The Christmas Tree Festival for local organizations at All Saint’s Parish Church, High Wycombe began on Thursday 18th of December and runs each day until Tuesday 23rd December 2026
Full details can be found at https://www.allsaintshighwycombe.org/treefestival.html
Wycombe Fairtrade sponsored a tree which we decorated with a mixture of hand-made decorations and those purchased from WFTO World Shops from Palestine, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Here are some images of our decorating team.
Wycombe For Fairtrade Stall at Christ The Servant King Church, Sycamore Rd., Booker.
Wycombe For Fairtrade will be holding a Fairtrade stall of food and artisan products after the 9.00am and the 10.45am services at Christ The Servant King Church.
Christ The Servant King Church, Community Café Fair Trade Quiz.
Mike King will be running a Fair-Trade Quiz with questions relating to Fairtrade products. The winning team will receive a Fairtrade prize.
High Wycombe Twin Town Association visit to Kelkheim, Germany for the 40th Anniversary Celebrations.
Mike and Sheena King are members of the HWTTA and are travelling with the Mayor’s party. We plan to meet with the Kelkheim Fairtrade Town Group on Saturday afternoon discussing joint Fairtrade collaboration projects, and even the possibility of a formal Fair Trade Town Partnership, focusing on promoting our respective towns, Fair Trade concepts, and friendship.
The Mid-counties Cooperative are providing an opportunity for Wycombe For Fairtrade to be filmed at Hazlemere Cooperative Store promoting Fairtrade while explaining the details of how we fully utilized a generous Community Grant for Mid-counties Coop to fund a Fairtrade tombola stall at Pann Mill Open Day back in May 2025.
Christmas Craft Fair at All Saints’ Parish Church, High Wycombe. Fair Trade Stall with possible Fairtrade Tombola prizes donated by Mid-counties Cooperative Stores.
The Mayor’s Festival of Carols. All Saints Parish Church, Church St, High Wycombe HP11 2DE. Wycombe Fairtrade Steering Group providing Fairtrade teas, coffees, drinking chocolate, and juice to participants and guests.
This was Wycombe For Fairtrade’s first visit to Marlow as part of our wider outreach plans. We sold a range of Fairtrade certified products as well as Christmas cards while encouraging people to sign a partition about prompting large UK Tea companies to sell more Fairtrade certified tea to benefit small-scale producers in the Global South.
The most popular products were the Traidcraft Christmas cards and the tropical fruit jams. Sales at this event totaled over £160.00. The Treasurer managed to successfully utilize our new SumUp card reader to record card transactions.
Sheena, Lesley, and Mike spent an interesting afternoon at Sunnybank church, setting up a Fairtrade product stall and displaying Fairtrade information and posters, both before and after their scheduled film show in the afternoon.
Fairtrade Christmas cards were a popular choice in what was a well-supported event. We enjoyed the very emotional and excellent film version of “Les Misérables”. We raised £125.55 at this event in a very welcoming atmosphere.
You can listen to this interview by Colin Besley on Wycombe Sound’s Listen Again for the Mid-Morning Show – click this link and select “Mid_Morning Friday 03 October 2025” The interview is about 80% way through the recording
Fairtrade Stall at the ARK Café at Marlow Methodist Church, 31 Spittal Street, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 3HJ.
This will be Wycombe For Fairtrade’s first visit to Marlow as part of our wider outreach plans. We will be selling Fairtrade certified and ethical products as well as displaying information posters and leaflets about why Fairtrade is crucial to 2 million small-scale farmers in the Global South.
Fairtrade Stall at the Sunnybank Methodist Church, Moor Lane, Downley, High Wycombe. HP13 5YP.
We will be selling Fairtrade products and dispensing Fairtrade information around their film show in the afternoon.
The International Fair Trade Towns Conference is an event that brings together campaigners, organisations, enterprises and communities from around the world to plan together to strengthen the global fair trade movement. It was attended this year by Wycombe for Fairtrade steering group chairman, Mike King, and its treasurer (his wife), Sheena King.
