People can get their taste buds tingling and creative juices flowing this Fairtrade Fortnight.
The Stourbridge Fairtrade group is running a chocolate tasting session at St. Thomas’s Church Hall on Saturday 29 February. They will be sharing the stories of cocoa farmers who grown the bean which turns into delicious chocolate. The UK chocolate industry is worth at least £4 billion a year but only 10% of that is sold on a Fairtrade basis. The average cocoa farmer in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana makes less than 75p a day, well below the extreme poverty line of around £1.40 a day.
The event runs from 10.30am – 12.30pm and as well as chocolate tasting, fairtrade tea and coffee will also be available. Chocolate will also be available to purchase.
Virginia Williams from the Stourbridge Fairtrade Group said:
Chocolate lovers in Stourbridge can really make a difference to the lives of cocoa growers and their families in West Africa by choosing chocolate bearing the Fairtrade Mark.
The Fairtrade Mark guarantees that Fairtrade growers get a “Living Income” for their cocoa beans, enough for them and their families to really thrive on.
Leap along on 29 February to St Thomas’s Church Hall opposite Waitrose to taste and buy delicious Fairtrade chocolate. Everyone is very welcome.
While at the hall, visitors can take in an exhibition of artwork on a fairtrade theme organised by the group and St James’s Primary, one of the borough’s fairtrade schools. People can also bring their artwork along on the day for inclusion. To take part, or for more information contact smason@st-james.dudley.sch.uk or sharonchalland@gmail.com
The group will also be putting up a display in Stourbridge Library for the duration of the fortnight.
There will be the chance to find out more about faitrade and the people at its heart as the group will be leaving Fairtrade Stories around the town to read.
Fairtrade Fortnight is the annual campaigning fortnight of the Fairtrade Foundation which this year runs from 29 February to 8 March.
Dudley Council is a Fairtrade Council and supports fairtrade within the authority and promotes events run by the borough’s two Fairtrade towns, Stourbridge and Sedgley during Fairtrade Fortnight. The council will be hosting a pop-up exhibition in the council house during the fortnight.
The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘She deserves a living income’ focusing on the need to provide a fair wage for farmers and producers in developing countries.
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By paying sustainable prices, producers receive a fair wage which allows them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
For more information on Fairtrade visit www.fairtrade.org.uk
To find out more about Fairtrade and the Stourbridge Fairtrade group visit
www.facebook.com/stourbridgefairtrade
