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).