From now until March 10,
Fairtrade Fortnight will be promoted at events in Sheringham town centre to
raise money for the campaign.
The first event was a
coffee morning held at the Little Theatre on 25th of February. A total of £28 was made.
There will be a Fairtrade
food stall at St. Joseph's Church Hall on Tuesday, March 4.
The committee will be
doing a presentation on Fairtrade at Sheringham Primary School and plan to
promote the campaign at Sheringham Carnival, August 3.
The committee are
currently filling an application to give to The Fairtrade Foundation, London,
who decides whether the campaign is successful. They need evidence of the
functions happenings and need to know the majority of Sheringham are supporting
the campaign.
The Mayor of Sheringham
Doug Smith and committee members Tricia Brooks and Brenda Smith are in charge
of Fairtrade Fortnight.
Brenda Smith, 76, works
voluntarily for Fairtrade, and believes if the campaign is successful, it will
be very beneficial.
“It will mean shops that
have Fairtrade goods can put up a sign and it can also be shown on the sign for
Sheringham”, she said.
“It will be good for our
tourist industry and good for the third world,
where workers such as farmers are being exploited.
“Small farms need a fair
wage and Fairtrade will pay them a fair wage for their goods.
“The communities in the 3rd world get paid a yearly premium by
Fairtrade which they can spend on wells for water or facilities for hospitals
or schools to just name a few.”
The Sheringham committee
plan to send their application for the campaign at the end of May.
Brenda added “The application
is a lengthy process. There are seven volunteers on the committee which isn't
enough. At least 4 shops in Sheringham need to be selling Fairtrade products
and The Fairtrade Foundation needs all the details of the businesses.”
But Mark Burghall, a local
fisherman and business owner, explains why he thinks many towns are not yet a
Fairtrade town.
“Fairtrade products are
more expensive so some people can't afford them. I could get a bag of bananas
for £1 but Fairtrade ones would be £1.50.
“We need to support our
own farmers. If we keep importing from other countries they'll go out of
business.”
There are currently only 3
Fairtrade Towns in Norfolk- Norwich, Wells-next-the-Sea and Wymondham.
Marie Frazer, Member and
Community Services for the East of England Co-op, said “the East of England
Co-op has been a supporter of Fairtrade since it launched 20 years ago. This
week it has been great to meet so many of our customers who have supported
Fairtrade over the years.”
The Co-op mark their own
hot drinks with the Fairtrade emblem. This Sourced Locally initiative seeks to
guarantee suppliers a fairer price for their produce and to invest for their
future.
The Fairtrade campaign has
grown to trade 4,500 Fairtrade products in the UK ranging from tea and coffee,
to cotton, spices, cut flowers and cakes.
The idea for the campaign
was launched in May 2013.
