Location

Micklefield Library, Micklefield Road

Those present

• Mike King
• Sarah Moroz
• Sheena King
• Jhon Munoz
• Angus Massie
• Bob Smith

Apologies Tony Thornby and Ivan Cicin-Sain

Notes

AM – Is trying to set up a network of Wycombe churches to see who is doing what on Fairtrade (FT).

BS – His church (Avenue Methodist) has a new minister starting in September who will cover both Wesley and Avenue churches. The Avenue church has not yet reopened following the fire.

MK – 13th FT town conference is in October in Cardiff. MK and SK have registered – £50 for the three days.

JM – Will be going. Depending on how far the formal links have gone with Grecia, it may be possible to arrange a link-up with Matt.

SK – Alternatively we could perhaps do a video of Matt and the Mayor and pass this on to the Mayor of Grecia.

MK – Or through Skype.

MK – Re: Matt’s offer of holding our next meeting the Mayor’s Parlour. MK has responded to this. We could see if someone from Bewley’s could attend.

JM – Coffee bean samples from Co-op Vittoria have been sent to Bewley’s quality assessment team.

MK – Following our event on 20th May, MK, JM and Emily Dixie
attended a talk at Bewley’s given by Greg from the World Coffee
Research Institute. Arabica coffee hybrids are being investigated to
make supplies more resilient and disease-resistant. It is estimated
that coffee demand will have doubled by 2050. They also attended a
coffee tasting event in London at which a lady called Delmy Relgado
was talking. She was from Cocafelol which is in Honduras and
supplies Bewley’s with coffee.

SK – Has seen the Grumpy Mule coffee in Tesco and they name the
co-operative Cocafelol on the packaging.

MK – Bewley’s have a very good relationship with their cooperatives.
The talk by Louise showed how labour-intensive the coffee production system is.

SK – Re: TT’s email about the website and how the video on the
homepage needs updating. There is material from World FT Day
which needs to go on.

JM – Has had contact with Geronimo from the SPP (the small
producers’ organisation).

SM – Asked what was preventing SPP from being sold in the UK,
when they do sell in France etc.

JM – It is a different situation in France because there are more small
ethical independent retailers but we may be able to get samples to a
company like Bewley’s.

MK – There is also Urocal from Ecuador who produce bananas and
cocoa. There was someone from them at the Madrid conference.
They have several certifications including Rainforest Alliance, Organic
and SPP. Their bananas are smaller and they have sold them nearer
to home to be put into smoothies.

AM – There is only one variety of banana that will travel well.

MK – Is trying to see if it is possible to have stall space at the Cardiff
conference for Co-op Vittoria.

JM – It would be good to arrange a follow-up Skype call with Grecia
and Vittoria. When we have our next meeting at the Mayor’s Parlour,

JM will be willing to give a presentation about our contacts with Latin
American producers.

MK – We are waiting to make contact with the person who will take
over from Emily Dixie at Bucks New University.

JM – The stall in the entrance to M&S on May 11th was good. JM sent
photos of the stall to Co-op Vittoria showing that we were displaying
their products. He also sent the video that we made for Facebook to
Grecia. At the end of the Pann Mill Day on May 12th, we did a
Facebook live link with Grecia.

MK – We need to have a social gathering to celebrate five years as a
FT town and eleven years as a group. MK suggests ‘Chiltern Taps’ in
the town.

MK – Re: The produce from Bewley’s for the 20th May event –
Bewley’s said that we can sell it to raise funds.

SK – There is another Pann Mill stall event on Sunday 14th July. SK is
willing to organise this.

SK – Showed a packet of FT freeze-dried berries that her brother had
on an aeroplane – the company was ‘Landgarten’ (Austrian).

MK – Commented that it is interesting to look at the World Coffee
Organisation website.

Next meeting:

Potentially Tuesday 13th August 8pm at the Mayor’s Parlour – MK will liaise with Matt.

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting: 23rd April 2019

Micklefield Library, Micklefield Road

Those present:

Mike King
Bob Smith
Sheena King
Tony Thornby
Angus Massie
Ivan Cicin-Sain – Wycombe Friends of the Earth
Sarah Moroz

MK – re: Louise Whitaker talk on 20th May. MK has found a good venue – Wrights Meadow Community Centre (and they didn’t ask for public liability insurance). MK showed a poster to advertise it – he has sent this to Chesham FT group, the Oxford coalition group, the Methodist circuit and the chaplaincy at Bucks New Univ. People need to register (maximum is 50 people).

SM – will get the e-mail addresses of church offices in Wycombe so that we can try to get the event advertised in their newsletters.

