Looking Back and Looking Forward - Malcolm

Our MD Tracy Mitchell was delighted to take part in the launch of the UK Malawi Chamber of Commerce Scotland (UKMCC) Chapter in Edinburgh today. The event was hosted by the Scotland Malawi Partnership and chaired by Mr Hannington Gondwe, Chief Executive of the UKMCC. It was an inspiring afternoon thinking about growing meaningful trade partnerships between Malawi and Scotland (and the UK more widely). Guests heard from several distinguished speakers including; by video link the President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera and the Minister of Trade and Industry. Vitombiko Mumba, The focus was on wealth creation, job creation and food security as part of its Vision 2063 and clearly sees trade as crucial for transformation.

At True Origin, we know many of you love our range of jams, marmalades, chutneys, and sauces from Eswatini Kitchen and have been awaiting an update on their availability. Unfortunately, after six months, we have still not received any clear answers or reassurances to give us confidence that the food safety issue that came to light in November 2024 has been properly addressed. As a result, we are not able to restock these products. As a fair trade business, guided by the Ten Principles of Fair Trade, True Origin sought the guidance and advice of WFTO on this matter to ensure that we have done as much as we possibly could to avoid this outcome. We are, however, seeking a new supplier to continue supporting farmers and producers in the Kingdom of Eswatini and to provide you with fair trade jams, marmalades, chutneys and sauces. We will of course let you know as soon as we have replacement products confirmed. The following products are being discontinued: • Peach & Ginger Jam • Lime Marmalade • Orange Marmalade • Orange & Cinnamon Marmalade • Ruby Grapefruit Marmalade • Medium Curry Sauce • Swazi Fire • Lime Pickle • Mango Pickle • Vegetable Pickle • Hot Mango Chutney • Mixed Fruit Chutney • Pineapple Chutney • Piquante Peppers Marula Jelly The details for the recall are here . Please note that the following jams and sauces are still available as these come from different suppliers: Guava Jam Hibiscus Jam Papaya & Lemon Jam Pineapple Jam Tomato & Chilli Sauce Tomato & Garlic Sauce If you have any questions, please do get in touch info@trueorigin.org.uk

The UK's Most Ethical Rice! On World Fair Trade Day - And Every Day!

After six years of leadership, Mary Popple has retired from her role as Chair of the True Origin Board to assume the role as an ordinary board member. She leaves a legacy of steadfast, values-led leadership, resilience and commitment to Fair Trade during a period of significant transition for the social enterprise. First appointed to the True Origin Board in 2013, Mary became the first woman to take on the role of Chair in April 2019. Her journey into the position was shaped by a successful career in the IT industry and a passion for Fair Trade. Mary was an active member of the influential St Andrews Fair Trade group which successfully campaigned to designate the town as a Fairtrade area, and for The Open Golf championship to become the first UK sports tournament to commit to using Fairtrade products. This was complemented with over twenty years’ experience of involvement in other trade justice and development opportunities for women. During her six-year tenure as Chair of the True Origin board, Mary strategically led the social enterprise through a challenging external environment at a challenging time for many small businesses. Less than a year into her new role, the Covid pandemic emerged, causing significant uncertainty for staff, producers and customers as well as disruption in global supply chains. The war in Ukraine and cost-of-living crisis soon followed. Despite the challenges, under Mary’s leadership, True Origin generated over £2.3million in sales income that included £733,000 worth of Kilombero rice from Malawi. That’s equivalent to 245 tonnes or nearly 5 million servings of rice! The sale of the rice provides families in Malawi, one of the least developed countries in the world, with sustainable incomes and better food security. Mary played an instrumental role in rolling out the social enterprise’s rebrand and positioning the organisation as the go-to place for fair and fine products under the new True Origin banner. The product range subsequently increased during her tenure, solidifying True Origin’s reputation in the fine foods market. New products included a range of condiments such the soon-to-become both a customer favourite and one of Mary’s favourite products, sun-dried fig balsamic reduction as well as the popular beer bread of which over 150,000 packets were sold during her term. Mary’s leadership as Chair will also be remembered for her values-led approach, guiding the organisation to decisions with its founding fair trade principles in mind and the interests of producers always at the forefront. She invested time in expanding the board’s skillset and further developing the organisation’s robust governance procedures, upholding True Origin’s commitment to transparency with its stakeholders and leaving the organisation in a strong position to tackle future challenges. She also brought an instinctive knowledge of Fair Trade customers in Scotland and beyond to the role.

Thanks to the women of Meru Herbs Kenya

Our former Operations Manager and now volunteer, Liam McLaughlin caught up with Kenneth Mwakasungula on the challenges of being a Kilombero Rice farmer

Help a child in Malawi go to secondary school

Update Regarding Products from Eswatini Kitchen

Statement Regarding Products from Eswatini Kitchen