Palestinian olive farmers Um Shehadeh & Vivien Sansour part of Scottish Fair Trade Forum’s campaign to make Scotland a Fair Trade Nation were guests at The Melting Pot’s first annual Fair Trade lunch.
The Melting Pot, is a social enterprise that provides shared workspace for several not for profit organisations including Fair Business Alliance. Fair Business Alliance aims to create new opportunities and improve the livelihoods of farmers and producers by enabling them to become part of a fair and ethical supply chain.
Juan Santelices of Fair Business Alliance commented; “This is the tenth Fair Trade fortnight and over the last ten years we have seen changes occur but there is still a large amount of work needed. We need to promote the fairtrade logo and bring fairness to an unfair world. We must remember that just buying the logo is not enough. We need to be proactive in order to bring equality and make poverty history.
Speaking after the lunch Vivien Sansour commented “we are delighted to be in Scotland and meeting with members of The Melting Pot creating a connection and building bridges between our nations. The olive agriculture is part of Palestinian culture and identity and Fair Trade and the Palestinian Fair Trade Association have allowed 49 cooperatives to work under one umbrella.”
Um Shehadeh, a Palestinian farmer added; “this lunch is a unique opportunity to connect with individuals who buy our products and show us that we have not been forgotten by the world.
