Bexhill - a Fairtrade Town

The ceremony in a crowded Town Hall Council Chamber on Tuesday evening was witnessed by representatives of many of the 100 town organisations who have signed up to the Fairtrade principle.

They in turn received certificates from James Lloyd of Fairdealtrading, who had given a telling account of the way Fairtrade is transforming Third World communities.

Bexhill Fairtrade Steering Committee coordinator Jack Doherty and Rother policy officer Scott Lavocah told how Rother District Council had set the lead in Bexhill in February 2006 by deciding to serve Fairtrade tea and coffee at council and committee intervals.

Jack Doherty explained how the Fairtrade principle was changing the concept of dealing with Third World producers.

Once, the objective had been to get the cheapest deal for the buyer irrespective of the effective on the producer.

Coffee, he reminded his audience, was second only to oil as the globe's most powerful trade "weapon."

Now Fairtrade buyers were not only offering a fair price for the coffee, tea, bananas and other produce but providing the means for village communities to build schools and clincics.

Locally, steering committee members had put over the Fairtrade message so effectively that by earlier this year enough cafes, shops, schools, churches, organisations and businesses had signed up to the concept that Bexhill with a population of 42,500 had qualified pro rata for Fairtrade Town status.

The certificate made it clear that the status was conferred on the people of Bexhill.

The number of active participants had since risen to 100. He hoped that within another year this would double.

James Lloyd's firm buys footballs made in Pakistan. He told the gathering that these can only be hand-stitched. A skilled worker could complete only four in a day.

But by paying three times the going rate for stitching a ball - 1.50 as against 50p - the Fairtrade principle was transforming communities.

Also, with Fairtrade help, the communities were building the primary schools and clinics they desperately needed.

He contrasted this approach with that of a major company which had opted instead to ban child labour.

This had had far-reaching social repercussions for the communities.

"The answer is simple. You just pay the people a proper wage. Pay the mother a proper wages and she has no need to send her children to work."

The Fairtrade micro-credit scheme allowed farmers to invest in progress and encouraged people to learn skills.

Accepting the Fairtrade Town certificate no behalf of the people, the Deputy Mayor said: "We can all be proud to be the third town in East Sussex to qualify.

"Special thanks to those involved in achieving the many criteria - cafes, restaurants, retail outlets, local organisations and businesses, schools etc - who not only uses but actively promote Fairtrade products.

"Finally, thank you to the Fairtrade committee for their very hard work to reach the goals."

The long list of individual certificate recipients included 19 of the town's 23 churches, three Brownie packs, banks, political groups and schools.

A celebration evening which had begun with Fairtrade coffee being served in the committee room ended with Fairtrade wine and nibbles donated by Sainsburys and the Cooperative store, both supporters of Fairtrade.