2023
Feb 27
Fairtrade Fortnight launch with the Mayor
2021
Sep 24
Fairtrade wine tasting
Feb 25
GlobalNet webinar with Adam Gardner of the Fairtrade Foundation and Bill Linton.
Feb 22
EnField Climate Action Forum holds a Zoom meeting on Climate Change and Fairtrade, during Fairtrade Fortnight.
2020
Nov 18
Enfield Council unanimously adopted a motion backing Fairtrade
Aug 30
We are back in action! The Steering Group has been reformed and we have already found an opportunity to address a Black Lives Matter demo. Watch this space for further events.
2011
April 15 World Record Attempt!
Enfield is contributing to an attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous piece of bunting
created simultaneously. Schools and others across the country spent much of Fairtrade Fortnight last
month industriously decorating triangles of bunting which will now be sewn together for display on World
Fairtrade Day, May 14th.
Enfield's contribution is 256 triangles, beautifully decorated by Wilbury Primary School, Enfield County
School, St Aldhelm's youth groups, 3rd Edmonton Brownie and Guide packs and Wilbury Woodcraft packs.
That comes to 149 feet of bunting, or 45.5 metres.
2010
Sept 19
We've won an award!
The Enfield Fairtrade Campaign has won the runners-up prize in the 'Most Imaginative Campaign' category
for our campaign to raise awareness of Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight in February/March, and later.
Amongst the ideas that imprssed the judges were a 'Tea with a Tenor' on election day at My Coffee Stop
on Enfield Chase Station, a series of performances by Chickenshed in local schools on a Fairtrade theme
and a 'Fantastic Food' competition for primary schoolchildren.
The award will be made during a Fairtrade Supporters Conference on October 9th.[see Photos]
June 17
Fair Play Products launch range of Fairtrade, Organic sleepwear
A new company, Fair Play Products, today launched its range of organic fairtrade cotton sleepwear.
Based in East Lodge Village, Botany Bay, they hope to have their attractive nightdresses, wraps and pyjamas for
both women and children in local - and not-so-local - shops soon.
The launch, at their headquarters was attended by the Mayor of Enfield, cllr Jayne Buckland, and by
representatives from the Enfield Fairtrade Campaign and the Fairtrade Foundation.
See our Links page for a link to their website
June 5
Hamper won
The hamper of Fairtrade goodies has been won by ticket number 37, held by a lady named Kim. The prize
has been delivered to her - and she says she may give some of it to a local care home with which she is involved.
Nice one, Kim!
May 23
Hamper raffle
Sitting on our stall at the Hospices in Harmony event organised by Enfield Rotary in Hilly Fields this afternoon
was a magnificent hamper of Fairtrade goodies donated by Sainsbury's (Thank You!)
We were raffling it - and we still are! In order to ensure it is a fundraiser not a fundloser we want to sell at least
50 tickets at £1 each, so we'll be offering them for sale at our next event too - St Michael's Fete organised by
Enfield Chase Rotary on St Michael's Green on June 5th. See you there! Waitrose have also vey generously given
us Fairtrade goodies (Thank You again!) which are likely to feature in our next hamper May 18 Website move
This site is hosted by BT, who in turn use a company called Recipero to provide the platform. The arrangement
between BT and Recipero is coming to an end at the end of October 2010. BT will continue to provide the (free)
service using a different platform. That means our web address will change, and the look of the site will probably
change too.
We'll let you know the new address as soon as we know it ourselves. There will be an automatic redirect until the
end of 2011, so you shouldn't lose us!
Update (23/5/10): We will be able to keep our address after all. That's a relied!
Further update (3/7/10): This is the new site - we won't be moving again!
Mar 28
Council congratulates our volunteers
From the agenda of the council meeting coming up on Wednesday March 31st:
Question 1 from Councillor Dreblow to Councillor Neville, Cabinet Member for Environment and Street
Scene:
“As the Cabinet Member for the Environment will be aware, the London Borough of Enfield recently had its
accreditation renewed as a Fairtrade Borough for the coming two years. Will he congratulate the volunteers
who have worked so hard to enable this to be achieved?”
