In mid-July this year (16th – 30th), we will be visiting Swaziland, a small landlocked country in Southern Africa. Our main purpose for going there is to visit  Swazi Indigenous Products (SIP), our marula oil producer partners. SIP, which began as a project to help rural Swazi women generate income from local plant materials, is now a full member of WFTO, the World Fair Trade Organisation and a member of the Union of Ethical Biotrade.

The project is 100% owned by its raw material suppliers – the marula oil harvesters. About 2,600 rural Swazi women harvest marula kernels for SIP, which has a factory in Mpaka in the heart of the Swazi lowveld. With its own brand name – Swazi Secrets – the project produces a unique range of natural skin care products using the marula oil and other indigenous plant materials. (more…)

A special mention goes to Dunblane Museum, which is now stocking a selection of our Fair Trade products. The museum, which has recently been refurbished, houses a fascinating collection of historical artefacts, along with paintings, prints and photographs of Dunblane Cathedral and Dunblane.

We’re proud to be supplying the museum’s gift shop with Fair Trade bookmarks, musical instruments and pencils.

Staffed and run entirely by volunteers, the museum is open from May to mid-October with free entry. Well worth a visit!

For more information about the museum, go to: http://www.dunblanemuseum.org.uk/

8 May 2010, A Big Day for the Planet

World Fair Trade Day is a worldwide celebration of Fair Trade, initiative of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO).

Fair Trade is a tangible and efficient response to poverty, economic and global food crises and climate change. The economic crisis confirms the need for trade to deliver sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities to small producers in the poorest countries of the world. This is evidenced by the fact that a third of the world population survives on less than US$2 per day.
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