10 Small World Shopping Hours left!

At 4p.m. on Thursday 23 December the Small World volunteers  shut up shop for the festive break.

This means, you only have a short space of time to buy any last minute gifts, groceries or wrapping paper.

If you are looking for alternatives to traditional gift wrap, we have gorgeous recycled wrapping paper and Indian newspaper bags.

We are open:
Saturday 18th 10-12
Tuesday 21st 10 - 12 & 2-4
Thursday 23rd 10-12 & 2-4

Thank you for your continued support and customer during 2010.  It really is very much appreciated by all the volunteers, and makes such a difference to the fair trade producers in the developing world.

Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 

We re-open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday 11th January.

Gift ideas that won't break the bank

Christmas is only three weeks away -have you started your shopping yet?  No matter now organised you are, it is always wise to keep a few handy presents in reserve. 


Do you need small items for your children's classmates?  We have beautiful handcrafted friendship bracelets for just 40p.

Are you looking for a present for the teacher?  How about a twist on the "apple for the teacher" idea - a beautiful apple-shaped acacia wood bowl  - only £4!

Men are notoriously tricky to buy for but we have some seriously cool gifts including wallets made from recycled tyres, handcrafted journals and a range of hot and spicy sauces.
 

Is your workplace doing a 'Secret Santa'?  It's not easy to buy something for someone you don't know terribly well.  Why not opt for a practical item?  We have some tried and tested gifts such as kitchen utensils or glassware?

One of the nicest parts of the festive season is visting friends and family.  Sometimes invitations come out of the blue - that's when you need our Belgian chocolates - the perfect hostess gift.

The Small World has lots of small price tag items, most under £10.  There are far too many to show here so do pop in and have a look for yourself.

If you are stumped for ideas, we also sell gift vouchers!

We are still open!

Despite the snow, most of our volunteers are managing to get to the shop. 

If the sign is ON, we are IN - pop in and stock up on fair trade groceries, homewares, gifts and goodies.  You might want to phone first - 01875 813992.

CANCELLED: Mulled Wine + Mince Pies

Sorry folks, but owing to the adverse weather, we have decided to cancel the Christmas event planned for Friday 3rd December.

Dependent of volunteer availability we aim to be open as usual Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10-12 and 2-4 and Saturday 10-12. 
 
If you need to check our opening hours, please call 01875 813992.

Stay warm (we can recommend Traidcraft's Hot Chocolate!), stay safe!

Can East Lothian become a Fair Trade County?

We certainly hope so!

Jacqui Leslie from the Economic Development Division of East Lothian Council is busy using social networking as a way of introducing fair trade to the folk of East Lothian.  With Longniddry leading the way as a Fair Trade Village and North Berwick having an active Fair Trade community, we are confident that other towns will follow.

 If you are an avid Facebooker, why not check out Fair Trade East Lothian.

The Small World uses Twitter (@sw9a) and you can add us as a friend on East Lothian Buzz.  Don't forget to sign up for newsletters (you can do this at the top of this blog).

2 hours to spare?

We currently have an urgent need for volunteers for the following shifts:

Tuesday 2-4

Friday 10-12

and Saturday 10-12

Pop into the shop and have a chat if you think you can help.

Remember we always need volunteers to help run the Small World, both in the shop and behind the scenes.  So, whether your area of interest is making up orders, displaying the stock attractively, or developing the business, your assistance will be greatly appreciated!

Christmas Evening

We’re Having a Christmas Open Evening!

Join us for mulled wine and mince pies and perhaps do a little Christmas shopping...

6 - 8.30 p.m. Friday, December 3rd 2010

9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans, EH32 9JJ
 

Malawi

A few of the volunteers from The Small World went to Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh for a Malawi trade event.

We arrived in time to hear former Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell launch the event (which marks the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Co-operation Agreement between Scotland and Malawi - you can sign the pledge to support the friendship between our two countries here).

Catherine, Christopher, Gail, Jan Rosemary and Sandra had a look around the marketplace with a view to sourcing new products for the shop.  

We are constantly looking to extend our range of fair trade crafts and are always happy when we find something unusual.

We especially liked the Dedza range of pottery and the intricate woodcarvings from the Mua Mission Cooperative (available from Just Trading Scotland from whom we buy our chutney, sauces and pickles).

Fellow fair traders Richard and Barbara from Earth Matters in North Berwick were there too.  Over a cuppa we had a chat about the trials and tribulations of independent retailers and "The East Lothian Question" (i.e. When will we become a fair trade county?).


