Fairtrade Fortnight comes to an end

It began with an old favourite. A cold Thursday in late February with the promise of ice cream; Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be exact. The academic year had been welcomed with a raucous first session in October seeing Activity Space 1 crammed with attendees of a two hour frozen dessert buffet. This time, with the second term waning, a more relaxed affair was anticipated and with this in mind, we had divided it into two sessions. The previous three days leading to this moment saw our stands in the JCR and SAF intermittently approached for ticket purchases. But we were experienced heads in the game, knowing that this was nothing more than the calm before the storm.

Sure enough, with 20 minutes to go, the atrium to the Physics Common Room was starting to resemble the mosh pit at your average Pantera concert. After much jostling through the eager crowd we were finally able to transfer our precious goods into the room to set up the spread of what must have been 15 different flavours. All the old favourites were there – Phish Food, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Cookie Dough – as well as some newer ones in ‘Core’ range. Unable to contain the giddy masses any further, the door was allowed open and the swarm of sweet-toothed Imperialites surged into the room.

The queue stretched the length of the room, as our committee battled to maintain a steady stream of people collecting their ice cream. In fact, as many as 20 people were turned away at the door due to us being already stretched for resources and close to exceeding the capacity of the room. Having advised them to book tickets for the second session (which many did), we breathed a sigh of relief. First crisis over. As expected, despite a surfeit of bravado from the gelato aficionados, the initial (sugar) rush abated at the halfway mark, with attendees struggling to maintain the electric pace with which they had begun. Contented, they settled down to listen to four of Imperial College Debating’s finest pit their wits against each other in a 2 v 2 verbal tussle of doom on whether or not the Fairtrade movement is a long term solution or not.

Session one ended with us realising that we had been eaten out of our existing Ben & Jerry’s supplies precipitating a mad dash to the supermarket to stock up on more supplies. With Waitrose not providing value for money, the two of us who went were faced with having to sprint to Sainsbury’s in order to make our purchase. Having made it back by the skin of our teeth, we prepared for the second half.

This time the numbers were slightly reduced from the first session putting paid to the idea that students are mostly nocturnal creatures. The less hectic conditions presented the first opportunity to stage the notorious ice cream race – something that had been inadvertently forgotten due to the intensity of the session. That presented a significant physical and mental challenge to all competitors in the form of brainfreeze. Whosoever could finish heaped bowl of ice cream in the shortest time would earn the most prestigious prize of all: respect. And a couple of tubs of ice cream for good measure.

At the sound of ‘go’, they were off. Like salmon swimming upstream, pieces of Ben & Jerry’s freed themselves of their inanimate nature, leaping gleefully into the open mouths of the competitors. Within seconds it was clear that there was a ferocious battle emerging between Nick ‘the fridge-freezer’ Politis and a mysterious, unnamed stranger. With the committee wondering whether a photo finish would be required the enigmatic man in black slammed his bowl down on the table, and strolled off nonchalantly to the gasps of the crowd. With that done, everyone settled down for a second set of dazzling debaters to tussle with the important Fairtrade question of the night. After such a manic night, the perfect antidote materialised in a sedate knitting session with Knitsock in SAF using Fairtrade yarn. Under our unmistakeable Fairtrade banner and the expert tutelage of the Knitsock committee, a crowd gradually perambulated over, camping out on the SAF couches and getting stuck into some needle action! Before long, the entire area was teeming with happy knitters, learning how to differentiate weft from warp like pros. It was the perfect preparation for the weekend, and as a committee we left brimming with enthusiasm for what awaited us in the second week. On Monday night two wonderful teachers from the Kings Road branch of Lush, the cosmetics company, who were giving a class on making face masks. Only 20 places were available, most of which were taken up by female students. However, contrary to the Imperial stereotype there were several gallant, metrosexual men in attendance, unafraid to take care of themselves. Indeed, the male Fairtrade committee members even got in on the act, with a certain webmaster seeming especially keen on the hand massage.

Three events down. Two were left, after the unfortunate postponement of the Future Trade conference with the PPS. Originally billed as ‘The Brawl in the Lecture Hall’, this was slated to pit Fairtrade heavyweight Barbara Crowther (Director of Public Communications) against a cohort of brainiacs from thinktank the Institute for Economic Affairs. Sadly, the latter group were ultimately unable to find complementary dates in their schedule, prompting bemused mutterings from the more cynical among us.

