Small Farmers. Big Change.

Article written by Esther West, Interfaith Program Representative and Ashley Symons, Marketing Writer

This time of year especially, consumers have the power to participate in a movement that supports long-term partner relationships based on equality, environmental sustainability, and democratic business structures via co-operatives. Here are some ideas for holiday gifts that truly keep on giving.

Alternative Giving
Looking for a creative, green gift idea? Make a donation to benefit small-scale farmers on behalf of a friend or loved one through the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund, which supports farmer projects in South Africa, Nicaragua, Mexico and Colombia. The gift recipient will receive a card letting them know about the donation made in their name.

• $100 supports Embara Chambi indigenous coffee farmers in the Asprocafe Ingruma co-operative in Caldas, Colombia, build a composting plant which will enable more farmers to transition to organic, protect their fragile eco-system and attain higher incomes.
• $50 supports indigenous South African rooibos farmers of the Heiveld and Wupperthal organizations as they employ traditional soil and water conservation methods to adapt to the negative effects of global warming on their crops and livelihoods.
• $25 supports women coffee farmers of the CESMACH co-operative in Chiapas, Mexico, as they plant organic gardens and fruit trees, raise chickens and rescue endangered native plants in the El Triunfo Biosphere.

Read about more ways you can support the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund.

Fair Trade Gift Baskets

Who doesn’t love coffee, tea or chocolate? Support small farmers while also giving delicious, fairly traded products!

• Equal Exchange Small Farmer Gift Basket (pictured above) gives directly back to small-scale farmers who are working to preserve the earth. The delicious tea and coffee products come wrapped in a fairly traded kaisa grass basket imported by Ten Thousand Villages.
• View all Equal Exchange gift baskets to pick out the right combination of gifts for those coffee or tea drinkers and chocolate lovers!

Esther’s Picks

Many Fair Trade organizations give their producers and artisans consumer feedback so their products meet various consumer tastes, which means an increase in the selection and quality of fairly traded gifts. Here’s just a sampling of the great Fair Trade clothing, accessories and crafts you can find.

• Give the Butterfly Flower Teapot and Lotus Teacup and Saucer from Ten Thousand Villages, with a box of Equal Exchange’s organic pyramid teas to a friend who appreciates the bright warmth of comforting, high-quality teas in the wintertime. Find teas and teapots with contrasting colors that look attractive and interesting together, while benefiting Fair Trade artisans from Vietnam and small-scale tea producers in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
• A relatively inexpensive but meaningful gift is to give friends and family pretty fairly traded holiday greeting cards. As these lovely creations hang on walls or mantles, many people will see the appeal of fairly traded products. To add a bit more to the gift, purchase an Organic Equal Exchange chocolate bar to include with each card or check out Global Girlfriend’s Gifts and Goodies section.
• The chic soul in your life will appreciate Fair Indigo’s smartly tailored, modern line of fairly traded clothing that includes jersey wrap dresses, an organic line, tailored shirts, and cashmere sweaters. For a more relaxed look, Maggie’s Organics has everything from loungewear to organic tights. Mercado Global also has great women’s accessories for the upcoming holiday excursions. And instead of wasteful wrapping paper, stick your gifts in an Equal Exchange Marketplace of India tote bag (pictured below).
• But what about the guys? Global Exchange has silk ties and leather cuff bracelets, Fair Indigo has classics like fancy rugged house slippers and tailored shirts, and Revive has charming rugby crews. For those casual days, give an Equal Exchange “Small Farmers Big Change” T-shirt!
• A college student might appreciate a fairly traded basket from SERRV filled with Golden Touch Farm’s Alpaca Wool Radar Mash hat for the winter, Equal Exchange’s fairly traded healthy snacks from farmers in the U.S., Global Exchange’s Recycled Magazine Desk Organizer for their dorm room, and a cute Shswe Shswe Picture Frame.
• Loved ones might receive a basket from The One Eyed Turtle and include a Mexican Sacred Heart picture frame, an Argentinean Crocheted Chaguar Necklace, Original Good’s endearing “Hello, Gourdgeous” and eye-catching Freedom Bling ornaments, along with Equal Exchange’s Organic Love Buzz coffee.

No matter what you choose to give this year, support a Fair Trade, co-operative economy. Ultimately, an increase in Fair Trade means that farmers and artisans who receive a fair payment for their products have more control and power over their own lives. As Barend Salomo, the Chairman of the Wupperthal Tea Association in South Africa that Equal Exchange partners with, said, “We don’t want charity. We want to be empowered, to be proud, to be free at last.”