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Fair Trade Events – Online!

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With most of the world interrupted at the moment, you’ll be pleased to learn that some Fair Trade events are now online. This might mean that some things you may have missed in the past are now much more accessible!

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum‘s 2020 awards are taking place on Monday 16th November. Sign up here to celebrate the winners of these prestigious awards, along with Jenny Gilruth, Scotland’s Minister for Europe and International Development.

Younger campaigners may also be interested in this week’s Youth Climate Summit. You can sign up for a wide variety of sessions, on topics ranging from Fairtrade chocolate to sustainable fashion here.

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Where is Rio off to now?

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Rio the lion was recently off on his travels, but where was he going, I hear you ask? (Note, lions are not covered by the current travel restrictions, since there is no evidence that they are carriers of the covid 19 virus.)

Rio waiting to go on his travels

Rio’s been looking a wee bit tired lately and he arrived at Mary Russell school in Paisley today where he is to undergo a makeover. The pupils of the school are going to redecorate him for this year’s Rainbow Turtle Christmas window.

Rio is going back to school

Again, I hear you ask, what has a lion got to do with Christmas and fair trade? Our theme this year will be about diversity, and how much more diverse can you get with a green lion and a rainbow turtle?

Watch this space for further exciting episodes from the life of the far-travelled Rio the lion.

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A Chocoholic’s Dream…

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We’ve just taken an enormous delivery of Divine Chocolate to the shop, including some new and unusual flavours!

We’ve also now got advent calendars and other chocolate treats and gifts in stock. A full list can be found here, and remember that you can reserve items for collection or arrange local delivery on our online ordering page here.

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Guess who’s returning to Rainbow Turtle?

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Which of these personalities is coming back to Rainbow Turtle?

We heard that one of our friends is returning to Rainbow Turtle and wondered if you could guess who it is?

No, it’s not our former education officer, Josh Brown. Nor is our previous media officer, Ross Beattie. Neither is it one time chair of trustees, Jim Rutherford.

Yes, you’ve got it, it’s Rio the lion, who adorned our shop in 2016 during the time of the Paisley 2021 bid. Since then Rio has been staying at Wallace Primary School (who had also decorated him at the time). Wallace Primary have very kindly offered him back to Rainbow Turtle and we were delighted to accept. We’re hoping to give Rio a makeover and get him ready for our Christmas shop window. Watch this space for more news about him.

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Paisley Pumpkin Halloween Trail

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If you’re out and about in Paisley this weekend with kids (or maybe you’re just a kid at heart!) then the Paisley Pumpkin Halloween Trail is a fun, socially distanced activity to keep the whole family entertained. At Rainbow Turtle we’ve got this cheeky chappy to tick off your list, and if you pop into the shop we’ve also got maps of the trail and plenty of Fair Trade sweets on sale to keep your energy levels up!

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Malaysian Curry with Kilombero Rice

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With the colder weather starting, it feels like time to make warming and tasty meals – like this Malaysian Curry with Kilombero Rice recipe, developed by our friends at JTS. Several of the ingredients can be purchased from the Rainbow Turtle shop!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Shallots (can replace with 1 onion)
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 teaspoons of Turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon of Eswatini Swazi Fire (available at Rainbow Turtle)
  • 1 teaspoon of Lemongrass paste
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped Ginger
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 400g Chicken Breast
  • 200ml of Chicken Stock
  • 1 tin (400g) Ma’s Fairtrade & Organic Coconut Milk (available at Rainbow Turtle)
  • 300g Kilombero Rice (available at Rainbow Turtle)

Directions:

  1. Blend the shallots, garlic, turmeric, lemongrass and ginger into a paste. Add the Swazi Fire to the  strength that you desire. Note – a full teaspoon will be quite hot!
  2. Pre-heat a large frying pan or wok and add some oil. Cut the chicken into cubes of approximately 1 inch and add to the wok. Fry the chicken to seal in the flavour until it has a golden brown colour. Add the onion and fry until soft.
  3. Add in your paste and fry for a further 2 minutes.
  4. Open your tin of Fairtrade coconut milk and add to the paste. (Note – coconut milk can separate in colder temperatures so you may have to scoop the solid part out of the tin into the pan. This will not affect the flavour and will soon melt into the mix).
  5. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Serve with Kilombero rice for a really tasty Malaysian curry.

