tobacco, cotton and textiles. Life expectancy in Uganda is 50 years and the adult literacy rate is 67%.
During his visit to Thurles, Mr. Nuwagaba will talk to 400 school children at the Ursuline Convent Primary School and Gaelscoil Durlas Eile and explain to them how Fairtrade helps the lives of the Co-op’s 6,600 smallholder coffee growers. These schools are two of the fourteen schools in Thurles that are including Fairtrade materials in the 08/09 curriculum.
On the morning of Saturday 28th, Mr. Nuwagaba will visit the Thurles Farmers Market to meet the local growers and producers who sell their own food produce direct to the public. In the same way that Farmers’ Markets give local producers the opportunity to sell their goods directly to consumers, Fairtrade helps to establish more direct links between small producers in the developing world who are growing the foods that we eat every day and us, the consumer.
To mark the occasion of his visit and to celebrate that Farmers Markets in Ireland are in common cause with Fairtrade producers overseas, Mr. Nuwagaba will plant two Tipperary heritage apple trees in the grounds of Tipperary Institute.
During his four day visit to Tipperary, Mr. Nuwagaba will also visit the Farmers’ Markets in Cahir and Clonmel, give public talks in Roscrea, Nenagh, Tipperary Town and Carrick on Suir, meet the Fairtrade committee in Templemore and attend the celebrations in Cashel for achieving Fairtrade Town status.
Other Fairtrade events in Thurles include: A screening of the remarkable documentary ‘Black Gold-Wake Up and Smell the Coffee’ to business students in Tipperary Institute on Tuesday 24th February at 6.30pm; A guaranteed good night out at the annual Fairtrade Table Quiz in Skehan’s Liberty Square on Friday 6th March at 8.30pm. For further information and to book a table in the Quiz (Note €40 per team of 4) call our Secretary on 0504-26488.
The purpose of a Fairtrade Town is to contribute to Fairtrade Mark Ireland’s aim in tackling poverty by enabling disadvantaged producers from poor countries to receive a better deal, through encouraging support for the FAIRTRADE Mark. In order to further this aim by becoming a Fairtrade Town, the following 6 goals, headlined hereunder, must be realised. When they are, a signed and dated certificate will be presented by Fairtrade Mark Ireland to the Town/City.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is the independent” guarantee that products carrying the ‘Mark’ have been produced according to internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.
Fairtrade Mark Ireland awards a consumer label, the FAIRTRADE Mark, to products which meet internationally recognised standards of Fairtrade. Supported by Amnesty International, Actionaid Ireland, Christian Aid, Comhlámh, Concern, Oxfam, Trócaire, War on Want Northern Ireland, and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, they are a small Third World charity based in Dublin. They are active throughout Ireland via their supporter network of dedicated volunteers, involved in the promotion of Fairtrade, the Fairtrade Towns project, and FAIRTRADE Mark products.
There are now 61 towns working around Ireland on Fairtrade Town campaigns. Of these, 31 towns & cities have been awarded status; Athlone, Ballymun, Bandon, Bantry, Belfast, Bray, Carlow, Castlebar, Clonakilty, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Greystones, Kilkenny, Kinsale, Limerick, Maynooth, Mullingar, Newry, Portlaoise, Thurles, Waterford, Westport, Wexford, Tubbercurry, Skibbereen, Baltinglass, Ennis, Newbridge, Roscommom, and Sligo.
Ireland’s Most Creative Fairtrade Town, Thurles, was awarded Ireland’s Most Creative Fairtrade Town in October 2007. The award was made by Michael Kit, Minister of State at the Dept of Foreign Affairs at a reception in Dublin Castle. In making the decision, Fairtrade Mark Ireland decided to select Thurles due to the number, variety and imaginative nature of the events run by the Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee. We were also close runners-up to Kinsale who won the overall award for Best Fairtrade Town.
Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee
Thurles was awarded Fairtrade Town status in December 2005 following an eighteen- month campaign supported by many volunteers. There are 9 members of the steering group, which is chaired by the current Mayor of Thurles. The steering group meets every two months and has adopted the following mission statement in June 2007 :
“The mission of the Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee is to promote Thurles as a Fairtrade Town, to promote awareness and understanding of Fairtrade principles and to encourage purchase of Fairtrade products. By organising a wide range of promotional activities throughout the year, the Committee offers information and encouragement in order to motivate schools, businesses, retailers, organisations and the general public to choose Fairtrade products.”
Fairtrade in Thurles Shops
Thirteen Thurles retailers stock over 40 Fairtrade brands and consumers can choose from a wide selection of Fairtrade products including 10 chocolate brands, 9 coffee brands, 6 tea brands, 6 brands of fruit juices, 3 brands of sugar plus a variety of bananas, pastas, jams, cocoa, biscuits and snacks. They can also buy Fairtrade Beans, Chutney, Curry Paste, Dried fruits, Flapjacks, Herbs, Ice cream, Muesli, Nuts, Spices and Sweets.
Fairtrade in Thurles Restaurants
Six catering outlets in Thurles serve Fairtrade coffee and tea exclusively: Hayes Hotel, St. Patrick’s College canteen, Tara Restaurant, The Runner Bean, Tipperary Institute canteen and the Topaz service station.
Fairtrade in Thurles Businesses
Dew Valley Foods Ltd is our flagship business since 2005 and they estimate that the staff drink 1500 cups of Fairtrade tea every week. Nine other businesses in town serve Fairtrade tea and coffee in their offices.
Fairtrade in Thurles Schools
The level of awareness amonst students in Thurles about Fairtrade issues is very high and the challenge is to find new angles and present new information. Five schools in Thurles support Fairtrade in the classroom and in the staff room. We correspond with teachers in all schools at the start of the academic year regarding opportunities to discuss how Fairtrade could be incorporated in the relevant SPHE, CSPE and Transition year classes as well as going through the criteria to become/remain a Fairtrade school. Where possible, we arrange a date to visit to the school to meet the various classes.
Fairtrade in the Local Media
Every two weeks there is an article in the Tipperary Star, which keeps the reader informed and up to date on local Fairtrade activities as well as national and international Fairtrade developments.
Tipperary – Irelands First Fairtrade County
Since Sept 2006 we have also initiated the Tipperary Fairtrade County Campaign, the goal of which is for Tipperary to become Ireland’s first Fairtrade County. The steering group is offering mentoring support to 9 other towns in North and South Tipperary to enable each of them to become Fairtrade Towns. As soon as Carrick-on-Suir, Cahir, Cashel, Cloughjordan, Clonmel, Nenagh, Roscrea, Templemore and Tipperary Town have achieved Fairtrade Town status, Tipperary will be declared a Fairtrade County!
Getting Involved
We welcome volunteers who can offer a few hours of their time every year to support Fairtrade in Thurles. For information on upcoming events please phone our Secretary on (0504) 26488 or email una.johnston@mementomori.ie.
Pictured here is Gerard O’Hara, 
The finale of 
During Fairtrade Fortnight Cadbury and Fairtrade Mark Ireland announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the country’s top selling chocolate bar, by the end of Summer 2009.
All across Ireland, students and teachers are raising awareness and availability of products with the 
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