Reply from Councillor Neville:“Enfield was first recognised as a Fairtrade borough in September 2008 with
support from the council. The local steering group has gone from strength to strength thanks to the commitment
and legwork of the core members, who are all volunteers. The Fairtrade fortnight event in 2009 saw schools
across the borough taking part in the Go Bananas event (children simultaneously eating Fairtrade bananas); the
Prince of Wales Primary School received Fairtrade status - the first in London - in July 2009; My Coffee Stop
(Fairtrade coffee stall on Enfield Chase station platform) received Enfield Green Business of the Year Award in
November 2009; and finally. The Chicken Shed theatre group took their performance workshop created
specifically for Fairtrade Fortnight covering important issues about Fairtrade into local primary schools - 10
performances overall. These achievements are a result of the tremendous effort of the people involved in this
project and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them on their successes.”
Mar 1
Thank You Sainsbury's!
A big Thank You to Sainsbury's, Highland Village for donating prizes for our Fantastic Fairtrade Food
Competition for primary school children.
This Fun Competition attracted some fabulous entries, with the top seven entrants on the shortlist being
invited by the Mayor of Enfield to a Fairtrade Tea in his parlour, as he was so impressed with their ideas
and the work and research they had put into entering!
At this tea, the Mayor of Enfield will announce the top three winners, who will be presented with prizes
of Fairtrade goodies and art supplies, kindly donated by Sainsburys at Highlands Village.
Who are the lucky children on the shortlist?
In alphabetical order, a big congratulations to.....
Andre James
Caitlin O'Connor
Dhylan Patel
Jordan Momani
Katrina Alekkou
Theodore Alekkou
Tyler Radan
Feb 1
Enfield has the first Fairtrade Primary School in London - and we didn't even know it!
Prince of Wales primary school, in Salisbury Road, Enfield Lock, was declared a Fairtrade School last July.
We have only just realised that that made it the first primary school in the whole of London to get Fairtrade School
status!
We hope to be able to do a presentation to the school during Fairtrade Fortnight, but that's up to the school. They
may think it's old news!
Feb 1
Enfield's Fairtrade Borough status renewed
We heard this afternoon that our first anniversary application for renewal of Enfield's status as a Fairtrade Borough
has been approved.
We put the application in in September, but there are now so many towns, villages, boroughs etc applying that the
Fairtrade Foundation are snowed under! What should have taken 6-8 weeks to process has taken more than 4
months. We don't care, since they eventually came up with the right answer!
We don't need to apply again until January 2012 - but that doesn't mean we can put our feet up. By then we will need
to demonstrate that we have made further substantial progress in all areas of the campaign.
Jan 29
Have Chickenshed perform at your school!
ChickenshedTheatre and Fairtrade Fortnight, Feb22nd to March 7th
What experiences have you got in place for Fairtrade Fortnight?
Booking Chickenshed Theatre to come into your school to present their performing arts experience about Fairtrade
will educate your children in a uniquely imaginative, effective and fun way. This specially devised experience will
explain why Fairtrade is so important and how it makes a difference to producer's lives and communities, in developing
countries.
This is the perfect way for your school to support Chickenshed and increase your children’s understanding of
Fairtrade at the same time. This special experience is available to your school before, during & after
Fairtrade Fortnight. The experience is an hour long and combines performance & workshop activities to
approximately 90 pupils at a time.
Book now: email ZoeH@chickenshed.org.uk, or call her on 020 8351 6161
She will need to know the ages of the children and the number of experiences required.
1 hour performance and workshop experience is £200
2 performances with workshop experiences are £35
Jan 29
Fantastic Fairtrade Food Competition!
Primary School children in Enfield are invited to enter...
Fairtrade Fortnight Art Competition
This is a Fun Competition for you to enter.....let your imagination go wild.....think-up, create and tell us about what
would be an amazing, delicious, wacky or fun Fairtrade food to eat and if your entry is short-listed it will be exhibited
at My Coffee Stop and the top three entrants will be invited for tea with the Mayor of Enfield!
There's also other prizes, check back here to find out what they are.
