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Home  Articles Support Fair Trade Communities in Tsunami Affected Areas
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Support Fair Trade Communities in Tsunami Affected Areas |
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Tuesday, 26 July 2005 |
Courtesy of Transfair USA
About TransFair USA
TransFair USA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only
independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the
United States. Through regular visits to Fair Trade farmer
cooperatives conducted by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations
International (FLO), and partnerships with US companies, TransFair
verifies that the farmers who produced Fair Trade Certified™
products were paid a fair price.
UPDATE 1 – January 14th
How are Fair Trade communities being affected by the Asian earthquake and tsunamis?
The staff and Board of Directors of TransFair USA share the
grief felt around the globe for the victims of the tsunami
disaster and their families and loved ones. Many Fair Trade
cooperatives and farms that we work with are in the affected
countries, and we would like to share information about these
communities with you as we find it over the coming weeks.
Here is a breakdown of Fair Trade organizations in the affected countries:
1. India: 29 tea producer groups, 10 tea exporters, 1 coffee producer group
2. Indonesia: 4 coffee producer groups
3. Sri Lanka: 15 tea producer groups, 6 tea exporters
4. Thailand: 1 coffee producer group, 1 coffee exporter
Report from TransFair USA
We are grateful that reported loss of life and physical damage
has been minimal in the Fair Trade organizations, which are
situated mostly inland and at higher altitudes, though the trauma
and desolation is widespread. In solidarity with their people,
members of Fair Trade organizations are finding ways to pitch in
and assume leadership in the recovery efforts.
Our Producer Relations staff is in contact with numerous partner
organizations and with producer partners to gather updates
regarding export transportation delays and other information
about how the communities have been affected.
Indonesia
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated
parts of the west and east coasts of Sumatra, in one of the top
five coffee producing countries in the world. Indonesia’s death
toll has exceeded 80,000. Coffee producers live in Aceh, near the
reported epicenter of the quake.
An update Monday from a representative of the Sumatra coffee
project reported at least two families in the growers co-op PPKGO
were killed when their homes fell in on them. He also reported
that many roads used to transport coffee from growers to the
ports were blocked. The wet mill, used to process coffee for
export, sustained damage. The largest warehouse remains intact
and is being used as temporary shelter for those who have lost
their homes. The co-op is providing emergency supplies of
food and clothing to its members in need. The growers’ children
attended schools in the heavily hit provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
At this time 13 are reported missing.
India
TransFair producer relations spoke with seven representatives of
tea gardens in India who reported that members are safe. Most
report no physical damage to the gardens, but shipments are
delayed. The two most affected states in India, according
to producers, are Tamil nadu and Kerala.
In a January 6 communication from the United Nilgiri Tea Estates
Co. Ltd., we received the following: “Thank you very much for
your concern. It means a lot to us. The tsunami devastated part
of Tamilnadu. Our garden is inland and up in the hills; but
nonetheless the shock of many deaths and such desolation and
devastation is horrible for all in Tamilnadu. Most of the victims
are women and children. We have contributed one day salary to the
Relief Fund. We have also requested the district
administration our willingness to adopt 20 children who have been
orphaned in the disaster.”
Sri Lanka
Representatives of Bio Foods report that farmers were not
directly affected but that there are delays in exporting
shipments.
Thailand
No immediate losses reported. More information forthcoming.
Tanzania
All producer partners have indicated that they are safe and that shipments and infrastructure are not affected.
What you can do in collaboration with some of our Fair Trade partners:
• The Fair Trade Labelling
Organizations International has collected a list of producer
partner group websites to make donations directly to Sri Lanka,
India, and Indonesia.
See here for details.
• Coffee Kids and ForesTrade:
Contributions to the Sumatra Relief Fund will benefit coffee
farming families in the heavily affected area of Aceh in
Sumatra Funds are being sent to the PPKGO cooperative, and
more information about the cooperative will be available on our
web site shortly. Donate here.
• Oxfam America is providing
clean water, food, temporary shelter, and sanitation facilities
to affected areas of India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia Donate here.
• The Café Femenino Foundation is
receiving funds to provide food, medical assistance, and
infrastructure repairs in affected areas of Sumatra. Donate here.
• Global Giving: Give directly to
local organizations running sustainable reconstruction projects
in SE Asia. With the help of leading non-profits like Ashoka, Give
India, and World Neighbors, you can drive relief at a grass roots
level. From medical camps to food to sanitation supplies, you can
choose exactly which efforts your donation will support.
Together, we can help get assistance to those most in need. To
read about specific projects per country and to donate, click here.
UPDATE 1 – January 14th
Tanzania
In a January 13 communication, TransFair was informed by the
Rungwe Smallholder Tea Growers Association (RSTGA) that most of
the growers are safe as they are 1600 km from Dar es Salaam where
at least ten people have died. The RSTGA is a tea garden with
15,000 Small Producers owning 3.6 million hectars divided into
small plots.
