A packed programme of varied events has been lined up to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight in Reading.
The Reading events are on now and run through until Sunday 7 March. Highlights include:
* A Fairtrade morning break with the Mayor Fred Pugh. Reading Borough Council staff will be quizzed on what usual shopping items they will be swapping for a fair trade one while they taste the ever expanding range of exotic Fairtraded foods.
* A Fairtrade Reading Banana Workshop. Performance artist Anti-Cool will be working with some volunteers from RISC, visiting local shops to find out where their bananas come from. The journey will be filmed and abstracts shown at RISC
* How Fair is Fairtrade? Vinay Devaiah a Fairtrade tea producer from the South of India will talk about his experience.
* Reading Fairtrade tasting stalls
A number of local Reading churches and schools will feature Fairtrade’s work during their services and assemblies and a couple of exhibitions are also up and running. One is in the foyer of the Civic Offices and includes Reading Museum’s new fairtrade loan box. This is open 9am to 5.30pm weekdays.
The second exhibition is running until 18 March and is called In the Light of Fairtrade. This is a photographic exhibition by Candida Lucca, documenting local people and their skills. It will be on show in Reading High Street
The annual Fairtrade Fortnight encourages more people to opt for Fairtrade products like tea, coffee, honey, bananas and chocolate. By doing so they are helping support producers in developing countries.
Reading became a Fairtrade Town in 2004. This year’s flagship employers committed to promote fair trade within their workplace include Readibus and Unison while the Spread Eagle is Reading’s first Fairtrade pub selling Fairtrade coffee and honey beer.
All local schools within the central School Meals contract with the council supply Fairtrade food and tuck shops sell Fairtrade products.
There are also 45 cafes and restaurants serving Fairtrade beverages or snack and 40 churches are now registered as Fairtrade churches.
Paul Gittings, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Environment and Sustainability, said: "Fairtrade continues to go from strength to strength in Reading which is a tribute to the many hard working volunteers who give their time to promote its activities. I am very proud we are a Fairtrade Town and as a council we give it our wholehearted support."
Reading Borough Council