IMAGINE IT
COMMUNICATE IT
THEN SEND IT!
IMAGINE IT
Just imagine an amazing and special Fairtrade Food creation, using at least one Fairtrade Food ingredient! It could be
something like a Fairtrade Lemon Flavour Gerkin Building Jelly or maybe even Fairtrade Avocado Alien Men, just let
your imagination run wild
COMMUNICATE IT
This is where this competition is a little bit different to any other competition, we're not telling you that you have to
draw or paint it, although you can....we want you to communicate your idea, any way you like, you can film yourself
describing it, you could write about it, write a poem, make it and then take a photo, it's up to you. This is to make the
competition totally inclusive.....it's about what you CAN do, not what you can't!
SEND IT
By post or by dropping in....
c/o Karen Mercer, My Coffee Stop, Enfield Chase Station, Platform 1, Windmill Hill, Enfield.
Make sure that your entry is clearly labelled with your Full Name and the Name, Address & Phone number of your
primary school & your class.
For more details click here
2009
Feb 10
Dr Jack Piachaud
It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death this morning of Dr Jack Piachaud.
Jack was one of the founders of the Enfield Fairtrade Campaign and a member of our Steering Group. He was active,
until his final illness, in many areas, always seeking to improve the lot of his fellow human beings, either en masse or,
as in his work for the Medical Foundation for the Care of the Victims of Torture, individual by individual. He will be
greatly missed by his many friends
2008
Nov 1
Enfield celebrates Fairtrade Borough status
Enfield Fairtrade supporters turned out in force today to celebrate the official declaration of Fairtrade status for the
borough. David Lowbridge, Managing Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, presented the Fairtrade Borough
certificate to mayor Lee Chamberlain at a ceremony at Capel Manor College as councillors, activists and supporters
from the borough's community groups, schools and places of worship looked on.
The College's generous offer to open the grounds for the guests was, alas, taken up by only a few as the weather
proved less than welcoming. Nevertheless the event appeared to be enjoyed by all, as the catering staff - enthusiastic
Fairtraders themselves - did their best to make up for the downpour outside.
Now the real work begins - keeping the campaign fresh and active without a clear goal to work towards any more.
Sep 22
We've done it!!
The news we have all been waiting for arrived by email this afternoon: Enfield's application for Fairtrade Borough
status has been accepted!
Our thanks go to all who have supported the campaign, in particular (but by no means limited to):
Anna Loughlin, our council support person, who seems to make 8 hours a month stretch a very long way,
Councillor Annette Dreblow, chair of the Steering Group and willing helper at events (not to mention husband Peter
and his stalwart band of Rotarians)
Councillor Chris Cole who kicked the whole council motion thing off, and is also happy to pitch in
Rupert Price, Steering Group member, indefatigable shop monitor and regular event helper
Quentin Beningfield, Steering Group member, event helper and ideas man extraordinaire
...and others too numerous to mention
We have tentative plans for our celebratory event at Capel Manor on November 1st - watch this space.
Sept 7
Another successful Autumn Show
The weather was not as kind to the Enfield Autumn Show as it was last year, so our volunteers on the Saturday must
have had a fairly miserable time, but Sunday was better and the takings from our Fairtrade stall picked up
accordingly. We ended up with just over £150, down on last year but not by as much as one might have expected in
the circumstances. Our new gazebo proved its usefulness, though it was not completely proof against Saturday's
downpours.
Our thanks for the second year running to Enfield Rotary Club who provided many of the volunteers, and of course to
all of our own volunteers who pitched in as well. I managed to get out of organising things this time, courtesy of a
family wedding, but was clearly not missed as Annette and Peter Dreblow did a splendid job despite the mud.
Thanks also to Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer who provided goods for display again.
Let's hope for better weather next year.
July 30
The application's in!
The moment we have all been working towards for the past 3 years has almost arrived! We have put together what
we think is a strong application for Fairtrade Borough status, and it is now in the hands of the Fairtrade Foundation
for vetting. We expect to hear in about 6 weeks whether we have been successful.
