Fairtrade's impact on farmers and workers - Fairtrade tea in East Africa

What impact does Fairtrade have on farmers and workers? This overview film for our series 'The impact of Fairtrade tea' highlights how Fairtrade makes a difference to farmers and workers, using examples from Sireet OEP tea co-operative in Kenya and Kibena Tea Estate in Tanzania.

http://www.fairtrade.or.ke

Africa: Flower Farmers to Increase Their Market Visibility Through Innovative Online Platform

Fairtrade Africa has partnered with an online flower platform to increase visibility of Fairtrade flowers through profiling them through online platforms such as FlorAccess ( www.floraccess.com).
"This is intended to help producer organizations increase Fairtrade sales," says Caleb Lang'at, Fairtrade Africa's Flower Manager.

The platform allows Fairtrade - certified flower organisations to request for login details, which enables them to upload their flower details and farm profile. This includes and is not limited to: length, variety, type, head size, CSR activities, and Fairtrade premium projects.

Over 60 Producer Organizations globally have been exposed to the system's usability. The pioneers, including three farms from East Africa, have begun processing their applications, enrolment and subscription.

Today over 90% of floriculture buyers use the internet as their prime source of information when looking for products thus confirming the viability of this support for Fairtrade Flowers.

Buyers will now be able to search for a combination of product name and the Fairtrade certification. The cooperation between Fairtrade and the online platforms shall create a unique selling point thus helping increase markets access and sales for Fairtrade Flower producer organizations.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201503230531.html

http://www.faritrade.or.ke

Routes to Market Consultant (Re-Advertised)

Routes to Market Consultant (Re-Advertised)

Terms of Reference

Background: Fairtrade Marketing Organization Eastern Africa believes in a world where all producers can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods and fulfil their potential.
Fairtrade is a global movement, which addresses the injustices of conventional trade, specifically in agriculture. It stands for sustainability and development through trade. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers globally.We contribute to this vision in the following ways:

• We promote intra-African trade opportunities to create extra market access and offer African consumers the opportunity to shop sustainably
• We offer African traders an avenue to source and trade sustainably through sourcing from Fairtrade certified producers.
• We raise awareness on trade justice by drawing attention to the concerns producers face

Overview of opportunity: Fairtrade Marketing Organization Eastern Africa is part of a consortium of organisations who have received funding the Big Lottery Fund, a prominent UK-based funder.
Our project will work in Kipkelion Union – a collection of coffee cooperatives in KerichoCounty–supporting women farmers from two member cooperatives into income earning positionsand providing marketing support for the sale of their coffee into local or export markets.
We seek the input of a consultant to lead the development of a focused marketing strategy identifying the most viable routes to market for women’s coffee from target cooperatives within Kipkelion Union.

• This strategy will build on leads to prospective buyers already known to FMOEA as well as involving consultation with new potential buyers both in local and export markets.
• Having identified the range of possible options this strategy will define in concrete detail which routes represent the most viable prospects for further development; clearly linking the volume and grade of available women’s coffee with the size of commercial interest from potential buyers,and including consideration for their interest in coffee in green bean or roasted form.
• Critically, this strategy will then be expected to provide a step-by-step overview of the actions that need to be taken to pursue the most viable routes for women to sell into – in line with the criteria of buyers and ensuring that women’s coffee reaches the market ina way which maximises impact and sales.
• At all times consideration of external factors which may affect the viability of sales locally or internationally (e.g. policies, regulations, license requirements and so on) must also be fully accounted for.

As the successful applicant you will be supported in these actions by the Project Manager and the Director. You will be required to visit Kipkelion Union and member cooperatives to collect relevant data and others as required.
Role and responsibility:As the consultant for this work you will be responsible for:

• Leading in the implementation of research at the cooperative and Union levels to identify existing volumes and quality of coffee, as well as researching existing marketing arrangements
• Leading in the implementation of the market research with prospective buyers of women’s coffee – including existing prospective buyers known by FMOEA and other project partners as well as researching entirely new buyers at the local and export market levels.
• Leading in the writing and delivery of a focused marketing strategy into the most viable routes to market for women’s coffee, as outlined in the previous section, as well as proposed budgets required for the same.

Person specification

• Essential: Demonstrable experience of developing marketing strategies for organisations through commercial and/or procurement routes
• Essential: Experience in conducting consultation work with different types of organizations
• Essential:  Excellent communication skills and time management with the ability to create a compelling case in support of Fairtrade’s work in accordance with tight deadlines.
• Essential: Excellent knowledge of the Kenyan coffee sector including knowledge of coffee buyers, national and international regulation relating to sales
• Essential: Knowledge of issues affecting smallholder farming cooperatives particularly those connected to market access and licensing requirements for sales (locally and for export).
• Strongly desirable: Knowledge of gender-sensitive interventions in agriculture.
• Strongly desirable: Knowledge of Ethical Trade and Fairtrade in particular is an advantage

Timing and remuneration:
We are seeking a consultant to work for 25 daysin total including preparation for a field visit,interviews with the producers, potential buyers/traders and other relevant stakeholders, as well as the subsequent development of the study piece.
All costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence are covered by FMOEA.
To express interest please submit a C.V and a 1-page expression of interest document overviewing relevant experiences to date(in line with the person specification) as well as the proposed work plan.
Deadline for submission is 20^thApril2015.
Download Application

Applications to be sent to info@fairtrade.or.ke

Fairtrade On Holiday Campaign

Fairtrade is an ethical certification system which aims to promote more equality and sustainability in the farming sector. It is a global brand that is supported by many consumers who form the bulk of the tourists who visit Kenya.

