This is a rough guide only. Please adjust according to your audience. Q: Who’s seen this sign before? Where? Q: Do you know what the FAIRTRADE Mark stands for? I hope you’ll have an even better understanding before the end of today/ this morning/this afternoon and will want to get involved

I want to begin by telling you the story of Joyce Chibouro I want to begin by telling you the story of Joyce Chibouro. Joyce is a farmer in Malawi

You can see Malawi here (point to it on screen- it’s sandwiched between Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia). It is roughly the size of England, home to nearly thirteen million people and is one of the world’s poorest countries (12th poorest according to the United Nations). Life expectancy is just 40 years and the average income is less than two dollars a day. 14.2% of the population are HIV-positive.

Joyce is a farmer. Q. Looking at the picture can anyone guess what she grows? Joyce doesn’t just grow sugar for use in Malawi. She is a member of Kasinthula Cane Growers Ltd, which sells sugar to Traidcraft for use in lots of products including chocolate biscuit.

In fact on the back of Traidcraft’s Fairbreak cookies there is a picture of Joyce. As you can see Joyce is very happy she is treated fairly and Kasinthula get a good price for their sugar. But that is not the case with all sugar farmers in Africa

Sugar prices in real terms Over the past thirty years the price companies paid farmers for sugar has dropped dramatically. With prices so low it sometimes cost farmers more to produce sugar than they were paid. Many farmers were borrowing money to get by and they were often tempted to give up farming all together.

To combat this problem some companies like Traidcraft work directly with farmers in Africa like Joyce. These fair trade companies offer farmers a better deal

The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees: Farmers receive a fair and stable price for their products Producers have the opportunity to improve their lives through a social premium Greater respect for the environment Small farmers have a stronger position in world markets, and A closer link between shoppers and producers Read bullet points and elaborate: Farmers are paid enough to cover what it costs them to grow their produce, pay for their basic needs and make some improvements to their lives On top of that they receive money to spend in their communities on things like health and education and putting back into their businesses It also helps them to protect the environment by better use of the natural resources and farming organically wherever possible instead of using harmful pesticides By cutting out the ‘middleman’ and dealing directly with fair trade buyers, farmers can find out what people really want and can improve their products to meet people’s needs. Also by (pooling their resources and) working together, the small farmers not only save money – they also have a stronger voice and are listened to Finally it means we understand more about the people behind the food we eat and the clothes we wear So what does this mean for Joyce?

The premium has actually paid for two boreholes, one in the village of Kapasule and the other in Joyce's village of Chinangwa. Previously women spent a long time traveling to get water. Now it is available on their doorstep.

In addition to fresh water, the social premium is paying for Joyce’s village to have its own electricity supply. So what difference will this make to Joyce’s life? “Now when we are going to cook we use the firewood. When we have electricity we will be able to use it for cooking. Now I need to use a lamp but we will be able to use electricity for light and we will have fridges to keep food fresh.” As well as buying sugar from Kasinthula, Traidcraft has helped to fund several training activities that help the farmers understand their business better. Many of the farmers have very low levels of literacy and numeracy, so progress can be slow.

Joyce wants to provide the best for her 14-month-old son, Chiyembekezo Joyce wants to provide the best for her 14-month-old son, Chiyembekezo. His name means ‘waiting for something good’ and Joyce believes that people in the UK can play a part in helping her son – and other sugar farmers’ families – to enjoy something good as they grow up. “I want my baby to have a good future,” she said. “If I am able to get more money, I could send him to high school so he may stand by himself in the future. “We give praise to fair trade. I want you to tell people that they make Joyce, a sugar farmer, very happy when they buy our Kasinthula sugar.” But this is just one family. What about all the other farmers who export crops? What happened to those selling on the ‘free’ market – those that did not get fair trade prices?

Commodity Prices in Real Terms: Cotton It’s the same story…the price of cotton fell

Commodity Prices in Real Terms: Rubber …and rubber

Commodity Prices in Real Terms: Cocoa … and cocoa prices.

Commodity Prices in Real Terms: Coffee …and coffee. Farmers are being forced into poverty as they are paid less and less for their produce. But as we have seen fair trade is different. In buying fair trade product, Traidcraft pays producers a fair and stable price.

To find out more about Traidcraft’s work you can visit www. traidcraft To find out more about Traidcraft’s work you can visit www.traidcraft.co.uk Or you can visit www.seetheflipside.co.uk which is a site especially for young people, where there are downloads and details of all kinds of ways that you can get involved. As well as learning about Fairtrade and campaigning, See the Flipside helps schools and other youth organisations buy Fairtrade products- like Joyce’s FairBreaks- that you can then sell in tuckshops or canteens. Finally you could become…

A fair trade school. To become a fair trade school all you have to say is…

We are a Fairtrade School: Our school has set up a Fairtrade School Steering Group Our school has written and adopted a whole school Fairtrade Policy Our school is committed to selling, promoting and using Fairtrade products Our whole school learns about Fairtrade issues Our school is committed to promoting and taking action for Fairtrade in school and the wider community Read and elaborate: Our school… with young people taking the initiative and involving teaching staff, catering staff, governors, parents – anyone that has something to contribute Our school … signed by the headteacher and school governors Our school… in the canteen, staff room, vending machine, at events etc – as far as you can – at least to have tried! Our school… It’s not a matter of charity – it’s a matter of justice. This is about educating and understanding how to make the world a fairer place Our school… So go on, get out there, and make a difference!

www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools Find out more about becoming a Fairtrade school at www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools

Thanks for listening!