The theme for the conference this year was Your Town, Our World – Fair Trade Communities & Local Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Hosted at The Nucleus Building at the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Buildings Campus, the conference programme is full and aims to meet the following goals:
Click here for more information on the conference’s programme.
There follows as outline of the event.
Impressive architecture of the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.
Mike and Sheena King were among 60 delegates welcomed to Edinburgh by two ScottishMembers of Parliament in the afternoon, Foysol Choudhury SMP, and Sarah Boyack SMP.
They spoke to us in a committee room prior to the tour and were very proud that Scotland has a “Fairtrade Nation” status and that the Scottish government as well as Edinburgh City Council were two of five major sponsors of the Conference. Delegates had opportunities to ask the MPs questions before being taken on the tour of the Parliament building.
The light and spacious Scottish Parliament debating chamber.
The semi-circular debating chamber was very impressive and had spaces at the back for
public viewing. Fairtrade is an integral part of the Scottish government’s procurement policy.
Scottish piper welcoming delegates to Edinburgh City Chambers with the IFTTC banner in the background
Edinburgh City Hall was a very impressive historic building where we were treated to wine and canapes and prior to the speeches, we were piped in by a woman in full highland dress.
Edinburgh City Council’s commitment to Fairtrade is highly commendable, while there are another 31 local authorities registered as Fairtrade counties, boroughs, towns, etc. who all support sustainable practices, environmental protection, fairness, and endorse the principles
of Fairtrade.
Mike and Sheena King attended this excellently organized Conference in Edinburgh in late August 2025. Over 250 delegates, from all over the world, attended the 18 th International Fair Trade Towns Conference in Edinburgh. People travelled from as far away as Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Peru, Bangladesh, and from many countries in Africa. The Conference theme was “Your Town, Our World – Fair Trade communities and Local Action” to achieve the 17 United Nations Development Goals. People began networking straight away.
Tabitha Nyariki, head of Scottish Fair Trade opened the conference, stated that “Human
Dignity” was at the centre of the Fairtrade movement. Bruce Crowther, founder of the Fair Trade Towns movement in Garstang, Lancashire, and the director of the Fig Tree Chocolate Company stated that when people say “you can’t do
that”, he believed that you “SHOULD STEP OUT AND DO IT ANYWAY”!
We are pleased to announce that Christ the Servant King Church in Sycamore Road, High Wycombe has just been awarded Fairtrade Church status by the Fairtrade Foundation.
A meeting in Django’s Cafe attended by Steering Group members Mike King, Sheena King, Sarah Moroz and Tony Thornby
Following introductions for those members who hadn’t previously met Mayor Majid Hussain, we worked through several questions and areas of potential collaboration between Wycombe For Fairtrade and the Mayoral Office in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. All attendees made constructive suggestions and contributed ideas to continue our excellent working relationship. All parties agreed that: –
1). Wycombe For Fairtrade would provide the Fairtrade refreshments at the Mayor’s Festival of Carols at All Saint’s Church on Sunday 7th December 2025.
Following introductions for those Steering Group members who hadn’t previously met Mayor Majid Hussain, we worked through several questions and areas of potential collaboration between Wycombe For Fairtrade and the Mayoral Office in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. All attendees made constructive suggestions and contributed ideas to continue our excellent working relationship. All parties agreed that: –
2). Mayor Hussain confirmed his interest to take part in a Zoom Conference within the next few months with the Mayor of Grecia in Costa Rica. Grecia is the partner Fair Trade Town of High Wycombe. We have done a lot of collaborative work between schools, managed a celebration coffee project in 2023, jointly authored an academic paper, led workshops on Fair Trade Towns Partnerships at world conferences, and Steering Group members have visited each other’s towns. Dates and times of a future Zoom meeting are being arranged with Grecia Fair Trade..
3). Clarification is being sought from Sue Hynard at HWBidCo to explore the possibility of Wycombe Fairtrade having a Fairtrade product and information stall in the Little Market Place on a Saturday during Fairtrade Fortnight commencing on Monday 22nd September. If a trading pitch is prohibitive, there is the possibility of doing some collaboration during the Christmas Lights Switch On. Wycombe For Fairtrade has Public Liability Insurance and is covered by the UK Fairtrade Foundation’s Registered Charity status.
