Brampton
Carlisle
Cockermouth
Eden Valley
Egremont
Kendal
Kirkby Lonsdale
Keswick
Lakes Parish
Millom
Windermere & Bowness
About Fairtrade Towns
To become a Fairtrade town or area you must meet the following five criteria:
1. The local council passes a resolution supporting Fairtrade and agrees to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings and in its offices and canteens.
2. A range of Fairtrade products is readily available in the area's shops and local cafes/catering establishments.
3. Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places and community organisations.
4. The town attracts media coverage and popular support for the campaign.
5. A local Fairtrade Steering Group is convened to ensure continued commitment to its Fairtrade Town status.
For more details of Fairtrade Towns nationally, visit the Fairtrade Foundation
Web site.
1. The local council passes a resolution supporting Fairtrade and agrees to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings and in its offices and canteens.
2. A range of Fairtrade products is readily available in the area's shops and local cafes/catering establishments.
3. Fairtrade products are used by a number of local work places and community organisations.
4. The town attracts media coverage and popular support for the campaign.
5. A local Fairtrade Steering Group is convened to ensure continued commitment to its Fairtrade Town status.
For more details of Fairtrade Towns nationally, visit the Fairtrade Foundation
Web site.
Local Information
You may well have heard of the Lake District, but have you heard of the Eden Valley? Nestled between the Lakes and the Pennines, the Eden Valley is a hidden gem: we're sure Adam and Eve would have chosen this as their Garden of Eden if the climate had been right for the wearing of fern leaves! With a population of around 50,000, large towns such as Penrith, Shap, Alston and Appleby, and many small villages, Eden is the home of the Eden River, the Lake District mountains, Wordsworths Daffodils and Shap Abbey. Hit hard by the foot and mouth crisis of 2001, Eden also has some major rural poverty, with a huge mix of people from a variety of social strata. Eden is a vibrant, growing district with plenty to see and do.
Background
Fair Trade goods have been available in Eden for a long time! Charity shops, supermarkets, cafes, churches, schools and Bed and Breakfasts didn't need a group meeting to convince them of the need for fair trading. But meeting together surely helps, and the key gathering for our group was in January 2005 when a Cumbria-wide Fair Trade group gathered in Ambleside. Inspired by this meeting and the fantastic people there, two Edenites raced back to Penrith and set up the first Eden group meeting. With the open, cosy, welcoming arms of the Bluebell Bookshop for our gatherings, the group has grown from strength to strength.
In February we received the unanimous support of Eden District Council for our work. Not only did the Councillors welcome our proposal, but they lauded our efforts, spoke on our behalf, and passed our motion unanimously - since then the Council has given us unstinting support, with the key help of the Tourism Officer, the Press Officer and of course the Chair of the District Council.
With lots of hard work, data gathering, (and the technical support of the Bolton Fair Trade Guide producers), by summer 2005 we had produced our first Eden Fair Trade Guide. Then, with enough press coverage and a decent proportion of businesses, schools and churches on board, we submitted our bid to the Fairt Trade Foundation - and were awarded status as a Fair Trade Zone on 29th October 2005. We celebrated this event by inviting our MP, David MacLean, to answer our questions on Trade Justice - a good humdinger of a debate, and a great way to celebrate.
In February we received the unanimous support of Eden District Council for our work. Not only did the Councillors welcome our proposal, but they lauded our efforts, spoke on our behalf, and passed our motion unanimously - since then the Council has given us unstinting support, with the key help of the Tourism Officer, the Press Officer and of course the Chair of the District Council.
With lots of hard work, data gathering, (and the technical support of the Bolton Fair Trade Guide producers), by summer 2005 we had produced our first Eden Fair Trade Guide. Then, with enough press coverage and a decent proportion of businesses, schools and churches on board, we submitted our bid to the Fairt Trade Foundation - and were awarded status as a Fair Trade Zone on 29th October 2005. We celebrated this event by inviting our MP, David MacLean, to answer our questions on Trade Justice - a good humdinger of a debate, and a great way to celebrate.
The launch of Eden Fairtrade District at the Bluebell Bookshop, Penrith
The third edition of our Guide is due out in the summer of 2006. We hope that it will be double the size of the first one, with over 100 entries.It's been a whirlwind experience, but one full of learning, understanding of the issues, and perhaps most importantly to building of trusting relationships between members of the growing network, and with businesses in the area. We are particularly excited that many of the secondary schools in the area: Ullswater Community College, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Appleby Grammar School, and many of our primary and junior schools are including fair trade issues in their citizenship curriculum elements, and are themselves, in some cases led by highly motivated and able pupils, opening Fair Trade Tuck Shops, and working towards Fair Trade Status for their schools.
NEWS
We were delighted to welcome Shailesh Patel and Emily Reynolds from the Fair Trade Foundation to Penrith during Fair Trade Fortnight in March 2006. Shailesh, a manager with Agrocel Fair Trade Cotton Producers in India spoke powerfully about his work and the importance of local cooperatives, while Emily Reynolds updated us on the latest new s from the Fair Trade Foundation.
In the process of updating our Guide, we hope to register more schools and our local university as Fair Trade establishments. And we are delighted that the trains which link Cumbria and Somerset, the only Fair Trade counties in the UK now serve exclusively Fair Trade produce!
In the process of updating our Guide, we hope to register more schools and our local university as Fair Trade establishments. And we are delighted that the trains which link Cumbria and Somerset, the only Fair Trade counties in the UK now serve exclusively Fair Trade produce!
CONTACT
Chair: Nicki Vecqueray 01768 840749 ,
Secretary: Ruth Harvey 01768 840749,