You are warmly invited to celebrate TRAIDCRAFT’S 30th birthday with a mixed musical entertainment featuring

• An entrée of classical guitar duets with Claire Rawlinson & David Carroll
• A dash of jazz with Mary Toth
• A helping of songs & instrumentals with Alex Gordon And The Loose Canons

The second Mortimer Country Food Fair will be held in Brampton Bryan on the Shropshire and Herefordshire borders on Saturday July 11 2009. Following on from last year’s hugely successful event the Mortimer Country Food Fair will bring together a diverse range of food and drink producers and suppliers from the surrounding area in celebration of the area’s local food. Once again entry and parking are free to visitors.

Despite the global recession, worldwide sales of Fairtrade products grew by an impressive 22% in 2008 as consumers spent an estimated 2.9 billion Euros on Fairtrade products globally.

The main product areas of Fairtrade growth were in the following product categories.

• Global sales have doubled for Fairtrade tea (112%) and for Fairtrade cotton products (94%).
• As the products with the highest sales volumes, Fairtrade coffee sales increased 14% to 66,000 metric tonnes (MT) and the market for Fairtrade bananas grew by 28% to 300,000 MT.
  

Fairtrade sales grew by at least 50% in seven countries, including Australia and New Zealand (72%), Canada (67%), Finland (57%), Germany (50%), Norway (73%), and Sweden (75%). The largest markets for Fairtrade products continued to experience strong growth, as sales of Fairtrade certified products increased by 43% in the United Kingdom ( and 10% in the United States. (1) Fairtrade products also gained popularity in a number of new markets, including in Eastern Europe, Eastern Asia, and South Africa.

“We are very happy that consumers are supporting Fairtrade in ever increasing numbers. These Fairtrade sales make a real difference to the farmers and workers I represent. As the global recession hits us, the income and stability that Fairtrade brings is all the more important,” says Ruth Simba, Coordinator of the African Fairtrade Network, the representative body of Fairtrade producers in Africa.

In addition to being paid a price which covers the costs of sustainable production, producer organizations receive a Fairtrade Premium, additional income for community development projects. In 2008, the Fairtrade Premium contributed over 12 million Euros to Fairtrade coffee farmers and over 11 million Euros to Fairtrade banana farmers alone.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation welcomed record UK Fairtrade sales of over £700m, saying: ‘We’re delighted that the growth of 43% in Fairtrade sales, keeps us on track with our plan to double the impact of Fairtrade by 2012. In the current global economic climate, farmers need Fairtrade more than ever. So it is profoundly reassuring to know that globally, consumers are still wholeheartedly backing a better deal for farmers and workers around the world, enabling them to survive this crisis and continue investing in stronger businesses and a better life for their communities. And it makes sense for business to build long-term relations with producers on whom they depend while also responding to public demand for Fairtrade.’

As of the end of 2008, there were 746 Fairtrade certified producer organizations representing over one million and a half individual farmers and workers. There are at least another 70,000 members of affiliated organizations that belong to Fairtrade certified producer groups that also benefit from Fairtrade, which include women’s groups and other groups not directly involved in the production of Fairtrade products, like cattle herders.

Full details from the Fairtrade Foundation.

We'll shortly be launching an all new website to promote Fairtrade across Herefordshire. Lots has happened in the four years since we set our first site up, both in terms of Fairtrade, and in website technology. Our new site is not just a new look - we've completely rebuilt it and stripped out a lot of the more dated information from the old site. The biggest change is in our directories of suppliers. Instead of simple lists of suppliers for each town, we will now be using Google Maps as our database. This means that all suppliers from the county are on the same page and you simply use the map to browse for suppliers near to you.

We should be launching within the next week or so, so stay tuned!

Felicity Norman helping at the Forbury Cafe in Leominster

Felicity Norman celebrates the completion of the Herefoodshire Challenge with the Council's Sustainability Manager, Trish Marsh


Barbara Mark of Leominster Fairtrade reports:

The Leominster Fairtrade Town group want to acknowledge all the help our volunteers have given to them since the group began. One of our most committed members, Felicity Norman, is even standing in the European Parliament for the Green Party, hoping to promote Fairtrade issues at European level.

