Summer closure and teachers' gifts

In the developing world, many people could not send their children to school if it were not for Fair Trade. 


Taking the Fair Trade model further is Fairtrade premium - a sum of money paid on top of the agreed Fairtrade price for investment in social, environmental or economic development projects, decided upon democratically by producers within the farmers’ organisation or by workers on a plantation.

The premium fund is typically invested in education and has funded such schemes as:

• Provision of school desks
• Construction of classroom blocks
• Adult education classes
• Provision of bursaries for the children of workers'

It should come as no surprise then, that teachers love fair trade!

Instead of a mass produced 'World's Best Teacher' mug - why not buy your teacher a handcrafted gift which will keep on giving?

Here in East Lothian, the local authority schools close on Friday 1st July.  If you are still looking for a present for your teacher, pop into to The Small World, 9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans where we have a variety of fairly traded gifts and cards.

We are open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10-12 and 2-4 and Saturday 10-12.  We close for the summer holidays on Saturday 2nd July at 12 p.m., re-opening again Tuesday 2nd August at 10 a.m.

Spring/Summer Update

	Spring/Summer News

The Small World, 9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans, EH32 9JJ
Tue, Thu, Fri 10-12 & 2-4.  Sat 10-12

Dates for your diary Sunday 29 May 12-6 Cuthill Park, Prestongrange Road, Prestonpans Whilst tucking into delicious fare, relax on the rolling green hills, enjoy the all day live music, wander through the array of arts and crafts stalls (say hello to us of course!) and browse the car bootie! There will also be something for the kids with bouncy castles, face painting and kiddies’ rides.  For more information visit www.facebook.com/coastalfoodfair Saturday 4 June 11-3 Cockenzie & Port Seton Royal British Legion We are pleased to be taking part in an extravaganza held to raise funds for Cockenzie & Port Seton RBL Pipes & Drums. It should be a great day and members of the band will be playing throughout. You will find us in the arts & crafts hall (although we may wander into the homebaking area....) Sunday 5 June 12-2 The Big Lunch, Cuthill Park Now in its third year, the Big Lunch is an Eden Project initiative designed to bring communities together over food and a chat at street parties up and down the UK. This year, why not make Fairtrade part of your Big Lunch?  Pass on your Fairtrade favourites to friends and neighbours with recipe and activity ideas and let your street know how our tea, coffee and cotton choices help communities in developing countries build a better future. We are again taking part in the Three Harbours Arts Festival and will be exhibiting our own beautiful handcrafted Fairtrade items on Saturday 28 May + Saturday 4 June 10.00 – 12.00 and Tuesday 31 May, Thursday 2 June and Friday 3 June 10.00 – 12.00 / 14.00 – 16.00 in the shop (Venue 11).  Copies of the programme are available in the shop. Support for Fairtrade Our hardworking East Lothian MP, Fiona  O'Donnell, joined the volunteers in the Small World Shop to raise awareness of Fairtrade issues and Prestonpan’s bid to become a Fairtrade town.  Fiona said: “The Small World Shop is doing a fantastic job of boosting awareness and understanding of trade issues locally. “I was delighted to help out at the shop and learn more about how Fairtrade is making a difference to the lives of farmers and workers in the developing world.  I also saw all the improvements that the team have made to the shop and the way in which they are constantly looking for opportunities to introduce new systems and find new customers. “Local schools and churches are playing a vital role in the future of the shop. I appeal to local businesses to think about using the Small World shop as a supplier. “I am hugely supportive of Prestonpan’s bid to become a Fairtrade Town.  “It would be a fantastic achievement for both the shop and the local community.” We should hear whether our application to become a Fairtrade Town has been successful by the end of June.  There has been a bit of a delay in processing our application as The Fairtrade Foundation is currently extremely busy with the Guinness World Record Attempt for bunting! Prestonpans is not the only town to be working towards Fairtrade status - Sustaining Dunbar is holding a public launch event in Dunbar on 18th May in order to work towards Fairtrade Town status for Dunbar and District. Read more at www.ourlocality.org/dunbarfairtrade . If the village/town/zone you live in is working towards Fairtrade status then perhaps we can help supply you with items on a sale-or-return basis for a risk-free trial of which items will sell in your community. We were very grateful to Fiona for lending a hand, especially as we are desperately short of volunteers. Our youngest volunteer Laura, is currently on exam leave so we are even more stretched than usual. She has been selected as one of the finalists in East Lothian Council's Young Volunteer of the Year category of the Inspiring Volunteering Awards and will be attending the awards ceremony on 9 June.  Good luck for on both fronts Laura! If you can spare some time, please pop in and have a chat with us or call us on 01875 813992.