SK – when MK went to a meeting at the BNU chaplaincy, Rev Jenny Ellis (the co-ordinating chaplain at BNU) offered to host an event at her house and we could have a speaker at that too.

MK – we could ask Carol Wills to do this perhaps.

TT – will put the details of the 20th May event on our website and Facebook page and will put “register early as spaces are limited”. On the morning of the event we could e-mail people to ask if they were still intending to come.

MK – JM is trying to get a stall in M & S to coincide with World Fair Trade Day.

MK – JM and MK met the director of SPP, Geronimo. There are now
5 African and a few Asian countries that have SPP producers but
mainly they are in Central and South America. The SPP have given us
permission to put their logo on our directory etc.

On Thursday afternoon, JM and MK will be talking to the mayor of
Grecia and the CEO of Co-op Vittoria on a Skype call. TT has now put
info about Grecia and Co-op Vittoria on our website.

The unitary authority for Bucks is due to come into place next year
and JM would like us to create a contact at the council. We could ask
Matt re: the council plans.

MK – in addition to the £250 grant from Christ the Servant King
church, it would be good to have some other income. JM is
investigating the possibility of becoming a ‘Social Enterprise’ group.
I C-S – has suggested that we set up a group e-mail address.

TT – maybe we could do a quiz night to raise funds.

SM – we could do a stall at a Pann Mill event

I C-S – they do 3 events a year at Pann Mill

TT – will give thought to whether local businesses could provide
sponsorship to us.

MK – suggested that we could do something to celebrate WFF being
in existence for more than 10 years.

SM – plus it is nearly 5 years since Wycombe became a FT town

SK – there is a large board at Sainsbury’s saying they are converting
all their own T-shirts to FT cotton.

Traidcraft have recently had a problem with some ingredients of
some cakes which were labelled as being FT but Traidcraft were told
afterwards that some of the fruit wasn’t FT as the producers were in
the process of re-applying for certification.

BS – the cafe at the bottom of Desborough Avenue has now
changed.

MK – the Grape Tree now has some FT products again.

Next meeting: Tuesday 18th June 8pm at Micklefield Library

Minutes of meeting: 8^th January 2019

Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Road

Those present:
            Mike King                         Jhon Munoz
            Angus Massie                  Bob Smith
Sarah Moroz                    Tony Thornby

Apologies from Sheena King, Ivan Cicin-sain and Emily Dixie.

MK – There is an updated version of the directory.

SM – The mayor’s carol service went well. Approximately £100 was taken in donations on the day for refreshments. This was split 50/50 between ourselves and the mayor’s charities. We put our leaflets and directories on the tables and had our FT banner.

MK – There were probably 180/200 people present. He spoke with Lesley Clarke on the day and she asked to be kept in the loop re: our contact with producers in southern and central America. MK also spoke with a man from Wycombe Sound and we hope to do an interview (MK/TT/JM?) during FT Fortnight.

TT – Re: website. TT is in the process of working on it. There are some current problems with WordPress. He will also put messages on Twitter and Facebook saying we have an updated website.

JM – Went to visit his family in Colombia this Christmas. Prior to going, people in Tibasosa invited him to visit them. The plan was to go by bus but it would have been four hours each way so wasn’t manageable. However, JM has been talking to the people in Tibasosa and they are currently engaging with local authorities and with CLAC (the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers) to get FT certification. They will send us some information for our website. Re: the town of Gracia in Costa Rica, JM has been trying to contact Maria (who was at the Madrid conference) on Whatsapp and/or Skype and hopes to communicate with her next week. She will be sending information to put on our website. Re: Espranza, JM doesn’t have contact with the person who leads the group there (and she doesn’t speak Spanish). JM is trying to make contact via CLAC.

MK – Has looked into all eleven FT towns in Southern/Central America and Tibasosa and Gracia are the only two which have good support from their local authorities.

MK – we now have approximately £350 in our account.

SM – We could give a donation to Wycombe Sound if we do an interview there in FT Fortnight (we gave £50 last time).

TT – It would be good to have sections on our website about:

• FT in general
• Our group and links with groups in Southern/Central America
• Retailers in the town
• Related topics – environment, climate, sustainability

MK – Re: Ideas for FT Fortnight. For the suggested event with Wycombe Friends of the Earth, MK suggested that Bucks New University would be a better venue than the Quaker meeting house. Emily would prefer an event to be held during their volunteer week, which is the week before FT Fortnight. There could potentially be two events; one for students and staff and one for councillors etc. Either event could be combined with coffee/chocolate tasting. We could perhaps see if Louise would also take part in the interview at Wycombe Sound. Other potential venues for events are Christ the Servant King Church and Hills Cafe.

