[caption id="attachment_335" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pamela Alimurung at Arcadia's Fair Trade Fashion Show"]
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New York City Fair Trade Coalition is an all-volunteer grassroots movement that was founded in 2005. Pamela Alimurung has been chairperson since August 2010. According to her, fair trade is important for everyone to know because it raises awareness of the humanity behind consumerism.
“Our mission is two-fold. We educate the public on the importance and value of fair trade,” she said. “We want people to know there is a life behind every product we use and consume. We also promote and partner with our business members by offering them events to sell to the public or platforms to help their businesses grow.”
NYFTC has about 35 fair trade businesses and the list is growing. The members pay a small fee and NYCFTC offers them events, public relations support and general business building. “We have retail partners like Arcadia, Think Coffee and Sustainable NYC, faith organizations such as Judson Memorial Church and fair trade associations like Fair Trade Resources Network and Fair Trade Federation that help spread the word on events and host our sessions.”
[caption id="attachment_326" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Cecila Appinanim from Kupa Kokoo, on left, talks to a supporter"]
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NYCFTC has held educational events such as a Q&A with Cecilia Appianim, a cocoa farmer with Kuapa Kokoo. They produce cocoa for Divine Chocolate and own 45% of the company. NYCFTC partnered up with Fair Trade U.S.A who organized Appianim’s travel arrangements and Sustainable NYC, a local and eco-friendly store, who held the event.
“We had about 35 people attend and they were engaged and learned about Cecilia’s work on the farm, how fair trade has positively affected her, her family and her community and, of course, to enjoy Divine Chocolate samples,” Alimurung said.
NYCFTC’s more recent event was a film screening of “The Dark Side of Chocolate.” They were honored to have the filmmaker, U. Roberto Romano, attend and answer questions. This time NYCFTC worked with Trade School, where individuals can teach for free, in downtown NYC to host the event. Alimurung recalls how amazing it was to see everyone stay after the event to discuss further the issues in the cocoa business.
[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignright" width="300" caption="NYCFTC's Fair Trade Holiday Fair"]
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“I had one person tell me, ‘I could live off chocolate. I had no idea most of these brands I eat everyday blind themselves to the use of trafficked child labor. I can only buy fair trade now,’” she said. Seems like NYCFTC’s educational events work!
In addition to their informational sessions, NYCFTC also holds business events. They held “Fair Trade Holiday Fair” in December 2010 at Judson Memorial Church where 15 fair trade businesses came to sell their products for two days.
“It was well-attended and businesses were able to interact with the consumers,” Alimurung said. “The consumers, through their purchases, learned about how these fair trade businesses were “giving back” to the artisan community.”
[caption id="attachment_327" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Rhea Alexander, founder of DIGS, with her son and husband in the background"]
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Alimurung bought the Robot Christmas Ornament at the holiday fair from DIGS for her godson, Max. She thought it would be a fun opportunity to teach him about recycled and fair trade items. He then brought it to school for show-and-tell!
“Now that I am more involved in fair trade I really try my best to make my dollar count,” Alimurung said. “This has also made me realize how much we consume and buy without thinking of the life at that other end of the supply chain.”
Thank you Suzanna Finley for NYCFTC’s photographs.
Beads have been crucial to the lives of Africans throughout their history. Africans wore beads to communicate cultural values that expressed religion, rank, politics, and artistic attitudes. By the early 19th Century Africans were bartering beads that were made out of glass, stones, wood, seeds, shells, clay and bone for gold, ivory, and incense. Beads were used as a symbolic language to express fertility, ward off evil spirits and even cure illness.
In modern days, adornment remains the primary use of beading across the entire continent. In African cultures, beadwork adornment plays a significant role in romance attracting members of the opposite sex. Beadwork is the communication of ideas and feelings.
Francine LeFrak is usually recognized for her award-winning theatrical and television productions but, her accomplishments go far beyond the stage and big screen. The multi talented entrepenuer founded SAME SKY, a project in Rwanda that gives HIV-positive women of the Rwandan Genocide a chance to rebuild their lives. The artisans of SAME SKY make a wonderful modern interpretation of the traditional beadwork of their region. Artisans refer to them as “beads of hope” because they give them the opportunity to put food on the table for their families and help rebuild their community. SAME SKY’s current project with DIGS consists of unique bracelets constructed of luminous hand-blown glass beads, precisely crocheted together and signed by the artisan who designed it.
you can purchase SAME SKY bracelets directly from our site: http://www.digs.com/designers-s/17.htm
