Projects supported by the Fair Trade Centre

Alternative Trade Network of Nigeria - Empowering women

The Alternative Trade Network of Nigeria (ATNN) support the production of tambils, traditional hand-woven baskets. In this predominantly Muslim community, the ATNN was able to convince the religious and political leaders of the benefits of the trade in tambils.

Gumutindo - Developing and marketing premium Fair Trade coffees from Bugisu farmers on Mount Elgon, Uganda

In 1990 the Ugandan coffee industry was suddenly liberalized, and the four most active and transparent primary societies grouped together and established Gumutindo.Gumutindo tries to increase the volumes of high quality coffee from its members and to improve further that quality through farmer training and better control systems.

Undugu Society Kenya - Training in product development, management and marketing

The society was founded by Father Arnold Grol, a Dutch priest who had observed the increasing number of street children in Nairobi. Today Undugu runs 8 social programmes in the slums around Nairobi (basic education, reintegration, health care programmes,...)

Vredeseilanden - Establishment of a Sustainable Trade relationship between small-scale rice farmers in Benin and Colruyt 

The ambition of the Belgian NGO, Vredeseilanden is to contribute to improving  livelihood for small-scale family rice farmers. Vredeseilanden has explored opportunities for new trade opportunities and contacted the Belgian supermarket Colruyt to find out to what extent the quality of the rice can be improved for marketing in Colruyt.

CIMA - Attending international Fair Trade Fairs

CIMA's objective is to promote the development and the marketing of fair and ecological products mainly from wood sculptors. Attending large international events to establish connections with the European market is an important step. Large fairs allow meeting many consumers and distributors at once, and are a chance to assess the competition and any opportunities.

BOMBOLULU -  Supporting production and marketing of Fair Trade products

To allow the physically handicapped to take care of themselves by generating their own income, Bombolulu was created in 1969. Bombolulu organizes a variety of art and craftwork workshops: African jewellery, textile printing, leather working, wood sculpting,... Bombolulu also rebuilt an African village representing Kenya's ethnic diversity.

KEFAT - Increasing the impact of Fair Trade in Kenya

The Kenya Federation for Alternative Trade was created in 2003 to initiate a national network on fair trade. The general goal of the project is to work more closely with other regional and international organizations, the private sector and the government and in this way to position itself in a more favourable commercial environment.

Machakos District Co-operative Union -  Increasing the impact of Fair Trade in Kenya

The remote area of Machakos has neither infrastructure nor sources of income; and the yield of small farmers is scarcely sufficient to feed their families. Machakos has thus gradually turned to local handicrafts and offers various services to its members (advice, training, product development, low-rate credit,...)

RECOSAF - Promoting solidarity tourism in Cameroon

Tourism can be a strong driving force for the economy;  nonetheless, most often the countries of the North remain the principal beneficiaries. This is the reason why the Réseau des Compétences Sans Frontières is at the origin of the fair and solidarity tourism project in Cameroon. It is seeking to diversify, innovate and develop local resources so that tourism benefits the rural and urban communities. 

Asia Fair Trade Forum -  Financial planning and management information programme

Southern fair traders have relatively little experience with the mainstream markets in the North. They are not equipped with the skills necessary to set meaningful objectives or individual or team performance targets. But that is so necessary if one is to drive the business forward in an entrepreneurial manner.

Fair Trade Alliance Kerala - Strengthening the marketing of Fair Trade products

For years, the members of the Fair Trade Alliance Kerala have been fighting against indebtedness of farmers and for the safekeeping of the Earth an for the diversification of agricultural production. INFACT main activities consist in promoting and strengthening popular initiatives, building up links between governmental institutions, NGO’s and popular organizations, equipping farmers to deal with market uncertainties,...

International Resources Fairer Trade

IRFT’s central objective is to promote fair trade and to support the sustainable development of micro and small-sized enterprises. IRFT tries to access domestic and export markets for products of these businesses. At the other, the project raises awareness and understanding of fair trade amongst potential consumers, the media, politicians and Indian decision-makers.

Sindyanna of Galilée, Oxfam-Wereldwinkels - Upgrading food quality control procedures

Sindyanna offre a unique cooperation between Arabs and Jews, striving to strengthen the economy of the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories. Sindyanna is helping to develop the Arabian olive growing industry wich provided these farmers with an essential additional income.  