TT – We could also invite members of the churches in Wycombe. We would need to get people to register for this event so that we have an idea for numbers. This would be at the same event as councillors and Wycombe Friends of the Earth.

MK – We might be able to get the Bucks Free Press there if the Mayor was able to go.

JM – we could also invite members of other local FT groups.

MK – This could include the Oxford region FT group. Carol Wills is a member there – she attended the Madrid conference and used to be a director of the World FT Organisation.

JM – We could also invite Margaret Dykes.

SM – Has sent an email today to Highcrest Academy as a follow up to the letter sent in November. SM was unable to find any mention of FT on the Highcrest website.

MK – Showed some information about an FT town in Paraguay, Arroyos y Esteros. The information was in two formats; tabular and paragraphs.

AM/SM – Prefer the tabular format – easier to compare with other towns.

MK – Talked about an FT town in Chile with produces wine and exports to several countries in the northern hemisphere, including the UK. Some of their FT premium is used for a fund to provide support in disaster relief situations. They are also looking for links with groups in the northern hemisphere.

Next meeting:  Tuesday 19^th February – Avenue Methodist Church.

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting: 27th November 2018
Micklefield Library, Micklefield Road

Those present: Mike King, Sheena King, Matt Knight, Sarah Moroz, Jhon Munoz (joined during meeting), Bob Smith, Tony Thornby, Ivan Cicin-Sain – Wycombe FOE

MK – Bucks New Uni still have Starbucks in the student bar. Costa have taken over the 2 refectories at Wycombe and Uxbridge. MK showed a Fairtrade chocolate bar from Costa in Uxbridge which has Costa’s own name on it. MK will be e-mailing Costa to congratulate them and ask if these will be in all branches and whether there will be further FT products.

TT – Costa operates as franchises.

MK – has read that 30% or less of Costa coffee is Rainforest Alliance.

SK – pointed out 2 corrections required on minutes of last meeting (30/10/18).

SM – will amend and re-send out.

IC-S – re: the showing of the film ‘A Plastics Ocean’ on 20th November. They had 35 – 40 people and received £90 which covered the cost of the licence and the hire of the room with some left over. On 5th December Wycombe Friends of the Earth are having a Christmas meeting and all are invited.

SK – showed some FOE leaflets ’16 things you need to know about food’

SM – re: the Mayor’s Carol Service – waiting to hear back from Lesley Clarke.

M Kn – he will supply the disposable cups and source the mince pies. SK – will get the tea and coffee from the Oxfam shop

SM – will get the milk, sugar and squash M Kn – probably best to plan for about 200

SM – will send an e-mail to Lesley to clarify who is getting what.

MK – Emily Dixie from BNU will be raising awareness of FT at BNU. She runs their ‘Smile Campaign’ and they are encouraging the re-use of cups and recycling.

MK – a lady from Colombia University has contacted MK and asked to be put in touch with people in Tibasosa.

MK – Re: FT Fortnight. If we don’t get a response from Highcrest, we could perhaps get Louise from Bewleys to do a talk for us, in combination with Wycombe FOE and hold it at Micklefield Library?

Jhon Munoz joined the meeting

M Kn – has met with Louise – she said that Bewleys are trying to get back to their ethical roots. Hills Cafe has had help from Bewleys via Louise with their coffee machine.

Suggested possibility of holding a joint event with Bewleys, WFF and Hills Cafe and try to interest the press. Louise was suggesting a world map and showing where coffee etc comes from. Hills Cafe is coming up to its third birthday.

MK – could also ask Louise re: giving a talk around the date of World FT Day in May.

JM – could also use Wycombe Sound again during FT Fortnight.

MK – the theme could be sustainability and connecting with producer communities. MK has had contact with a producer group in southern Ecuador. They have come up with a product using puréed bananas and mango – this adds value to the product. The group only includes farmers with less than 15 hectares. They do not use chemicals.

SK – update on Traidcraft – they have got a new focus for the future. They will be slimmed down to twelve employees and they will maximise the profitable parts of the business.

JM – Traidcraft are still not sure what their business model will be. SK – stalls will continue to be held in churches etc but with a reduced range of products. Their online shop will continue but there will be fewer craft lines and they will encourage communities to buy in bulk.

MK – there are two more outlets in Wycombe that have FT products: the Vanilla Pod Cafe and West Wycombe market stall (Jen Winnett Art). She uses Indian FT cotton bags and they are printed in Yorkshire.

BS – had lunch at the Hearing Dogs Cafe in Saunderton and he asked staff if they stocked any FT items. They are going to look into it.