We have now had two people helping in the Forbury Fairtrade Cafe who have put themselves forward for active community involvement. The former Mayor, Brettina Meadows, has always helped with the food and Felicity has helped with the waitressing and washing up.

She also came along to support Trish Marsh at the celebration when she had completed a year of the Herefoodshire Challenge. The issues of Local produce and Fairness in trade are very closely linked these days. Large companies and supermarkets hold so much power that small producers can be manipulated and undercut too easily. Issues that used to be seen as 'Third World' problems have come to Britain.

It is really tremendous to have the Fairtrade issue supported by such active people.

425 people enjoyed eating a fairtrade banana on 6th March in High Town Hereford, as part of Fairtrade Fortnight, joining the national record breaking effort.

An unexpected blaze of glory for the end of the Herefoodshire Challenge year. Maybe eating local food is striking a chord as a cheery and tasty antidote to an unpalatable diet of unrelieved recession crunch. If that is so, it will certainly be a help to our local producers and shops, who produce such excellent food and drink - and depend on our support. So Herefoodshire has been covered in :-

The Times Weekend on 7th Feb- marking the end of the calendar year

A piece today on BBC Midlands Today. View Trish’s healthy diet of eggs, bacon and gin…

Hereford Times came along to the Farmer's Market at Leominster on Saturday, to which we’d given a spirited ”I’m giving my heart to Herefordshire food” Valentine’s theme. There's a fine photo of Grove Farm's Fiona Bunting with some vegetable bunting up on the website. This may be joined shortly by a video of the amazing carrot cadenza. Not to be missed!

Next week’s Hereford Times is expecting to carry a piece and hopefully some Farmer’s Market photos. There are a couple of talks on Herefoodshire coming up in Leominster. The first is for Fairtrade fortnight and is a joint effort with Jan and Les Hardy, who will be speaking about their Fairtrade trip to Peru. It’s on Saturday, March 6th at the Community Centre at 7.30 and includes wine tasting, Traidcraft snacks and hand made Peruvian alpaca goods for sale. Then there’s another burst on Monday, 9th March at 7.30 at the Talbot for the Leominster Civic Society, who showed my Herefoodshire film earlier in the year. I’m glad to say that more is on the way. Paul Wright, who made the Herefoodshire launch film (still up on the myherefordshire.com website), will shortly be making more downloadable shorts featuring local producers, retailers and cooks. And if we could find some money he could do even more! This marks the end of the official Herefoodshire mailings. Thank you all for your interest and support: its been fun. I’ll keep this list for any occasional updates - let me know if you would prefer your email to be removed. Looking ahead to the next project (do some people never learn…): we plan to put on a theatre piece in Leominster Community centre on 12/13th June as part of Leominster Festival.

This new musical theatre piece will take a light hearted look at our response to the unthinkable - let's say a credit squeeze and volatile energy supplies....

With lots of audience participation, songs and humour, we’ll explore if this is the end of life as we know it... or a new beginning. We need a cast and supporting hands for an intense burst of shared improvisatory activity in May. No prior experience is required. A funding application is currently in. Email me if you’re interested in keeping in touch on this.

Meanwhile there is a Pantomime/Commedia dell'arte theatre skills workshop with Richard Brookman at Leominster Community Centre. Sunday, March 15th, 10.30-4.30. A concoction of theatre games, improvisational madness and theatre of the totally absurd. Free of charge, bring lunch. More info/bookings to penguinsflying@tiscali.co.uk Coming up Seedswap: Saturday Feb 21st 10-3 at the Art of Living, St Owen St, HerefordShowing of short films made by Herefordshire schools on food with Catcher Media as part of Borderlines Film Festival on Saturday 27/Sunday 28th June: Shobdon food festival

Saturday September 5th 2009 will see the country's first ever FRUIT & JAM FESTIVAL. It will be in High Town Hereford, alongside the regular Hereford Farmers' Market, selling a great selection of local produce. The Festival will include tastings, demonstrations, competitions and talks.

Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th October: Hereford Food Festival at the Racecourse

Regards, Trish

Trish Marsh
Herefoodshire Challenge - savouring Herefordshire and Fairtrade food & drink in 2008
To find out more, visit http://www.myherefordshire.com/herefoodshire.aspx
or http://herefoodshire.blogspot.com/

Herefordshire Fairtrade are running a 'Go bananas for Fairtrade' stall in Hightown from 12 -2pm on Friday 6th March. We will be giving people fairtrade bananas to eat and joining with the national record-breaking effort – see this web page for full details.

The next Hereford City Fairtrade committee meeting will be 9.30a.m. Friday 20th March in All Saints Gallery.

March for jobs, justice and climate

On 2 April the leaders of 20 of the world's biggest economies meet in London to tackle the recession and global financial crisis.

Even before the banking collapse caused recession, the world suffered vast poverty and inequality and faced the looming threat of climate chaos. Governments, business and international institutions have followed a model of financial deregulation that has encouraged short-term profits, instability and an economy fuelled by ever-increasing debt, both financial and environmental.

There can be no going back to business as usual. The only sustainable way to rebuild the global economy is to create a fair distribution of wealth that provides decent jobs and public services for all, ends global inequality and builds a low carbon world.

Recession must not be an excuse for putting off action for global justice or to stop climate chaos. Creating a just, fair and sustainable world is the only lasting way out of recession.

On 28 March thousands of people will march through London as part of a global campaign to challenge the G20 leaders. Our message is clear. We must put people first.
• Put People First: Decent jobs and public services for all
• Put People First: End global poverty and inequality
• Put People First: Build a green economy

Put People First! is supported by a wide range of civil society groups including unions, development organisations, faith groups and environmental groups.

There will be an ecumenical service in Methodist Central Hall beginning at 11 am (details to be confirmed). Participants from this service will then join the march en route from the Embankment towards Hyde Park for a rally beginning at 2.00.

Please share this information as widely as possible. All organisations and individuals are welcome to join this mobilisation.

For more information, artwork and publicity flyers or to sign up your organisation as part of this mobilisation please contact: Tim Gee: tgee@bond.org.uk

Come to the Campaigning Forum on 2 March which will include a mass planning meeting for the Put People First: mobilisation, from 9.00 - 12.30. You MUST book in advance for this, by contacting BOND Campaigns Communications Officer Tim Gee on tgee@bond.org.uk or calling 020 7520 0253.

Temporary website: http://www.bond.org.uk/pages/the-economic-crisis-and-the-need-for-change.html A ‘Put People First ‘ mobilisation website will follow shortly.

Join us on 6th March for two speakers who will explain more.

Leominster Community Centre @ 7.30pm

Trish Marsh will enlighten us on her year’s experiences with the Herefoodshire Challenge – buying only local or Fairtrade foods

Jan and Les Hardy will talk to us about their visit to Peru to see Fairtrade businesses on a Fairtrade Holiday this year

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Free of charge
Donation accepted. 
 Wine tasting available
Hand made Peruvian, Alpaca goods
and Traidcraft snacks
for sale.

Please come and join us

The Steering Group meeting of the Hereford Fairtrade Group will go ahead as planned today come snow or hail, in the gallery of All Saints Cafe at 2pm.

If you are involved in Fairtrade in the city at all, or would like to be, you are very welcome to attend.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Fairtrade Fortnight on 23rd Feb- 8th March
• “Go Bananas for fairtrade” - a very yellow event on 6 March, High Town 12-2pm - part of National record attempt for number of people eating Fairtrade bananas!
• Fairtrade Day at Tupsley's St Paul’s community centre on Saturday 7th March 10.30-1.30
• Applying for renewal of Hereford's Fairtrade town status
• Hereford Three Choir Festival and Fairtrade Status
• Fairtrade for the college - 16th September, 9-1 pm
• A new county directory this year