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Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance
Collaborative Excellence and Accountability
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Spring is in the air in Upstate New York after a long, very cold and snowy winter, so there is a great sense of relief. However, before spring truly arrives, we must deal with a fifth season here – called “Mud Season”. When the snow melts, the ground thaws and comes “alive”, making lawns, driveways and dirt roads mucky. On the other hand, this is the time when the maple sap flows, friends at our local CSA have their syrup production up and running, and as soon as the mud is over, we can start planting and enjoying our time outdoors.
In the office we are busy with following up on the conversations at Biofach and working on the third and fourth languages for our web site: French and German. It is also high time for submission of the community development proposals and evaluations, and those always keep us on or toes. If you are a producer representative, please make sure that your colleagues have complied with sending us the pertinent information.
For the FairTSA Team
Winfried Fuchshofen
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Our second Biofach participation with a FairTSA booth was a resounding success. It is clear that our program is getting ever more popular and appreciated in the marketplace, and again our “Project-based Accountability” concept was met with great approval.
Biofach is a great venue where we can meet almost half of our existing producers, licensees and cooperating certifiers all in one place. We met with producers from four continents, and it is always refreshing and uplifting to see them and to marvel at our vastly differing cultural backgrounds. Here in the meeting with Africorp we appreciate each other for our joint efforts and our shared mission. We are already looking forward to our participation in 2020.
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Tropic Essences Community Development
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Tropic Essences in Nicaragua is a FairTSA Fair Trade certified producer of chia. Since 2017 they have collaborated with FairTSA on the development of early education in their youths, providing stability and a foundation for their youth to thrive. With the rise of chia as a popular superfood in recent years, the chia market has experienced turbulent fluctuations, resulting in serious consequences for the livelihoods of producers. On top of this, current socio-political tensions in Nicaragua have brought on further difficulties for these agricultural communities. From the elimination of international aid, to violent clashes between groups, deaths of community members involved in politics, labor shortages due to emigration, or natural disasters such as flooding, the people of Nicaragua are suffering much difficulty and economic insecurity. It should be said that despite all this, the FairTSA Fair Trade program of Tropic Essences as achieved its annual goals of community investment and development thanks to effort and patience of all players in the chain. Because of this, producers have some stability and investment through this Fair Trade alliance, giving them concrete benefits and hope for positive change on the national level.
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For their inaugural Community Development project in 2018 community members looked to support the education of 50 preschool-age children in the villages of La Bolsa and La Colmena. To help best prepare these young students for academic success, social premium funds were used to purchase school supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, writing utensils, and other things such as water bottles and teaching materials. A community event was organized for students, teachers, and community members to spread information on the importance of early education and to foster enthusiasm for the project. In 2019 they were able to support 40 more students with academic supplies. In the first semester of this school year, a new school uniform was distributed to each of the students and teachers were provided with School supplies for their classes. Another community event will be held to communicate the importance and goals of the project and foster excitement for youth education in the community. Environmental issues are part of the curriculum. the community holds environmental days, with information sessions on topics such as garbage collection, community cleanup days, and landfill upkeep.
FairTSA is proud to partner with Tropic Essences and commend them on
their investment in the future of their youth!
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Update on the Coconut Situation in the Solomon Islands
In our last newsletter we published an article on the coconut tree infestation with the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) on the Solomon Islands. Since then, our friends at
Kokonut Pacific
have continued trying to make the best of this dire situation on the islands. Guided by the Coconut Research Institute that is financed by Kokonut Pacific, they have finished the surveying of the infected coconut trees, which are now being felled and turned into charcoal and biochar. Charcoal of course is used for cooking purposes, and biochar is a wonderful soil amendment. Due to its immense surface area and complex pore structure (a single gram can have a surface area of over 1000 square yards). Biochar provides a secure habitat for micro-organisms and fungi. Certain fungi form a symbiotic relationship with plant root fibers, allowing for greater nutrient uptake by plants. It also prevents some nutrients such as nitrogen from leaking into the groundwater and hence leads to increased yields. Biochar also holds gasses; recent research has proven biochar-enriched soils
reduce carbon dioxide and nitrogen emissions by 50-80%.
It is a Herculean effort that Kokonut Pacific is undertaking, and they need all the support they can muster. Fortunately, the situation has not yet impacted the production capacity for coconut products by Kokonut Pacific, and we sure hope this continues.
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New FairTSA Licensees
Noble-House NV
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Operating from the philosophy that "Nutrition is Medicine", Noble House B.V., with their Amanprana brand is a small family-owned organic company with a wide range of products that support good health on a holistic level. Amanprana stands for Serene Life Force. All aspects of the business align with this meaning, including corporate social responsibility, quality, organic and Fair Trade products, sustainable packaging, and responsibility to the environment.
Natures Care CZ s.r.o.
- Based in Střílky, Czech Republic, Natures Care was established in 2002 with the goal of bringing to the market high-quality, healthy and natural products. Today, their small family business is a thriving wholesale company with a wide range of products that are not tested on animals, are environmentally friendly and respect human health.
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Our Newest FairTSA Producer
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Welcome IMOcert
Greetings to the
IMOcert
Team, our newest participating certification agency. We are sure that IMO cert’s longstanding experience and stellar reputation will reflect well on our program and enable us to continue on our path of organic and fair growth.
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Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance
| 518-794-0286 |
wfuchshofen@fairtsa.org | fairtsa.org
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