Prestonpans Fairtrade Town Steering Group

It might just have seemed like a few people having a chat over a cup of coffee but today's meeting was actually quite momentous.

Representatives of the Small World, East Lothian Council, local faith groups & schools, and the Community Council convened the inaugural meeting of the Prestonpans Fairtrade Town Group.  What made the meeting - and the subsequent agreeing of the group's constitution -  so important, was that it enabled us to meet one of five Fair Trade Town 'goals'.  

Briefly, the five targets required to be met in order to secure Fairtrade Town status are:

1. The Council must pass as resolution to support Fairtrade ☑
2. Fairtrade products must be readily available in both shops and cafes ☑
3. Local workplaces and community groups must support Fairtrade ☑
4. the use of local media and events to promote Fairtrade ☑ ...and...
5. A local Fairtrade Steering Group must be convened....TICK!

Thank you to everyone who came along to the meeting.  There will be lots of opportunities to be involved in the project and membership is open to anyone who has expressed a commitment to promoting the objectives of the Prestonpans Fairtrade Town Group.

Our application to have Prestonpans be made a Fairtrade Town has been submitted to the Fairtrade Foundation....watch this space!

Spring into the Small World

The daffodils are blooming and the weather has been so glorious, we have even taken our stock outside!

Easter opening

Mmm....chocolate.  If there's one thing we know about in the Small World, it's chocolate.  We have Belgian chocolates, family-sized bags of chocolate, individual chocolate bars in coffee, orange and vanilla flavours, to name but a few.

If you are looking for a non-chocolate Easter gift then we have little chick purses containing jelly sweets, chick tape measures and of course our beautiful handcrafted cards.

Please bear in mind that we will be closed on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd April, re-opening for business as usual at 10.00 a.m. on Tuesday 26th April.

Prestonpans Fairtrade Town

We will be having our first Fairtrade Town steering group meeting on Tuesday, 19 April at 12pm in the Small World Shop, 9A Orchard Crescent, Prestonpans, EH32 9JJ.

This meeting is open to anyone who is interested in Fair Trade, and would like to work with others to enable Prestonpans to become a Fair Trade Town.

Drivers needed!

We need drivers to transport volunteers and a couple of boxes of stock to craft and summer fairs in Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton areas.  The fairs usually take place on weekends.  Are you able to help?

Of course, if you would like to run a stall for us, or work in the shop, or behind the scenes in any capacity we would love to hear from you.

Why the climate revolution must be a fair revolution

Climate change isn’t fair. The people at the heart of the Fairtrade movement; poor farmers and workers in developing countries – those who have done the least to cause the mess – are at the very frontline of the emerging crisis. The increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and extremes are already damaging their livelihoods and wellbeing.
Willington Wamayeye, Managing Director of Gumutindo Coffee Co-operative, and a supplier to Cafédirect says ‘Rains now fall heavily for a short period and our dry season is much longer. The coffee plants are badly affected – flowering is stopping. Last year alone we lost about 40% of our production.’

Small scale farmers are at a disadvantage when it comes to adapting to a changing climate because without the resources to support a switch, it is too risky to change to growing other more resilient crops. Rural areas rarely have the insurance and credit services small farmers need to support them adapt. Florence Madamu from Bulihere in Uganda explains: ‘We used to plant in March and that would be it. Now we plant and plant again. We waste a lot of seeds… Then we have to plan to acquire other seeds and the seeds here are very costly. Sometimes you feel like crying.’

