Supporting 'tea-riffic' Fairtrade producers

Many of us reach for a steaming hot cuppa when we need a pick-me-up.

But what could be more satisfying than knowing the brew in your hand is helping people and communities across the world?

Buying Fairtrade means the producers growing coffee and tea leaves or supplying sugar are being paid fairly for their work. Their families and communities benefit, and your hard-earned cash helps change lives.

Mercy lives in Kenya and is one of those producers.

She has a house with running water and electricity after tea growers in her community were supported to form co-operatives and become Fairtrade certified.

Rosa (pictured above) works as part of Aguadas Co-operative which grows coffee in Columbia.

She has been provided with new coffee bean drying equipment to help her work.

Over 5,000 smallholder coffee producers from Aguadas Co-operative have been given support to improve their coffee crop.

A new community programme, teaching women like Rosa about nutrition, food safety and the skills to grow their own fruit, is also on the way.

In Belize, on the eastern coast of Central America, life is certainly sweeter for Javier (pictured below). He is a member of the BSCFA cooperative.

Members of his co-operative have been supported, through agricultural training, to improve their sugar crop and strengthen it against climate change.

Fairtrade Fortnight is the perfect chance to give Fairtrade products a try, and as a Lincolnshire Co-op member you’ll benefit too.

Each time you buy Fairtrade products in your local food store, until Sunday 12th March, you’ll receive 10% dividend.  

You can find plenty of Fairtrade products on Lincolnshire Co-op shelves, including bananas, chocolate and even wine.

Why not check out our chocolate and banana loaf cake recipe for a delicious way to combine Fairtrade foods?

And from the end of May, all the cocoa used in Co-operative products will be Fairtrade.