Traidcraft and Covid-19
Sadly, the lockdown in March made it necessary to call a halt to the monthly Traidcraft stall at HPC on Sunday mornings. I am very grateful to Judy, Julia, Jeremy and Ayla for all their hard work in selling off as much stock as possible before it reached its sell-by date, and distributing what remained to the Foodbank.
As with so many traders, it has been a difficult few months for “Traidcraft plc”, and its sister charity “Traidcraft Exchange” and, more importantly, for the producers who rely on what they can earn each day by selling their goods but have either been unable to work or to travel to markets to sell their produce.
In many of the vulnerable communities where Traidcraft work they’ve seen fragile progress to economic stability eroded, and the harsh reality of living hand to mouth has been laid bare by lockdowns. Farmers in rural communities were unable to harvest their crops and, across the world, markets ceased operating. In India and Bangladesh, factories closed their door, causing a huge number of people to migrate across country and return to their family homes.
In normal times Traidcraft is all about long term, systematic change – they work to build livelihoods, increasing incomes and challenging unjust business practices; put simply, they aim to offer trade support, not aid, but these are not normal times. The last few months have seen a crisis like never before and Traidcraft has taken action to support communities by providing soap, food and the other basics that people need to get through this crisis.
Since the Traidcraft stall was set up at HPC over 10 years ago we have been extremely grateful for the generosity of the members of the congregation who have given their support by buying goods from the stall and by making donations and by supporting our Big Brew each year. We had hoped to find a way to resume operations in a limited way but the latest lockdown has made that impossible. In the meantime below are photos to remind us of Big Brew which we hope will be possible next year!
You can, if you wish, order direct from the Traidcraft Shop by going to www.traidcraftshop.co.uk
You can also donate to “Traidcraft Exchange” online at
www.traidcraftexchange.org/crisis