On to Wednesday, and a free tea and chocolate event organised with the delightful Tea Society. This event would see the arrival of special guests all the way from Ghana – cocoa farmers brought over by Divine Chocolate, who had provided a wide selection of their flavours for those present. Along with the mouth-watering variety of tastes on offer (white chocolate and strawberry, dark chocolate and ginger and hazelnut milk among others) we had soothing teas courtesy of Qi; in a word, heaven. Coincidentally, it happened to be Ghana’s Independence Day, which seemed appropriate as the farmers proceeded to educate us as to how the Fairtrade movement had given their farming cooperative a certain amount of liberation from the market power of national product distribution associations and MNC’s alike, especially for them as women (doubly relevant given today is International Women’s Day).

In a generation where we as consumers are becoming increasingly insulated from the realities of food production, it was enlightening to see these highly empowered people cut through many of the myths that detractors of Fairtrade propagate prodigiously. Divine themselves are 45% owned by the Ghanaian Kuapa Kokoo cooperative, and have been pioneering this business model with great success, putting paid to the fallacy that Fairtrade does nothing more than allow companies to whack on an extra markup on products. Although no one pretends that the movement is perfect as it is and requires little improvement, few critics actually offer a constructive, intellectual critique of the Fairtrade movement – and even less dare to mention the fact that protectionist strategies by governments in developed countries undermine any other efforts to improve farmers’ conditions by hampering their ability to trade freely with more privileged nations.

Our stomachs were filled by our rather unorthodox ‘lunch’ of sorts, and our eyes were opened by the stunningly short talk. If only College lecturers were this skilled at delivering critical information in a concise and comprehensible manner in under 20 minutes. With that done, it was time to start preparing for the piece de resistance. Bringing together the sister institutions of Imperial and the Royal College of Music, and in association with our muy buenos amigos/excellents amis/ from Cheese Society, we are hosting a Cheese and Wine Tasting night in baRCM tonight from 19:30 onwards. With Fairtrade wines and delicious cheeses to tempt the most hardnosed of connosieurs, it is sure to be the perfect way to end Fairtrade Fortnight.

Teasingly Fairtrade

Cooperating with Fairtrade Society was a fantastic experience which culminated in a Fairtrade Tea and Chocolate Event. Being the President of Tea Society for this academic year, I can say we had already tried to promote links with other societies, for example through a joint event with Cooking Society. We believe many societies share common interests and that drawing different people from different clubs together when possible will make the Union more vibrant. Fairtrade relates to lots of things in our everyday life and this event has made my committee realise it would be very easy to incorporate Fairtrade in our weekly events. Hearing first-hand accounts from enthusiastic cocoa farmers from Ghana converted to Fairtrade was a brilliant way of making everyone who came aware of how beneficial Fairtrade can be. Nevertheless, this was primarily a FREE tea and chocolate tasting event so no matter how you may feel towards the Fairtrade movement, it would have been worth coming! I am looking forward to seeing more cooperation between societies within the Union as well as more Fairtrade over the campus. Finally, I would like to give big thanks to all the Fairtrade committee members who have spent hours organising this Fairtrade fortnight. Come along to our Teasoc meetings to enjoy some Fairtrade tea alongside our usual selection!

Pauline Vaskou - TeaSoc President

Not Yarning Afterwards

Last Friday, KnitSock and Fairtrade Society joined forces to take over the SAF foyer, in the most recent stage of our bid to unleash Fairtrade, yarny fun to the world. Yes, our steps towards our ultimate aim are modest, (we would argue realistic) but what a resounding success this bid was! We had beautiful Fairtrade yarn to give to participants, we had Fairtrade hot drinks to keep the caffeine levels up, we had knitting and crochet masters to share their skills, all amongst a relaxed atmosphere of chitchat whilst lounging on sofas! I for one used it as an opportune excuse to start the weekend early, with chilled-out, happy vibes.

KnitSock meets at least once a week in the same manner, only enriched with more yarn, more patterns, more masters, more cake, and more music. Experts and beginners are very welcome; we teach and chat and laugh for freeeeee! Email knit.sock@imperial.ac.uk to join our mailing list! Finally, a huge thank you to Fairtrade Society, and especially Fang He, for all the help in making the event such a success! See you soon, knitsters!

Justine Dattani

A Cheesy Night

It’s an age old tradition to marry cheese and wine that the Cheese Society are excited to present along with the Fairtrade Society! We’ve been in talks for a few years now about this event, so it feels good to finally join forces in this wonderful culmination of a fortnight of activities, dedicated to promoting a fairer vision of world trade. Our Cheese and Wine night will be all about just that, Fairtrade wines and complimentary cheese, picked to bring out the complex aromas and flavours to tickle your palette, along with some complimentary condiments such as olives, grapes, nuts and strawberries. Come on down to Bar RCM to join us in ending this Fairtrade Fortnight with a cheesy bang. Carpe Caesum.

Ying Gu