Roots and Fruits vegetarian café has been part of the Grand Arcade for more than 20 years. For the last three years it has been owned and managed by Kay Jones who is a vegetarian herself. Her aim, in the overall management of the café, is to follow the same ethical principles she has always had for herself. This means that as far as possible the fruits and vegetables she uses are sourced locally. As regards Fairtrade, Kay has visited Ghana and seen  the cocoa pods being grown and knows the benefits of Fairtrade. For anyone who values Fairtrade sourcing and good local vegetarian food in a friendly atmosphere in the centre of Leeds, Roots and Fruits is the place to go.

Well done Burj – our banana hero finished the Leeds Triathlon last Sunday in record time. You can still donate by contacting Hannah@leedsdec.org.uk

Our friends Burj Langdana is taking part in the Leeds Triathlon this week-end.  http://leeds.triathlon.org  He’s raising money to fund the next Schools’ Fairtrade Celebration.  If you’d like to sponsor him, please contact Hannah on Hannah@leedsdec.org.uk

Here are some children having fun at our Schools’ Fairtrade Celebration. They have with them a giant Fairtrade Football. As well as taking part in Fairtrade workshops, which some of the schools designed themselves, they learned about how footballs were made and how Fairtrade makes a difference. Every school group had a Fairtrade football to take back to their own schools. Thanks to all the schools and volunteers who made the day such a success.

Faith Leaders in Leeds joined together to share a Fairtrade breakfast at the Merrion Centre as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.

It was great fun to share our Fairtrade Breakfast with the Faith Leaders of our City. Our Guests were Bishop Paul Slater, Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz, Ashraf Hamad from the Muslim Faith, Usha Bhardwaj from the Hindu Faith, Gurman Singh Birdi and Gurmukh Singh Deagon who are Sikhs and Krystal Holmes from the Pagan Faith. All our guests were happy to talk to shoppers about the benefits of Fairtrade.

We’re all getting ready in Leeds for Fairtrade Fortnight. We have two more dates for your diary.

Come and meet us on stall 24 at Leeds University Fairtrade Fair on Tuesday March 1st from 11am till 3.30pm. The Fair is in Parkinson Court and entrance is free.

2. We’ve invited the Faith Leaders in Leeds to come and share a Fairtrade breakfast with us at the Merrion Centre on Thursday 3rd March from 10am-12noon. Come and have a chat and see what delicious Fairtrade foods you can buy for breakfast.

http://www.globalschools.org.uk 

At Leeds Civic Hall on 4th March 2016 from 1pm-3.30pm

Child led workshops, speakers, resources, inspiration

Enjoy a Fairtrade Climate breakfast, led by students from Prince Henry’s Grammar School, learn more about Fairtrade footballs from Bala Sports company and go back to school brimming full of fun and interactive Fairtrade ideas!

Up to 2 teachers and 4 pupils can attend per school, and the event is free for subscribers (cost £45 Primary or £65 Secondary per annum)

If you do not wish to subscribe, the cost is £20 per school. If you book a workshop/ training or subscribe before July 30th 2016, you will receive a £20 discount.

Contact Hannah@leedsdec.org.uk to book your places

Fair Grounds is a Fair Trade social enterprise, based in Leeds, see http://shop.fair-grounds.org.uk  We work with artisans around the world to bring their beautiful and hand-crafted gifts, jewellery and homeware to the UK, both for wholesale and retail. We’ve developed long-term relationships with the producers we work with and have seen the positive impact fair trade is having, not only on themselves as individuals, but also for their families and wider communities. Here are 3 stories of people we are working with.

Western Kenya

Every week in a small community, a group of women with disabilities known as the Rag Rug Collective meet together to socialise and patiently create vibrant, stunning rag rags using sack cloth and scraps of colourful fabric, off-cuts from a local factory. These rugs vary in size, shape, colour and design but all have one thing in common, made with love and pride they provide an income and empowerment to women who previously had to rely on family and friends for everything.

Taxco, Mexico

A small rural cooperative of 12 women, 10 of who are single mothers, are making a living designing, producing and selling colourful, stylish pewter silver jewellery set with acrylic, shell and stone. Jewellery making is part of their heritage and the traditional skills they use have been passed down through the generations.

“Our mission is to preserve our artisan traditions and to provide for our families. We are proud of every piece we create.” Paula (cooperative member)

Baguio City, The Philippines

Newspapers to be thrown away are gathered up by members of the cooperative who then recycle the old news, skilfully transforming the paper into brand new stylish and hard-wearing tablemats, coasters and photoframes. Since forming on a small scale 20 years ago, the cooperative now provides well paid jobs for over 100 people, in a region where many people are exploited through work.

here is Cynthia being tempted by the lovely gifts on the Aztec Arts stall

The regional conference was a busy, lively day, a chance to meet friends from all over Yorkshire. We heard about all the new developments in Fairtrade around the world. Linda McAven MEP told us about Fairtrade dates being grown in a co-operative in the desert in Tunisia and we learnt about the UN sustainability development goals for the future. It was interesting to learn that Fairtrade goods are increasingly being sold in producer countries like South Africa and Brazil and that there is a chain of Fairtrade shops in South Korea.

We were delighted to meet so many lovely families at the Merrion Centre on 6th August. Children created wonderful Fair trade badges and munched on chocolate as we chatted about their summer holidays and the benefits of Fairtrade with them and their families.