The application pulls together all the lists of shops and cafes selling Fairtrade products, places of worship promoting
or selling them, schools where Fairtrade is learned about and community organisations and workplaces where
Fairtrade tea and coffee are served. We threw in all the talks we've given, events where we have had a stall and a few
extras like the 3 internet shops based in Enfield and the meeting at the House of Commons hosted by Joan Ryan MP
that more than 200 of you turned up at.
Council support, once we had won them over, has been important. It is encouraging that the Steering Group contains
councillors from both Conservative and Labour, working together in harmony.
Thanks for hard work go to all the members of our Steering Group - both past and present - and to all the volunteers
who have helped out at stalls, given talks, or surveyed shops.
Now keep your fingers crossed that the Foundation thinks we have done enough!
June 17
200+ Fairtraders at House of Commons meeting
The Grand Committee Room at the House of Commons was packed to well above normal capacity tonight to hear
Douglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for International Development, Joan Ryan MP and this Campaign's Bill
Linton talk about Fairtrade.
Well over 200 people had made the rush-hour trek from Enfield to Westminster to find that the meeting had been
moved from the large Committee Room 14 to the (despite its name) smaller Grand Committee Room. While we waited
for Mr Alexander to arrive assistants ferried in extra chairs, while Oasis Academy schoolchildren made themselves
comfortable on the floor.
After introductory remarks from Joan and a description from Bill of Enfield's efforts to become a Fairtrade Borough,
Douglas Alexander made a rousing speech about the importance of Fairtrade and how the government wants to
encourage it. Questions were then taken, many of them pertinent and insightful. One Kingsmead School pupil won a
round of applause and an offer from Joan Ryan to take him to meet Tessa Jowell with his question about ensuring that
the 2012 Olympics provide Fairtrade catering! The atmosphere of the meeting was such as to cause the Secretary of
State to stay longer than he had promised. Fairtrade in Enfield is clearly on a roll.
June 17
Oasis Academy pupils take on the supermarkets
First year (it's the only year there is) pupils at the new Oasis Academy have been writing letters to the Enfield
supermarkets asking them to stock more Fairtrade. Their letters show the passion of the young, before reality beats it
out of them:
Aaina Joshi write to Asda
Shannon Thompson & Michael Ukaegbu write to Tesco
Teddy Childs & Andrew Sentongo write to Tesco
Sharna Robertson & Rebecca Tayler write to Tesco Express
Mar 26
Council passes 2nd resolution
Enfield's campaign to become a Fairtrade Borough took another significant step on Wednesday March 26th when the
council passed unanimously a carefully-worded resolution supporting the principle of Fairtrade and promising to use
Fairtrade tea and coffee in meetings. That ticked another box on our application form, which is nearly complete.
The need now is for support from the Borough's schools. We know it exists - we just can't point to exactly where and
in what form. Once we get that information in and sorted out we will be ready to submit our application
2007
Sep 7
A successful Show
We had a stall at the Enfield Autumn Show this weekend, as we did last year. The progress we had made in the past
twelve months was obvious: this year's stall was four times as big as last year's, and covered with a (borrowed!)
gazebo to keep off the rain (which fortunately never even threatened) and sun from our eager volunteers - and there
were many more of them, too, partly courtesy of Enfield Rotary who turned up in strength. A new feature was that we
had not only Traidcraft goods to sell, but displays from three local supermarkets (Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer and
Waitrose) to show some of the variety of Fairtrade goods easily available in Enfield. Support from the supermarkets
can only be a good thing as we seek to spread the word about Fairtrade.
The position of our site, too, was better than last year - at least from the point of view of having many people coming
past. The drawback was the constant noise from the nearby soundstage, some of it quite pleasant, some not.
Some of what we achieved is not measurable - the number of people brought into contact with Fairtrade for the first
time, or whose understanding of it was improved, or who went away resolving to buy more Fairtrade products in
future. What was measurable was the increase in what we sold: up from £73-odd last year to around £180 - a 150%
improvement.
Aug 16
Talking to Sainsbury's
Thursday, August 16th was the day when Sainsbury's achieved their aim of having 100% of the bananas in their stores
nationwide be Fairtrade (our local stores have had this for some time). To celebrate they had a Fairtrade Day, with
stores across the UK making a point of featuring Fairtrade goods.
