As a preparation for fair trade fortnight this year, we would like to welcome you to our exciting chocolate tasting event on Saturday 11th February at 12:30pm in the Methodist Central Hall, Paisley.
We have invited Juan Andres from Pacari Chocolates UK to come and take us on a journey through the world of chocolate. Listen to his expert knowledge and try out delicious, organic, vegan, WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation) certified bean-to-bar chocolate from Ecuador. We are already salivating!
Get your tickets by using the enclosed EventBrite link. Ticket are priced at £15.
Our first winner is a Fair Trade shop that has recently celebrated 20 years in business. Based in Paisley, it offers a high street retail shop for customers from Paisley, Renfrewshire and the surrounding area. It has also been a centre and catalyst of Fair Trade campaigning in its local communities. Congratulations to our winner – Rainbow Turtle.
In response director, Colum Scriven, thanked them saying:
Thanks to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum for the award. It’s particularly lovely that it has been given to us in our 20th year.
I’d like to dedicate this award it to all the volunteers, staff, trustees and directors of Rainbow Turtle, both current and former. They are the heartbeat of Rainbow Turtle. I’d also like to acknowledge the part played by the people of Paisley and of Renfrewshire for the support that they give to us.
In a world where big systems seem to hold sway and where we’re troubled by war, economic problems and impending environmental disaster, I would like to recognise the difference that the small people make. For me it’s the small things that create the big changes. Where we, the small people in Paisley, can have a big effect on the world. Paisley is a place where someone can buy a bag of rice from our shop that can benefit a farmer and his or her family in Malawi. This story never reaches the news but for me it is far more important.
I’m grateful to the work that the Scottish Fair Trade Forum does in supporting the links with the other fair trade organisations in Scotland. For me fair trade is about community because we have to work together to make a positive difference.
We’re delighted to announce our charity’s AGM on Tuesday 25th October 2022 at 7pm at the Methodist Central Halls in Paisley (Smithhills Street entrance). Tea and coffee will be provided. All welcome. Please email info@rainbowturtle.org.uk if you plan to attend.
The business section of the meeting will be followed by a talk by Kiera Wilkins of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum about the Alternative Coffee Company from Nate Strawser of The Gatehouse Coffee Roasters in Paisley who roasts their Rwandan coffee. There will be an opportunity to sample some Rwandan Coffee from the Alternative Coffee Co.
Enclosed are the papers for the meeting (please click on the link to open the relevant paper):
The Paisley Daily kindly printed a double page spread on Friday of our birthday celebrations from the 31st August as well as photos from the past, marking our 20 years in Paisley.
Page 6 from Paisley Daily Express 2/9/22Page 7 from Paisley Daily Express 2/9/22
We’d love it if you could join us in our celebrations on the 31st August and/or 3rd September. Follow the link below to book your free (but ticketed) ceilidh tickets.
Rainbow Turtle: 20 years of campaigning for Fair Trade in Renfrewshire. Come and join us in our celebrations and share your stories with us
To celebrate our 20 years campaigning and selling fair trade products in Renfrewshire, we’d like to invite you to our family ceilidh on Saturday 3rd September at 7pm at the Methodist Central Hall in Smithhills Street in Paisley.
Space is limited, so please book your free place(s) with the following Eventbrite link:
To paraphrase a line from Dylan Thomas’ poem, Poem In October, August 31st is our 20th anniversary of being a shop and charity in Paisley, Renfrewshire. We have had an incredible journey over these last 20 years and it’s amazing that we’re still here.
We started back in 2002, when four friends – Liz Cotton, Phil Cotton, Kate Cox and Alison Patrick – had this exciting idea to move from running stalls in church halls to open a fair trade shop in Paisley. Those early years were about stepping out in trust, not knowing what the outcome would be.
We went through the heady years of growth, when we had a warehouse in Paisley and shared it with JTS, the importer and distributer of WFTO foods. Then our periods of financial difficulty when we looked like closing and had to pull back to just the shop again. Days when we were deep in our overdraft and didn’t have enough to pay the staff the next day. There was the impact of Covid when we didn’t know if we’d open again…
And yet we are still here, selling fair trade goods from our delightful Paisley shop and educating the young people of the west of Scotland about fair trade. We’ve welcomed rice farmers from Africa, honey producers from Guatemala, clothing makers from India, and who can forget Foncho our banana farmer from Colombia? We’ve even helped in making Paisley a fair trade town and Renfrewshire a fair trade zone. Last year we hosted Mauro Pereira from Brazil, a delegate at the COP26 conference in Glasgow who gave an impassioned talk on our podcast.