It was a pleasant diversion and we will of course let you know as soon as we take delivery of new stock.

Make A Difference Day: 30th October 2010

Time flies by in the Small World.  Volunteers enjoy a blether while they make up orders and fill shelves.  It's easy to forget that we this thing we call voluntary 'work' does make a difference.

Each beautiful handcrafted item we sell has a story and makes a difference to someone:

Every Batsiranai doll sold from our wee shop in Prestonpans, has a twin in Zimbabwe, where it was made.  When you buy one of these handmade dolls, you keep one and its twin is given to a needy child from a family affected by HIV/AIDS. The dolls are made by the Batsiranai Mothers Group whose own children have special needs and are often shunned by Zimbabwean society.

The Goonj notepads are made from office waste paper (i.e. documents which have been printed on one side and plain on the other).  It is great gift for a Nosey Parker as you never know what you will find on the reverse!

By purchasing one of our carved wooden birds, you can Make a Difference to the Wichi Indians whose way of life is threatened by the relentless advance of 'civilisation'.

Volunteers are always needed in the Prestonpans shop.  If you would like to join our happy band of men and women, please call into the shop.

And if volunteering doesn't suit, please remember that 
hoosing Fair Trade really, really does Make a Difference.

Global Handwashing Day

15 October is Global Handwashing Day 2010  - the centrepiece of a week of activities that will mobilize millions of people in more than 80 countries across all five continents to wash their hands with soap.

More handwashing with soap means lower rates of infectious disease: Clean Hands Save Lives! 
 
This year's event revolves and today, playgrounds, classrooms, community centres, and the public spaces of towns and cities will be awash with activity to drive handwashing behaviour change on a scale never seen before, bringing the critical issue to center stage.

Why Focus on Children?

Of the approximately 120 million children born in the developing world each year, half will live in households without access to improved sanitation, at grave risk to their survival and development. Poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases, accounting for 1.5 million diarrhea-related under-five deaths each year. Children suffer disproportionately from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths. But research shows that children – the segment of society so often the most energetic, enthusiastic, and open to new ideas – can also be powerful agents of behavioral change.

It's also an opportunity to tell you about our fairly-traded range of soap.


We have 'Clean' from Tropical Wholefoods - a fragrance free soap, good for those with sensitive noses.   Made with Aloe Vera, Coconut and Baobab Oils. Each soap blends pure vegetable oils with natural plant extracts. Made in Tanzania.  


We also stock a limited range of Caurnie Soap the original 'wholesoap' from a Scottish organic herb garden in cucumber and lavender varieties.


For a gift, how about Traidcraft's gorgeous raffia-tied packs made from fair trade olive oil and shea butter and scented with essential oils (lavender/lemongrass and rose geranium/spicy orange cinnamon).  They are made in South Africa by Township Trades, a social enterprise addressing the needs of young adults who have lost their parents to HIV.
 

Malawi Exhibition and Trade Event

Wednesday 3 November 2010
10.30 - 4.30
Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Admission free - Open to everyone

• members of the public, trade buyers, Fairtrade groups, etc
• join us for a day out to Malawi

Among the products on display will be Teas and Coffee, Rice and Lentils, Ground Nuts and Pulses, exquisite wood carvings, quality hand-crafted pottery and clothing. The event will also feature Malawi as a travel destination and artist David Kelly will be exhibiting his internationally acclaimed paintings.

Come and meet the producers from Malawi who have flown in especially for this event. Hear how their products are grown and manufactured and how trade between Scotland and Malawi is benefitting people, communities and business in both countries.

↓ Download your invite | View the poster →

For more details contact
Imani Development, Oban
01631 569990
email: imani@tradeconnections.org

Multicultural Day, Prestongrange Museum

On Sunday 10th October, two of our volunteers manned a stall at Prestongrange Museum's Multi-Cultural Day.

Our marquee neighbours were the Edinburgh Chinese Culture Association, and East Coast FM.  It was really nice to meet our fellow Fair-Traders from The Green Gift Company and the One World Shop. 


