It’s this time of the year again and Fairtrade Fortnight – the UK’s biggest celebration of all things fair trade, is around the corner. This year the festivities will start on the 21st of February and come to an end on the 6th of March. During these 2 weeks, there will be plenty of opportunities for all people – big or small, to take part in different activities. Across the country, there are online workshops, seminars, cook-alongs, exhibitions and many more.
Here at Rainbow Turtle, we want to start the celebrations by organising a “Design a Fairtrade t-shirt” competition for young people. This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight theme is CHOOSE THE WORLD YOU WANT and we feel that giving young people a voice in the discussion about the world future is fundamental.
So we invite every young person in Renfrewshire and beyond to share their creativity with us. Don’t be shy! Creativity, striking ideas and understanding of the topic are just as important as artistic skills.
WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR DESIGNS!
The selected artworks will be displayed in the Rainbow Turtle shop and submitted for the national Fairtrade Fortnight competition organised by Fairtrade Foundation.
You can download the t-shirt template below or pick one up from the Rainbow Turtle shop.
THE DESIGNS HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED BY 4 PM ON THE 26TH FEBRUARY 2022 VIA EMAIL (education@rainbowturtle.org.uk) OR TO THE RAINBOW TURTLE SHOP.
This episode takes us back to February 2016 to the very first Rainbow Turtle podcast which was previously thought to be lost. Part 1 of this episode takes us on a fair trade journey:
It starts with founder, Liz Cotton, talking to school pupils.
It then chats to attendees at the Scottish Fair Trade Forum AGM,
Before Ross Beattie looks at fair trade in Uzbekistan and Lynsay Bellshaw talks about her average day at Rainbow Turtle.
The episode finishes with an interview with rice farmer, Howard Msukwa, from Malawi.
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Following on from Jenipher Sambazi’s talk at our COP26 event, and our recent news item about Jenipher’s Coffee being stocked by Rainbow Turtle, we thought you’d like to hear more about her and the amazing work that she does in Uganda. Jenipher is an inspiring person who talks about how fair trade has changed the perception of women in Uganda. She also shares what she is doing on her coffee farm to combat the effects of climate change. Click on the video below, sit back with your cup of Jenipher’s Coffee, and relax…
Please note that Rainbow Turtle will be reopening for business on Saturday 8th Jan at 10am. You can not only buy her delicious coffee but you can peruse our extensive stock of fair trade drinks, food, crafts and gift cards.
Welcome to this special Christmas episode of the Rainbow Turtle Rebooted podcast where I’m delighted to be able to interview Pauline Tiffen of the Journal of Fair Trade. Ever since I started this series I have been trying to get Pauline onto it. I first heard her speak at a Scottish Fair Trade Forum lecture back in the summer of 2020, at the height of lock down, when she spoke about the future of fair trade. It struck me then that her thinking about fair trade was on a different level to mine.
She’s been involved in fair trade, or earlier versions of it, since the mid 1980s. She helped set up Cafe Direct and Divine Chocolate. Pauline was head hunted by the World Bank to look at ethical financing. And she currently edits the Journal of Fair Trade and is involved in the setting up of a business to business project, which links cooperative coffee farmers in landlocked Uganda and Rwanda with small coffee roasters and coffee shops around the UK.
We had a fascinating chat where she talked about her early bohemian childhood following her travelling actor father, to her studying russian in the old Soviet Union and then moving to Poland when Lech Walesa started the Solidarity revolution. I’ve decided to keep this longer podcast together in one episode just to maintain the fluidity of her interesting story. I do hope that you can find the time to listen to it and enjoy her story like I have done.
My thanks to Pauline for sharing her thoughts on fair trade and on her interesting life experiences. It was a real pleasure to interview her and I hope that you have enjoyed this episode as much as I have done. Listen out for more of our episodes, particularly for a series of talks we recorded during COP26.
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This is the 2nd part of Martin Rhode’s talk that he gave to Rainbow Turtle at their AGM back in October. In part one he talked about the links between COP26 and Fair Trade. In this episode he answers questions from the audience and goes into some of the areas more deeply. Some of the questions he dealt with were:
How did we prevent the global south paying for the cost of the climate emergency,
What was happening to tariffs that was preventing producers from exporting finished products rather than raw materials,
And, what was the Scottish Fair Trade Forum doing after COP26?
So pour yourself a cup of tea, sit back and relax…
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Rainbow Turtle’s Smithhills Street window for COP26
As part of Paisley’s Windows on Cop 26 Illuminated window art trail, Rainbow Turtle was fortunate to have its Smithhills Street window beautifully decorated by artists, Rebecca Johnstone and Tzaritsa Asante. Working on a theme of Global Hands Working Together it reflects the different hands that need to work together to save our environment.
Paisley First and Renfrewshire Leisure teamed up together to create an art trail through Paisley that includes the Rainbow Turtle shop wind. They wanted to link the COP26 discussions happening in Glasgow with the climate issues that were important to the Paisley business owners. For more information on the art trail click here.
