Saturday, March 15, 2008

Fairtrade pair travel from South America to visit Hamilton school

from The Hamilton Advertiser

PUPILS at a Hamilton school last week learned at first hand the benefits of Fairtrade.

Two people with detailed knowledge of the movement visited St Elizabeth’s Primary, Hamilton, on Tuesday.

Bolivian Alex Chamas works with nut growers in the country’s Pando region. Jose De Silva Pereira, from Brazil, provides technical support for producers.

In a question and answer session with the pupils, the two men explained how Fairtrade boosted the income of farmers and protected rainforest.

St Elizabeth’s has the accolade of ‘Fairtrade school’, and sells Fairtrade products in the tuckshop.

The two men were later guests at a lunch hosted by Hamilton Fairtrade Group at the Town House.

South Lanarkshire Provost Russell Clearie and other councillors attended the event.

Hamilton won Fairtrade status in 2005, reflecting the number of local businesses, schools, churches and other organisations who have pledged to support the global campaign.

The Fairtrade movement seeks to tackle poverty by enabling disadvantaged food producers from poor countries to receive a much better deal for their products.

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