Fairtrade is one way we can support disadvantaged producers as the climate begins to change. The minimum price and Fairtrade premium allows farmers to invest in trying different crops and strengthening their businesses. Some producer groups have used the premium to set up micro finance schemes and found ways to reduce their carbon emissions.

But there are other ways the Fairtrade system itself can develop to help farmers adapt. Some ideas already in discussion include:

• developing new credit schemes and ways of financing producers, 
• building on schemes in place already such as the Technical Assistance Fund for African producers; 
• creating partnerships like Cafédirect’s innovative AdapCC programme, (www.adapcc.org) to help channel funds directly to vulnerable communities, and
• putting Fairtrade, and more broadly, equity and fairness, at the heart of what it means to be sustainable. 

We want to encourage shoppers to increase their social footprint – buy less, but buy better.

Read a full discussion paper at www.fairtrade.org.uk/climatereport and email us your suggestions for how Fairtrade as a whole can respond to climate change climatechange@fairtrade.org.uk

Springtime in the Small World

We've had a lovely Fairtrade Fortnight!  

 

The first ever World Book Night was lots of fun - hopefully it will be an annual event.  

We were delighted to meet Ken Mkangala from Malawi on his Producer Tour of Scotland.

Our Open Day on Saturday 12th gave us a chance to talk to Fiona O'Donnell MP about Fairtrade and we look forward to welcoming her back to she shop soon.

Of course, we met lots of customers, old and new, gave out information, free samples, supplied coffee mornings, tuck shops and fayres, and our volunteers gave talks at schools throughout the county.

In the gardens of Orchard Crescent, the crocuses and daffodils are appearing.

The shop itself has had a bit of a spring makeover with a new kitchen for those all important cups of Fairtrade tea and coffee that keep the volunteers happy while pricing stock.

There has been a lot of new stock arriving from India recently. Our gift range is proving very popular so if something takes your fancy, don't leave it too long before you pop in - these papier mache cat boxes are going fast!

Nuts about Fairtrade

Volunteers joined members of the public in Prestonpans library today to hear a talk by Ken Mkangala, the Manager of the Ntchisi Macadamia Co-operative Union office in Malawi.

The Ntchisi Co-operative has been working with Edinburgh-based Equal Exchange, assisted by a Scottish Government grant, using the Fair Trade model as a way to enable farmers in Malawi to better understand markets and to empower smallholders to become more than just producers of a commodity. You can see the film here:


We will shortly be stocking Macadamia nuts in the Small World.

World Book Night

On Saturday, 5 March 2011, two days after World Book Day, the Small World shop was proud to take part in the first ever World Book Night when one million books were given away by an army of passionate readers to members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

 

The book give-away will comprise 40,000 copies of each of the 25 carefully selected titles, were given away by 20,000 ‘givers’, who each distributed 48 copies of their chosen title on World Book Night. The remaining books were distributed by World Book Night itself in places that might otherwise be difficult to reach, such as prisons and hospitals.

At our base in 9A Orchard Crescent, we gave away copies of David Mitchell's masterpiece "Cloud Atlas", had a glass or two of Fairtrade wine and listened to author Annemarie Allan read from her latest work in progress.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on World Book Night!

Meet the Producer Tour - Prestonpans Library

Ken Mkangala, the Manager of the Ntchisi Macadamia Co-operative Union office in Malawi, will be talking about using the Fair Trade model:

What: Producer Talk & Launch of Honesty Box Scheme
Where: Prestonpans Library, Ayres Wynd, Prestonpans
When: 4p.m. Tuesday 8th March 2011

The Ntchisi Co-operative has been working with Edinburgh-based Equal Exchange, assisted by a Scottish Government grant, using the Fair Trade model as a way to enable farmers in Malawi to better understand markets and to empower smallholders to become more than just producers of a commodity. 


