It’s our first birthday!
You’ll have read a fair amount in the press about the Fairtrade Foundation turning 15. Well October saw our first anniversary as a Fairtrade City. We held our annual borough workshop on October 20th, and took the opportunity to take a look back at both anniversaries. However, the afternoon was not just about the past: we heard from Zaytoun, one of our newer London based social enterprises, and the story of how this Fairtrade olive oil comes to market is truly inspirational. (One of our campaign steering group members has just returned from spending her holidays on the olive harvest with Zaytoun , so more of that anon).
We also had a session with Café Direct on the art of coffee tasting – complete with orange segments and chocolate to bring out the various flavours. As one delegate stated, our coffee options have come a long way since the days of Mellow Birds! We also had practical sessions around Fairtrade and schools, Communications and planning for Fairtrade Fortnight next year.
After all that thinking, the final session gave us a well earned opportunity to sample Fairtrade wines (courtesy of the Co-operative), Fair Vodka (the world’s first vodka made from quinoa, and the first to be Fairtrade certified) and enjoy a slice of birthday cake.
