A Positive Fair Trade Partnership

The devastating impacts of climate change and the benefits of Fair Trade for communities in Malawi were shared in Edinburgh yesterday by Malawian Rice Farmer, Howard Msukwa.

Howard said that whilst Scots may learn of the Climate Crisis in books or the media, its devastating consequences are all too real in the lives of Malawians today.

Social Enterprise, True Origin Foods (previously JTS) together with its partner charity True Origin Partnerships (previously The Balmore Trust) have a longstanding partnership with the Kaporo Smallholder Farmers Association (KASFA) in the Karonga region of Northern Malawi. True Origin Partnerships have supported Howard to come and inform and inspire groups across Scotland as part of Fair Trade Fortnight.

The Chair of True Origin, Mary Popple highlighted some of the challenges and the joys of running a Fair Trade social enterprise, beginning in 2009 and growing to sell more than £500,000 of fairly traded products each year. Mary said that this is built on long term and sustainable relationships with producers and crucially has WFTO guaranteed status which means that all processes they control abide by the 10 principles of Fair Trade.

Growing Kilombero rice as a member of KASFA, Howard thanked True Origin for their long-term support, assistance in mitigating some of the effects of the climate emergency and helping Malawian smallholder farmers to maintain an income.

Howard told the audience in the Cornerstone Centre, St John’s, Edinburgh that the partnership with True Origin has helped fund communities’ priorities. These have included the purchase of mechanised and solar pumps for irrigation to make growing in the Winter possible; enabling ox-carts to be funded for the transportation of rice and funding the safe storage of crops; helping Malawian villages to fund secondary school education, and improving the socio-economic situation for women.

The audience of approximately 40 people, (in an event organised collaboratively by True Origin, the One World Shop and the SMP), included students studying Advanced Higher Economics at George Watson’s College. George Watson’s, which has an active partnership with Malawi, committed to the 90kg rice challenge which is a great way of supporting small holder farmers in Malawi to pursue what they know will make a positive and lasting difference in their communities. Please see below.

Congratulations to True Origin who are celebrating 15 years of successfully trading fairly!

About the 90kg-rice-challenge