Shaftesbury Becomes a Fairtrade Town

Saturday 26th April was a a significant day in Shaftesbury's history, the day it joined 300 others in becoming Britain's newest Fairtrade town. It arrived with a fanfare of drumming, continued with a Fairtrade and local produce tea and progressed to the Declaration ceremony in which Bob Walters MP -a great enthusiast for Fairtrade- presented the Certificate issued by the Fairtrade Foundation to the Fairtrade Group, who in turn presented it to Shaftesbury's Mayor Derek Beer for safekeeping and display in the Town Hall. Derek is one of many traders in Shaftesbury who offer Fairtrade produce on their premises as an option. Also there was a Fairtrade Food Trail whose participants were given prizes and a display explaining what the idea of a Fairtrade Town is all about. A number of different Fairtrade stalls did brisk business, one selling provisions, another selling clothes and a third selling bags and promoting a Fairtrade manicure and pedicure business.

Joint partners in the event were Blackmore Vale Dairy who were there to promote local produce. Two years ago we decided that our slogan should be Fairtrade and Local Produce, because the same issues affect our local food producers as those in developing countries. For example when the price of milk offered to farmers was below the cost of production, many went out of business. But now thanks to a modest wholesale price rise, farmers can make a living. There is a parallel here between our local Dorset farmers and what is happening in the world outside. When the WTO insisted that all banana farmers should be exposed to free trade, small-scale Caribbean banana producers farming steep hillsides could not hope to compete with gigantic companies producing bananas on a massive scale. By agreeing to form producer cooperatives, many of these smaller farmers have obtained Fairtrade status and the extra income this enables them to obtain, means not only that they have a secure future but they can plough some of the extra money into community projects like education for their children and improved health-care and preventative measures such as clean water. And the important thing is that if these island farmers were driven out of business by untrammeled competition, the alternative would be destitution.

So what does it mean to become a Fairtrade Town? The new edition of the Fairtrade Directory gives a clue.

There are 11 retailers selling Fairtrade Foods,10 catering establishments offering Fairtrade lines,18 organisations and 16 businesses all involved in some way with Fairtrade. There is a very active Fairtrade Group which has been driving forward the Fairtrade idea. The Town Council has given us their blessing and serve Fairtrade Coffee and Tea at their meetings. Last but not least the local media such as the Blackmore Vale Magazine, the Western Gazette, northdorset.net, Shaftesbury Contact and Vale FM Radio have all reported the progress of our campaign which started in 2004. And although 2008 is an important milestone, it is not the end of our campaign as we would like all organisations and retailers to be involved and we shall continue to work towards this.

One member of our Fairtrade Group Arthur Simmonds has been a Fairtrader (=Voluntary Representative) for Traidcraft, a Fairtrade wholesaler which has been going since 1979. In the last couple of years , he has been able to join the Dorset Farmers Market and has a Fairtrade stall alongside local farmers in Shaftesbury Town Hall on the first Saturday morning of the month in the Town Hall. This is an example of how we wish to work together with local producers. Another is our partnership with Blackmore Vale Dairy, a milk wholesaler based in Shaftesbury, being supplied by local farms and selling its dairy products in the local area.

What unites the various strands of our campaign is a desire by the public for a reconnection between producers and consumers and a system of trade which is underpinned by ethical principles. After all it is in all our interests to look after and nurture those good people who produce for us the basic necessities of life.

[Submitted by Arthur Simmonds, Leader, Shaftesbury Fairtrade Group, 5 Sally Kings Lane, Enmore Green, Shaftesbury,Dorset,SP7 8LS. Phone 01747-853182.]

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