Macadamias grow at altitude (500m – 1500m) and assist soil and water conservation. They require only low inputs, just a top dressing of organic matter is sufficient to support the trees. With the changing patterns of rainfall that Malawi is experiencing, macadamias drought resistance makes it an ideal crop for farmers who wish to diversify.

20% off day

Remember, this Saturday, 26th February we are having a one day only sale when  there will be a whopping 20% of all crafts.  

We will be open from 10-1 that day.

Pop along to 9A Orchard Crescent and pick up an ethical bargain or two!

Lots of news!

It's all happening in the Small World!

Following a meeting early in the new year with staff from North Berwick based Earth Matters, we now showcase each other's stock.  This means that visitors to Orchard Crescent can peruse a wonderful range of children's clothing including Little Green Radicals t-shirts with their funky slogans "I Recycle My Tantrums" and "I only eat organic chips".

Another reason to pop into the shop is to see Douglas Findlay's watercolours.  Douglas, a regular customer and member of Musselburgh Art Club, kindly donated five paintings to the Small World and prices are in the region of £10-£20.

Earlier this week, we were delighted to learn that we had been successful in receiving a grant of £150 from Fairtrade East Lothian.  We will be using this award to trial a new honesty box scheme (more about which later) and to cover the cost of attending events, hold sampling days and other outreach throughout the county.

It's a busy time in the shop with many of our regular customers starting to hold church fairs again after the winter break.  Happily, we are receiving lots of enquiries from new customers planning events for Fairtrade Fortnight.  We are also preparing for the new Spring/Summer season and on Saturday 26th February are having a one day only sale when  there will be a whopping 20% of all crafts.  We will be open from 10-1 that day.

During Fairtrade Fortnight we will be hosting several events. 

We are very excited to be part of the first ever  World Book Night on Saturday 5th March when one million books are being distributed free in the world's largest ever book giveaway.  We will be giving away 48 copies of David Mitchell's 'Cloud Atlas'.  Come and join us from 7p.m. for a glass of wine.

On Tuesday 8th March, Ken Mkangala, a macadamia nut producer from Malawi, is going to launch our new service - the Fairtrade Honesty Box Scheme - in Prestonpans Library.  

Honesty Boxes have been popular in large workplaces for a long time.  Mostly they consist of rather unhealthy snacks and decidedly non-fairly traded chocolate.  We know that loads of people love our Fairtrade stock but can't always get to the shop in our opening hours.   We have decided to trial a Fairtrade honesty box scheme in Prestonpans.  The boxes with contain approximately £25-worth of stock and customers can leave money for their purchases in the box. The host organisation (usually within a public building) can choose from "Best Sellers", "Sweet Treats" or "Gift" ranges.

Our final FTF event is our Open Day on Saturday 12th March from 10-1.  There will be a chance to sample some free Fairtrade food and take a look at crafts from the new range.

Finally, would you like to see "Welcome to Prestonpans - Fairtrade Town" signs? It really could happen!  Please get in touch if you would like to join a steering group aimed at securing Fairtrade Town status for Prestonpans.

Fairtrade Events throughout East Lothian

26 Feb

10-1 - 20% off all craft, Small World Shop

Sat 5 Mar

7 p.m.-World Book Night event, Small World Shop

Tue 8 Mar

time to be confirmed- Launch of honesty box scheme, Prestonpans Library.

Wed 9 Mar

Fair Trade Conference, QMU. To register a free place please contact Nicola at the Scottish Fairtrade Forum (nicola.jamieson@sftf.org.uk)

Fri 11 Mar

10-12 Fairtrade Coffee Morning, ReMade, 147 North High Street Musselburgh in collaboration with the Green Gift Company

Sat 12 Mar

10-1 Open Day, Small World Shop, Prestonpans; 

10-5 Supplier Day, Earth Matters, North Berwick

Unilever response on Sourcing of Cocoa from Cote D'Ivoire

(I guess that means we won't be stocking Magnums until 2020 at the earliest.....)

