Standing with our Producers
Mary Popple • Jul 28, 2021
It is a critical time as in the UK we move tentatively out of the pandemic grateful for our widespread vaccination programme. Our producers are not so lucky, and Covid has undoubtedly widened the gap between the ‘have’ nations and the ‘have not’ nations of our world. Now more than ever they need u s to stand by them.
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We have talked with our producers in South Africa, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Malawi, Kenya, Sri Lanka and India to try to comprehend how their day-to-day lives are being affected by Covid and by political and other issues that have been compounded by Covid. Here are comments from some of our partners in South Africa and the Kingdom of Eswatini with some of the points they have made to us giving us so many reasons to count our blessings and give them our support, and why it is more important than ever that we all keep buying their products and stand with them.
Our Beer Bread and our Turqle ranges of products come from South Africa. South Africa has been in some form of lockdown for 18 months leading many businesses to close with massive job losses. With donor fatigue and a strained economy many feeding schemes and informal day care facilities have shut their doors and people are worried and frustrated.
Now, we hear of riots following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma for corruption. These triggered further looting and riots, fuelled by the job layoffs and economic inequality made worse by the pandemic. One of our producers says she feels she can speak for all South Africans when she says, “We are tired, frustrated, scared, angry and just emotionally exhausted. We (especially those of us in the Western Cape) felt helpless and heartbroken as all we could do was watch as businesses and communities were looted, burnt and destroyed”.
However, as Tayrene Barrett, the owner of Barrett’s Ridge Beer Bread says, ‘There is always hope and resilience even in chaos. South Africa has no shortage of helpers in times of crisis. That is our real strength. As exhausted and scared and tired as they are, South Africans have come together to mend their communities. People are fighting back with care for one another in many ways, from blood donations to providing baby food, people coming together in hardship clearing up the mess”. Read about this in the article Tayrene sent us:
In The Kingdom of Eswatini, a small country landlocked by South Africa, there has also been unrest and protests in recent weeks as jobs go and money is scarce. With the riots and protests in South Africa Covid has inevitably spiked again leading to restrictions again in Eswatini. This causes increased hardship for the farmers and the Eswatini Kitchen factory where our sauces and jams are produced, with production stopping and starting and loss of income for all.
As we approach the crucial COP26 conference in November in Glasgow, we are all aware of the impact of climate change globally. The carbon footprint of our smallholder farmers and producers is tiny compared to ours, yet they are the people who will suffer most. We are together and individually part of the hope for the future for Tayrene and the workers and farmers who supply Barrett’s Ridge, and all our partners. We ask you to help us stand by our producers in these increasingly difficult times for them. Keep buying fairly traded goods and help us all build back a fairer world. Please ask your friends directly and on social media to do the same.
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Are you passionate about fair trade and sustainable partnering with producers in the Global South? Please read on. Board Member opportunities True Origin launched last year, building on the success of Just Trading Scotland. We’re now in our 16 th trading year and remain as committed to our social purpose as we did from our set up: working directly with smallholder farmers and communities in the global south to source the finest ethical foods. In 2024/2025, we expect a number of our existing Board Members to retire. We are looking for 2 passionate, socially conscious individuals to join our Board ideally with PR, communications, marketing/social media; and funding/business development skills and experience. As importantly, we’re looking for Board colleagues willing to ask questions, share our passion for fair, ethical trade, driving our brand (and supporting us with your networks) as well as your time commitment to the role. Interested in reading more? Please download our candidate pack for more information. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. This is a voluntary position therefore the role is unpaid. Reasonable expenses would be reimbursed in line with our expense policy. To apply please send your CV and written statement to our Chair, Mary Popple mary@trueorigin.org.uk Closing date for applications is Monday, 8 th April 2024 noon.
We are delighted to welcome our newest Board Member, Simon Remington. Simon began his relationship with True Origin whilst working for Midcounties Cooperative, where he was Buying Manager. Simon has worked in commercial and buying roles for various retailers including Marks and Spencer, One Stop (Tesco), Spar (Blakemore) and most recently Midcounties Cooperative. He has also spent 7 years in the Airline Sector. True Origin Chair, Mary Popple said “Simon will bring fresh ideas, retail knowledge and a good working knowledge of the Co-op to our enterprise.” The board will benefit from his 27 years of experience in commercial roles as he helps to bring onboard new, like-minded customers, to enable growth for the future.
12 million Christmas jumpers are sold in the UK each year. Supporting our charity partner Transform Trade.
Read how True Origin Food and True Origin Partnerships are supporting rice farmers in Malawi faced with crop devastation due to climate change.
T his partnership builds on our joint work earlier this year to support Meru Herbs following the closure of Traidcraft. True Origin (then JTS) had quickly identified Meru Herbs as our most vulnerable producer partner at that time and we were thrilled to be able to create a link with Transform Trade who were able to provide a capacity building grant through their Producer Fund. Since then, we have been able to place a significant order with Meru Herbs, including a number of new lines (partly funded through our own Crowdfunder in April/May) and we are really looking forward to launching those products later this year. This one example highlights the value of working in collaboration with others in the fair trade sector and we are really looking forward to strengthening our joint work as Ethical Partners. Transform Trade have said “We’re pleased to be partnering with True Origin so that together, we can work for a world where everyone can enjoy the benefits of trade. True Origin is proving every day that business can be done differently, while Transform Trade works directly with the most marginalised producers and campaigns for a fairer trading system. “You will soon be able to top up your order with a donation to Transform Trade and support producers to build their businesses and advocate for their rights. To celebrate the new partnership True Origin are offering a free gift to Transform Trade supporters who place an order on their online shop between now and the end of October. " Our roots are in the alternative trade movement in the northeast of England and we draw support from across the UK and beyond. We work in partnership with ethical business, workers, farmers and social entrepreneurs in South Asia and East Africa to transform trade so that everyone benefits. Our focus areas are Fashion, Tea and Farming. We used to be known as Traidcraft Exchange. " Here’s a little more from Transform Trade " Within an unjust and broken trading system, we stand with the workers, farmers and social entrepreneurs who are transforming trade. We act as a resource partner, accompanier, influencer, networker and ally. We work at local, national and international levels, focusing on Fashion, Tea and Farming. We have a vision of trade which values all people and regenerates our fragile earth . " For more information on Transform Trade please see https://www.youtube.com/@transformtrade and https://www.transform-trade.org/ Sign up to hear more from Transform Trade: https://www.transform-trade.org/join
