Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance


Collaborative Excellence and Accountability
August 2019
Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It's finally summer! Not as bad yet as "Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city, all around, people looking half dead, walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head" in the Lovin Spoonful's "Summer in the City" song. Even in our small town in the countryside it gets hot.

What’s also hot is our continued work on the new standard version 4.0. It has been a while in the making, and we intend to publish the draft for feedback by the end of September. At that time, we will give you a thorough introduction to the changes and amendments. Several of the changes have already been introduced in the form of guidance documents, and for the others there will be a sufficient transition period if your operation is affected.
 
On another front, our diligent work with community proposals and evaluations is paying off. The submissions are timelier and some are of truly exceptional quality. A shout out to all the certified producers who take the time and energy to do this. 

We wish all of you a refreshing dip in a cool lake or similar adventure. Keep doing the good work and make a difference!

For the FairTSA Team
Winfried Fuchshofen
Community Development - Jiangxi Wanzai Ginger 
Jiangxi Wanzai Jinjiang Organic Foods Co. is a FairTSA Fair Trade certified producer of ginger products in Jiangxi Province, China. Since 2014, FairTSA has been collaborating with Jiangxi Wanzai on infrastructure projects that will help provide long-term benefit to the villages of Dongfeng and Juifa, two ginger producing communities located in the mountainous Wanzai county region.
Ginger cultivation in China dates back to the 6th Century BCE, where it was used widely in the treatment of common ailments such as nausea, joint pain, and fatigue. The community members at Juifa and Dongfeng have used FairTSA premium funds to improve their access to agricultural technology and training in organic ginger production, to educate and enable their community to keep up with the globalized, international demand. Community Development Projects centered around direct agricultural investment helping the production of high quality organic ginger so that farmers can have increased financial stability, while reducing the level of demanding manual labor required in cultivation. In some cases, these direct agricultural investments are called for by the community members for their lasting and important impact on the quality of life of the farming community.
In the past years the small farmers struggled with flooding and in 2017 this became an especially serious issue, when flooding was followed by a severe draught. This threatened a major part of their ginger production (see photo above of wilted ginger plants). Therefore, they decided to use the Social Premium to invest in greenhouses to secure at least a part of their annual production and thereby create some independence from adverse weather events.
Recently, a Community Development meeting was held with the farmers to reflect on the 2018 Community Development project and agree on a 2019 project through inclusive and democratic decision making. The farmer community discussed the past investments of agricultural inputs as well as what Community Development proposal for year 2019 would best serve them. The main goals identified are as follows:

• Investment in farming inputs to save time and labor fertilizing and maintaining the plants
 
• Educating farmers about ginger planning technology and organic and fair trade information .

• Purchasing of black plastic film to cover the ground and keep the temperature consistent and control the weeds
 
• A submersible pump and water pipes to irrigate the crop
 
• A generator for better and more consistent control of the power on the farm


These projects will help offset the costs and labor of growing their crop, and create further independence in their work. Please check in on the Projects Section of our website to see updates and other Community Development Projects around the world!
Introducing . . .

New FairTSA Licensees

Originally founded in 1952, Mercon manages export operations from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Vietnam and Brazil, offering an excellent quality coffee bean to roasters around the world, exporting products especially to the United States and Europe. In addition to their values of integrity and teamwork, Mercon works to improve healthcare and education in their communities, while reducing emissions in the coffee bean production. 

Founded in 2009 by entrepreneurs Laurent Coulloumme-Labarthe and Simon Ferniot, they share a passion for a good, healthy and organic diet. Biogroupe's strong commitment to organic and Fair Trade plant based products, diversity of staff and the environment are central to the operation. Their motto: “Our Happiness, Your Health", cultivates a positive and supportive work environment.

Located in The Colony, Texas, Honey Blossom's mission has always been to bring real, raw, unadulterated, unprocessed honey to their customers. They place their bees at specific farms in the most pristine rural areas throughout Mexico, where they’re able to create unique honey varieties by collecting the nectar from the blossom of the main floral source where they are located, ensuring they make the highest quality and flavorful honey.
Our Newest FairTSA Producers

Apiarios Bloso - (Mexico) - Honey  

Kandetiya Agro Products - (Sri Lanka) - Coconut Products 

AOA Comercializadora - Working with the beekeeper cooperative Apiarios Bloso
(Mexico) - Honey

Cooperating Certifiers
Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance
 | 518-794-0286 |
wfuchshofen@fairtsa.org | fairtsa.org