However, the Rungwe Mbeya region was affected by very
strong wind accompanied by heavy torrential rains on
January 12 which uprooted bananas and corn crops. Also, the
roof of the RSTGO’s newly erected high school Ukukwe Secondary
was destroyed as well as other nearby properties by the heavy
rains. This Secondary had been built with the help of Fair Trade
Premium funds. This month the high school will be re-opened but
students will study in one classroom.
Thailand
Rice producers in Thailand report that no problems in their region.
Sumatra, Indonesia - January 7 update from Forestrade
Fortunately, ForesTrade and PPKGO’s Aceh Sustainable Coffee
Project is located three hours inland, in the Gayo highlands
region near the town of Takengon. The coffee communities in
this area sustained significant structural damage from the
earthquakes, and sadly several family members of PPKGO were
killed when their homes collapsed. While shelter and
reconstruction is needed in Takengon, the area was spared from
the much more severe devastation caused by the tsunamis in the
coastal lowland parts of Aceh.
Communication out of Aceh is improving and we’ve begun
receiving more timely news through our office in Padang, West
Sumatra. From the PPKGO and our staff, it is clear
that the coastal communities of Banda Aceh in the North and
Bireun on the Eastern coast are two areas where the magnitude of
emergency relief is most needed. ForesTrade, PPKGO and our
partnering coffee processor, CV Trimaju have decided to focus the
bulk of their immediate relief efforts in these coastal
areas, where the needs are immense.
Calls and emails continue to stream into ForesTrade Vermont from
concerned customers, investors, friends, and colleagues around
the world, who want to know how the relief efforts are
going.
January 6 update from Fair Trade Label Japan
Suguru Matsuki, Director, Wakahciai Project & Fairtrade Label Japan
One staff arrived in Aceh on January 3rd. Areas called “Bosko”
in Aceh are receiving relief goods. Mr. Uno from the Japanese
Fair Trade National Initiative, is now in Aceh with other staff.
They have brought 100 boxes of used clothing, rice, cans of food
and sanitary items. They are also planning on bringing relief
goods to Nias Island which is near to the epicenter. They report
that Nias has not received any relief workers yet.
The PPKGO's Direct Mobilization Efforts:
• Immediately after the
earthquake struck on December 26th, PPKGO and our partnering
coffee processor CV Trimaju provided temporary shelter to people
in the Gayo Highlands who lost their homes in the earthquake.
• A search party was sent from
Takengon to Banda Aceh to try and locate family members, and
especially children from the coffee communities who were
attending schools in the Capitol City. Tragically, 13 children
of PPKGO members are still missing and presumed to be dead. Many
other people are still unaccounted for.
• Tuesday January 4th, PPKGO and
CV Trimaju collected 8 truckloads of rice, fresh vegetables, and
other supplies from Takengon and 20 co-op members loaded up
their trucks and drove down to Banda Aceh to distribute the
food and supplies. This was the second round of such deliveries.
• A delivery of food and supplies was also made to Bireun on Aceh's east coast.
• With each delivery the members
are staying in the area for 3 to 5 days and volunteering their
time and labor to help in the relief work.
The PPKGO has a long standing history of community relations and
promoting humanitarian activities in the Takengon area.
ForesTrade wants to ensure all charitable donors that any
relief work resulting from your donations are being broadly
distributed to all those communities in need in Takengon, and critical
areas in Aceh Province.
ForesTrade expects to receive photos and other documentation
about the relief efforts shortly and will share these with you as
soon as they are available.
Sumatra Relief Work in Aceh, Sumatra - Indonesia How Your
Donations to Coffee Kids, Café Femenino Foundation and
Counterpart International are Being Used in the Sumatra Relief
Effort:
Donations will be used to help relief efforts for coffee growers
and their families in the Takengon coffee region, as well as,
providing emergency aid to the most severely affected areas
in Aceh Province. Currently the areas identified as having the
greatest needs for relief work are in the coastal areas of Banda
Aceh in the north and Bireun on the east coast.
Immediate/Emergency Relief Efforts Will Address:
• Collection and delivery of
rice, fresh vegetables, sarongs and blankets for people in
Banda Aceh and Bireun where immediate relief needs
are the greatest.
• Provision of temporary shelter
to those people who lost their homes in the coffee growing
area of Takengon as a result of the earthquakes.
• The current immediacy is for
food, shelter and medicines. When these immediate needs are
alleviated, and if resources permit, relief efforts
will later expand to include the following activities.
• Reparation of water systems in
coffee growing communities to ensure clean water supplies
• Reconstruction of homes in Takengon coffee growing communities
ForesTrade's local offices in Indonesia and the U.S. are
monitoring the use of donated funds and documenting the results
of your support.
The funds used to date, to initiate and mobilize these
relief efforts have come from ForesTrade, PPKGO and CV Trimaju,
including $11,500 sent by ForesTrade. As donations
are received and channeled from Coffee Kids, Café Femenino
Foundation and Counterpart International, funds will be used to
further support these efforts and increase our ability to reach
out and help those in need.
We thank you for all your donations made to the relief
efforts, and for your continued support and solidarity with our
friends in Sumatra. |
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