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Christmas gifts that give twice

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This is a text-only version of an article first published on Friday, 13 November 2015. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.

As lists of Christmas presents for friends and family are being drawn up, churches in the Oxford Diocese are helping people to buy Fair Trade, local and green gifts.

The Door explores how.

The jewellery stall in Kidlington.

Margaret Day.

;The Kidlington parish Traidcraft group began its Fair Trade Christmas Fair in 2005.

In 2014, it combined with a Kidlington versus Climate Change green fair to become the One World Market. Margaret Day explains: "We combined so we could bring together issues of fair trade, the environment and supporting local businesses; our strapline is 'trading as if everybody matters'. This means we can offer not only fairly-traded goods but also locally grown/made, organically produced, energy saving - making it a much more rounded approach to sustainability.

We can also promote support for all these issues, with information, videos and more.

This is a market with a difference - whatever you buy, whatever money you spend will help to make our world and our own locality more sustainable and fairer for all. " The market turns Kidlington's Exeter Hall into a veritable treasure trove, with around 25 exhibitors offering a variety of goods and information. Milton Keynes's annual Christmas Fair started about 20 years ago, when the new Christ the Cornerstone Church opened in the city centre. It's an offshoot of the Milton Keynes Justice and Peace group's Fair Trade network, which supplies eight to ten churches in the area and has annual sales worth about £20,000.

As with Kidlington's fair, it's expanded over the years to include not only a variety of groups offering fairly traded products from international partners but also local producers: indeed, the organisation has rotated amongst Fair Traders, local charities and a local business.

There's a particular focus on foods: Win Kennedy, who runs the Fair Trade network, noted that it's important to her to support small farmers, whether they're local or international, and to know that they've had a good deal for their products.

More broadly, she comments: "If you're buying something to give somebody pleasure, it's even more satisfying if you know that the producer of that gift has also benefited, wherever they may be. "About six years ago, the Deddington Fair Traders, who join with local producers to sell their wares monthly at the Deddington Farmers' Market, began to hold a special Christmas "Traidcraft" preview day in the parish church.

As soon as the new Traidcraft catalogue appears, they order a large selection of items, choose a day, and then from 10am until 6pm have the potential gifts on display for people to inspect.

Orders placed on the day get a 10 per cent discount - and the total orders and sales are generally around £1,200.

Viviane Hall said: "We put a flyer in the monthly Deddington News, so we do get quite a lot of people in.

It's spreading the word about Fair Trade and Traidcraft; it's selling more Traidcraft.

It's tiring, but it's good fun. "

Giving Fair Trade and local gifts

THIS Christmas the Diocese of Oxford is encouraging church-goers to give "gifts that give twice".

There are many ways of doing so: for example, with 'alternative gift' schemes, you give a donation to a charity, and they provide a card or magnet you can give to someone else as a present.

The person receiving the card knows you thought about them - and the person receiving from the charity benefits too. Buying from Fair Trade or local producers is another way. When you give a Fair Trade gift, the recipient gets a lovely, high-quality product - while the person who produced the gift is paid a fair price for their work and benefits from decent working conditions.

Buying locally produced gifts also helps people build a better life for themselves, their familiesand their communities. Supporting the "gifts that give twice" campaign, the Acting Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, said: "At Christmas time, we remember God's gift to all people - so it's particularly fitting to think about how the gifts we give to celebrate the holiday can benefit not only those who receive them, but also people in need and producers locally and around the world. "

Offering hope to Nepali women

Traidcraft Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The UN estimates that almost 30 per cent of Nepalis live in poverty - and women often get the worst deal.

But this Christmas Traidcraft is giving its customers the chance to help Nepalese women and other vulnerable people by choosing Fair Trade. Nepali girls are far less likely to continue in education than boys because Nepali families believe sons will look after them in their old age.

Girls can therefore be seen as a burden with little or no economic value, and are vulnerable to traffickers who offer promises of marriage or work.

Up to 15,000 women and children are trafficked out of Nepal every year.

It is suggested that the average age of women trafficked is 15 - with some girls as young as seven.

Some are forced into manual labour; large numbers into sex work where they are brutally ill treated.

Younger sex workers are seen as having a greater value to the brothels and pimps.

Virgins are particularly prized since it is rumoured that sex with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS. But there are alternatives for people living in poverty.

Women are becoming empowered through Fair Trade organisations like Get Paper Industries (GPI).

With a largely female workforce, the employees spend their time making products like gift wrap and stationery.