The store in Enfield Retail Park had a trolleyful of Fairtrade goods on display at the entrance, with a young lady handing
leaflets to shoppers as thay came in, and each of the staff wearing a Fairtrade badge.
Another part of the day was for Sainsbury managers to make contact with local Fairtrade campaigns, so six of us turned
up at the Retail Park for a chat with the manager, Dave Wiltshire. We explored ways in which we could help each
other, and came away feeling that a useful contact had been made. We will probably have some sainsbury's Fairtrade
items on our stall at the Enfield Autumn Show next month, which is our next event.
May 8
Another milestone towards Fairtrade Borough status!
In order to achieve Fairtrade Borough status, we need to fulfil five criteria set by the Fairtrade Foundation. One was to
have the council pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade, and agree to serve Fairtrade tea and coffee at its meetings and
in its offices and canteens. That one was achieved in January (we think - there is still some doubt whether the council
resolution was worded in quite the right way).
The second is to have a range of (at least two) Fairtrade products readily available in the shops and local
cafes/restaurants, and that is the one which has been the main focus of our efforts recently. The Fairtrade Foundation
lays down strict numerical criteria for this one, dependent on population, and for Enfield it comes out to 38 shops and 19
cafes/restaurants. We have been tramping the streets of the borough checking out which shops do sell which Fairtrade
products, and today the total we know of selling at least 2 products reached 39...and counting!
We still need more cafes and restaurants (we only know of 12 so far), but at least one half of this target has been
reached.
Mar 16
Sainsbury's bananas are now all Fairtrade!
Sainsbury's superstore in Winchmore Hill now displays a notice declaring that all its bananas are Fairtrade! This is in
line with a recent declaration from Sainsbury's head office that all the bananas they sell will be going over to Fairtrade.
One advantage for the lone Fairtrader such as myself is that you can now buy Fairtrade bananas loose, in any
numbers you like, rather than having to take a bag of seven which means going banana-mad for a week - not to
mention an unnecessary bag to dispose of.
Other Sainsburys in the borough are probably also all Fairtrade, or will be soon.
Feb 16
Threshers go Fairtrade!
Threshers wine stores throughout the country, including the Wine Rack, Local, Victoria Wine and Drinks Cabin
chains, have all started stocking Fairtrade wines. We only have one Thresher outlet in Enfield (at 167 Chase Side) but
they are joining in with a will. There's a 3-for-the-price of-2 offer on at the moment, so now's your chance to stock
up!
Co-op stores across the borough also stock Fairtrade wine, as do Sainsbury's.
Jan 24
Council swings to Fairtrade!
Tonight's debate on Fairtrade was very different from the one in June. Then it was largely sectarian, with a certain
amount of name-calling across the political divide, took the whole evening with virtually every councillor speaking, and
only two of the Tories doing so in favour. Tonight's debate took only an hour and was much more good-humoured,
with a fair amount of banter - some of it around the outsize blow-up Fairtrade banana being waved in the public
gallery!
Some Tories spoke against, but now there were several in favour too. It became clear long before the vote that the
issue was not in doubt. In the event the mayor did not even bother asking for the 'Noes', so many hands had gone up
for the 'Yeses'. Even council leader Michael Rye and his deputy Michael Lavender, both of whom had expressed
reservations during the debate, held their hands up at the right moment.
That does not yet make Enfield a Fairtrade Borough. Before we can even apply for accreditation from the Fairtrade
Foundation we need to find a good number of retail outlets selling Fairtrade goods, cafes and restaurants serving
Fairtrade teas and coffees, businesses within the borough serving Fairtrade in their canteens or to their clients, and we
need to generate lots of publicity.
There is still plenty to do - but we're on our way.
Jan 4
Come and support Fairtrade!
Come and sit in the public gallery as the council discusses again the motion to declare Enfield a Fairtrade Borough. We
need lots of supporters to show the doubters on the Tory side that there is lots of local support for the Fairtrade idea.