Hello from Unilever,

Thank you for contacting us to request that Unilever cease purchasing cocoa from the Ivory Coast.

While we fully understand your concern the situation is a complicated one. Taking this kind of action is not as straightforward as it may seem and may have a number of unintended consequences.

Unilever does not source cocoa beans directly from Ivory Coast. Indeed, we buy less than 1% of the global production of cocoa beans and are therefore a relatively small player in purchasing terms.

We do, however, buy some cocoa-based ingredients (e.g. cocoa powder, chocolate, etc) from large, third-party suppliers and it is impossible today to determine the origin of all the beans used in the ingredients we buy. This is because our suppliers source from many different countries and supply us based on how we want the ingredients to taste rather than where the beans come from.

In addition, a boycott of cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire would potentially have serious ramifications for large numbers of smallholder farmers who are dependent on it for their primary income for themselves and their families.

Cocoa production involves around 4 million small farmers globally, with a further 45 million people dependent on cocoa for their livelihoods. It is these farmers whom we are intent on helping. Under our Sustainable Living Plan (which we launched in November 2010), we are committed to sourcing 100% certified sustainable cocoa by 2020 to ensure that in the future our supply chains will be fully traceable.

This means we will be working with our suppliers and other partners to identify ways of engaging with smallholders to make sure that they can increase their output in an economic, socially and environmentally sustainable way.

Finally it is worth emphasising that Unilever does not support or endorse individual political parties. Our mission is to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere with products that address their needs for basic hygiene and good nutrition.

Yours sincerely,

External Affairs Department

Unilever PLC
Registered in London number 41424
www.unilever.com

Remember folks, the only way to be sure no-one has been exploited is to buy products with the Fairtrade logo. 

Could you use £150 to promote fairtrade?

Would your school, club or congregation like to hold a Fairtrade activity or event?  

Would you like some money to help you?  

If the answer is 'yes' then please think about East Lothian Council's new small grant scheme which can provide grants of up to £150 to help raise awareness of Fairtrade within the local community.

Remember that the Small World, Prestonpans, can supply groceries, craft and homewares on a sale or return basis.

Schools - we can supply cartons of juice, flapjacks and dried fruit snack packs for your healthy tuck shop.

We also have a wealth of educational material we can give you for your Fairtrade display.


Funding is limited so don't delay!

Shake Up Your Wake Up!

Farmhouse Breakfast Week (23 to 29 January 2011) aims to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast and demonstrate the variety on offer.

With one in four people regularly skipping breakfast, it is time many of us re-evaluated our morning routine.

Why eat breakfast…

• Breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers.
• Eating breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance at work and at school.
• It provides you with the nutrients and energy needed for an active lifestyle.
• Research shows that breakfast eaters are less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.

If you want to Shake Up Your Wake Up, remember The Small World stocks a range of Eswatini Jam (Guava, Peach & Ginger, Mango, Marula, Melon & Ginger, Pineapple).

We also stock Traidcraft GeoMuesli in Exotic Fruit, Mixed Berries and Fruit and Nut varieties.

Four great reasons to buy GeoMuesli:

It tastes great! Traidcraft have partnered with Alara who are the UK's leading organic and fair trade muesli suppliers and their recipes have been refined and tested by a panel of muesli enthusiasts!

Eco-friendly packaging. The new packaging is made up of a recyclable carton (from sustainable wood sources) and a new Super-ECO inner film which is fully biodegradable.

Juicy fruits. Traidcraft have sourced some exciting new ingredients especially for this muesli, including the world's first Fairtrade Chilean flame and ruby raisins. These are plump, juicy and sweet and are perfect for muesli. We know that in the past some of the dried fruit has been a bit on the chewy side so we've made sure all the new fruits are suitably juicy and delicious!

It's a healthy way of starting the day. Made from high quality whole food ingredients these are highly nutritious cereals. Even better, by eating them you're helping improve the lives of producers across the globe.

