In January this year the first Traidcraft stall was run at St. John and has continued to be run on the first Sunday of the month since then. We have sold over £2,000 worth of goods on which we have made a small profit which will be sent to Christian Aid. Donations received during Big Brew Day, nearly £150, were sent to the Traidcraft charity, Traidcraft Exchange, to further its work. Traidcraft was established in 1979 as a Christian response to poverty and is the UK leading fair trade organisation. Its mission is to fight poverty through trade, practising and promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives.
Hampstead Parish Church has now met the criteria to apply for Fairtrade status, as we
1. use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and for all meetings
2. have moved forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar and biscuits
3. promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and during the year
If 66% of the churches in the London Diocese become Fairtrade churches the Diocese can apply for Fairtrade Diocese status, one of the stated aims of London Challenge 2012.
We are very grateful for all the help we received running Big Brew Day in July, which despite the autumnal weather was great fun and we were lucky enough to be visited by Bishop Peter, who arrived on his bicycle. Plans for the future include providing Fairtrade communion wine. We will be selling plenty of dried fruit, sugar and nuts on our stall in the autumn for those who would like to make a fair-trade Christmas cake or pudding and selling Christmas cards and gifts at the Christmas Market. We will have the new autumn catalogue available on the stall in September and are happy to take orders for goods that we would not normally have on sale.
Finally, if you like muesli and want to start the day with a smile, read the accounts of the trader lives on the side of the Traidcraft muesli package a more positive start to the day than reading the newspaper!
Diana Finning
Traidcraft Update
Diana Finning