Farmers and artisans directly affected by the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami make some of our Fair Trade products. We are saddened to learn of their losses. To support these workers and their communities a few of our suppliers are contributing to relief efforts for and by these communities. In this article we describe more about what these suppliers (Taylor Maid Farms, Zhena’s Gypsy Teas and A Greater Gift) are doing, list resources for learning more about how the earthquake/tsunami affected fair trade communities in these areas and list resources that may help you if you are deciding how you want to contribute to the relief effort - including listing a couple of organizations helping with efforts to rebuild in a sustainable manner. You promote long-term recovery and help artisans and farmers earn the income to rebuild when you purchase fair trade handcrafts (Children of the World Mobile from A Greater Gift), coffee (Taylor Maid Farm Coffees: Sonoma Roast, Rise and Shine and Rainforest Blend) and tea (Zhena’s Gypsy Teas) from these regions.
· Taylor Maid Farms for the foreseeable future will donate 10% of its sales of products that contain coffee from the Aceh province of Sumatra, Indonesia (Sonoma Roast, Rise and Shine and Rainforest Blend) to ForesTrade/PPKGO (via Coffee Kids, an international non-profit organization established to improve the quality of life for children and families who live in coffee-growing communities around the world). The Coffee Kids website contains updates on the relief effort. You can verify that a charity is listed with the IRS via the IRS web site. Coffee Kids is listed on the IRS website
· Zhena’s Gypsy Tea reports that their grower families have all been affected with losses yet to be tallied. They have sent relief supplies to their grower’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
· A Greater Gift, a part of the SERRV organization describes on their web site, “SERRVA Greater Gift has worked in South and Southeast Asia for more than 50 years, supporting poor farmers and artisans in their efforts to escape poverty and build a better life.“
”We have been in contact with more than a dozen partner organizations in Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh to assess the impact of this horrendous disaster on our partners and their members….SERRV has wired funds to our key partner in Sri Lanka, Gospel House and the Godavari Delta Women’s Lace Cooperative in India. The Gospel House team took two trucks with food and drinking water, as well as a medical team and medicine to the affected area. The Lace Cooperative reported that many people had lost their homes and workplaces, and that they had to temporarily suspend work. They are in the process of building sheds where artisans can sit to resume their work. They are in the process of building sheds where artisans can sit to resume their work.”
”Though short term emergency assistance is absolutely essential and we urge you to give money to agencies that are already on the ground providing disaster assistance, SERRV‘s goal has always been to help people to build sustainable lives. As a result we will be increasing our developmental and fair trading commitments to our partners in those areas impacted by this disaster during the months ahead to help them to recover from this tragedy.”
· Fair Trade Communities - For more information about Fair Trade Communities in Tsunami Affected Areas see Transfair USA’s website. It lists the Fair Trade communities producing coffee and tea affected by the Asian earthquake and tsunamis and a report from each community.
· Contribution Opportunities - You can verify that a charity is listed with the IRS via the IRS web site. If you would like to look at numerous options for contributing to the tsunami effort the Network for Good Tsunami relief web page is a helpful resource. Network for Good is listed on the IRS web site. You can also find and check charities at Charitynavigator, GuideStar and Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.
· Sustainable Rebuilding - Taking a sustainable approach to tsunami relief the following two architectural non-profits are working on emergency and long-term rebuilding. Both of these organizations are listed on American Institute of Architects’ Response to Tsunami page, posted on the SF Bay Area Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility list, listed on an NPR web page as well as in About.com’s article: Top 6 Organizations For Rebuilding After Disaster
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o Architects Without Borders - "Architects without borders is a non-governmental, not-for-profit, volunteer humanitarian relief organization. Architects Without Borders is working with other NGO‘s (non-governmental organizations) and relief agencies to coordinate reconstruction efforts in the regions affected by the latest Tsunami in Asia. We encourage your participation by contributing donations and skills.” Some of the local leaders in sustainable architecture are listed on the AWB website. AWB reports that it is working with Sarvodaya. Sarvodaya reports that it is the leading voluntary, non-governmental development organization in Sri Lanka. It is also the organization that makes the Children of the World Mobile from A Greater Gift. Sarvodaya USA is listed on the IRS web site. Architects Without Borders is listed on the Construction Specifications Institutes Tsunami Relief web page.
o Architecture for Humanity - “Architecture for Humanity is a registered 501©(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to promote architectural and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises. Through competitions, workshops, educational forums, partnerships with aid organizations and other activities, Architecture for Humanity creates opportunities for architects and designers from around the world to help communities in need. We believe that where resources and expertise are scarce, innovative, sustainable and collaborative design can make a difference.” Architecture for Humanity is listed on the IRS web site.
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