If you are looking for breakfast ideas, take a look at Shake Up Your Wake Up - and remember to visit the Small World.  During Farmhouse Breakfast Week, Small World customers can pick up a free recipe booklet (limited stock).

World Hunger Day: 9 January 2011

World Hunger Day is about raising awareness of chronic  persistent hunger . It is also about celebrating the achievements of millions of people who are already ending their own hunger and meeting their basic needs.

World Hunger Day seeks to inspire people in both the developed and developing worlds to show their solidarity and support to enable many more to end their own hunger and poverty and make the journey to self-reliance.

The theme for 2011 is "Empowering People. Ending Hunger".

Empowerment requires many things: illiteracy reduction, microcredit, cooperative management, improved farming, microfinance, and of course fair trade.

Fairtrade works to empower the most marginalised in the global trade system – small-scale farmers and workers. For certain products, Fairtrade only certifies small farmer organisations. Examples include coffee, cocoa, cotton and rice. By favouring democratic organisations of small farmers, Fairtrade gives the stability rural families need to plan for the future. The alternative for many is to move to already overcrowded urban centres.

Plantations and companies using hired labour can sell certain products through Fairtrade if workers are organised and benefit from Fairtrade. The Fairtrade standards protect workers basic rights according to the International Labour Organisation conventions. This means health and safety standards, freedom of association, collective bargaining , no discrimination and no bonded or illegal child labour. The Joint Body, which includes a majority of worker representatives, decides how to invest the Fairtrade premium, works to create good working relationships between management and workers, and helps workers gain skills in leadership, communication and project management.




The Fairtrade premium is a sum of money paid on top of the agreed Fairtrade price for investment in social, environmental or economic development projects, decided upon democratically by producers within the farmers’ organisation or by workers on a plantation.The premium is fixed by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation Standards Unit in the same way as the minimum price and remains the same, even if the producer is paid more than the minimum price for the product. The premium fund is typically invested in education and healthcare, farm improvements to increase yield and quality, or processing facilities to increase income.

In the UK, the Hunger Project will be running many events to mark the day - read about them here.

New Year Resolutions? Let the Small World help!

According to uber-cool social networking site 43 Things, the top New Year's Resolutions for 2011 are:


1.  Lose weight  
How about replacing your favourite choccie bars for some yoghurt coated raisins or some of our dried fruit snack packs?
2.  Eat, drink, learn, or try something new
We continue to expand our range and are stocking items from more producers than ever before.  Why not try our Swazi Lime Pickles or swap your usual brand of coffee for some Machu Piccu

3.  Set an attainable athletic goal, like running a 5 or 10k  

The Edinburgh Marathon runs past our door on Sunday 22nd May - why not run on our behalf - we'll cheer you on!

4.  Save money  

Our Ecover refill service can save you a packet!  A 1.5l refill of laundry liquid is only £5 compared with buying a new bottle at £6.60! 

5.  Be happy

Every time you buy a fairly traded item, you can be happy knowing your purchase has made the difference to the producer.  Spread the happiness!

6.  Take a photo every day for a year

If you decide to do this, why not exhibit your work in the shop?  We are going to be a venue for the 2011 Three Harbours Arts Festival! 

7.  Fall in love
...erm.  Not sure how we can help with this one but, if you Love Food but Hate Waste, then pick up a free Canny Bin kit to help reduce food waste.

8.  Get a job

We always need volunteers in the Small World.  Both behind the scenes and in the shop (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10-12 and 2-4 and Saturdays 10-12).   It's fun, fulfilling and fattens up your CV!
 
9.  Read more

Not only we do have a collection of fair trade recipe books for loan, we also have a free bookcrossing shelf in our entrance hall.  Just help yourself!

10.  Keep a notepad of awesome moments  

Awesome moments require awesome notepads and our Goonj (it means 'echo') range of recycled pads are perfect.


May we suggest another couple of resolutions?

Buy Fair Trade!

Continue to buy Fair Trade!

Tell others about Fair Trade!

Visit the Small World and say hello!