Year 5 and 6 students from Mangotsfield and Tynings Primary schools, along with some of our Year 7 students, attended a workshop in the LRC on the last Friday of Fairtrade Fortnight.
We were lucky to have a visitor from Nicaragua, Jitzy Centeno, who is a coffee grower. Jitzy comes from a village in a very rural community, whose lives have been changed since forming a co-operative that sells its coffee to Fairtrade.
Through her interpreter, Jessica, Jitzy told how her village has no electricity or piped water. There is no motorised transport and few villagers can afford a horse or mule. The fields where the coffee is grown is a long way away, as is the children's school, which means a long walk. The nearest Health Centre is two hours by foot and there is often no doctor available.
Reliable income
Producing coffee for Fairtrade means the villagers have a reliable income, double that which they would get by selling as individual growers to a large company. Even as part of a Fairtrade co-operative their average income per producer is still under £300 a year.
During the day the students had a talk from Jitzy, followed by an opportunity to ask her questions about her life and the difference Fairtrade has made to her life and village. The students from the primary schools then designed individual flags to contribute towards the Fairtrade attempt at breaking the world record for the longest bunting. There were some very original, highly colourful, designs.
Coffee grows on bushes and in Nicaragua is harvested by hand between November and February. The ripe ‘cherries' are stripped of their flesh and the beans dried in the sun. The flesh is used to make compost to fertilize the next year’s crop. Jitzy had brought some green coffee beans with her, which the students saw roasted and turned into ground coffee.
2000 Students
In the course of her visit to Bristol, Jitzy has talked to over 2000 students, helping to spread the word about Fairtrade.
With Fairtrade guaranteeing a fairer price for their coffee, her village is able to help itself improve conditions for the whole community. They are able to pay for better healthcare and are able to send their children to school. Some of the older women who had no education are able to attend nightschool to learn read and write.
When you next visit the supermarket, please give a thought to Jitzy and her community and try to put some Fairtrade products into your basket.
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