Trade As One

This is the last post from Chad and Jodi Mulder about their experiences visiting Trade as One producers in Africa. Their 6 week trip will has taken them to over a dozen producers in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.

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We packed up and headed north out of Rwanda, passing through rolling hills smattered with blazing yellow tea plantations and tall, swaying sugar cane fields. Entering Uganda presented us with two immediate challenges. First, we had to remember to drive on the other (left) side of the road and then a battery of unforgiving speed bumps seemed ever-present, challenging our sensitive Western nerves and stomachs. Weaving through the countryside and munching on mediocre “English” biscuits, we were glad to be taking in the beauty of rural Uganda. Before diving back into producer visits, we spent a few days on safari, enjoying the wilderness of Africa. The hippopotamus in Queen Elizabeth National Park was the family favorite, with their odd blend of enormity, surprisingly adept swimming and endearingly bulging eyes. 

After two days and 700 kilometers we finally came to the tiny village of Abayudaya, our next producer destination. A warm greeting awaited us at the Abayduya Guesthouse.  Situated in a predominately Jewish community, the guesthouse is next to the community’s small, modest synagogue. It was a treat for us to spend five days immersed in village life, eating traditional Ugandan food, beading jewelry with local women, and joining in the daily afternoon soccer game at the schoolyard. We even celebrated our son’s third birthday with a room full of about twenty newly found friends, singing three different versions of “Happy Birthday” and eating cake.

Just a few minutes’ drive from Abayduya is the Peace Kawomera Coffee Cooperative which supplies Thanksgiving Coffee with organic Arabica coffee beans.  Thanksgiving Coffee, in turn, roasts and blends the beans to create the Trade as One Peace Blend that we love so much. The co-op is an incredibly unique collection of about 1,000 farmers from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths.  The co-op was formed to address unfortunate corruption and exploitation that had taken place in the region.  During our visit, we talked for many hours with Elias, a Field Instructor with the co-op, who shared with us how farmers were previously paid very low prices for their coffee beans and a former co-op had wrongfully taken farmers’ savings accounts.  Farmers now receive about 20% more for their crops and have even established a new savings program to encourage farmers to bank a portion of their harvest payment. They also receive an impressive amount of training and advising from cooperative professionals like Elias and JB, a newly hired agronomist who was brought on to deepen the coop’s agricultural expertise.

Throughout our African travels, we’ve heard several stories and seen first hand the unfortunate reality that corruption still exists in many forms.  As Americans, we often forget that many regions of the world simply don’t have just systems in place that establish a framework for employer/employee work relations and laws that oversee employee wages, banking practices, etc. How encouraging it was to see how Fair Trade certification, and oversight by Transfair USA is transforming how business is done in developing countries.

Our final producer visit was in the bustling town of Jinja, located at the source of the Nile River in southern Uganda.  Light Gives Heat uses recycled paper to make beautiful beaded jewelry and local tailoring scraps to produce chic bohemian handbags.  We spent an afternoon with the 90 women who make the beaded jewelry, enjoying their laughter and their cheers that erupted when they were told that Trade as One is considering adding them as a partner. Again, we saw Fair Trade principles in action as women shared that Light Gives Heat pays them twice the amount as vendors in the local marketplace.  They talked about the English classes they attend, and about a new model Light Gives Heat is introducing that puts elected teachers from the co-op in charge of instructing others on the process and art of necklace design.

One of the very fun aspects of our Light Gives Heat visit was talking to Andrea Reyes, the group’s designer.  She is a talented and ambitious graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.  It was great to hear her passion for bringing high fashion to Fair Trade products in order to increase their relevancy in U.S. markets.  During our tour of the textile workshop, we saw the ways she researches new styles that incorporate recycled materials and locally crafted products.

It’s hard to believe that our six weeks in east Africa has come to end.  We are enjoying a bit of respite on a four day stop-over in Istanbul before our return to Santa Cruz, California to debrief with the Trade as One team next week.

Our travels allowed us to be stretched and challenged as we confronted injustice in many forms.  When we see extreme systemic poverty, corrupt government officials and worker exploitation, we feel compelled to respond immediately and intelligently.  Figuring out how can be complex, but we’ve seen firsthand how Fair Trade is making an impact: creating sustainable jobs, nurturing market-driven trade in place of ineffective aid programs, and forcing employers to abide by worldwide responsible labor standards, investing in meaningful community development projects and ensuring responsible environmental practices. 

We’ve had an amazing experience and feel especially grateful to the Trade as One team for allowing us to travel on their behalf! Thanks for sharing our Fair Trade adventures and for supporting Trade as One in its’ mission to use sustainable business to break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world.

The Mulders