Fair Trade Charleston

The following opinion is written by Kofi Annan, who chairs the Africa Progress Panel and is former Secretary-General of the United Nations. This piece was written as the G20 head into the Summit in London to discuss the current global crisis.

‘Africa is facing difficult times. The effects of the global economic recession and climate change have already begun to reverse the progress the continent has made over the last decade.

Members of the Namayiana Women Group gather under an acacia tree beside their small storehouse. The women, from a Maasai community in the Rift Valley province of Kenya, chat and laugh together as they sew beads on leather bracelets and wire ornaments.

TransFair USA, the Oakland-based group that has certified everything from coffee and tea to bananas and flowers as being ethically produced, now is putting its seal on wines from Chile, Argentina and South Africa. The wines - available this month at grocers and liquor stores nationwide, including Whole Foods Market and Sam's Club - are a first for Americans.

I was browsing the Fair Trade Federation website and came across some interesting facts and figures I wanted to share to motivate us through 2009.

Fair Trade is growing as a market share, although I am not sure as to how sales will relate when set in the wider economy at present. We are optimistic though here at Muenda as we believe there is a need for our Fair Trade Gifts so people have the opportunity to support a way to a brighter, fairer world.

We managed to have LED lighting this Christmas at home, a save on energy and we have a Christmas tree we will soon recycle at Bees Ferry Landfill. Muenda also managed to eliminate the use of plastic bags in 2008 and join Green America, recently known as Coop America. A less wasteful Christmas leads us to ponder 2009. What can we do as a company to be less wasteful and more sustainable? 

Often simple things can be introduced that are more eco-friendly and can save money in the long term. Here are a few of our goals:

It is Buy Local Week December 1-7th and there are various ways to support local businesses and events.

Buy Local Week is a national awareness campaign that emphasizes the importance of our local independent businesses on our local economy! Here in Charleston this year's holiday campaign will include a Give Local Holiday Bazaar, viewing of the documentary film Independent America at the Terrace Theater, Eat Local Night and a Local Hero contest.

The Fair Trade African Sculptures that are featured here at Muenda Fair Trade are hand carved in Zimbabwe, Africa. Although there is information on the Origins of Shona Art, there is not much information on the stone per se.
These are beautiful sculptures; people are drawn to their simplistic and rustic form.
We have done some delving around and came up with the following information:

It is that time of year when we can think about conserving and building food resources for the following year. I grew up with my parents as gardeners and ‘composters, ' my mother would make jams and preserves for the winter months. We also used to collect rainwater in 'butts' for watering the garden in the summer.
Composting is a great way of giving back to the earth nutrients which will benefit the soil and future harvests. For those who are thinking about composting here are some simple do's and don't's...

Firstly, essential elements for compost include water, air, heat, carbon (brown stuff, such as dead leaves) and nitrogen (green stuff, such as vegetables).

Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts, as well as spending time with loved ones. Over the next few weeks i want to share ideas and reminders about how we can each contribute to having an Eco-friendly Christmas. Start Planning Now!
Some of the best gifts i have received in the past  have been handmade with love, creativity and care. Maybe not an 'expensive' gift, but priceless nonetheless!