Fairtrade summary

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What’s this all about?

For several years many of the churches in Oad= by, some of the schools and shops, and Oadby & Wigston Council have been effectively promoting fairtrade goods and encouraging their communities to choose fairtrade.

Oadby Community Stakeholders brings together community, voluntary & statutory groups with the aim of supporting and nurturing good community relations. Over the past year or so members have b= een working to draw together information about the fantastic work that’s already going on in Oadby and have been chatting to Oadby & Wigston Cou= ncil about gaining their backing to apply for fairtrade status. The Council has = been very supportive and has agreed to support our work.

The next stage is for us to form a group to s= hare ideas and celebrate the good work that’s going on. We’ll also be encouraging more cafes and shops to get involved, publicising where items c= an be bought, possibly arranging events and supporting schools in developing fairtrade work.

What are the crite= ria for becoming a fairtrade town? The core criteria are:

The Local Council passes a resolution supporting fairtrade and agrees to serve fairtrade tea at its meetings and in its offices and canteens. We already have the agreement to take this forward, and simply need to wr= ite from this new group to the Council to ask for this to be done.

A range of at least 2 fairtrade products is readily available= in the area’s shops and local café. This varies according to the size of the town. For a population of 20-30,000 (like Oadby) 5 shops (Sainsburys, ASDA, Co-op, Marks & Spencers & Oxfam, maybe Walker’s?) = and 3 cafes (Sainsburys, Brocks Hill Park & either church cafes which = run once a week or maybe La Maromme if the manager was happy to join in?)

Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places (estate agents, hairdressers, etc.) and community organisations (churc= hes, schools, etc.) Schools and churches are well covered – we’ll need to find some wo= rkplaces that already use fair trade, or promote fairtrade to hairdressers etc.=

The group attracts media coverage and popular support for the campaign We may choose to run an event (maybe a fairtrade day at Brock Hill?) or launch a directory showing where goods can be bought, or something els= e to get the project into the media. Popular support could come through sch= ools events which promote fairtrade to parents and children; free tastings = on The Parade, etc.

A local fairtrade steering group is convened to ensure contin= ued commitment to its Fa= irtrade Town status. <= /span>That would be this new grou= p! It could consist of 2 or 3 people, or a much larger group. It might be th= at we have a small core who meet 3 or 4 times per year but are in email contact with a much wider group of interested members who could feed in ideas and information about events they are running in their own churc= hes, schools, etc. They could also pass information from the group back to their communities. An online forum for sharing ideas might be helpful = for some (but is unlikely to suit everyone).

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Why bother? Becaus= e…

fairtrade is an important way of alleviating poverty and promoting fairness throughout the world.

Oadby already has a great deal happening and it would be great to celebrate = this widely and share what we do with the wider community.

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it would be an encouragement to everyone who’s involved in fairtrad= e to know that there are others pulling in the same direction.

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we want to support Oadby shops and cafes and help in promoting them within Leicester, local villages etc.

it would be good to persuade others in the community to buy and stock fairtrade.

What’s alrea= dy happening? Here= ’s a snapshot of some of the things we’re already aware of – there= are bound to be more:

Last Fairtrade Fortnight the whole of the Beauchamp Coll= ege campus promoted the event with students from Beauchamp teaching studen= ts from Gartree High who taught children from Brocks Hill Primary who tau= ght children in Beauchamp Childcare Centre.
The Oxfam shop actively promotes fairtrade and has a wide range of gifts a= nd foods.
The Co-op has championed fairtrade for many years and has a very wide rang= e of goods.
All own brand sugar and all bananas sold at Sainsbury’s are fairtrad= e.
For many years a fairtrade goods stall has been running at Trinity Method= ist Church alongsi= de their Saturday Morning Coffee.
Oadby Baptist Church<= span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-family:Verdana'> has been running a fairtra= de café called The Well from 10-11.30am on a Tuesday (termtimes) f= or over 3 years.
Brocks Hill Environment Centre’s café stocks fairtrade refreshme= nts, as does Sainsbury’s café.
Oadby Library held fairtrade events in Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 and aims to serve fairtrade drinks in the new library opening in the autumn.<= /o:p>
Brocks Hill Primary School uses all fairtrade tea, co= ffee & sugar for its parent and fundraising events (they get through lots of Fairbreak bars!) and the children have learned about fairtrade arts and crafts made from recycled materials in Big Arts Week and Science Week.=
Beauchamp College has installed fairtrade ve= nding machines.
St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s, Rosemead Dr= ive URC, Trinity and Oadby Baptist Church<= /st1:PlaceType> already have Fairtra= de Church status.=
Beauchamp and Brocks Hill Primary are working towards Fairtrade Scho= ol status.

There are bound to be more wonderful things happening, and one of the aims of the group is to pass the word on ~ so if there’s something that we’ve missed that you know about, please= get in touch whether you’d like to join the group or not.

How can I get invo= lved?

If you’re interested in fairtrade and w= ould like to get involved, even in a small way, please get in touch. We promise = not to draw you into taking on more than you’re happy with! If you can’t make daytime meetings but would like to be on the mailing list = ~ or would like us to consider evening meetings so that you can get involved ~ please let us know.

Either return the attached form by post, or e= mail your details, and how you’d like to become involved to swans@swansweb.co.uk.

If this isn’t something you’re interested in but know someone who might be please p= ass this on.

Many thanks

(Mrs= .) Chris Swan

Oadby Community Stakeholders

c/o 76 Briar Meads, Oadby LE2 5W= D ~ 07808 882033 ~ swans@swansweb.co.uk

Initial mailing to Oadby Community Stakeholde= rs mailing list plus:

F= aith groups:

Trinity Methodist, Oadby Bap= tist, Rosemead Drive URC, St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s, Church of t= he Immaculate Conception, Lighthouse Fellowship, Oadby & Wigston Muslim Association, Kenilworth Drive Gurdwara, Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation

S= chools:

Beauchamp College, Gartree High, Manor High, Brocks Hill Primary, Langmoor Primary, Launde Primary, Woodland Grange Primary, Brookside Primary

L= ocal Councillors:

Jeffrey Kaufman, Mark Carrar= ra, Mike Griffiths, Jill Gore (Mayor)

C= ouncil Officers:

Jacky York, Sallie Wocha

S= hops & cafes:

Oxfam, Sainsbury’s, AS= DA, Co-op, Marks & Spencers, Walkers

Brocks Hill Environment Cent= re

F= airtrade

Claire Carr, GELS=

L= ibrary

Sally White & Kim Wallis=

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___ = I’m planning to come to the meeting on June 27^th

___ I’d like to be put on the email circulation list.

___ I’d like to receive information by = post.

___ I’d be happy to pass on information= to my club, school, church, community, friends (please let us know which so that = we know which communities we’re covering.

___ I’d like to come to meetings but can’t manage Friday mornings. I can manage these daytime slots:<= /o:p>

or these e= vening slots:

Please add any information about fairtrade activities taking place in Oadby:

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