Guest from Dominican Republic helps celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight

The Orkney Fair Trade Group is hosting a special guest from the Dominican Republic to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight and the difference Fairtrade makes around the world.

Cocoa grower Basilio Almonte de los Santos will be taking part in a special Songs of Praise service in the East Mainland Church tomorrow, Sunday, and on Monday will make a whistle-stop tour of four primary schools — Dounby, Stromness, Glaitness and St Andrews — visiting classes and talking with the children who have all been working on different projects related to learning about Fairtrade.

Basilio is a technical and quality manager at CONACADO, a Fairtrade-certified association of 9,000 cocoa growers in the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean’s second poorest country.

Fairtrade has made a real difference to the lives of the growers, their families and local communities by providing vital training and ensuring a stable income for the growers, as well as Fairtrade Premium of $200 a tonne, which the association has so far invested in new fermentation and drying centres, schools for local children and clean water, among others.

The Orkney Fair Trade Group hopes that as many adults and children as possible will enjoy hearing Basilio’s story, and celebrating the impact of Fairtrade.