JM – we now have contacts with four towns in America as previously mentioned. Two weeks ago he spoke to people in Tibasosa. They are interested in having a link with us. They do not have a FT certification system but they are organic food producers and also export handicraft items. They call it a ‘solidarity’ system. MK – we could have a link to them on our website.

JM – the two towns in Costa Rica and Brazil are mainly coffee producers and they are already FT certified.

MK – the one in Costa Rica also produces sugar. They have good support from their council (the mayor and a member of the council went to the international conference in Madrid).

JM – may be able to visit Tibasosa when he goes to Colombia to visit his family.

M Kn – A unitary authority is being proposed and then the situation re: the town committee will need resolving. It would make sense to create a town council for Wycombe. For some reason, there is a reluctance to start the process to create a town council.

MK – a lady from FT International, Carol Wills, also spoke at the Madrid conference – on gender equality.

TT – need to have a meeting with MK and JM to update the website but we need to be clear on how we refer to the status of the different producer groups and make sure that the navigation is suitable.

MK – re: data protection – has adapted a policy statement from a Somerset FT group.

BS – has also produced a policy statement for WFF based on a church one (St. Teresa’s, Beaconsfield).

SM – will call Highcrest in a couple of weeks to ask if we can have an email address to see if they want to take us up on the offer of the talk by Louise.

IC-S – is organising an event in autumn 2019 re: climate change – it would be at Wycombe Arts Centre again.

Next meeting: Tuesday 8th January – Avenue Methodist church.

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting: 30th Oct 2018
Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Avenue

Those present: Mike King, Sheena King, Sarah Moroz, Jhon Munoz, Bob Smith, Angus Massie – Trinity URC

MK – SK/MK did a Traidcraft stall for the Keep Fit Association on 13th Oct and made £98.60. Not high sales but helps our profile.

SK – Had another Traidcraft stall Christ the Servant King church last Sunday and took over £500. Traidcraft are ceasing to be a PLC at the end of the year.

JM – They are going into administration.

MK – They may morph into something else. Waiting for something more concrete.

JM – Has heard that various options are under consideration.

MK – It wasn’t mentioned at the Fairtrade conference (FT) in London a few weeks ago and so Bill Dykes raised it with Mike Gadney of the FT organisation at the conference. Someone from Divine then announced it at the conference but nothing was said by the FT Foundation.

MK – Wycombe Friends of the Earth are showing a film on 20th Nov ‘A Plastics Ocean’.

MK – Bucks New University have lost Starbucks from the franchise at Wycombe campus and replaced it with Costa but they do sell ‘Grumpy Mule’ coffee which is triple certified and still have fruit juice and snack bars etc. from Bewleys.

MK – Re: Ideas for FT Fortnight.

JM – Has heard that the big topic will be the production of cocoa and issues with producers in the Ivory Coast not receiving the living wage.

SM – Hasn’t managed to contact Highcrest Academy yet but will do so and will offer that Louise from Bewleys could do a talk – maybe during FT Fortnight.

MK – Or at World Fair Trade Day in May 2019.

JM – Would be good to promote a link with producers during FT Fortnight. Perhaps use Wycombe Sound?

MK – Re: The international conference in Madrid. We had the largest contingent from one town (MK/SK/JM). There was an excellent speaker from America representing the FT Universities (these have more prominence than FT towns in America). One Canadian university had students who set up a direct link with a producer group in Latin America which produced a coffee, unique to the university.

JM – There were representatives from an FT town from Costa Rica.

They obtained support from their mayor and council. MK – There were about 3000 producers in the Costa Rica Cooperative. MK/SK/JM spoke to the CEO of the international FT organisation. He is trying to change the models of how FT and trade in general work. They are looking at ‘solidarity’ models – putting people first, environment second and profit third. Another good session was from the FT advocacy office in Brussels (Sergei). Difficulties with corruption were also discussed. The FT Towns conference in 2019 is possibly in Cardiff.

SM – Will scan the Madrid conference programme and email it around.

MK – Spoke to people from Tibasosa (a town in Colombia) – they are trying to become an FT town and they produce FT artisan handicrafts. MK felt that they made lots of contacts. People who were there also included Bruce Crowther, Isobul Durant from Unctad and Merline Presin from The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers (CLAC). MK will write up some of the sessions and put them on our website. Perhaps have one section on the organisations and one section on producers.

SK – There was a good slogan: ‘From the town into the world and from the world into the town’.

JM – There was also a talk about the international FT charter which was launched in Sept. The idea is to promote a new business model, as MK mentioned.

MK – The charter incorporates the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

JM – Can go to a website for the charter and sign up to support it. JM – We have contacts with four towns now, of which three are FT towns: Gracia in Costa Rica

Tibasosa in Colombia – not certified yet Riobamba in Ecuador Boa Espranza in Brazil

JM will circulate further info on these towns. We could choose one to focus on first and perhaps also concentrate on one or a few products.