We would like to attend more of these type of events.  It's a learning curve and notes for next time include:

• A 'bag of tricks' including hooks, sellotape, scissors is very handy.
• Take a flask of Traidcraft hot chocolate and a geobar or two.
• Taking orders (on a pay on collection basis) for higher priced items worked well.
• We need to think of ways to utilise the space around us (i.e. not just the table)
• The things with very obvious price signage sold well - people don't like picking things up to see price.
• People are genuinely interested in the origin of craft items - it pays to know about your stock and have some producer info

The Multi-Cultural Day was very well organised and widely publicised thanks to the efforts of East Lothian Museums Service.  We met potential customers, networked and learned a few things.  We were so glad to have been part of it!

Questionnaire Feedback

Last month we asked you to complete a questionnaire in a bid to get to know you better.  Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Here are the results:

One fifth of respondents either hadn't visited the shop recently (or at all). Reasons for this included not knowing what type of products were sold in the shop and inconvenient opening times.

Food and drink accounted for the majority of purchases made, followed by gifts and jewellery.

Half of the respondents said they rarely bought toiletries or homewares (perhaps they didn't know about our fab refill service?).

80% of respondents said they would buy cruelty-free products and 60% expressed an interest in vegetarian or vegan food.

50% of respondents were interested in ordering by email.

40% were likely to use gift vouchers.

30% said they might use a gift wrapping service.

No-one expressed an interest in a discount scheme on large (non-food) orders (although a suggestion was made to introduce a 'loyalty' scheme).

There was no interest in a paid for delivery service

Ideally, customers would prefer to be able to shop Saturday afternoon or Sunday

Respondents like the idea of events in the shop (talks, tastings, exhibitions etc) with a Musical Evening and a  Family Day being the most popular (with 70% saying either 'yes' or 'maybe').

Suggestions included:

• serving tea and coffee in the shop,
• having themed (e.g. Indian) evenings
• more coffee mornings

One respondent kindly offered transport to/from the shop for social events.  This kind of help is always very much appreciated!

The winner of the prize draw , chosen by a random number generator, was Mrs Jane Hepburn.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the questionnaire. We are now reviewing the feedback and hope to be able to introduce some new products and services shortly.

Chocolate Week: 11-17 October - a recipe

Chocolate biscuit bars

With chocolate, brazil nuts and fruit, these bars are irresistible.

Ingredients

• 8oz/200g Traidcraft brazil nut cookies
• 4oz/100g margarine
• 4oz/100g Traidcraft raisins and sultanas
• 1oz/25g Traidcraft muscovado sugar
• 2oz/50g syrup
• 1oz/25g Traidcraft cocoa powder
• 4oz/100g Traidcraft chocolate for covering

Method

1. Crush the biscuits.
2. Melt the margarine in a pan, then mix in the syrup, sugar and cocoa powder.
3. Take the pan off the heat and add biscuits and dried fruit.
4. Press the mixture into an 8" (20cm) sandwich tin or baking tray.
5. Break the chocolate into a basin. Stand a small basin in a large one filled with some hot water to melt it.
6. Spread the chocolate over the biscuit mixture.
7. Put in fridge to cool.
8. Cut into slices.

(Recipe is one of several available at the Traidcraft website).

The Grand Re-Launch

In 1986, Carol Morton, wife of Colin Morton, the then minister of Prestongrange Parish Church, set up The Small World in a room in the former Council wages office in Prestonpans.

These days, Carol is kept busy at Palcrafts/Hadeel (an Edinburgh-based organisation selling crafts from community-based groups in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon).  We were delighted she was able to return to the shop yesterday to celebrate it's grand re-launch at a select gathering which included Iain Gray MSP, former volunteers and representatives of local organisations.  



The shop received its first makeover in over 20 years thanks to donations from Prestonpans Community Council, B&Q and an anonymous donor.   


Whether you are a regular customer, infrequent visitor or have never been before, we warmly welcome you to join us for some fair trade refreshments (and facepainting!) at our Open Day this Saturday, 11th September from 10 until 3.

Proud Distributors of the Kitchen Canny!

Canny [‘kani] adj 1 careful, prudent, astute la16-. 2 skilful, dextrous 19-. 3 frugal, sparing 19-: ‘be canny wi the butter’

Go to Ac

Kitchen Canny is a brand new Changeworks project that aims to help householders find practical ways to reduce their food waste.

Changeworks is working with four thousand people in communities across the Lothian and Borders area to find out what works when it comes to cutting down the amount of edible food we throw away.


Every kitchen is different.  They want to help you figure out what works best for you and the way you run your kitchen. You may already know a lot of the things you could be doing but may not have found the time to try them out.  The Kitchen Canny Householder Action Kit aims to encourage you to find the time and guide you through some ideas that might fit.

