Fairtrade Town

Four of us turned up for the first meeting, at Shepherd's, to discuss making Hay into a Fairtrade Town.
Looking at the official requirements, it seems that we more than exceed them already - so we are already a Fairtrade Town in fact, if not in name. The clincher is to have the Town Council pass a motion accepting this, and the status is ours. Julie, from the Sensible Bookshop, is going to present the information to the Council at the September meeting. In the meantime, we're going to do a survey of the businesses in town to find out just what is going on behind the scenes - how many businesses use Fairtrade tea and coffee for their tea breaks, for instance? How many B&Bs serve Fairtrade products to their guests? Gareth, the mayor, is keen on the idea, though there are a few contrary voices amongst the councillors at the moment.
The plan is to produce a directory of Fairtrade businesses in town - and the eventual aim, with the backing of Kirsty Williams, our AM, is to move Wales along to become the first Fairtrade country.
We're not neglecting the local producers, either - when Garstang became the first Fairtrade Town, they found it was very important to include the local farmers and producers in their plans - and Hay is well placed to do that as well, with our local bakery and butchers selling local meat, and Charlie Hicks (and others) stocking local organic produce - not forgetting the market stalls on Thursdays, like Primrose Organic Farm.
Charlie Hicks is already keen on the idea of selling Fairtrade fruit and veg, if only he could get hold of some! At the moment the supermarkets have cornered the market, and there is very little available for independant shops.
One small problem we came up against was how to define Hay - do we include Cusop, which is more or less a suburb of Hay, even though it is over the border in England? If so, then the Co-op can be included in the number of businesses that supply Fairtrade products - and may even be willing to supply some cash to produce the directory. Julie is in contact with the Fairtrade officer for Powys Council, who can clear up questions like that.
We're hoping to get enough momentum going to be able to produce the first directory for Fairtrade Fortnight, at the end of next February. Jo, who is also a member of the Film Society, and lives across the river in Brilley, said that, quite by coincidence, the film they were showing next February was China Blue, about a sweatshop in China producing goods for the West, and they planned to have a Fairtrade stall when they showed the film - which would be a good start to Fairtrade Fortnight.
So, this afternoon (when the rain stops) I'm off to talk to the lady at Nepal Bazaar about the clothes they sell, which are certainly fairly traded, but may not have an official rubber stamp. This morning, after the meeting, I went into Oxfam to look at the range of products they sell - and I ended up coming out with a bottle of African chilli sauce, a length of woollen cloth I can use for costume, and a big ball of wool.