Rebecca Johnstone (aka Dainty Dora) is a writer, artist and designer creating bold and colourful hand-drawn pattern designs and illustrations – such as the iconic Paisley Pattern – to create her unique ‘Pattern Bomb Prints’, design calendars and stand-alone illustrations. More about her work can be found here.
Tzaritsa Asante is a sustainable fashion designer from Scotland/Ghana. More about her work can be found here. Tzaritsa will also be speaking at Rainbow Turtle’s COP26 event, “Climate change & fair trade: Behind the scenes” on Friday 12th November at 6pm in the Life Church in Paisley. More information on our event can be found here.
Welcome to our 7th edition of Rainbow Turtle Rebooted podcast. In this episode we talk to Mauro Pereira from Brazil. He is the executive director of Defenders of the Planet, an environmental campaign group based in Rio de Janiero. He is attending the COP26 summit as the focal point for Latin America for the sustainable development goals.
Mauro talks passionately about our environment, especially at what has been lost or destroyed in his home country, he talks about his early influences and what led him to campaign for the environment.
This episode was recorded ahead of the start of COP26 and we were fortunate to hear from Mauro before he spoke to the conference on Thursday 4th November.
Martin Rhodes of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum recently spoke at the Rainbow Turtle AGM about the importance of fair trade to the COP26 talks starting in Glasgow at the end of October. He states passionately that there can be no climate justice without trade justice.
This is part one of the podcast. Part two will be the question and answer session that followed.
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Welcome to the 5th episode of the Rainbow Turtle Rebooted podcast. In this episode, I’m delighted to interview former Rainbow Turtle education officer, Josh Brown.
Josh offers some interesting insights into fair trade and the concept of development in relation to developing countries. He spent some time studying indigenous peoples in Australia, which formed his thinking on the effects of colonialism.
Josh reflects on his time at Rainbow Turtle and the work that he did in schools. He has a refreshing attitude to working with young people where he likes to encourage questioning, rather than providing answers. He also gives a shout out for some of the wonderful people that he worked with at Rainbow Turtle, in particular, Molly McGavigan, who showed him the ropes.
Finally, Josh talks about the work that he’s currently doing with teachers, to give them the tools that they need to work with young people in schools.
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This years’ BLACK HISTORY MONTH is in full swing and I feel one cannot talk about fair trade, climate justice and social justice without talking about Africa and the people that call this beautiful continent home. Many events, both good and bad, shaped the way Africa is today and it is crucial to remember them and recognize their importance, for there is no future without the past. Today, however, I would like to reflect on how we see and how we talk about Africa.
For years, the African continent has been associated with poverty, corruption, political chaos, human rights abuse, various diseases and a lack of both development and ambition. While some of these things are undoubtedly present in parts of the continent, the challenge is to look beyond that, to look beyond media cliches and plain stereotypes, as shrouded behind all these is a beautiful, radiant, vibrant and diverse continent.
When I think of Africa I think about breath-taking scenery, diverse fauna and flora, delicious food and a wonderful variety of musical sounds. I think about all these but mostly, I think about the PEOPLE. It is disdainful to throw African people into one pot as this huge continent has more tribes, cultures, religious beliefs and languages than an average person can comprehend. From this diversity stems the true beauty of Africa. From Tunisia to South Africa, from Senegal to Somalia – Africa is a patchwork of cultures and traditions that are as radiant and thriving today as they were hundreds of years ago. So yes, Africa is a beautiful place that is alive thanks to the people that live there.
It is a popular belief that due to the fact that many African countries struggle with high levels of poverty, only pocket deep donations can overcome this problem. While, arguably, this approach might be relevant in some situations, for instance, environmental catastrophe or even armed conflict resolution, it is my opinion that Africa would indeed benefit from every one of us becoming a conscious citizen. We need to understand the effect our actions have on other people (however far they might be) and the planet. African people are no different to us in the meaning that they work hard to earn the living. The difference is in how that work is valued and treated. If we demand from our leaders to ensure honest, fair and decent pay for work to everyone on every step of the trade chain there will be no need for charity and aid money. To me, this is fundamental in understanding Africa and its people.
Perhaps this is quite obvious, but nonetheless, I would like you to think about those people. Think about people when you are shopping for this warm winter cardigan to prepare for long winter nights. Think about people when you are drinking that life-saving morning coffee to help you get through the day filled to the brim with things that just can not wait, kids that need your attention right now and the boss that wanted this paper on his desk yesterday. Think about people when you are making the comforting bowl of curry and rice for the dinner. Think about people when you are buying flowers for someone you care about. Think about people, as they make all these possible. Is this why they deserve to be treated fairly and with respect? No. They deserve to be treated as our equals because that is who they are. Being human is enough to deserve respect. Borders, different skin tones or a different way of saying ‘hello’ don’t change that. We need to treat people fairly because they are people.
So please, instead of thinking about poverty think about equality, instead of feeling pity think about fairness. Let’s stand up for human rights – this October and for as long as it’s needed.
