A group of people from around the world gathered Saturday at the Howard Hall Site to raise awareness about fair trade.
Colin Donohue, owner of Bali Karma, 22 E. State St., hosted the event, which included booths from different fair trade organizations, a discussion panel and dancers from the country of Bali.
I think the event went great
and it was a positive and fun experience for everyone that stopped by Donohue said.
The phrase fair trade refers to an agreement between farmers and buyers that provides farmers fair compensation for their labor.
I think people that stopped in learned some new information about fair trade Donohue said. This was a comfortable way to introduce people to this new idea without them feeling pressured.
Although fair trade products are not something people are actively seeking out, the word is slowly getting out, said Christine Hughes, owner of the Village Bakery & Caf+
Athens is the prime location to promote an idea like this
Hughes said.
Along with fair trade products like coffee, sugar, chocolate and teas, there was a large collection of hand made products from all over the world at Saturday's event.
Joe Coin of Good Works, Inc., an Athens charitable organization for the homeless, said his group was selling products on behalf of Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade organization that purchases wares from international artisans. Those wares included drums, jewelry and various figurines.
Prisca Nemapare, founder of the Zienzele Foundation, an organization that supports AIDS victims, also had a booth at the event. She was selling woven bowls made by women affected by AIDS and said all the proceeds would go to AIDS orphans and women to help them build savings accounts and buy school supplies.
Mary Anne Flournoy, long-time friend and colleague of Nemapare, said the need for funding is huge and this is a way of helping.
None of the Zienzele Foundation's products are sold in stores so all profits can be used for charitable purposes, Flournoy said.
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Meghan Nicholson