The council meeting starts at 7pm with prayers, and there may be other items before the Fairtrade debate - see the
council website in the week before the meeting for the agenda.
2006
Oct 10
Sainsbury's expand FT product lines
Every time I go shopping at Sainsbury's I spot new FT items on their shelves. They've had FT bananas for ages, of
course, but over the last few weeks they have added pineapples, avocados and now oranges.There's drinking
chocolate, too - though I may just have missed that on my original survey, as the FT logo is obscured by the containing
box.
Sainsbury's happens to be where I shop, so the other supermarkets are probably doing the same thing
Oct 10
Council vote put back
The council's Fairtrade Working Group, which is producing a second report to answer the objections of councillors
when the subject first came to the vote in June, has decided to postpone bringing it back to council. This is to give time
to gather support from the local community, and to ensure that all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed in the report.
The report is now expected to be presented at the council meeting on Wednesday January 24th. Put the date in your
diaries and plan to be in the public gallery!
Sep 11
Taking Fairtrade to Enfield
Enfield Fairtrade Campaign have begun to take a higher profile in the borough. On August 29th the
Enfield Over 50s Forum devoted a meeting to the Fairtrade idea. Richard Anstead, Business Development Manager
of the Fairtrade Foundation gave a talk explaining the concept behind the Fairtrade logo, and Jack Piachaud of the
local Campaign told the meeting what we are up to. A substantial number of the Over 50s signed up to get further
information and/or give a hand.
Over the weekend of September 9th/10th we had a stall at the Enfield Autumn Show in Town Park, selling Traidcraft
goods and again signing up interested parties for more information and/or to help. Helped by some glorious sunshine
the Show was a success, both for the organisers and for us, as the body of opinion within the borough backing FT
continues to swell.
We plan to set out our stall again as often as events occur where we can do it.
June 29
It's official: Enfield stands for Unfair Trade
After a prolonged debate last night, Enfield council voted 28-27 against declaring Fairtrade status for the borough.
The debate started in confusion as a Labour motion to declare Fairtrade status clashed with a cabinet
recommendation to defer the decision until the (minimal) costs could be brought down. In the end the cabinet gave
way and the discussion came down to a straight 'yes' or 'no'.
Labour and the two Save Chase Farm councillors were unanimous for a 'yes', but almost all the Tories, while allowing
that Fair Trade was a good thing in itself, went for 'no', either on the grounds that it was none of the council's business,
or on the principle that they shouldn't spend any money on something not directly benefitting the borough. The two
exceptions were Edward Smith, who had chaired the Working Group which looked at the Fair Trade question - and
recommended acceptance - and Annette Dreblow, who had also served on it. Both made stirring speeches in favour.
When it came to the vote, though, Smith unexpectedly backed off and voted against - counteracting Henry
Lamprecht, who had spoken against, then voted for! That may have been because Labour had got hold of a letter in
which he promised a constituent not only to vote for Fair Trade, but to lobby for it! Even Tories are not completely
immune to being named and shamed.
Lamprecht's vote would have been enough if Smith had stuck to his guns, but in the event the Blue Meanies won the
day.
The cabinet recommendation now resurfaced and was anti-climactically voted through without further ado. The
Working Group will probably be reconvened in due course. It remains to be seen how soon we can get the idea back
before the full council.
Jun 20
Will they, won't they?
Originally we heard that the council would vote on the decision to declare Enfield a Fairtrade Borough at the first
council meeting of the newly-elected council on May 24th. Tradition decreed, though, that the first council meeting
after an election is reserved exclusively for the Mayor-making, and tradition won the day. The new date for the vote
was to be June 28th - a week tomorrow.
Last Wednesday the Cabinet met, with Fairtrade as one of its subjects - and reportedly 'put it on ice' for weeks or
maybe months. A different report, however, has the decision as less clearcut. The Environment, Parks and Leisure
Scrutiny Panel, to which the decision was originally referred, meets this Thursday (June 22nd) and may refer it back
to the council.
At this point, therefore, we may be less than 10 days away from a positive decision, or it may not come for months and may not necessarily be positive. Breath is being held all over the borough.