Here's why we think it's important:
It's better for your pocket
According to recent research, Scottish households wastw £1 billion of food each year  -that's £430 per household. The cost of collecting all that food waste is £85 million a year (The Food We Waste in Scotland, WRAP 2009
It's better for the environment
Producing, transporting and storing food uses huge amounts of energy, water and packaging. When you waste food, you waste all of these resources too
That's not all. The majority of food waste ends up in landfill sites where it decomposes and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas
It's better for people
1 billion people of going hungry according to the World Food Programme, with 1 in 5 not getting enough food to be healthy.

You can pick up your FREE Kitchen Canny Kit at The Small World Shop from Tuesday 7th September while stocks last.

We want to get to know you better!

We are really keen to have your views on the type of products you would like us to stock and whether we could be doing more to help you.

For example, would a delivery service be of interest to you?  Are our opening hours convenient for you?

Please let us know by completing our customer survey.

We know form-filling is no-one's favourite pastime so we have designed the questionnaire to be as painless as possible and, as an extra incentive, completed questionnaires will be added to a prize draw to win a £10 Small World gift voucher.

You can either pick up a questionnaire in the shop or download a pdf version here.  Entries can be handed in or posted to us (by 30th September please).

The Batsiranai Story

When is a doll more than a gift or plaything? When it’s from Batsiranai.

Each of the dolls sold by Traidcraft has a twin in Zimbabwe, where it was made. So when you buy one of these handmade dolls, you keep one and its twin is given to a needy child from a family affected by HIV/AIDS. For many of the children, this is their first doll.

The dolls, which will be arriving in the shop next week, are made by the Batsiranai Mothers Group, which provides work for around 100 women in poor townships surrounding Harare. The members are mothers of special needs children, who are often shunned in Zimbabwe, not just by society but by their extended families as well.

Batsiranai means working together in Shona, the local language, and by working in this way the women aim to create a secure future for the children. The group is self-managed by a committee of seven elected members, with the group making decisions as a team. They are proud of the level of co-operation between the members.

During the last five years, Batsiranai has expanded and bought two houses that are used for daycare, physical therapy, workrooms, an office, and housing for three families. The centre provides hot meals and a vegetable garden for the members and children working there.

Last Christmas they provided a special lunch and party for the 100 Batsiranai mothers and their families, as well as a Christmas food basket.

The women are determined to see the business grow, which is why orders are really important, to provide them with a market.

“The only wish I have now is for Batsiranai to grow bigger and become an even stronger business, so that we will be able to help others,” member Mai Chiedza said, “because there are many people out there, just like us, wishing.”

You can order your doll now (by phone or in person) and pay on collection (£16) from the Small World Shop.

Open Day!

The staff & volunteers of The Small World Aid & Development Fund

cordially invite you to an

OPEN HOUSE

 to celebrate the

 RE-LAUNCH of

THE SMALL WORLD SHOP

On Saturday, 11^th September, 2010, 

from 10:00 -15:00 at

9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans

The Big Fairtrade Lunch

The Small World may be closed for the summer break but on Sunday 18 July, our volunteers joined up with Prestonpans residents for the Big Fabulous (Fair Trade) Cuthill Lunch.

The Big Lunch is a bring-your-own, open-air party giving everyone a chance to get to know their neighbours, share food and have fun. Over a million people, in every kind of community, took part in over 8,000 Big Lunches across the UK.

As Britain celebrates its local communities, making Fairtrade part of the Big Lunch means we also celebrate communities across the world and empower farmers in developing countries to create their own brighter, more sustainable future through a better trade deal. The Big Lunch is also a wonderful opportunity to pass our Fairtrade habit on to friends and neighbours!

Edinburgh Marathon 2010 - a personal thanks

We've been asked to pass on this message to the people of Prestonpans - and we are happy to oblige!

To: panscom@prestonpans.com
Sent: Saturday, 29 May, 2010 9:52:20
Subject: Edinburgh Marathon 2010 - a personal thanks

Dear Prestonpans.com

I wanted to find some way to say thank you to the kind people of Prestonpans for their support on Sunday 23rd May.
You made the runners, including me, very welcome.

The cheers, hosepipes, water pistols, Haribos and jelly babies were a real boost in the hot conditions.
Great going out and a real boost for the final few miles.

