FAIR TRADE DAY (2005-06)

Theme of World Fair Trade Day 2006

World Fair Trade Day 2006

On May 14, Fair Trade Day, FTF-I and Tara Projects organized a joint meeting in which new fair trade producers from north India were informed about the evolution, aims and objectives of the movement. All the participants took oath for upholding fair trade values in their respective spheres of life. A new poster in Hindi published by FTF-I was also released on this occasion. It was distributed to all the artisans gathered in the meeting.

Asha Handicrafts Association

Asha celebrated the world Fair Trade Day 2006, with a series of programmes such as fair trade rally, seminar and press conference at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 10, 12 and 13 of May respectively. A new workshop for wooden crafts was also inaugurated as part of the celebrations. Many newspapers covered the fair trade day events organized by Asha.

Artisans and producers associated with Asha participated in the rally organised on 11th May 2006. Members from some of the artisans groups working with mainstream producers also participated in the rally. The participants carried fair trade placards, posters, banners and marched by shouting fair trade slogans to make the rally attractive. About 200 artisans, producers and general public participated in the rally. At the finishing point, a delegation of artisans and producers was deputed to submit a memorandum to the Railway Superintendent, Saharanpur, demanding better facilities to transport handicrafts. Crafts are at present given only second preference due to seasonal rush to transport mango, which is given first preference as a perishable commodity. Sixty five artisans and producers participated in the seminar to create awareness about fair trade among the artisans community.

Bethany Colony Leprosy Association, Bapatla

Seventy-five artisans participated in the celebration organized at BCLA's campus at Baptala on 22 May 2006. Mr.P. Krishna, Project Coordinator of BCLA, Mr.PL.Ramasamy, Marketing Manager of SIPA along with Mr.Ganesh, Marketing Officer took part in the celebrations. The Fair Trade standards were translated into Telugu to make it easily understandable for the artisans. Mr. Ramasamy briefed about the impact created by fair trade practices in the market and the need for consistent efforts to build-up the production capacity and quality. Insurance certificates were distributed to fifty artisans covered under Mahatma Gandhi Bunker Bima Yojana (MGBBY), a health insurance scheme implemented by LIC of India.

Fairdeal Crafts Organisation, Kolkata

The 4th anniversary of Educational support programme was celebrated at Rajdanga slum of South Kolkata on the eve of "World Fair Trade Day”. On 13th May 2006, an awareness campaign on " Promoting Fair Trade to minimize Child Labour" was organized with the participation of artisans, social workers, and the general public. During the month, fair trade awareness sessions, distribution of study materials and stipend for poor students, training programme for artisans were also organised at various producer locations.

Godavari Delta Women Lace Artisans Cooperative

A fair trade meeting was conducted in the premises of Godavari. Artisans and office bearers of the organisation participated in the meeting.

Sasha, Kolkata

Sasha celebrated World Fair Trade Day on 13th May 2005 with the theme 'The Craft & the Craft-person'. In the run up to the celebration of the World Fair Trade Day, Sasha organized a series of live demonstrations by artisans mostly women who displayed crafts like Kantha, Dhokra, Indian puppet & doll making, stuffed cotton hangings and terracotta. An exhibition of cotton garments from all parts of the country was also organized during the celebrations.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on the 6th of May. Sharbari Dutta, noted fashion designer lit the lamp to inaugurate the event. Different artisan groups demonstrated their craft each day from the 8th to 12th of May.

The speciality of the cotton exhibition was cotton sarees and garments which were 100% hand-woven and coloured with vegetable dyes. But the most interesting part was that one could find regional specialties like Ajrak from Kutch, Maheswari from Madhya Pradesh, Ikkat from Orissa, Chikan from UP, Tie & Dye from North-East and so on. One interesting collection from Kerala was 'Ayur Vastra', where the sarees had therapeutic values drawn from Ayurveda.

On 13th May, a Patachitra painting workshop was held and children in the age group of 8-16 participated in it. Patua artist Karuna Chitrakar of Medinipur, led the workshop. Ankur Kala, a women's organization producing food products, distributed refreshments to the participants of the painting workshop.

Sipa, Chennai

SIPA celebrated “World Fair Trade Fortnight” jointly with its producer partners from the states of Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The celebrations got flagged off on May 13 evening. Mr.K.Panchaksharam, Secretary and CEO of SIPA briefed about the Fair Trade journey since 1960s and the key role played by SIPA for the growth of the movement. Mr. Peter Berridge, Consultant from Asia Fair Trade Forum (AFTF) was the chief guest. The event was followed by celebrations at 17 SIPA member-organisations across South India, from 14th May onwards for 12 days at their projects and production centres.

The celebrations attracted more than 2000 artisan families. Many Artisan welfare measures like launching of group Insurance, distribution of Artisan Cards and Health-check-up for artisan families were organised during the celebrations. Traditional art forms like “Villupattu” based on fair trade standards was organized at CAST in Tirunelveli District. “Lambani Dance” by Tribal women at SABALA in Bijapur (in Karnataka) also attracted artisans and general public alike. “Fair Trade March” in Pondicherry and get-together with stakeholders at SIPA's CRAFTLINK are the other highlights of the “Fair Trade Fortnight” celebrations organized by SIPA.

Walajah Cane Co-Op Society, Walajah, Vellore Dist,Tamilnadu (15th May 2006) Manapad Palmleaf Cooperative Society (18th May 2006), Seda, Kanyakumari (19th May 2006) Poornachandra Artisans Welfare Trust, Pedana (21st May 2006), Pulicat Palmleaf Cooperative Society, Pulicat (23rd May 2006), Tirupathur Rural Uplift Project Association-TRUPA, Tirupathur (24th May 2006) and Grand March, Pondicherry (25th May 2006) are the other producer members of SIPA who organized various fair trade awareness programmes as part of the Fair Trade Fortnight. The concluding ceremony and luncheon meet of SIPA's stakeholders was organized in Chennai on 27th May 2006.

SHARE, Vellore

On May 16th, SHARE celebrated the World Fair Trade Day celebrations jointly with SIPA at Adukkamparai near Vellore. In the morning, a procession was organized in which around 500 women and 50 men participated. It was followed by a meeting at SHARE, wherein 300 women members from Self Help Groups participated. Dr. Kothandaraman, Uris College, Vellore gave special address and Mr.Chandrasekaran, President, Uthavum Ullangal honoured the master craftsmen working with SHARE. Dr. Murugesan, Project Director, SHARE briefed about the nine Fair Trade standards and the practice of it in SHARE. Mr. Ravisankar, Marketing Officer also spoke on the ocassion.

Shilpa Trust, Bangalore

SHILPA Trust, Bangalore, organised World Fair Trade Day celebrations on 16th May in Chennapatna village wherein their wooden lacquer artisan group is located. Earlier, the Fair Trade Flag was hoisted in SHILPA Office at Bangalore and a free Medical check-up camp followed it. During the camp, around 160 artisans had their general health check-up. First aid boxes were also distributed during the occasion. Mr.Ganesh, Marketing Officer, SIPA also took part in the celebrations.

Silence Kolkata

Silence opened their new shop cum showroom on 13 May, World Fair Trade Day. Roopa Ganguly, renowned artist inaugurated the shop. The artisans and staff members of Silence organized a blood donation camp as part of the World Fair Trade Programme. Almost 300 persons including celebrities, government officials also attended and appreciated the program. The programmes were also covered widely in a number of television channels.

Tara, New Delhi

A meeting of producers including several experimental groups was organized on May 13, the World Fair Trade Day to launch one-month long Fair Trade awareness programmes.Seventy-five people including artisans, Tara staff-members and the representatives of FTF-I participated in the meeting. An awareness programme and artisan interface on 'Women Empowerment & Fair Trade' was organized at Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. More than 350 women from various Self-Help Groups from different villages in Agra and Firozabad districts participated in the programme.

The programme was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, Assistant Labour Commissioner of Firozabad district. Prof. Shyam S. Sharma, Adviser, Tara Projects elaborated the contributions made by Fair Trade Movement in ensuring socio-economic empowerment of grassroots women. Mr. A. N. Singhal, Micro Finance Consultant & General Manager (Retd.), NABARD also participated in the meeting.

A Fair Trade poetic symposium was organised at Sambhal on 12 June to conclude the Fair Trade Month celebrations of Tara. Dr. Shafiq-ur-Rahman Barq, Member of Parliament inaugurated the symposium. More than 400 people participated in the symposium. Nine poets recited their poems in the symposium.

Many awareness generation sessions, training programmes, tree plantation drive and campaigns were also organised as part of the fair trade month celebrations.