JM – A lady from Bristol said they have set up a ‘Community Interest Company’ and it means they can receive funding from local government or the Co-op.

Next meeting: Tuesday 27th November, Hills Cafe, Micklefield.

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting: 4th September 2018 Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Avenue

Those present:
Mike King, Sheena King, Sarah Moroz, Bob Smith, Ivan Cicin-Sain – Wycombe FOE, Kat Frei – Student Volunteer Co-ordinator, Bucks New Uni

I C-S – Wycombe Friends of the Earth have started a plastics reduction campaign and will also be showing a film, ‘A Plastic Ocean’ on Tuesday 20th November at The Friends Meeting House at 7.30pm. On 16th Sept they will be having a stall at Pann Mill and a plastic-free picnic on the Rye.

MK – MK and SK attended a Wycombe FOE meeting in July and signed up to help with researching plastics reduction and filled in a questionnaire. MK will be starting to volunteer at the Community Library in January and the manager there also works at The Swan.

SK – ran a Traidcraft stall on 11th June in Radnage and took about £125 – this was as part of the Radnage Open Gardens scheme and we have been approached to do a stall on Sat 13th October at the Southern Counties Keep Fit Association AGM from 8.30am – 5pm.

Also, SK is doing a Christmas Traidcraft stall at her church (Christ the Servant King) on 28th October.

MK – re: the international conference in Madrid – there are sessions at it on universities. MK will update Kat following this event.

SM – hasn’t managed to follow up her initial letter to Highcrest school yet but will do so.

MK – Louise is still at Bewleys. MK will contact her.

MK – Jhon Munoz attended a Fairtrade conference in Portsmouth in June. Jhon will feedback on this in due course.

MK – there are some new FT outlets in Wycombe: Greggs in Squirrel Lane (FT tea and coffee) – at the old site of the Co-op. Also the Red Lion pub on the road to Bradenham (FT tea and coffee and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream)

SK – has been to the Hearing Dogs cafe near Saunderton and they have a feedback card and she is going to suggest FT tea/coffee.

MK – asked for suggestions on what to spend our £250 grant on (from Christ the Servant King church). I C-S – perhaps get some FT samples

SK – has seen some offers from the Real Chocolate Company

SM – will contact Matt to see if we would be able to do the refreshments at the Mayor’s Carol Concert

KF – asked if MK had spoken to Alastair Jack (the sustainability manager at Bucks New Uni) – he would be a good person to speak to re: plastic reduction. KF is working towards a Green Accreditation award for BNU and asked which of the UN Sustainability Goals relate to FT.

SM – there was a talk about this at the Bristol Conference a few years ago. SM will look into this and let KF know

KF – FT Fortnight at BNU involves a lot of work. KF is trying to re-think it and perhaps will concentrate more on FT events happening throughout the year. She would like to do chocolate tasting. Blindfold tasting using only FT chocolate of different types. She will also try to film it.

Next meeting: Tuesday 30th October – Avenue Methodist Church

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting: 17th April 2018 Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Avenue

Those present:
Mike King, Sarah Moroz, Jhon Munoz, Tony Thornby, Bob Smith, Ivan Cicin-Sain – Wycombe Friends of the Earth, Angus Massie – Trinity URC,

Apologies from SK; welcome to Angus

BS – update re: data protection. BS showed examples of forms that have been produced by a local Anglican church and from the South

Oxfordshire Riding Club. It seems that we just have to produce a form that members sign to say that they are willing to receive communications via e-mail/telephone etc and the list of members has to be kept secure and only released to project leaders within the group.

IC-S – the Population Matters group hasn’t tackled this yet.

AM – his church has gone through a similar process. An article by the Civil Service Pensioners’ Association said that in their view they don’t need to do anything as they have already allowed their details to be used in the past. Angus advised that e-mails are always blind copied

TT – his e-mail address is his business one so it is already in the public domain.

AM – will send us the form that his church uses.

MK – re: the international FT towns conference in Madrid in October – MK, SK and JM are going. We have identified a couple of potential towns in Nicaragua and Chile that we may be able to liaise with. JM – has contacted the president of a brazil nut co-operative in Nicaragua and he has communicated with the president of CLAC (the Latin American and Caribbean network of Fair Trade small producers and workers). JM is expecting a contact back this week and hopes to have a skype call. The co-operative also supplies sesame oil to the Body Shop (the oil is FT and organic).

TT – everything that MK has sent to TT has now been put onto our re-vamped website. The latest minutes are updated on the front page of the website.

MK – re: the ‘Love Wycombe’ event on Sunday 20th May.

SM – has had e-mail contact with Richard Peters and he seems happy for us to have a presence.

MK – offered use of his laptop to show FT videos and our website TT – will check how to link to internet on the Rye

I C-S – if it is situated near the Lido, it may be possible to link into their Wi-Fi

MK – has e-mailed Windsor and Eton brewery and Rebellion to ask re: the possibility of a FT beer for next year’s FT Fortnight. The Windsor and Eton brewery contacted him back and sounded interested.

SM – there was another craft brewery which had a stall at Wycombe market on Saturday

MK – this was a company called Fishers. He will e-mail them as well.

SM – will follow up her letter to Highcrest school

MK – will contact Louise at Bewleys and send her SM’s e-mail address

MK – re: the communication he had from Barclays about tax – most of what they are asking about is irrelevant to us. MK is going to contact the FT Foundation for advice.

TT – we could contact the HMRC and ask them to send us a waiver. MK – has had conflicting advice from Barclays

AM – advises us to communicate in writing with HMRC rather than just phoning them

MK – on the last episode of ‘Songs of Praise’ there was a feature on FT in West Africa

JM – wondering if we could do another activity for World FT Day eg. have a feature on Wycombe Sound. JM could gather some info on the Nicaragua link and talk about that.

MK – suggests that MK and JM could go together

SM – could also find out if Ruby Moon source any of their goods from Latin America

JM – could also contact ‘The Works’ about this – the Manager and his wife have been on Wycombe Sound before.

TT – suggests that we could put info on our Facebook page regarding FT products from across the globe.

JM – could get info about this from where he works. JM has access to info from Flocert and could link this up with FT brands available in Wycombe.

AM – his church have had a FT stall once a month for a long time now.

I C-S – has a gazebo that he is willing to lend if needed

AM – would still like to be included on the e-mail list re: minutes etc

Next meeting: Tuesday 5th June – at The Avenue Methodist Church

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE
Notes of meeting:  20^th March 2018
Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Avenue

Those present:
            Mike King                     Jhon Munoz
            Sheena King                 Bob Smith
            Sarah Moroz

SM – re: our renewal presentation event on 22th February – the councillors showed interest, picked up leaflets, stayed and chatted etc

MK – approx 25 councillors were present and seemed very positive about what was said

SM – Richard Peters was there. He had attended the council meeting and was trying to promote links between the council and community events and is organising the ‘Love Wycombe’ event this year. This is a joint-church event at Pentecost. Richard had spoken to Matt about Hills Cafe providing refreshments and hopefully we can be involved as well.

MK – spoke to Karen Satterford (Chief Executive of Wycombe District Council) on 22^nd Feb and requested a meeting with the next leader of the council

SK – held a Traidcraft stall at Christ the Servant King on 4^th March and took more than £500.

MK – the event at Hills Cafe went well on 10^th March. Matt had done a lot of work.

We did have a message from Wycombe Sound to ask if we wanted to have a slot during Fairtrade Fortnight but we didn’t manage this.

JM – we could do a promotion on Wycombe Sound for any events that we hold to coincide with World Fair Trade Day in May.

SK – on our new website, it isn’t possible to access our Facebook site

MK – we need to speak to Tony about this

JM – has talked to Juan, the leader of a Co-operative in Nicaragua re: the possibility of setting up a link with us. They are also part of the CLAC group (the Latin American and Caribbean network of FT small producers and workers). His co-op mainly produces sesame seeds and their main customer is the Body Shop (for sesame oil). Juan also knows another co-op in the area which produces coffee and he will talk to his links with various towns in Nicaragua and recommend who we could connect with.

JM – has also had contact with a new person at CLAC (Linda Vera) and she is in charge of establishing FT Towns in Nicaragua

SK – the Meaningful Chocolate Co have said that their eggs are available in several supermarkets (Tescos, Morrisons, Asda etc) but not Sainsburys

SM – has now sent the letter to the Headteacher at Highcrest Academy, who will hopefully pass it on to the relevant teacher

SK / MK – are away on the date of the Love Wycombe event (Sunday 20^th May).

SM – will check on her e-mails to see if she has received one from Richard Peters and will contact him to ask if we can have a presence at the event eg. displaying our leaflets etc

MK – we could also use our banner

JM – re: the international FT Towns conference in Madrid in October. Apparently there will be a website for it opening in April

SK / MK – talked about their trip to Belgium a couple of weeks ago – FT products had a really visible presence. There was an Oxfam shop that had a lot of FT products.

SK – had an e-mail today from Adam Gardner requesting donations

MK – the FT Foundation have lost some of their funding

There was a discussion and it was decided that the WFF group wouldn’t send a donation to the FT Foundation appeal from the money that had been granted to us by the group at CSK church.

BS – has heard that organisations which hold lists of people will need to get annual permission from those people in order to keep their names on the list, due to new data protection legislation.

SK – Wycombe F of E are organising a Greenpeace talk on 4^th April re: Greenpeace’s approach to campaigning. This is at the Friends Meeting House, London Road at 7.30pm.

Next meeting:  17^th April 2018 at Avenue Methodist Church

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting:  16^th January 2018

Avenue Methodist Church, Rutland Avenue

Those present:

Mike King                      Jhon Munoz

Sheena King                  Bob Smith

Sarah Moroz                 Tony Thornby

MK – Christ the Servant King church has awarded us another £250 grant from their Mission fund. The previous amount of £250 that they gave us was extremely useful. MK thinks we shouldn’t use it to buy provisions for the renewal presentation event.

MK – has sent e-mails to Wycombe Swan, Wycombe Wanderers and Bewleys. Has now heard back from Louise Whitaker (Sustainability Manager) at Bewleys – they are not planning to have any speakers who are producers but she is currently visiting coffee producers in Nicaragua and is willing to do a talk about it for us. MK has invited her to our presentation evening and asked her to speak for 5 mins (22^nd February).

MK – has also written to Mid-Counties Co-op to ask for a discount on FT wine.

MK – showed a book by George Monbiot “How did we get into this Mess?” The author says that FT may well be needed as a necessary means to feed the world

JM – recently went to Bolivia and visited 3 Co-operatives, 2 of which he visited 3 years ago. He also visited a brazil nut factory. Last year, there was the lowest production of brazil nuts since the beginning of the last century. Seems to be due to climate change. There is insufficient rain, a lack of bees and deforestation. In the 18^th century rubber was a big product and was then superseded by artificial rubber. JM witnessed how the FT premium is being used – for improving houses and saving money to be used for improving healthcare. JM has written 2 blogs about this and will be putting it on our Facebook page. The management of co-operatives is not so well organised in Bolivia, so these may not be a good option for partnering with. Nicaragua would be better. They did have problems in the late 70s / 80s due to fighting involving the Sandinistas. JM knows the president of the co-operative in Nicaragua. JM is going to start working with Liberation at the end of Feb / beginning of March but is also doing some work helping out the Twin Partnership (coffee).

MK – thinks that Nicaragua does not currently have any FT towns

JM – Chile also has well-organised FT co-ops

MK – sent round a list of 12 FT Town websites before Christmas and showed a sheet with the different sections / sub-menus highlighted

MK – has updated our directory to add Highcrest Academy as having FairAware status and Godstowe as FT Registered status. Has also updated the date on the front to 2018 – 2019.

MK – asks us to send any comments re: the websites before his meeting with TT on 24/01/18.

BS – asked if we would be able to have a group e-mail address

TT – we can’t with the present set-up which is hosted by the Lib Dem site but it would be possible if we had our own stand-alone site. To do this, we would have to pay for it to be hosted elsewhere (about £3 per month).

MK – was very impressed with the St Andrew’s website

SM – if the Wycombe Tourist Info office has a website, we could ask them to put a link on it to our new website.

MK – re: FT Fortnight – we can’t attend or have any input to the council meeting in the council chamber on 22^nd Feb (an important meeting on council tax is taking place) but we can have refreshments in the committee room afterwards

JM – has some samples from Liberation which we could use on 22^nd Feb

MK – the meeting with Suzanne Brown didn’t come about in the end – perhaps later in the year.

SK – is going to get a resource pack from the FT Foundation

JM – it is also possible to get some resources from Twin / Liberation

MK – has suggested that we have some sort of exhibition in Hills Cafe during FT Fortnight. The community benefits of the cafe mirror the benefits of the FT premium to producer groups

SM – need to get a message out to all the councillors to invite them to the refreshments on 22^nd Feb

TT – offered to take some photos

JM – we could organise a talk by Louise Whitaker at one of the Wycombe schools

SM – maybe for World Fair Trade Day in May

MK – some other FT Towns offered an associate membership scheme (this would be another income stream).