Fair Trade Forum India - Fair Trade Plus: Increasing the impact of Fair Trade as a means to fight poverty

The Fair Trade Forum India (FTFI) was created to adapt the fair trade practices to the specific local features. The Forum organizes seminars, exhibitions, anda fair trade day.

Gospel House Handicrafts - Marketing Fair Trade products

Gospel House Handicrafts is a small enterprise that manufactures a wide variety of objects. It offers training programmes and employs about 90 young adults in the context of fair trade wich give them the opportunity to earn a fair salary and allows them to regain their dignity and self-esteem.

Otro Mercado al sur/altromercato - Integrated production chain of Fair clothes

These 2 organizations propose an original initiative with the objective to certify the whole production chain: wich means that from cotton seed to store, all the actors in the chain will be paid fairly for their work. The goal of Otro Mercado al Sur and Altromercato is to ensure stable trade outlets, to improve the production techniques and to increase the quality of the products.

Camari -  Assuring quality, health and safety in the production of organic granulated brown sugar

Camari is a national system of solidarity marketing, based on fair trade principles. The project aims at improving the quality of Ecuadorian panela (a sweetener , which does not enjoy a strong competitive position on the international market. Some producers have begun to develop granulated panela “panela granulada”, but the quality still varies too greatly severely limiting the marketing conditions of panela in the national and international markets.

Coagrosol - Compost projet

Thanks to the climate particularly favourable for orange groves, Brazil is the world’s main producer of orange juice. But in the region it is impossible to find sufficient volumes of organic. Hence the idea of processing organic agro-industrial waste into compost and using urban organic waste to maintain parks and other green spaces.

Coinacapa -  Marketing nuts through Liberat!on co-owned by marginalized nut producers in Latin America

COINACAPA is a co-operative of nut gatherers in the Bolivian Amazon, that was created to improve its members’ access to the local and external market. The co-operative transports the Amazonian nuts to the plant processor, coordinates the export and is responsible for the marketing.

Cumbre del Sajama -  Pilot project for the implementation of a Fair Trade certification for gold in Bolivia

Cumbre del Sajama is an interdisciplinary group of professionals working in the mining sector. In collaboration with FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organization), this group develop a project of fair trade certification for gold in four Latin American countries. If the entire project concludes, the FLO certification could be adopted.

Fundacion solidaridad Chili - Organizational qualification and development of producers with limited resources to facilitate market access

The organization seeks to give people a dignified life through work. Sixty small producers with no access to the market are grouped into 15 new enterprises. Each entreprise has their own products, receive the necessary consultation and services.

Max Havelaar Belgique -  Fair Trade certification of soya in Brazil

Soya is a food product with exceptional nutritional qualities, used principally as food for livestock and humans. Fair Trade soya could also provide an alternative for those consumers who are aware and concerned about the ill effects of large-scale soya production.

Miel Maya Honing - The production of characteristic honey varieties 

Bee keeping offers many advantages for small Indian farmers who are often marginalized particularly this of requiring only a small area for the hives. The project consists of identifying the monofloral honeys and determining the true potential of production of each honey, taking into account the variability of the production because of the environment.

International Institute for sustainable development-  Evaluating the costs and the benefits of Sustainable practices in the coffee sector

The IISD is a Canadian research centre that took part in the first global project that evaluates sustainability of practices and initiatives in matters of sustainable trade in the coffee sector. Through a multicriteria analysis, the project analyse the social, economic and environmental impact of the various certification systems.

Fair Fashion Fair - Participation to fashion Salon for professionals

Thanks to the Fair Trade Centre, 17 organisations presented their Spring summer 2007 collection, on July 23rd and 24th, 2006. Among exhibitors: Afesip from Cambodia, Dezign from Zimbabwe, Asarbolsem from Bolivia,... 

Tourisme équitable et solidaire - Attending the three editions of the “Tourisme Autrement” Salon

In some forms, tourism could be a powerful economic driver; Nonetheless, the countries in the North most often remain the main beneficiaries. Confronted with these reports, many organizations have given rise to the notion of fair and solidarity tourism.