Fair Trade Blog

Since Arghand Cooperative founder Sarah Chayes’ interview with Bill Moyers aired on Friday, Feb., 22, we have been inundated with orders and requests for Arghand soap.  Unfortunately, we have only a few pieces of soap left at this time.   Please call for availability.  608-630-1548.  

Intense, moving, and eye opening, Sarah Chayse’s appearance last night on Bill Moyer’s Journal could not have been more powerful.   (Bill Moyer’s Journal is rebroadcast on some stations, so check local listings.  You can watch the video here.)  

She expressed the ongoing struggle of the Afghan people from the point of view of someone who has lived in the country for some time now.  Her personal and journalistic perspectives on the war are enlightening to anyone who watches the interview.  

Six years now after the overthrow of the Taliban regime, she says security and opportunity for Afghans is slipping away.  It is no longer possible to drive the main highway from Kandahar to Kabul without threat from the Taliban. Poppy is resurgent as a crop and is so prolific it has become the currency of trade in some situations.  A billion dollars for infrastructure has only resulted in electricity for a few hours a day.  Conditions in which Arghand must produce soap and oils are difficult. 

Moyers asked her if she is still optimisitc, if she still has hope.  “I don’t think hope is relevant,” she said.  “I think determination is all that counts.”   She insists that we can’t let the world take up a new global war in which the East is locked with the West in endless struggle.

Her soap cooperative gives us an opportunity to share her determination.  

Pie and coffee are a great combination.   It’s easy to find a good cup brewed with beans from another country that were fairly traded, but the locally grown berries in your pie probably weren’t.  While the principles of fair trade are spreading throughout the developing world, it is ironic to realize they are largely not practiced right here in the US. 

My hat is off to the Local Fair Trade Network, based in Minneapolis, Minn., for trying to change that.  This grassroots effort, supported mostly by food co-ops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is working to get fair trade practices adopted by growers of local produce. 

To that end, they have called for growers and retailers in the Midwest to take the pledge.  The pledge commits growers to practice principals including, respect for worker’s freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, providing adequate health and safety protections, and providing a living wage. 

Just a few local farms have taken the pledge, but I hope more will join in making fair trade principles part of their production process.  

Note:  Don’t miss Sarah Chayse on Bill Moyers Journal this Friday night on PBS.  Check your local listings, as they say…

Keep shopping your good values.

Kile

Everything at Driftless Fair Traders has a story.  I love the way our customers eyes light up when I tell them something special about the item that caught their eye. 

The story of Arghand soap, for example, is well known to you if you have been reading my blog.  It’s a great story, so I plan to tell you more unique stories in the coming months.

Ecology Man definitely has a tale to tell.  Though he is only a couple of inches tall, he has the power to protect whole forests in South America. 

Eco Man (as his friends call him) was born not too long ago at Minga Enterprises.   Minga works with two cooperatives in South America and is always creating useful and sustainable products to sell here in the US.  

As you would expect, Eco Man is sturdy, colorful and very handy.  By day he is a handy keychain, but by night he helps protect the rainforest by giving local farmers an alternative to slash and burn agriculture through fair trade practices.  His arms, legs, head and torso are carved and dyed from durable tagua nut.  Tagua nuts are about the size of a walnut and are collected from palm trees on which they grow.

His favorite hobby is taking care of your keys as long as you let him out once in a while to look after his super hero duties.  

Check him out in our store and look for warm and luxurious Minga clothing in our e-store.

Keep shopping your good values!

Kile

When I lived in Kansas City, First Friday was a huge event every month during the warm months for people to gather in the old warehouse district and stroll from gallery to gallery to see new art and artists. 

As in other cities, we are trying to bring a more modest version to Viroqua.  Viva Gallery, an artist’s cooperative here in town began First Thursday’s to draw people to the gallery to see the work of their members.  Driftless Fair Traders has joined in the First Thurday event by inviting local artists to display their work on our large wall space. 

All month this February we are featuring Winged Woman Art by Stacie Anthony.  You can see her work at stacieanthony.com.  Stacie describes her work as “meditative expression of empowerment, equality, creation, and life strongly connected to nature.”  With simple charcoal sketches, in much of her work, Stacie uses a broad interpretation of the female form to evoke the spirit of eternal motherhood.  She will be on hand Thursday, February 7th, to visit with patrons as part of First Thursday.

Our aim in supporting the First Thursday event each month is to promote local artistic effort, a sense of community, and greater awareness of the mission of Driftless Fair Traders.  We hope you will come out on the First Thursday evening of each month to see new art at our store, Viva Gallery, Art Vision, and other locations in downtown Viroqua. 

Keep shopping your good values!

Kile