MONMOUTH
Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 Keep buying the bananas Fairtrade school
Finding Fairtrade in Monmouth guide Fairtrade bags
Where to drink Fairtrade Where to buy Fairtrade Fairtrade B&Bs
Monmouth has been a Fairtrade town since 2005 and has successfully renewed its status twice since then. If you are interested in joining the steering group please contact Frances David on fad@phonecoop.coop.
Our public event for Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 will be a talk by Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. It will be held on Wednesday March 12th at Monmouth Priory, 7pm for 7.30 start. It will be part of the Monmouth Women's Festival and tickets are available from Monmouth Museum, Priory Street, Rossiter Books, Church Street, online from www.monmouthwomensfestival.org and by post from Beech Tree House, Beaufort Rd., Monmouth NP25 3HU. Tickets cost £10 and include a glass of Fairtrade wine.
Buy a unique Monmouth Fairtrade Town bag made by Bishopston Trading.
The new Monmouth organic cotton Fairtrade town shopping bag is now on sale at Munday and
Jones Greengrocer in Church Street, Monmouth Museum in Priory Street and Bridges, Drybridge Park, price £2. Using the bag advertises Monmouth's commitment to Fairtrade producers.
It also helps to reduce the use of plastic carriers. Since they don't biodegrade they can become permanent, troublesome clutter, fouling the landscape and harming animals, birds and sealife. 
The Monmouth Fairtrade Town bag is made by Bishopston Trading. Bishopston Trading was set up in 1978 by a Bristol twinning group when they received a letter from their partner group In Kuppam, India, thanking them for their support but saying that, as skilled craftspeople, the villagers wanted work not charity.
The partnership now employs 90 handloom weavers and 200 tailors and other craftspeople. Bishopston provides the design and marketing skills and the capital investment in the form of forward payments, and K.V.Kuppam provide the weaving, tailoring and other skills.By choosing produce with the Fairtrade logo, shoppers in Monmouth can be sure they are making a real difference to the lives of millions of producers worldwide.
Fairtrade guarantees producers in developing countries a fair and stable price for their crops - enabling them to invest in social, environmental and business improvements.
At the Fairtrade Town celebration on March1st 2005 Simeon Greene from the Windward Islands gave a fascinating talk about the reality of Fairtrade and the difference that he has seen it make. In the Windward Islands it has meant environmentally safe working conditions and fair wages that make schooling, decent housing and healthcare affordable by all. The Fairtrade premium payment to the community has also allowed some groups to diversify by planting mango trees to break away from dependence on a single crop.
Hurricane Dean devastated much of the Windward Island banana crop. Conrad James, a banana farmer from St Lucia who farms a 5.6 acre farm with his wife Josephine and toured the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight 2007, has lost his entire crop. Conrad said: “I have a lot of work on my shoulders but I will keep growing bananas. I will build this up again. Just please keep buying Fairtrade bananas.” Conrad and his wife lost everything once before in the hurricane storms of 1980. Like so many of his neighbours, he had to replant after the storms. This current disaster will mean he will not have an income until his crop grows back in around six months.
Monmouthshire's first Fairtrade School. Congratulations are due to Monmouth Comprehensive School which achieved Fairtrade School status; the first school in the county to do so.
The "Finding Fairtrade in Monmouth "guide.
We have recently updated our Fairtrade town guide and it is now available at the Tourist Information Centre, Monmouth One Stop Shop, the library, the Oxfam Shop and the outlets below.
Support of local traders for Fairtrade has increased dramatically. When the campaign started out there was only 1 cafe that served Fairtrade and 6 shops. You can now find it at the following places:
Bridges Cafe - Drybridge House - Fairtrade fruit juices, Sugar
Coffee # 1 -Monnow Street - serves only Fairtrade tea, coffee drinking chocolate and sugar also Fairtrade fruit when available for smoothies. Telephone no. 01600 772947
Monmouth Priory - Priory Street - all tea, instant coffee, hot chocolate and sugar served is Fairtrade. Open Saturday a.m.
Telephone no. 01600 712034
Montague's Deli Cafe - Beaufort Yard - Earl Grey Tea, Decaf, Coffee
No 18, Priory Street - all coffee
Noodles Soft Play Centre - Monnow Bridge - Herbal tea, bananas
Waitrose Cafe - Coffee and tea on request
Whole Earth Bistro - White Swan Yard - all tea, sugar and coffee served is Fairtrade. Telephone no. 01600 715555
Co-op- The Oldfield Centre - Ground and instant coffee, tea bags, bananas wine, cotton buds,biscuits etc.
Cacao Tree - uses Fairtrade coffee, sugar and milk Chocolate in their choclates
Dingestow Village Shop - Ground and instant coffee and tea. Telephone no. 01600 740644
Fingal Rock-Monnow Street - Wine, honey, chocolate and drinking cocolate. Telephone no. 01600 712372
Lidl - Mayhill - Bananas, instant coffee, sugar, chocolate and orange juice. Telephone no.01600 719897
Marks and Spencer's - Monnow Street - Ground and instant coffee, bananas, sugar, tea, jam and honey. Telephone no. 01600 775370
Munday & Jones - Church Street - bananas, ground and instant coffee. chocolate and Geobars. Telephone no. 01600 772242
Skenfrith Village shop - chocolate, tea, instant and ground coffee, chocolates, biscuits, muesli. Telephone no. 01600 750618
Tew's Budgens ,Overmonnow Garage - Cinderhill Street - Tea, instant coffee, cocoa, wine. Telephone no. 01600 712632
Waitrose -Monnow Street - Ground and instant coffee. Tea bags, drinking chocolate, cocoa, fruit juice and red wine. Chocolate, cereal bars and biscuits. Bananas, mangoes, pineapples, honey and sugar, rice. Telephone no. 01600 772552
Wydean Wholefoods - Monnow Street - Instant coffee. Tea, biscuits. Telephone no. 01600 715429
Where to stay - Fairtrade B&Bs
Windyridge - all tea, coffee and sugar and muesli served is Fairtrade. Telephone no. 01600 716422
The Fairtrade Forum continues to promote Fairtrade at local events and would love to be invited to more.
We can offer:
Stall selling a range of Fairtrade goods
Lists of Fairtrade wholesale suppliers
Speakers for adult groups, school classes and assemblies
Posters and leaflets
To serve Fairtrade refreshments at your event
Free-standing displays (available shortly)
Buy
Fairtrade - look
for the logo when you do your shopping and buy (and request) Fairtrade at
cafés and catering establishments when you have the opportunity.
Become a member -
Monmouth Fairtrade Forum organises events to celebrate and publicise Fairtrade.
New members are always welcome .
Please phone 01600 750618 for details.
A voluntary fee of £2 or whatever you can afford will keep you
up to date on our progress and will guarantee you invites to our events.
Supply
Fairtrade goods in your shop/ catering establishment - visit
www.fairtrade.org.uk
and register your interest
in Monmouth Fairtrade Forum.
Become a Fairtrade workplace
Become a Fairtrade B&B
For more information about Fairtrade visit: