Meeting of 28th November 2017

WYCOMBE FOR FAIRTRADE

Minutes of meeting:  28th November 2017

Hills Cafe, Micklefield Road

Those present:

Mike King                        Jhon Munoz

Sheena King                    Bob Smith

Matt Knight                     Tony Thornby

Sarah Moroz

Ivan – High Wycombe Friends of the Earth

MK – we wrote a letter to the Manager of Sainsbury’s High Wycombe (as part of the day of action on 28th October) but no reply as yet. Sainsbury’s have taken control of the premium money and this disempowers the farmers. Re: the use of the premium in Ghana – the buses were actually bought by the premium money – we need to correct the previous minutes.

Ivan – the Wycombe FoE group and Population Matters have been interviewed on Wycombe Sound. The station seems to be very ethically minded.

MKn – the Feb meeting of the District Council is on 22nd Feb

MK – has e-mail’d Suzanne Brown and she said her PA will get back to us re: organising the renewal certificate presentation event.

MKn – will send an e-mail to prompt this and see if we can confirm the date. The meeting will start at 6.30pm with the chairman’s announcements and would be able to include the renewal presentation and an invitation to everyone to join us for the celebration afterwards.

MK – will try to get the High Commissioner of St Vincent and the Grenadines to present the certificate.

MK – We also need to have a meeting following this to discuss the link to producers in Latin America / FT Towns there.

JM – has followed this up with Marco since our last meeting. There are currently about 6 FT Towns in Latin America. Marco has offered something more informal to start with eg. sharing of knowledge about FT products available here, or sharing in celebratory events on World FT Day. We could then share the news of what is happening with other FT groups in the UK.

MK – has contacted Wycombe Wanderers Football Club to ask what teas/coffees they use for their catering.

TT – asked how much the FT producers in Latin America interface with local sellers versus the how much they sell internationally?

MK – FT bananas come from Ecuador, Columbia etc

SK – also Liberation Nuts

SM – asked JM if Marco could put us in direct touch with farmers and what would be the best communication method?

JM – yes, he could and social media could be used.

MK – we would also ask Suzanne Brown about how the twinning arrangements with European countries work.

SM – re: Mayor’s Carol concert. SM has spoken to Paul Deacon today and he is speaking to a committee on Thursday this week and will call SM back on Friday.

After a discussion, it was decided that there would be enough people to help with this event, if required.

MK – re: website update.

TT – if we use the Word Press option we would be starting from scratch again but the content could all be put in again – not too difficult. We would need to ask the FT Foundation if we could use images on their website.

Ivan – Wycombe FoE created their website and then put it onto Word Press. They do not use any images from the national FoE website.

MK – a lot of the FT towns in the south-west region use the same template and have links to other towns. The lay-out is good and navigation is quite easy. Some have recipe sections.

TT – we would need to get into the habit of doing write-ups and photos for each of our events. 80% of all websites in the world are Word Press.

SK – we need to have an easy way for people to contact us.

Ivan – has noticed that we can’t be contacted via our website. A lot of groups have a dedicated e-mail address.

MK – asks us all to look at the websites of other towns and say what we would like.

SM – talked about the idea of contacting Highcrest school and seeing if some pupils / teachers could be interviewed on Wycombe Sound.

SK – wondered if, in keeping with the theme of FT Fortnight next year, ‘Come in for Fairtrade’ we could help out at Hills Cafe and wear our FT T-shirts etc.

MK – will try to see if Bewleys could organise a producer farmer to give a talk etc

Ivan – at the moment, the Wycombe Environment Centre are negotiating with Bucks CC to get funding. Frances Alexander is still involved and there is a board of trustees.

Wycombe FoE meets once a month at the Friends Meeting House. They pick a campaign every couple of years or so. At the moment they are campaigning against air pollution in High Wycombe – they have pollution monitors in the town and are liaising with Wycombe DC who also monitor this.

For public liability insurance the national FoE group cover the local groups up to £5 million.

Ivan – also runs the Wycombe group for Population Matters. They received £250 from Lesley Clarke following a chat at the Pann Mill event. Lesley supports women’s rights and the Population Matters group promote these as a means to smaller families. PM are planning another event for next year, as are the FoE group.

SM – asked about membership of the groups

Ivan – they have a few stalwarts and are trying to get new and younger members.

MK – Witney FT group have folded.

SK – showed the article she had written in the Christ the Servant King newsletter. Their Traidcraft stall raised £675.20, using goods from Margaret Dykes.

BS – they are having a stall at 2 events at the Avenue church: a tea & cake afternoon on 13th December and a Sunday service on 18th Dec.

MK – will ask Bewleys re: a donation

SM – we could also ask them if they could donate tea/coffee/snacks for the renewal presentation event.

Next meeting:  16th January 2018

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