Celebration Of Hope - Experience the Market

When an artisan in Kenya finishes a handmade wool rug, she has put all her time and resources into doing everything she can to support her family. While she could look to sell her product in a local market, she would not get as much as she could by selling to clients in a developed world setting. That’s where we come in. We are the market for their Fair Trade products. And together we can help address the harsh reality of poverty for those in Africa and Latin America.

Through education, microenterprise, and Fair Trade principles, workers can begin to lift themselves out of poverty. Shop the World Market in Willow’s lobby and support Fair Trade businesses and microenterprise artisans. It’s all a part of the World Market that is open around services on April 26-27, April 30 and May 3-4.

Be sure to see what some of our church partners are doing to assist their communities in combating issues of hunger and poverty.

Supporting Fair Trade Certified businesses empowers people with dignity and a hunger-free future. Shop Celebration of Hope ’08 World Market on April 26-27, April 30 and May 3-4 and become a valued customer to a productive, dignified artisan across the world.

There are many ways you can continue to shop Fair Trade. Check out these organizations for more information:

What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a set of standards and practices that brings justice and dignity to impoverished people around the world.

Fair Trade involves the following principles:

Producers receive a fair price - a living wage. For commodities, farmers receive a stable, minimum price
Forced labor and exploitative child labor are not allowed
Buyers and producers trade under direct long-term relationships
Producers have access to financial and technical assistance
Sustainable production techniques are encouraged
Working conditions are healthy and safe
Equal employment opportunities are provided for all
All aspects of trade and production are open to public accountability

In the USA, TransFair USA places the "Fair Trade Certified" label on Fair Trade Products. Fair Trade Certification ensures that workers are paid fair wages are free from abusive labor practices use environmentally sustainable methods.

Meet our Fair Trade Vendors
At Willow’s World Market on April 26-27, April 30 and May 3-4, you may sample international products such as:

Craftswomen in the White Lotus co-op produce a variety of mulberry paper, paper goods, and stationery. They live and work in rural villages in Thailand where the pastoral setting masks the ugly sex trade that many such women would be forced into, as a desperate means to earn money to support their hungry families.

TradeasOne has created a long-term support relationship with White Lotus and 62 other such vendors in 28 countries, allowing vulnerable women and poverty-ravaged families to earn a dignified living wage in safe, ecologically-sustainable environments. TradeasOne connects its vendors with buyers all over the world, people like you who can make a lasting difference in the face of poverty by choosing to buy Fair Trade products.

You can also help fight poverty by making an online donation that will include things like sponsoring chickens and seeds that will provide income for African families.

Fair Trade and Coffee
The United States consumes one-fifth of the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in the world. But few Americans realize that agriculture workers in the coffee industry often toil in what can be described as "sweatshops in the fields." Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. How can you combat this injustice? Commit to buying only Fair Trade coffee.

The Fair Trade system benefits over 800,000 farmers organized into cooperatives and unions in 48 countries. Fair Trade has helped farmers provide for their families' basic needs and invest in community development; however, these farmers are still selling most of their crop outside of the Fair Trade system because not enough companies are buying at Fair Trade prices. Your support of Fair Trade certified products helps increase the demand for Fair Trade among companies, retailers, and consumers, and makes a life-changing difference for small-scale farmers and vendors.

Dr. B's Coffee
Since 2004, Dr. B’s Café, Willow’s coffee shop, has only served Fair Trade coffee. When you purchase a coffee drink from Dr. B’s you are supporting a farmer who is supporting his family with the profit from your beverage. For instance, a farmer receives $.65 per pound from non-Fair Trade coffee, while he receives $1.26/pound from the sale of Fair Trade. While consumers pay only 5% more for the coffee product, the farmer realizes a 94% increase in his profit.

In 2007, Dr. B’s customers supported Fair Trade coffee farms by purchasing 30,400 cups of Fair Trade coffee and 33,500 specialty coffee drinks (lattes, cappuccino’s, etc…). That equals over 10,000 pounds of coffee beans grown in humane, ecologically-sustainable conditions, where local farmers brought a fair profit home to their families.

	Non-Fair Trade Coffees			Fair Trade Certified Coffees
Pounds of Coffee Bought by Dr. B’s in 2006	Fair Trade Price	Non-Fair Trade Price	$ Increase to Farmer	% Increase to Farmer	% Increase to Consumer
1,300	$1,638	$845	$793	94%	11%

What about other coffee vendors?
We know you don’t buy every cup of coffee at Dr. B’s. Sometimes you may get your caffeine jolt at other well-known coffee hang-outs. There are ways to insure you’re part of the Fair Trade movement.

Starbucks, the Coffee Giant
Ask for Café Estima, available by the pound. While Café Estima is Starbuck's only Fair Trade Certified coffee, all Starbucks’ beans are purchased at or above the Fair Trade rate. In fiscal year 2003, when prices for commercial-grade arabica coffee ranged from $0.55-$0.70 per pound, Starbucks paid an average of $1.20 per pound for all of their coffee. In fiscal 2005, Starbucks paid an average price of $1.28 per pound, which was 23 percent higher than the average New York “C” market price during the same time frame.* (www.starbucks.com/aboutus/StarbucksAndFairTrade.pdf)
Seattle’s Best Coffee:
Ask for Fair Trade Certified Organic French Roast

Stepping Stones Out of Poverty
While food relief is vital in the crisis of starvation, it doesn’t bring long-term solutions to hunger. Five stepping stones must be in place for people to walk toward long-term freedom from hunger and poverty:

Immediate Relief - People who are starving receive food.
Food Security – Effort is made to create a food source. If people can plant a garden, for instance, they can keep their family fed and still have leftovers to sell at market.
Education – Many people have job skills; they simply need to build their knowledge base to become employable. Education and training prepares them for a job.
Microenterprise – Once skills and knowledge are possessed, microenterprise companies create jobs by building business co-ops, providing short-term capital, and funding the tools needed to create a profitable industry owned by the people.
Fair Trade – Now that they are using their knowledge, skills and tools to produce something of value, these businesses need buyers. Fair Trade provides buyers who pay a fair price for these products, from which the people earn a living wage for themselves and their families.

Long-Term Solution: Education
Education is key to breaking free from the cycle of poverty. Without the knowledge and training needed to envision and pursue a different life, people continue to live in poverty, relying on relief efforts for their food.

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names, and extreme poverty cripples the educational process. Children must work rather than attend school, or are too weak or sick to attend. And too often, the school has no funding for the basic necessity of education: Books.

Student Impact Samfya High School Textbook Project
When high school students from Student Impact became aware of the dire need for basic textbooks at Samfya High School, they undertook a fundraising challenge. Over the course of the next few months, students raised more than $25,000 to purchase over 1,000 textbooks for their 1,175 Samfyan high school brothers and sisters.

Willow Creek has ministry partners in Samfya, Zambia, a remote region in Africa engulfed in a poverty crisis. Over 80% of Zambia�s population lives below the poverty line, making education difficult.

When a serving team from Student Impact traveled to Samfya in March, 2008, eight students and four adults did more than deliver books. They spent a week tutoring, working on projects, and building relationships with the students they met. This stepping stone of education will help lead these Samfyan students out of poverty.