Fair Trade brings joy and security

Fair Trade brings joy and security
Anneluise Kämmerer,
March 2016

Recently I had the opportunity to accompany the organic technicians and trainers of the PREDA Fair
Trade Team, (known as Profairtrade), during their visits to the Mango farmers who are members of the Preda Farmers Association here on Luzon and on the island of Mindanao.

The AETA are indigenous people based here in Luzon. They are members of the Preda mango farmers Association and are regularly trained by the PREDA technicians in organic cultivation and fruit management.

Besides trained community leaders are also trained organic inspectors to watch over the whole area to see that the organic standards are maintained they look after the mango area and they relieve and assist the technicians owing to the fact that the trees are often very far apart and are difficult to reach.

For the supplied mangoes the farmers get a far higher price than on the open market, which is one of the most important concerns of Fair Trade.

Last year our Mango Farmers recorded a great success of which they can be really proud of: They obtained the EU organic certificate for their mangoes, which are processed into mango puree. This was a long process because lots of restrictions and requirements had to be fulfilled.

We visited a new farmer’s group on Luzon. Sir Donard explained to them the connection with the World Shops and the mango producers through Fair Trade, for instance showing them a chocolate filled with mango puree.

Of course it had to be tasted. It was nice to have the many smiling and happy people around me.

It is very important for their personal motivation to know to which products the fruits are processed and to whom they are sold. And above all to know that with a good biological quality they can remain members of the PREDA organic mango project at Profairtrade in the future.

Every year I am looking forward to my journey to Mindanao. I visited my farmer friends now for the fourth time to give them the Fair Trade premium.

Besides the fair price, which is far above the conventional price, the farmers receive a premium or bonus for the delivered mangoes. It enables them to eventually create a second source of income, to make them mobile and also to compensate for future poor harvests. This relieves them of course of a lot of worries about the future. In the fair trade it is very important to us that our producers feel good, happy and are justly rewarded good because only then they can work effectively.

When we finally hand them over the premium checks the excitement and joy is great. There is applause, congratulations and photos are taken. For all of them it is an incentive to be involved also next time.

Traceability is also an indispensable value in fair trade. We in the stores need to be sure that we effectively sell goods, which comply with the principles of fair trade.

I could easily verify and convince myself of that again when visiting Profood in Cebu. There the PREDA mangoes are processed before they make the long journey to our World Shops. Although I have had a number of guided tours there I always learn something new, because the different visitors have a wide variety of questions.

These visits to the mango farmers always confirm me in my strong belief in the importance of fair trade. Every individual can contribute a small part to helping our neighbors in the south by buying products in the World Shops.

Anneluise Kämmerer