I don't underestimate the disturbance, mess and traffic problems an event like the Marathon can bring.
However, your warmth and kindness to people raising millions for charity was a hugely uplifting highlight - Scotland at its best!

Thanks again

(and yes I finished!)


Niall Patterson
Edinburgh

We have a wide range of vegetarian groceries, herbs and spices!

Make Your Summer Fayre ...Fair!

Summer Fayre, Fete & Gala season is well underway with many schools, churches and local organisations holding their events over the next few weekends.  

Here a few ways the Small World can help

We can supply goods on a sale or return basis if you wish to have a fair trade presence at your event.  Given enough notice, and depending on volunteer availability, we may be able to staff the stall on your behalf. 

If you are one of the many parents who have received a plea for donation of homebaking from your child's school, why not use fair trade ingredients (and tell people you have done so).  In addition to stocking fair trade baking essentials, we also have a small range of recipe books for loan.


And of course, the simplest way of supporting fair trade is to serve our tea and coffee (we stock an extensive range of speciality refreshments and catering size teabags and coffee).

Celebrate Africa's Kitchen - an event for World Fair Trade Day 8 May 2010

• 
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Africa's Kitchen - thousands of people selling, cooking and eating fairly traded African food products, supporting fair trade producers and small holder farmers and helping to promote fair trade across the UK.

Please come to the Small World on Saturday 8th May 2010 where samples of chutneys, sauces, jams and marmalade from Malawi and Swaziland will be available 10-12.

Malawi Kitchen

For some years now, we have been importing fairly traded goods from Africa. Over the next two years Just Trading Scotland will be developing and importing a range of innovative, ethically sourced products from Malawi under our Malawi Kitchen brand for sale in the UK - rice, piri-piri sauces, dried fruit and vegetables, nuts and pulses as well as a range of craft products. Just Trading Scotland is very pleased to be working in partnership with Imani Development and the Scottish Government to develop new markets for Malawian producers.

Eswatini Swazi Kitchen 

The range of products from Malawi will be a valuable complement to the range of Eswatini Swazi Kitchen brand of sauces, jams, marmalades which we have been importing for some years. Demand for these very popular Fair Trade products from a COFTA-registered producer has grown remarkably and we have been priviledged to supply the retail operations of UK charities as well as Fair Traders all over the UK.

Sign o' the Times

We've just finished stocktaking - no mean feat and all the stock has now been returned to the shelves awaiting the shop re-opening following the Easter break.

One thing I came across during the big spring clean was this delightful pane of glass, a remnant from the building's previous use as a council office:

Once cleaned up, it will make a lovely display centrepiece.

What's the Buzz at the Small World?

 It may have been all quiet on the blog front, but it's been a busy few weeks in the Small World.

We have taken delivery of new stock including the new range of cruelty free/Vegan Society approved hand and body care products which includes a lovely lip balm trio (orange, grapefruit & mint). The new catalogue has some lovely quirky items like these children's cards which double as a mask!  At £5 for 6 they are fantastic value and, being blank inside, would make perfect party invitations.

The new Traidcraft catalogue arrived just in time for our spring Open Morning as part of The Big Brew.  It was exceptionally well attended and we delighted to see so many new faces.

We've had a bit of a revamp in the shop with shelving being arranged to maximise the floor space.  Dave and Christopher will shortly begin painting and have been measuring up in advance of getting new flooring.

And the good news continues, we have two new volunteers (more about them later) who joined our happy band earlier this month.

We are delighted to be the 'Business of the Month' on East Lothian Buzz, the county's social networking site and largest listings of events in the area.


We might have gone all upmarket what with our new shelves and Internet presence but we promise you we still have our old-fashioned customer service!

The Big Brew - Open Morning at the Small World, Prestonpans

As part of Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd February – 7th March), volunteers at The Small World, are inviting local people to join them for a Big Brew event to share a cup of Fairtrade tea or coffee on 27th February from 10 till 12, and help to raise awareness about Fairtrade.

The Big Brew is part of a national initiative by Traidcraft, which encourages schools, churches, workplaces and any other organisation, to host a Fairtrade tea party event anytime during Fairtrade Fortnight 2010.

This event is a great opportunity to increase awareness of Fairtrade and of the issues faced by tea producers in the developing world.

By serving Fairtrade tea and coffee, raising funds for Traidcraft and campaigning to make more tea Fairtrade, we are helping to make a difference to the lives of tea producers.