If you enjoyed this lovely curry, see here for more JTS recipes!

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Supplier Story: Mary & Martha Mongolia

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Mary & Martha Mongolia supply several of our lovely craft items, ranging from Christmas decorations to socks! Watch the video below to learn more about their background and their Fair Trade principles. Of particular interest might be the story behind the recycled glass angels, which we sell many of each Christmas!

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Rainbow Turtle AGM 2020

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You are cordially invited to Rainbow Turtle’s AGM on 6th October 2020 at 7pm. To attend our online meeting please sign up here.

The meeting will provide you with an opportunity to hear about the charity’s progress during 2019/20, its financial position as of 31/3/20 and members will have the chance to elect the board of trustees for the coming 12 months. Once you have registered for the meeting you will be contacted closer to the date about joining instructions.

The agenda for the business part of the evening is:

  1. Welcome
  2. Sederunt
  3. Apologies
  4. Minutes of AGM on 8 October 2019
  5. Matters Arising
  6. Chair’s Report
  7. Financial Report
  8. Election of Management Committee
  9. Any other competent business

Following the business portion of the AGM we will be delighted to welcome Tracy Mitchell, managing director of JTS Fair Food Fine Food, as our guest speaker. She will be talking about “JTS – The Global Pandemic And The Supply Chains”. After her talk there will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

If you would like to attend our meeting click our Eventbrite link here.

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Organic September 2020

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This month is Organic September and the Soil Association, who organise this annual campaign, think that the ever-changing times we now find outselves in are even more of a reason to get involved in the movement. They say:

This year has brought more changes to our world than anyone could have foreseen. With more of us seeking solutions to help restore nature, health and a safe climate, becoming part of the organic movement this year can help make a world of difference.

To celebrate, we’re going to revisit our blog post from last year and take a tour through just some of the organic products available at Rainbow Turtle…

“Organic September is a month-long campaign designed to encourage more people to try organic as a way to promote and educate people about organic food & farming practices.  
Following a year of unprecedented environmental protest and ground-breaking research, there’s never been a better moment to shout about the role organic farming has to play in the climate change debate:
🌿 Benefiting nature
🐝 Wildlife
🌍 The planet
🌾 And building healthy soils.
Campaigning for more organic food and farming means that together, we can slow down climate change.”

The Soil Association

At Rainbow Turtle, we sell a wide variety of products which are not only Fairtrade certified, but organic as well because we believe that Fair Trade should care about the environment, as well as about people. These products include:

Bird & Wild bag of coffee

Bird & Wild Coffee
£4.89

Traidcraft jars of marmalade and jam

Traidcraft Orange Marmalade & Strawberry Jam
£2.65

Hampstead boxes of rosehip & hibiscus and Peppermint & spearmint tea bags

Hampstead Rosehip & Hibiscus and Peppermint & Spearmint Teas
£2.40/£2.49

Ma's Happy Life Organic Coconut Milk, 3 tins

Ma’s Happy Life Coconut Milk
£1.85

Clipper boxes of green teas

Clipper Green Teas with Echinacea and with Lemon
£1.98/£1.79

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Back to School

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Schools in Scotland have been back for a good while now, and the rest of the UK is following suit this month, so it’s a good time to think ahead to how we can continue to include Fair Trade in the curriculum over the coming months in these challenging times.

To celebrate September’s Global Citizenship month Highland One World have launched their Wee Flags for Change challenge to design a flag based around a commitment to one positive action on a global issue (perhaps Fair Trade?) and share a socially distantanced campaign video.

September is also the month of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s annual awards to recognise and celebrate the achievements of individuals, groups and organisations who make Scotland a Fair Trade Nation. If your school’s Fair Trade group has done something really special over the last year why not nominate them here by Monday 14th September. The awards will be presented virtually in November.

An easy and fun way for pupils to learn about Fair Trade is to screen some short films, such as the recent series on a family of cocoa farmers produced by the Fairtrade Foundation. These are suitable for viewing in school or at home and include an activity pack.

World Cotton Day is coming up on 7th October, which is a good opportunity to investigate a Fair Trade product that isn’t one of the usual suspects like bananas or chocolate! The Fairtrade Foundation have collated information and activities here.

If you would like more ideas or help with Fair Trade activities in the classroom you can contact our Education Officer here.