Foncho , banana farmer from ColombiaKenneth and Howard, rice farmers from MalawiIsmael Diaz, honey producer from GuatemalaMauro Pereira, climate change activist from Brazil
With all our ups and downs, recently one volunteer described Rainbow Turtle as the Miracle Shop. It’s been a constant theme throughout our existence, that when we’ve been at our lowest, and everything is bleak, something miraculous happens to revitalise us.
Along with our miracles we wouldn’t be here without the assistance of so many people and organisations. Primarily we’re grateful to our volunteers who bring their smiles and their enthusiasm to the shop. We particularly remember those who have passed away and are no longer with us. Many’s the time we’ve had positive feedback for the helpfulness and friendliness of a particular volunteer.
RT staff and volunteers at our fair trade meal in 2016
We’d never have started without the vision of Liz, Phil, Alison and Kate and the help of the Paisley Methodist Central Hall, who kindly offered us accommodation on a very low rent. We’re grateful to all the schools and church groups who’ve supported us by ordering fair trade stalls or inviting us in for talks and conferences.
Finally, we can’t forget the people of Paisley and the west of Scotland who’ve embraced us and shopped at 7 Gauze Street. It’s by buying our fair trade goods that we can help farmers and producers in developing countries. Through them we create this global bridge between Paisley and other parts of the world. The tiny actions of individuals here make a massive difference to others elsewhere.
Our delightful Paisley shop with shop manager and volunteers
What’s next? To celebrate our anniversary, we’ll be holding a cake cutting in the shop on the 31st August 2022, and a ceilidh (but of course!) in the Paisley Methodist Central Hall on Saturday 3rd September. Watch this space for more details and how to book for these events.
The new summer edition of Love Paisley, the magazine produced by Paisley First, featured an article on Rainbow Turtle on page 11. It explains why we believe that fair trade is so important and how Paisley’s past links well with what we do. Click on the image below and it should take you straight to page 11. In order to read the article you’ll probably need to maximise the screen (there is a little frame icon in the bottom right of the magazine window. Alternatively, you can read a fuller version of the article if you click here. Enjoy!
As some of you may remember, this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight brought focus to young people and their call for action to slow down the environmental crisis and help those most affected.
To encourage local youth to think about it, Rainbow Turtle has organised a competition for school-aged children. The task was to design a Fairtrade t-shirt that corresponded with the “Choose the world you want” theme.
We are happy to announce, that the winners have been chosen, even though the choice wasn’t easy. We were flooded by the submission and they were all very unique and attractive! We want to thank all the parents, guardians and teachers, who encouraged children to think about Fairtrade and to take part in the competition. We also want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the young people who took part. You are our future leaders and the faith of our planet and its habitants depends also on your choices. We thank you for taking the time to think about the current environmental emergency and about farmers in producers living and working in the global south. You may not be earning, spending and investing money just yet, but Fairtrade is more than just a shopping logo. It’s a movement of people who care about others and sharing that message and awareness is a fantastic way of making sure our guardians, teachers or local and global decision-makers hear your voice and act upon it.
The number of designs and their quality prompted us to split the artworks and prizes into 3 categories: Primary School years 1-3, Primary School years 4-7 and Secondary School.
Congratulations to all the winners and please bear with us, if your prize hasn’t arrived yet. We are working hard to arrange everything so that each of the winners will get a small token of gratitude.
You can see all the winning artworks and a selection of other entries in our shop’s window. It adds a lovely splash of colour to our building 🙂
Below you can see photos of laureates from the secondary school category with their certificates. Their teacher rewarded them with a trip to our shop, where they were able to receive their prizes and certificates in person.
It’s with real sadness that we announce the passing of Molly McGavigan last Sunday (27th March). Molly was a great fair trade campaigner and supporter of Rainbow Turtle. As a volunteer, Molly originally set up our education programme where she would go into schools and teach them about fair trade. Now we have a full time education officer, but we wouldn’t have this if Molly hadn’t have set it up at the beginning.
We would like to collect memories and photos of Molly that you may have so that we can share them on our website. If have you have any stories or pictures of Molly please send them into our office email address.
Molly’s funeral will be on Wednesday 6th April at 11am. You can watch it online here:
