Here are just a few of our valued producers, and a little bit about them and how they have been affected by Fair Trade working. Click on a name to see the full story:
- Brazia - How Fairtrade wages benefit workers
- Khan Family - How Fairtrade premiums pay for workers health care
- Bijad - How Fairtrade Premiums pay for Micro-credit loans
- Kadir Ensure - How Fairtrade funds micro-credit
- Kitman - Sri Lankan Fair Trade rubber project
- Shymala - Fair trade rubber tapping in South India
- Sameena Nyaz - How Fairtrade Premiums help pay for healthcare
- Gollapalli Nampalli - Organic Cotton Growing in India
- Iramma Ramappa Bangari - Organic Cotton Growing in India
- Mr Babu - Fair Trade pension project for rubber tappers »
- Mr. Dadmanabhan - Health insurance from the Fair trade Fund
- Ms. Saradha - An operation paid for by Fair Trade premiums
- Rezwan Waris - How Fair Trade Premiums pay for Micro-credit
- Premavati and other Tsunami Victims - Greentips™ Rubber Band Balls
- Mr Sadasivan - Wedding costs help from Fair Trade premiums in South India
To find out more about the making of Fair Trade Footballs, see our video on YouTube.
» Fair Trade pension project for rubber tappers
Rubber Plantation workers in India are entitled to a pension but increasingly the state pension is not enough to cover rising living costs, so rubber tappers can face a difficult retirement. Now however, thanks to Fair Trade premiums paid by FDT all 185 workers on the New Ambadi estate will receive a RS 1000 bonus on retirement to supplement the state pension. They will then receive a further 1000 RS every year for 10 years plus any accumulated interest from this pension fund. This small extra income may not seem a great deal to us but is enough to pay for visits to children or for those little extras that can make retirement that bit easier.
On The New Ambadi Estate Mr. K. Babu (59 years) will be the first person to retire and benefit from this RS 1000 bonus. Mr Babu is a deserving recipient of a retirement bonus, he has worked his whole life as a rubber tapper which has affected his health, not least from rising every morning at 4:00 am.
Mr Babu’s wife, Vishalam (52) also works on the plantation and will also receive the RS 1000 bonus when she retires in 2017.