Annual event stresses the importance of giving producers their share
CAIRO: The second annual Fair Trade Egypt event, which is slated to last until the end of the month, opened Wednesday at the Al Sawy Cultural Center, and will host a number of conferences that aim at spreading awareness among Egyptians as to what fair trade is all about, in addition to exhibiting different fair trade products and holding several activities and competitions.
According to Jamal Salama, the Bethlehem University consultant for the Fair Trade Development Center, the idea of fair trade began in the 1950s with a personal initiative, when it was realized that a textile worker’s share, in an place like Haiti, does not exceed 1 percent of the price for which a piece of cloth is sold. The same was the case in Latin America, where banana farmers’ shares did not exceed 10 percent of the sales price.
“In today’s world, which is governed by globalization, almost 14 percent of the world’s population owns 75 percent of world trade profits, while that of poor and developing countries does not exceed 3 percent of world trade, Salama points out, adding, “due to the restrictions on export[s] imposed by the world trade system on developing countries, it is estimated that poor and developing countries lose around $100 billion; a sum which is double the amount of aid given to third world countries.
Fair trade activists aim at ridding the world of unfair exploitation of the poor (mainly marginalized producers) and balancing worldwide distribution of wealth. Drawing on his Palestinian background, Salama explains how this fight for better conditions for marginalized producers is part of the universal struggle against injustice.
“The call for fair trade is the same as the call for ending racism and occupation, promoting women and children’s rights as well as getting rid of mines and pollution – it is a legitimate right, he says.
Today, after almost half a century of struggle, the Union for Fair Trade Organizations has come into being with some 300 establishments working under its umbrella.
Youth is this year’s target audience. According to Mona El-Sayed, general manager of Egypt Crafts Center/Fair Trade Egypt (ECC/FTE), with the increase of activities that they have to carry out and the fact that their team is small, a need for volunteers has arisen.
“As a non-profitable organization, we are not able to hire a lot of people because we always prefer to put the extra money into something that would help the producer directly, so we depend more on volunteers, El-Sayed tells The Daily Star Egypt.
Just as they chose to host more events in order to spread fair trade awareness among Egyptians after discovering that almost all of their customers were foreigners, ECC/FTE decided to give presentations at several universities and schools to recruit Egyptian volunteers, since all the volunteers they had so far were foreigners.
“The youth are the driving force at the end of the day. If you want somebody to bring change, to sit and listen and accept this new concept and have the time to work for it, to give part of their effort, those are the people, El-Sayed states.
As a result of their efforts, ECC/FTE was able to gather 15 Egyptian volunteers this year and is currently working in coordination with the Euro-Med program, supervised by the National Council for Youth for the exchange of expertise regarding volunteer work.
The main funding partner of the ECC/FTE at this stage is the Italian COSPE, an international organization devoted to the promotion of traditional handicrafts worldwide. Referring to the exhibition taking place along with the conference, Maria Donata Rinaldi, the COSPE representative in Egypt and project manager, summed up the meaning of fair trade.
“You might wonder why we have an exhibition of pictures and wadi food and traditional handicrafts all in one place. There is a meaning, there is a link; this is the history of the country and preserving it is what fair trade is about, she says.
After several years of solely supporting marketing needs for small producers, ECC/FTE began, and will continue, to provide production support and development as well as training to raise the quality of products. “We now work under three categories: marketing, producer support and awareness development, El-Sayed says.
One of the most important contributions of the ECC/FTE is the part it took in the revival of the Siwa silver craft. After many decades out of production, tourists visiting the oasis were attracted by the remaining old silver work and bought many pieces. This made many educated Siwans fear that their cultural heritage was in the process of being lost. The ECC/FTE went in and helped a local NGO recollect the old pieces and put them in a museum. It then picked four young Siwans and sent them to Khan El-Khalili’s famous silver workshops to start learning from scratch how to work with silver.
“This way we now have, once more, Siwa silver production. Not only that, but by reproducing old pieces they are reviving their own history and tradition, El-Sayed explains, adding, “Siwan designs are now copied by many silversmiths, even in Khan El-Khalili. It has a particular style of its own.
ECC/FTE is currently planning on forming an Arab Network for Fair Trade that would link all Arab states. “We feel that we now have the skill, experience and knowledge, and so we want to help more people to do as we did, whether in Egypt or outside it, El-Sayed tells The Daily Star Egypt.
In spreading awareness, the ECC/FTE relies heavily on conferences held in public places and different publications and brochures.
“Unfortunately, we cannot afford advertising on television. However, we are working hard to try and spread the word around and awareness is increasing gradually, says El-Sayed, adding optimistically that, “If after a conference one more person gets to know about and believe in fair trade, [then] this for us is success.
