Supporting Fairtrade in Fair Weather or Foul!

Over fifty committed Fairtrade supporters braved the rain on Saturday to join the Fair Trade Way walk from iSmooth community cafe in College Street, Ammanford, up to the new Activity Centre in Garnswllt.

The walk, organised to mark World Fair Trade Day, was one of hundreds of events organised across six continents.

Many of the walkers were from 2nd Ammanford Scout, Cub and Beaver groups, some as young as 6. A group of Year 8 girls from Amman Valley School also used the walk to raise money to fund Health Checks for Mothers and children through the Oxfam Unwrapped scheme.

At the end of the walk, The Activity Centre's cafe did a roaring trade in Fairtrade Hot Chocolate and Fairtrade Pasta lunches, and Ammanford Fair Trade shops, Harmony and Bertram's had stalls selling their Fair Trade crafts. There were also a range of Fairtrade awareness raising stalls and activities, including a Treasure Hunt for the younger walkers who still had energy enough to run around.

Walk organiser, Phil Broadhurst, said : "The theme of this year's World Fair Trade Day celebrations was Fair Trade People, and the day fitted brilliantly into that; showing the best of people in many different lights. It was also a fantastic advert for the power of volunteering. The walk and event was organised by volunteers from Ammanford Fairtrade Town Group. All the Activity Centre staff were volunteers. And the Scout leaders are volunteers. The age range on the walk also made it feel like a real community event."

As well as being an enjoyable walk and event, the serious points behind the day, of promoting Fairtrade and helping people in need around the world, were not forgotten. Ammanford became the first Fairtrade Town in Wales in 2002 and has consistently led the way in campaigning for fairer trade and encouraging people to buy Fairtrade products, which guarantee the producers of those products a fair price. The Fairtrade premium also helps communities pay for schools, health centres, wells, or whatever else they need to improve their basic living conditions.