Local Fairtrade Website Launched

For the last few weeks Peter Knowles has been honing his web skills as he has developed a new, local website dedicated to Fairtrade.  With Fairtrade Fortnight beginning on Monday 25th February, it is an opportune time for the launch.  If you know of any Fairtrade activities on the Island over the next two weeks, do contact Peter through the front page of the new website

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Film Friday

Another chance to see Transition 2, a brilliant introduction to the Transition movement – a worldwide response to peak oil, climate and the social, economic and environmental benefits of localism. There are fantastic examples from the UK, US, Italy – all over the place on what ordinary people like us can do to create better lives for ourselves, our children and our fellow inhabitants of this lovely planet.  This Friday, 8th February, at the Alpine Cafe, Regent St, Douglas; 19:00 for a 19:30 start.

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London Launch of IF Campaign

100 NGOs and faith groups launched the Enough Food for Everyone If campaign at Somerset House last night.  We are calling for action on the root causes of hunger.  You can join at www.enoughfoodif.org – and let us know directly how many Manxies are signing up.  (Photographer Tim Whitby for Getty Images)

 

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IF Campaign

We think it’s wrong that today 870 million people will go to bed hungry in a world with enough food for everyone, and that’s it’s time to speak out about the injustice of hunger. This Year David Cameron is chairing the G8 in June and we think he has a special opportunity to take action.

There will be lots of opportunities for us to be involved, and there are materials for schools.  Contact us to find out more.

 

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The Story of Stuff

Friday 25th January is our next film evening and we’ll be showing three of the Story of Stuff shorties, by the inspiring Annie Leonard. These movies, all from the Story of Stuff Project, are great fun – informing, entertaining, challenging but full of optimism. You can’t watch without questioning why we do things the way we do…..and feeling motivated to have a crack at the alternatives! There’ll be time to discuss them (and buy a cup of coffee / slice of the Alpine’s very special cakes). Timings: 7.00pm doors open – 7.30pm The Story of Stuff, followed by – no later than 8pm The Story of Bottled Water, followed by – no later than 8.30pm The Story of Change.

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Film Evening

This Friday evening, at the Alpine Cafe in Regent Street, Douglas, join us to watch:

YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip.  Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends spend a year on the road – travelling with hope, humour and all of the rubbish they create – to explore every state in America in search of extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity’s greatest environmental crises.

YERT has won a number of environmental and documentary awards in the US and this will be its first screening in the Isle of Man.

Doors open at 7 pm for a 7.30 pm start.  The event is free to attend but donations to the One World Centre are welcome.

 

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Amnesty International Campaign

Remember the Send a Message of Hope greetings card campaign?  It’s now called Write for Rights and the local Amnesty International Group is promoting it. They have chosen 8 of the cases and on Saturday 15th December you could pop into the Northern Lights Community Centre in Ramsey between 1400 and 1700.   There will be cards available along with a display of information about each person or organisation – and some pre-printed messages if they need to be in another language.  It won’t take long to send a message and a contribution towards the 87p postage would be welcome.  Further details about the campaign can be found on the Amnesty website.
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Going Bananas!

We were delighted to welcome Nicholas Faisal, a banana farmer from St Lucia to the Island at the end of November.  In two days he visited 6 schools and we all learned much more about growing bananas.  Nicholas had come at short notice as a Malawian Sugar farmer had his visa refused.  This meant that Nicholas was taking phone calls and sending e-mails in between his talks to keep his farm going in his absence.

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Fairtrade Conference

The conference was a success!  So says Shirley: “Just a note to say a big thank you from myself and the children for a wonderful day.  The children thoroughly enjoyed it and are so enthusiastic about trying to become a Fairtrade School.  They were still coming up with great ideas for Fairtrade Fortnight in the car on the way back to school!”

These Children are eating cream crackers and drinking water, sitting on the floor as part of the Rich man Poor man snack.  Whereas this child is one of the 20% who enjoyed Fairtrade fruit juice and a Fairtrade chocolate chip cookie.  This activity was to help them understand how here on the Isle of Man we are part of the 20% of the world’s population which have all we need and most of what we want.


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Exciting visit to Bangladesh

Manx residents, Hugh and Sandra Davidson, are working with Oxfam, co-funding a project in Bangladesh, and invited the One World Centre Director, Rosemary Clarke, to visit the project with Alex Wotton from Manx Radio and Pete Smith from Oxfam.  Rosemary was delighted to see the way that women in rural areas with very little education are being empowered to develop their business skills.  Some have chosen milk and, by marketing together, they have increased both their income and their spare time.  Others are growing maize or chilli alongside rice and vegetables.

One person now has a tube well; another rebuilt and furnished her home; a third bought a sewing machine to be able to generate more income.  Several were enjoying wearing saris that they had chosen for themselves – in the past they were not allowed to go to the market and had to depend on the selection a male member of their family made.

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