CASE STUDY
Just Trading Scotland
Fair trade foods from Eswatini Swazi Kitchen
Just Trading Scotland (JTS)
is a small Fair Trade business
in Paisley which endeavours
to provide sustainable income
and wellbeing for smallholder
farmers and small producers in
the developing world to help them work their way out of
poverty and reach their full potential. JTS has purchased
£420,000 worth of food and crafts from developing
countries since its creation and has made a significant
impact in empowering Malawian Fair Trade farmers with
its ‘90kg Rice Challenge’. JTS sources almost all of its
products from Commonwealth countries such as Sri
Lanka, South Africa, Kenya and Swaziland.
About the products
The recipient of numerous culinary
awards, Eswatini Swazi Kitchen
produces a diverse range of gourmet
products; ranging from jams, chutneys,
marmalades, honey, and hand-made
crafts as well as the company’s
famously spicy ‘Swazi Fire Sauce’. Most
of the fresh vegetables and fruits used
are sourced from approximately 100
local farmers and growers at fair prices,
including from families and women who
pick the wild marula, guava, mangos
(pictured below), lemons and chillies
growing abundantly throughout Swaziland.
Benefts for the producers
Eswatini Swazi Kitchen, established in 1991 was founded
with the aim of creating employment for disadvantaged
communities and generating income for Manzini Youth
Care (MYC), a non-government
organisation caring for children
affected by HIV/AIDS. The
organisation has grown from
a small cottage industry
to a thriving business that
provides sustainable income
for 300 people in Swaziland.
Its contribution to the
empowerment of women and
equality is particularly notable, with women comprising
90% of the 50 strong workforce – most of whom are from
underprivileged communities. 96% are sole providers for
their families. Besides providing fair wages for its staff,
Eswatini Swazi Kitchen facilitates constant training in
food safety and managerial related skills, and organises
workshops on health and HIV issues.
Manzini Youth Care
Eswatini Swazi Kitchen
devotes all its proceeds
to the Manzini Youth
Care initiatives, which
support more than 2000
marginalized children
and young people in
the country. MYC is a
Christian organisation
set up in 1978 by a Salesian priest to fight poverty in
a country where 85% of the population live below the
international poverty line. It provides accommodation for
90 street children and an orphanage for 30 boys as well
as support, care and education for marginal and homeless
young people. One of the benefits of the organisation is the
Bosco Youth Hall and Recreation Centre, attended by 250
children a day, which is also rented out to provide income.
http://manziniyouthcare.com/
Meet Eswatini worker,
Allinah Motsa
“I have been working for Eswatini
Kitchen for 21 years. I was a
kitchen supervisor but now I am in
charge of quality control. What is
good in our products is that we’ve
got no preservatives, no colourings.
It’s just pure natural food.
I am supporting 7 children now as my partner got
sick with TB and HIV/AIDS. I tried to help him go
to the hospital getting injections each and every
day. But it failed because God took him. That is
why I have no-one to help. If I didn’t work here the
situation would be very bad. The children would
not go to school. They wouldn’t get clothing, they
wouldn’t get food.”
For further info see: www.jts.co.uk and
www.eswatinikitchen.co.sz
Produced by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum 2014 www.sftf.org.uk
Commonwealth
Case Studies
Scottish Fair Trade Connections
In 2014, athletes and visitors from all over the
Commonwealth converged on Scotland for the
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Games celebrated
the links between the people of the Commonwealth and
although the Games are over, the links continue. The
Commonwealth is a family of 53 nations whose membership
is voluntary and who work together to support each other.
It’s one of the world’s oldest political associations of states
and originates from the British Empire. However, today’s
membership is not limited to former colonial territories, and
now includes countries not historically linked to the British
Empire, such as Rwanda and Mozambique.
The Commonwealth can be characterised by diversity, and
comprises some of the world’s wealthiest, poorest, largest
and smallest states. The policy agendas and issues are
notably varied. Calls for Fair Trade activism and development
have in recent years grown to play an increasingly important
role in the Commonwealth agenda, and look set to become
steadily more influential.
In the past 10 years the Commonwealth’s combined Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) has almost doubled and some
developing country members such as India, South Africa
and Nigeria are among the fastest growing economies in
the world. As such there’s a growing amount of middle
class consumers across the Commonwealth. As a result,
South Africa has its own national Fairtrade organisation
while India and Kenya are also now home to a growing
amount of Fairtrade consumers with their own Fairtrade
marketing organisations.
Scottish Fair Trade Forum was established in
January 2007 by a group of Fair Trade campaigners,
Scotland-based non-governmental organisations
and the Scottish Government, to promote the cause
of Fair Trade in Scotland and, in particular, help
secure Fair Trade Nation status for Scotland.
When the Forum was established, the intent was to
become one of the world’s first Fair Trade Nations
and we were tasked with leading this effort. After
nearly six years of hard work, Scotland achieved Fair
Trade Nation status in February 2013.
Did you know?
7 out of the top 10 Fairtrade producer countries
are in the Commonwealth, with 639,000 farmers
and workers. Even without counting the smaller
Commonwealth producer countries this represents
45% of the world’s 1.4m Fairtrade farmers and
workers. Kenya has the highest amount in any
Commonwealth country with a total of 265,000.
Commonwealth Day, marked on the second
Monday in March of each year is a celebration of
the Commonwealth, and an opportunity to promote
understanding and cooperation amongst the
Commonwealth states.
The Heads of Government from the 53 member
countries meet every two years to discuss common
issues. These meetings are known as Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meetings. The first official
meeting was held in Singapore in January 1971.
Fair Trade products from
Commonwealth countries include:
Bananas – Sri
Lanka, Cameroon,
Ghana, Nigeria, St
Lucia, St Vincent & The
Grenadines
Cocoa – Ghana,
Papua New Guinea,
India, Sri Lanka,
Cameroon
Handicrafts/Skincare products – India,
Ghana, Bangladesh
Coffee – Kenya
Cotton – India,
Uganda
Flowers – Kenya
Peanuts – Malawi
Rice – Malawi
Sugar – Malawi,
Swaziland, Ghana,
Jamaica, Fiji, Mauritius,
Guyana
Tea – Kenya,
Uganda, India, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania,
Malawi, Rwanda
Sports balls –
Pakistan
Wine – South Africa
Scotland is only the second nation after Wales to
achieve this status. While we have much to celebrate,
work must continue to keep the positive momentum
to further embed Fair Trade values among the
Scottish population and across all sectors of society.
Produced by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum 2014 www.sftf.org.uk