Introduction to Fair Trade in Peru

One of the important reasons I wanted to spend an extended period in Peru was to connect with the artisan and producer side of fair trade.  Global Gifts works with fair trade wholesalers and our relationships with them are valued and important.   But it lacks the personal touch of making connections and really understanding what fair trade is about from the producer standpoint. 

Recently at Manos Amigas I had the opportunity to sit in on a training that SERRV sponsored for several of its artisan partners in South America.  Representatives from 6 fair trade organizations were present.  They were: Vilma Allauca with Camari in Ecuador, Eduardo Velasquez with MCCH in Ecuador, Pamela Diaz with Comparte in Chile, Ruth de la Cruz & Flora Mamani with CIAP in Peru, Emilia Anyosa & Maribel Inga with Bridge of Hope in Peru and Yannina Meza & Mario Rietveld with Manos Amigas in Peru.

I asked SERRV if I could come and sit in on a session and be an observer and they said “sure”.  Observing is pretty much what I did since my Spanish is still very limited and everything was in Spanish.  But still it was interesting to hear and see a presentation that focused on the types of product trends we see at Global Gifts on a regular basis.  For instance,

·         Making things out of recycled or reclaimed materials is “hot”, especially if you can give the items a new look and purpose and there is a surprise factor when the person realizes what it is made from. 

·         Decorative items are popular especially if they are also functional.

·         There was a big focus on jewelry which is no surprise.  It is my understanding that jewelry is biggest sales category in fair trade when you don’t include commodities such as coffee and cocoa.

I asked Maria from SERRV if the representatives attending were designers (the focus of several days of training was on product design).   She said no because most groups can’t afford to pay a designer.  Regardless, I think the training was an important effort to share information about the US and to a lesser degree the European market that the producers might not otherwise have access to.  I know SERRV was also able to receive some feedback about what was and wasn’t especially helpful in terms of resources they offered to one of the groups.  In my mind, investing in training and taking the time for honest communication is what fair trade is about.  It was great to see it in practice.  I hope I get to see some popular new designs that may be a result of this effort.  On a more personal note, I was able to eke out enough Spanish to introduce myself to Pamela of Comparte and let her know that Alison and I were looking forward to coming and visiting them sometime in the coming months - another adventure to look forward to.