4). Mayor Hussain stated that he would ensure that Fairtrade tea, coffee, and chocolate would be served at future Wycombe Charter Trustee meetings as agreed in the resolution back in 2013.
5). With the replacement of Wycombe District Council by Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority, Lesley Clake stated that she would check as to whether the decision to make High Wycombe a Fair-Trade Town back in 2013 is still pertinent, as the resolution was never revoked.
6). Lesley Clarke reported that she would put the Steering Group in touch with Sheena Carmen, who runs a “Culture Centre” at 2 -3 High Street near the Little Market Place, to see if there are any opportunities for a Fairtrade stall.
7). The Abbey Community Board Day on Tuesday 28th October 2025 at the Guildhall in High Wycombe, could provide an opportunity to present the Mayor of High Wycombe with the High Wycombe Fairtrade Communities (Towns) Renewal Certificate 2023 – 2026.
Mike King
Chairman
13th August 2025.
Members of the Wycombe For Fairtrade Steering Group will be meeting the new Mayor of High Wycombe, Majid Hussain, for the first time on Wednesday 13th August 2025 in Django’s Coffee House at 10.30 am. We are looking forward to a constructive dialogue, exploring existing and new collaborative projects to spread the fair trade message to the diverse population of High Wycombe.
Two Wycombe For Fairtrade Steering Group members will be attending the International Fair Trade Towns Conference from 29th to 31st August in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Edinburg City Council and the Scottish Government will be funding the conference. The Scottish Fairtrade Forum will be running the 3-day event and have designed an informative, exciting, and challenging agenda. Delegates will be coming from Asia, Africa, Europe, South and Central America to attend the plenary talks and discussion sessions. There appears to be a heavy African presence, which corresponds to the energy and innovation emanating from academics, businesses and activist groups. Last year’s excellent conference was in Drakenstein, near Paarl, in the Stellenbosch Winelands of South Africa. We are looking forward to networking with old friends as well as meeting new contacts.
Mike King
Chairman, Wycombe Fairtrade
Below is a summary describing a very successful Wycombe For Fairtrade stall and Tombola at Pann Mill Open Day on Sunday 11th May 2025.
To mark National Mills Day on Sunday 11th May 2025 and International Fair Trade Day on Saturday 10th May 2025, Wycombe For Fairtrade rented a stall at the Pann Mill Open Day on the Rye. The weather was warm and sunny and drew out many visitors and families.
In addition to selling a wide range of Fairtrade and Eco-Friendly products, Wycombe For Fairtrade ran a Tombola throughout the day with many Fairtrade Cooperative own brand products kindly donated by Downley Coop Food Store. Public interest was high and constant throughout the day, with queues of people 2 or 3 deep. We had a total of 71 Fairtrade prizes, the last of which was won around 3.30 pm.
The Tombola was a great success with children and parents engaging in the fun and learning more about how Fairtrade supports marginalized farmers. The Tombola acted as a “magnet” drawing people to our stall and helping to sell Fairtrade products from our other table. It was the most successful Fairtrade stall we have had at any Pann Mill Open Day, covering our expenses with the Tombola and selling a further £165.00 of Fairtrade products, all benefitting Fairtrade producers and their communities in the global South.
The Wycombe group’s steering group will be manning their stall on the Rye from 11.00am onwards. Apart from selling delicious Fairtrade certified tea, coffee, jams, sauces, coffee, and chocolate bars, we will be having a tombola, as well as a children’s board game. There will be both Fairtrade and cuddly toy prizes.
This Fairtrade stall is part of International Fair Trade Weekend. While the Pan Flour Mill Open Day https://www.pannmill.org.uk/visit coincides with the National Mill Weekend.
We will have Fairtrade information leaflets and posters that tell the stories of intrepid small scale producers who are trying to earn a living wage against a background of climate change and economic uncertainties, while seeking to improve the social fabric of their communities in the Global South.