The Fair Trade Tea Program - What It Is and How It Began
The Fair Trade tea program began with several religious and humanitarian organizations coming together with a common goal; to provide fair wages and help to improve both working and living conditions for disadvantaged workers in some of the world's poorest countries.
They also sought to provide aid and help rebuild the lives of displaced refugees following natural disasters.
An example of the Fair Trade program providing disaster relief is the Ambootia Tea Estate in Darjeeling, India, where in 1968 one of the largest landslides in South Asia caused part of the tea plantation to go crashing into the valley below.
In 1995 the first Fair Trade premiums were received to help in disaster relief and cleanup.
The funds also went to help stabilize the local economy as well as prevent any further destruction to the garden itself, and provide economic aid to displaced workers during the rebuilding of the tea estate.
It was at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Delhi, India, in 1968 that the message "trade not aid," was sent and heeded.
That conference set the groundwork for the phenomenal growth of Fair Trade that eventually followed.
Just five years later, in 1973, Fair Trade Organisatie in the Netherlands imported the first fairly traded coffee from cooperatives of small Guatemala farmers.
By the beginning of 1990, it had become an economic model administered and headed by various organizations, key among them the four considered to be the "founding fathers of Fair Trade," which are: · Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO-I) · International Federation for International Trade (IFAT) · Network of European World Shops (NEWS!) · and the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA) These four main organizations came together to help better coordinate the efforts of the many different agencies involved, creating FINE, an acronym based on the first letter of each name.
The premiums earned don't go directly to the workers as wages, but rather are invested back into the participating farm, allowing for improvements to infrastructures, as well as fair wages and better living conditions for the workers and their families.
The Bogawantalawa Estate in Sri Lanka is a shining example of the program at work.
Their operation is the size of a small city with approximately 50,000 acres of tea gardens, and nearly 18,000 workers.
The premiums earned by Bogawantalawa go toward improving not only the tea gardens themselves, but the lives of their employees and their families as well.
They offer a number of programs, everything from savings and loan services, to building libraries and providing learning centers and computer labs.
Students that excel in school are even awarded scholarship programs.
The essence of Fair Trade is a contract between the tea farm, the tea seller, and the consumer, agreeing to pay a fair amount for quality tea.
It's doubtful you would even notice the difference in cost at the register, but when purchasing Fair Trade tea you are sending an important message to the tea workers, farmers, and producers, saying simply that you support them, and their hard work and dedication to producing quality teas for your enjoyment.
They also sought to provide aid and help rebuild the lives of displaced refugees following natural disasters.
An example of the Fair Trade program providing disaster relief is the Ambootia Tea Estate in Darjeeling, India, where in 1968 one of the largest landslides in South Asia caused part of the tea plantation to go crashing into the valley below.
In 1995 the first Fair Trade premiums were received to help in disaster relief and cleanup.
The funds also went to help stabilize the local economy as well as prevent any further destruction to the garden itself, and provide economic aid to displaced workers during the rebuilding of the tea estate.
It was at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Delhi, India, in 1968 that the message "trade not aid," was sent and heeded.
That conference set the groundwork for the phenomenal growth of Fair Trade that eventually followed.
Just five years later, in 1973, Fair Trade Organisatie in the Netherlands imported the first fairly traded coffee from cooperatives of small Guatemala farmers.
By the beginning of 1990, it had become an economic model administered and headed by various organizations, key among them the four considered to be the "founding fathers of Fair Trade," which are: · Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International (FLO-I) · International Federation for International Trade (IFAT) · Network of European World Shops (NEWS!) · and the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA) These four main organizations came together to help better coordinate the efforts of the many different agencies involved, creating FINE, an acronym based on the first letter of each name.
The premiums earned don't go directly to the workers as wages, but rather are invested back into the participating farm, allowing for improvements to infrastructures, as well as fair wages and better living conditions for the workers and their families.
The Bogawantalawa Estate in Sri Lanka is a shining example of the program at work.
Their operation is the size of a small city with approximately 50,000 acres of tea gardens, and nearly 18,000 workers.
The premiums earned by Bogawantalawa go toward improving not only the tea gardens themselves, but the lives of their employees and their families as well.
They offer a number of programs, everything from savings and loan services, to building libraries and providing learning centers and computer labs.
Students that excel in school are even awarded scholarship programs.
The essence of Fair Trade is a contract between the tea farm, the tea seller, and the consumer, agreeing to pay a fair amount for quality tea.
It's doubtful you would even notice the difference in cost at the register, but when purchasing Fair Trade tea you are sending an important message to the tea workers, farmers, and producers, saying simply that you support them, and their hard work and dedication to producing quality teas for your enjoyment.
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