Fair Trade
The project “Fair Trade: Strategies to strengthen productive community enterprises in accordance with sustainable development” was launched on 15th November and aimed to develop a strategy that would support the trade and marketing of products made by community based organizations in Venezuela.
Project Background
Fundación Tierra Viva (FTV) recognised the importance of fair trade in opening channels of trade and encouraging innovative commercial enterprises which are both economically viable and produced from sustainable sources. There are numerous community-based enterprises that have formed in Venezuela and that are united by associations, cooperatives and micro-enterprises. These enterprises are important sources of employment and income for local communities. They are supported by the government and by non-governmental organisations which target improved standards of living, with particular emphasis placed on the participation of women in the schemes.
In 2006 FTV launched several initiatives within the fair trade framework. This included identifying local productive enterprises set up, organising trade fairs, offering fair trade products to businesses as alternatives for corporate gifts and participating in the Concurso IDEAS, a Venezuelan competition in which entrants were encouraged to submit innovative ideas that would have a positive impact on Venezuela.
Project Objectives
The primary purpose of the project was to set out a strategy of fair trade that supported the trade and marketing of products that had been made by community based organisations. Products made by these organisations conform to the basic fair trade principles of sustainable use of natural resources, promotion of local development and promotion of equal rights. In this way the enterprises have a positive impact at both the individual and community level; with the increase in economic income enables workers and their families to enjoy a better quality of life. During this project FTV has supported 21 of these fair trade organisations, assisting in putting their products on the market and in improving their commercial success.
Project Activities
The project was implemented in five key stages:
- Inventory of all community based productive enterprises in the different regions of Venezuela complied.
- Enterprises compared against a standard of fair trade
- Strategic Plan for marketing based on fair trade drawn up
- Capacity building training programmes for local stakeholders implemented
- Fair Trade to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes linked up
Project Funding
The project recieved funding from the European Union and the support of MercadoSolidario webplatform, which is the charitable arm of MercadoLibre, an online auction website. MercadoSolidario provides a marketplace for charities and non profit organisations who can sell products online without paying the standard administration fee.