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.
» Organic Cotton Growing in India
Mrs Iramma Ramappa Bangari (40) from Neelagunda Village (2500 inhabitants), married at a young age to her husband Hussed (now 55) who has suffered from polio since he was 10. While she was married into one of the most important families into the village, it must have been rather hard on a young girl. They have six children; four girls and two boys. The two boys (18 and 22 years) dropped out of school and are working in the fields. Three of the girls are married, the youngest (16) is in 10th grade at school.
All the land is from the husband's family, they also live in the ancestral home, Iramma’s father-in-law farmed until he died 10 years ago at the age of 92. Unusually, when he died, he gave his land equally to his (handicapped) son, and four daughters, by local standards he was a substantial farmer indeed.
Mrs Bangari and her family farm 51.5 acres organically, of which 25.2 acres is under cotton. Other crops are jowar (local, open headed corn), sunflower, wheat, chick peas and coriander which is intercropped with cotton to use all space. Labour is a problem because organic farming is labour intensive, largely due to the added weeding. Mrs Bandari calculates that it takes 90 days to keep 3 acres properly weeded so that in peak seasons she employs up to 40 people. The government minimum wage is 82 rupees (£1) per day for farm labour, casual workers in the region are paid 50-100 rupees (£0.67-£1.34) - PLUS ½-1 kg/day of whatever is harvested, which is far more important than the cash component, both for food security and for value.
Apart from the land the family has four cattle to provide valuable manure to the land and the compost heaps Ms Bangari turned consciously to organic farming in 2000 - in recognition that all her ancestors farmed this way.