Fairtrade products are sold in over 125 countries.

Tourists from the UK, US, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Spain amongst others are already strong supporters of Fairtrade in their countries with awareness and support levels of 90% and above. Our local consumer base is also growing rapidly.

Join our exciting Fairtrade on Holiday programme by purchasing Fairtrade products for use in your lodge, hotel, restaurant or camp.

By stocking and selling Fairtrade products, you demonstrate your ethical commitment to your customers as well as positively impact the producers of these commodities by allowing them earn a fair price for their products as well as use Fairtrade Premiums to develop their society
In turn, we will feature your facility  on our website, in  social media communication, at our events and across all our communication platforms as a Fairtrade supporter, a claim you can make in your communications.

Write to us and sign the Fairtrade on Holiday Registration form and we will help you take it from there!

Download PDF registration for here | Download Word registration for here


visit our website for more details - http://www.fairtrade.or.ke/fairtrade-on-holiday-2/

Fairtrade Africa becomes a Fairtrade@Work Partner

Fairtrade Africa joined the Fairtrade Marketing Organization Eastern Africa to become a Fairtrade@Work Partner.

Fairtrade Staff enjoying their cup of tea and coffee during a coffee break at their offices

Established in 2005, Fairtrade Africa is the independent non-profit umbrella organization representing all Fairtrade certified producers in Africa. Fairtrade Africa is owned by its members, who are African producer organizations certified against international Fairtrade standards producing traditional export commodities such as coffee, cocoa, tea, cotton, bananas, mango and non-traditional commodities including shea butter and rooibos tea. Currently, the organization represents over 860,000 producers across 32 countries in Africa.

Fairtrade@work is a programme of Fairtrade Marketing Organization Eastern Africa that aims at promoting the use of Fairtrade, which is an ethical certification, as a Corporate Social Responsibility tool for Eastern Africa businesses.

The programme’s main objectives are:

(1) To stimulate and drive demand for ‪#‎Fairtrade‬ products; and

(2) To increase awareness of Fairtrade among local businesses as well as their employees

You can become a F@W partner by purchasing Fairtrade products for your office use.
Remember a significant part of Fairtrade’s success internationally is because of the support the movement has received from businesses like you, NGO’s , schools, universities and towns. Please join and support our producers!
http://www.fairtrade.or.ke/fairtrade@work/

Fairtrade Brand Ambassadors Trip To Nyeri

Fairtrade brand ambassadors will be visiting 2 of our licensed producer Organizations;

• Rung’eto Farmers’ Co-operative Society (Coffee growing)
• Ndima Tea Factory both in Nyeri County (Tea growing)

SUMMARY OF DETAILS
EVENT:  BRAND AMBASSADORS TRIP TO NYERI
DATE: FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2015
MEETING POINT: RE-INSURANCE PLAZA (in the Nairobi CBD for transportation to the trip sites)
TIME: 7:30 A.M Sharp

COMPETITION !!!!!!COMPETITION!!!

As brand ambassadors, we would like to believe that you already like our Facebook page and are following  us on twitter!
This competition starts NOW and we would love to see how well you know Fairtrade and how active you are as a brand ambassador!
Do you know what Fairtrade products there are in Kenya or the  projects that have been carried out by different producers using Fairtrade premiums?
Well ,you have to prove that to us!
Post as many times as YOU  want on your personal pages about us (remember to tag Fairtrade in Kenya) and on the our timeline.
The person with the most likes to their posts and retweets starting from today and throughout the trip and who best communicates Fairtrade wins a great Fairtrade gift hamper.
Remember to stay on topic and be respectful to the Fairtrade brand
The ambassador who best utilizes all our social media pages on the right margin and with the most number of likes and retweets will go home with a number of Fairtrade goodies!! Good luck!!!

http://www.fairtrade.or.ke/fairtrade-in-action/fairtrade-brand-ambassadors-trip-to-nyeri/

Artcaffé's Martin Shabaya wins The 2015 Kenya National Barista Championship

Artcaffé Restaurant's barista, Martin Shabaya has won the 2015 Kenya National Barista Championship held at The Oval, in Westlands, Nairobi at the weekend.

In the tightly contested competition, Mr Shabaya beat his closest rival; Mr. Martin Opiyo of Nairobi Java House by 2 points to represent Kenya at the World Barista Championships (WBC) in the Seattle, US, in April this year.

The category winners were;

• Best Presentation: Martin Opiyo
• Best Capuccino: Martin Opiyo
• Best Signature beverage: Martin Shabaya
• Best Espresso: Martin Shabaya 

The official results went as follows;

• Winner: Martin Shabaya; Artecaffe
• 1st Runners Up: Martin Opiyo; Nairobi Java House
• 2nd Runners Up: William Odhako; Fairview Hotel
• 4th Place: Ambrose Ador; Nairobi Java House
• 5th Place: Jessee Wambugu; Hotel Sankara
• 6th Place Steve Mwema; Artecaffe

The event was officiated by head judge, Teija Lublinlifhof, who was in Nairobi representing World Coffee Events, organisers of the global championship, along with six locally trained judges who are baristas, food and beverage manager and coffee enthusiasts in Kenya.

This year’s competition attracted 40 participants from different restaurants and hotels in the country including Tribe Hotel, Safari Park Hotel, Windsor Golf and Country Club, Sankara Hotel, Sarova Group, Artcaffé Coffee Shops, Nairobi Java House, Flamingo Resort Mombasa, Serena Hotels and Fairview.

#KNBC2015