PROGRESS REORT TO FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION FROM LUDLOW
October 2004

Contact:
Jane Straker, Secretary Fairtrade Town Group: Winkfield, St Julian's Avenue, Ludlow, SY8 1ET. 01584 872665 davidandjane@zoom.co.uk
Paul Russell, Town Clerk: The Buttercross, Church Street, Ludlow. 01584 878437
Addresses: Jane Straker, Paul Russell

Goal 1. Local Council

The Council is currently looking at producing signs for the main entrances to the town which include the town’s Fairtrade status

Goal 2. Shops & Cafes.

All the shops listed in June 2003 continue to sell fairtrade goods and have extended their ranges. In addition The Chocolate Gourmet sells a small range of fairtrade chocolate and The Fruit Basket sells fairtrade bananas when he can get them. It is also possible for the public to by fairtrade goods at a weekly coffee morning at the Broad Street Methodist Church and at a monthly stall held in the porch of St Lawrence’s Church on a date to coincide with the local Farmers’ Market.

The number of catering outlets which offer some fairtrade goods has increased considerably since our last report. Indigo café bar, The Olive Branch, Vaughan’s sandwich bar, The Renaissance Centre and Working Together have all introduced some fairly traded items.

Goal 3.Fairtrade products used in work places & community organisations

We were able to list 14 businesses & Organisations supporting fairtrade in our new edition of a local Directory of Fairtrade. All these places serve fairly traded products to their staff or display fairtrade information for us when requested. Since the Directory went to press, we have heard from South Shropshire Housing Association, who have offices in Ludlow, that their offices will now serve fairtrade drinks.

The majority of Churches in town continue to use fairtrade products to serve to members and have fairtrade sales.

Ludlow School ( our only secondary school) not only now uses fairtrade products in the staff room, but also hosted a talk from Adam Brett of Tropical Wholefoods about Fairtrade. Adam spoke to all of year 9 pupils and staff from the Geography Dept. and the teacher who runs the Citizenship courses were present. The Headteacher introduced the event.

Goal 4.Media coverage & popular support

Fairtrade Fortnight this year was well supported as usual. Probably our most significant event was a coffee morning for local B& B proprietors which has led to several of them using fairtrade products & being listed in our directory.

In July we had a stall at the Green Fair an event in the town centre market place.

Ludlow has an annual Food & Drink Festival now in its 10th year. This is seen as a very central event in the town calendar. Its main role in an agricultural area has always been to promote local food from The Marches. For the first time this year, we were invited to have a stall selling fairtrade goods during the 3 days of the Festival in September. This proved a very good opportunity to talk with people. It was the Food & Drink Festival Committee who provided the funding for our launch event last January

We continue to attract media coverage for events we organise. We are usually able to get press releases published in at least one of the local papers.

Goal 5. Steering Group

It has proved difficult to get representatives outside the Ludlow 21 Group to our committee meetings. The Fairtrade & Human Rights Group of Ludlow 21 continues to work well as a group for organising the various events through the year & has been able to spearhead the production of a new Directory. The Ludlow 21 Steering Committee have helped us to consider how best to get a more widely representative Group of the town to review our progress as a Fairtrade Town. Ludlow has just become the first Citta Slow in the UK. This is a movement started in Italy concerned with sustainability & the quality of life. There is an existing steering group for this in the town which has a very broad representation including town councillors. This group has agreed to receive regular reports from the Fairtrade & Human Rights Group and to offer suggestions and support. It is this group which will finally approve this report & forward it to The Fairtrade Foundation.