There was a discussion re: organising various people to speak on Wycombe Sound during FT Fortnight eg. Louise from Bewleys, Matt Knight, a representative from the Co-op

SM – will contact Highcrest to see if they would like to speak on Wycombe Sound radio re: what they are doing on FT

SK – may be doing a FT stall on 4^th March

MK –there is a new FT retailer in Wycombe – The Hatch

JM – there is also The Works

Next meeting: Tuesday 6^th February

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting:  28^th November 2017

Hills Cafe, Micklefield Road

Those present:

Mike King                        Jhon Munoz

Sheena King                    Bob Smith

Matt Knight                     Tony Thornby

Sarah Moroz

Ivan – High Wycombe Friends of the Earth

MK – we wrote a letter to the Manager of Sainsbury’s High Wycombe (as part of the day of action on 28^th October) but no reply as yet. Sainsbury’s have taken control of the premium money and this disempowers the farmers. Re: the use of the premium in Ghana – the buses were actually bought by the premium money – we need to correct the previous minutes.

Ivan – the Wycombe FoE group and Population Matters have been interviewed on Wycombe Sound. The station seems to be very ethically minded.

MKn – the Feb meeting of the District Council is on 22^nd Feb

MK – has e-mail’d Suzanne Brown and she said her PA will get back to us re: organising the renewal certificate presentation event.

MKn – will send an e-mail to prompt this and see if we can confirm the date. The meeting will start at 6.30pm with the chairman’s announcements and would be able to include the renewal presentation and an invitation to everyone to join us for the celebration afterwards.

MK – will try to get the High Commissioner of St Vincent and the Grenadines to present the certificate.

MK – We also need to have a meeting following this to discuss the link to producers in Latin America / FT Towns there.

JM – has followed this up with Marco since our last meeting. There are currently about 6 FT Towns in Latin America. Marco has offered something more informal to start with eg. sharing of knowledge about FT products available here, or sharing in celebratory events on World FT Day. We could then share the news of what is happening with other FT groups in the UK.

MK – has contacted Wycombe Wanderers Football Club to ask what teas/coffees they use for their catering.

TT – asked how much the FT producers in Latin America interface with local sellers versus the how much they sell internationally?

MK – FT bananas come from Ecuador, Columbia etc

SK – also Liberation Nuts

SM – asked JM if Marco could put us in direct touch with farmers and what would be the best communication method?

JM – yes, he could and social media could be used.

MK – we would also ask Suzanne Brown about how the twinning arrangements with European countries work.

SM – re: Mayor’s Carol concert. SM has spoken to Paul Deacon today and he is speaking to a committee on Thursday this week and will call SM back on Friday.

After a discussion, it was decided that there would be enough people to help with this event, if required.

MK – re: website update.

TT – if we use the Word Press option we would be starting from scratch again but the content could all be put in again – not too difficult. We would need to ask the FT Foundation if we could use images on their website.

Ivan – Wycombe FoE created their website and then put it onto Word Press. They do not use any images from the national FoE website.

MK – a lot of the FT towns in the south-west region use the same template and have links to other towns. The lay-out is good and navigation is quite easy. Some have recipe sections.

TT – we would need to get into the habit of doing write-ups and photos for each of our events. 80% of all websites in the world are Word Press.

SK – we need to have an easy way for people to contact us.

Ivan – has noticed that we can’t be contacted via our website. A lot of groups have a dedicated e-mail address.

MK – asks us all to look at the websites of other towns and say what we would like.

SM – talked about the idea of contacting Highcrest school and seeing if some pupils / teachers could be interviewed on Wycombe Sound.

SK – wondered if, in keeping with the theme of FT Fortnight next year, ‘Come in for Fairtrade’ we could help out at Hills Cafe and wear our FT T-shirts etc.

MK – will try to see if Bewleys could organise a producer farmer to give a talk etc

Ivan – at the moment, the Wycombe Environment Centre are negotiating with Bucks CC to get funding. Frances Alexander is still involved and there is a board of trustees.

Wycombe FoE meets once a month at the Friends Meeting House. They pick a campaign every couple of years or so. At the moment they are campaigning against air pollution in High Wycombe – they have pollution monitors in the town and are liaising with Wycombe DC who also monitor this.

For public liability insurance the national FoE group cover the local groups up to £5 million.

Ivan – also runs the Wycombe group for Population Matters. They received £250 from Lesley Clarke following a chat at the Pann Mill event. Lesley supports women’s rights and the Population Matters group promote these as a means to smaller families. PM are planning another event for next year, as are the FoE group.

SM – asked about membership of the groups

Ivan – they have a few stalwarts and are trying to get new and younger members.

MK – Witney FT group have folded.

SK – showed the article she had written in the Christ the Servant King newsletter. Their Traidcraft stall raised £675.20, using goods from Margaret Dykes.

BS – they are having a stall at 2 events at the Avenue church: a tea & cake afternoon on 13^th December and a Sunday service on 18^th Dec.

MK – will ask Bewleys re: a donation

SM – we could also ask them if they could donate tea/coffee/snacks for the renewal presentation event.

Next meeting:  16^th January 2018