Bakewell celebrates Fairtrade Status
It was an opportunity for honoured guests such as the Lord Lieutenant John Bather and his wife Liz, the High Sheriff of Derbyshire Roger Wardle, and his wife Sue, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, MP Tom Levitt, local Rotarians, and long term supporters of Village Aid to learn more about projects in West Africa whilst enjoying a lunch made purely from Fair-trade ingredients.
One question on everyone’s lips was “Village Aid and Fairtrade? Where’s the link?”.
It takes a lot of hard work to be in the position to provide international markets with a high standard and in sufficient quantities. Village Aid help rural farmers in a variety of ways:
Access to land – essential for farmers to produce crops, and often disputed if owned by women due to the patriarchal hierarchy.
Sustainable Agriculture – skills that have been lost through civil wars and conflict need to be re-taught. Community gardens aid in facilitation.
Microfinance – with no access to banks in rural areas, micro finance is the way in which many people can borrow money to start up their own business.
Literacy and numeracy – without which rural communities can not run a business successfully.
Village Aid support Fair trade 100% but need your support to ensure that Fair trade is an achievable goal for rural communities in West Africa.
For more information, please visit our website www.villageaid.org