GPI donates funds to General Welfare Prathistan (GWP), which has helped one woman, who was gang raped and ostracised by her family, to build a new life. The felt worker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "Literally crying, scared and frightened, I reached the GWP field office and met with Ms Parbati Bartaula .

She listened to my story and assured me that she would enrol me in felt craft production where I would be employed.

Now I am working in the felt craft production and now I am confident and living with self-respect. "GWP has 10 women employees including Manju Lama, (pictured above) who said: "I have been working here for two and a half years.

I had no knowledge of felt before I came here but this is a good job.

I like everything about working here.

It is good that I am earning and I like the people here.

We are a real team! It is important that we sell as many of the products as possible.

We want to work.

This is a good opportunity for us to earn. "Products like Traidcraft's Jolly Felt Star Decorations are among the range of products Manju, Sumitra and their colleagues make.

GPI is looking to expand its business to give the women more work, new skills and a better income. GPI's products are available through Show You Care or in the Traidcraft catalogue: ring 0191 4973999 to receive one.

The catalogue can be used for church or individual orders.

Fairtrade at Christmas - a perspective from Faringdon

by Sjoerd VogtWe've had a Fair Trade and Christian bookshop called the Mustard Seed in the centre of Faringdon since 1986.

Many of us still remember those early days when drinking fair trade coffee was more a punishment than a pleasure! Well, even though the quality of the fantastic range of goods carrying the Fair Trade symbol is no longer in question, we do continually face new challenges in spreading the message; both Fair Trade and Christian.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Christmas is an incredibly important time for the shop, but also a time of moral dilemmas.

How can we reconcile the seasonal gluttony and wastefulness with our urgency to sell, sell, sell? How can we ask people to "live simply" but at the same time encourage them to buy?We do this by trying to constantly focus on the story behind the goods; the all-important message.

Fair Trade isn't about buying something that you need (or don't need!) - it's about changing the world; trying to put in place a level playing field; trying to give people the means to earn a living rather than being exploited.

And what better Christian message could there be at Christmas?The Real Advent Calendars from the Meaningful Chocolate Company are all about message.

The 32-page activity book is not only a refreshing change from elves, reindeer and snowmen, but the delicious Fair Trade Belgian chocolates allow us a little bit of indulgence as we try to change the world one chocolate at a time. Special evening opening hours, Fair Trade house parties and the regular church sales all help in the run-up to Christmas.

Advent candles, wrapping paper, cards and chocolate-tree biscuits are all very popular items.

But probably most popular of all are the special Christmas hampers.

Each basket is filled with a selection of delicious Fair Trade foods: chocolates, snacks, nuts, spreads, biscuits, tea/coffee … and then wrapped up to look really festive.

The perfect gift for family, friends - the neighbour who looked after your pet python…In the run-up to Christmas, more than £3,000 of Fair Trade goods are wrapped up and sold as festive hampers (above) and hamper sales are also very effective in generating general awareness in the wide range of fair trade goods available from the Mustard Seed. We really try to stress that the giving and receiving of fair trade goods will benefit three parties; the producer, the receiver, and the giver.

And all will have a more joyful Christmas as a result!Sjoerd Vogt runs The Mustard Seed.

Fair Trade Shops

The Cornerstone (Grovelands Shopping Centre, Grove)Tel: 01235 772280.

www. cornerstonegrove. org. ukCornerstone Trading (Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes)Email: wkennedy@btinternet. comDeddington Farmers Market Fair Trade StallTel: 01869 338225 Email: deddingtonfairtrading@gmail. comFab and Fair (online only, Amersham)Tel: 01494 732418 Website: www. fabandfair. co. ukFairtrade at St Michael's (Cornmarket, Oxford)Tel: 01865 722505 Website: www. fairtradeatstmichaels. co. ukJust Trading Wallingford (St Mary's St)Tel: 01491 826600 www. justtrading. co. ukManumit (online only, Newbury)Tel: 01635 231211 www. manumituk. comThe Mustard Seed (Market Place, Faringdon)Tel: 01367 244821 www. mustardseed. org. ukOne Village (A44, Woodstock)Tel: 01993 812866 www. onevillage. comRISC World Shop (London Road, Reading)Tel: 0118 958 6692 www. risc. org. uk/worldshopThe Windmill (London Road, Headington)Tel: 01865 236944 www. headingtonfairtrade. org. uk. Many of the shops will supply goods on a sale or return basis to churches that want to run stalls before/after services. ;

Page last updated: Friday 13th November 2015 12:00 AM
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