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You can find this article in the most recent edition of Woman Alive


All it takes to remind Helen Baggott of the most momentous holiday of her life is having a bowl of muesli for breakfast. On the box is a picture of a South African fair trade fruit farmer, Albie Adams. Traidcraft sources the plump sultanas and raisins for its cereal, and its cakes and biscuits, from the arid Northern Cape, close to the Kalahari. And that’s where Helen met Albie.

“We wanted to see how fair trade was making a difference to people’s lives,” she explains. “It was a wonderful experience and we came back completely inspired.

”The visit to the Eksteenskuil Farmers Association in the Northern Cape was the first of four to Traidcraft producers during Helen and husband Richard’s 14-day holiday. The co-operative numbers about 150 farmers, of whom only one is a woman. The Baggotts met Lennie, a former teacher who had set up a crèche and youth project, all while working with the wives and daughters to grow 6,000 food-crop seedlings a year for sale to the local community.

“We also saw the grapes being grown and the huge area of concrete, like a car park, where they dry them,” Helen says. “The co-operative had won an award the previous week and when we heard we all clapped. We were just so full of admiration.”

The group then visited the beautiful Citrusdal Winery in the Northern Cape for a wine tasting. The manager told them that the fair trade premium made possible their entire community outreach programme; the crèche, after-school care, parenting courses and more are vital in overcoming the legacy of apartheid.

“He said it without being prompted and for lots of us that was a really moving moment,” says Helen.

South Africa has many such legacies and a signature of the Traidcraft Meet the People tours is that itineraries mix visits to fair trade producers with others to development projects, and the classic guide-book sights. Helen and Richard heard all about the work of The Beautiful Gate centre for children with HIV and AIDS, and saw how life is lived in the townships.

“These were in our minds as days that were possibly going to be difficult but both were amazing,” says Helen. “We felt self-conscious when we arrived at the township but our guide actually lived there and people gave us a wonderful welcome. We visited homes that were just cardboard shacks and a church built from shipping containers.

”The group also went to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned until 1990, which is now a museum. They saw Jackass penguins (their call sounds just like a noisy donkey), climbed Table Mountain and, at its foot, took in the wonders of Kirstenbosch botanical gardens – a treat for the green-fingered Helen.

She had begun selling Traidcraft products at her church a year and a half before the trip, and returned from it determined to inspire other people. She has since recruited and mentored five new volunteers and has been instrumental in promoting fair trade to local shops, cafes and hotels. This has been so successful that Rutland will shortly announce that is becoming a fair trade county.

Traidcraft is Britain’s leading fair trade organisation. Established in 1979 as a Christian response to poverty, it combines a commercial arm and a development charity. Helen and Richard took part in the first tour, in 2003, to meet the South African producers with which it works.

Many companies offer guided trips to exotic destinations with the chance to soak up the local culture; few can match the total immersion of a Traidcraft tour. Small groups of no more than 14 travel to parts other tourists do not reach, often staying with the local people – and, in the case of the basket-weavers of Southern India and Thailand, even going to work with them.

“Having tourists visiting all the time has an impact so we only have one or two departures a year to each destination,” says Lizzie White of tour operator Saddle Skedaddle. “Ours is a very genuine, authentic, way of seeing a culture.”

Saddle Skedaddle has collaborated with Traidcraft for five years to broaden the appeal of its original study tours. Since then, more than 300 people have visited 11 developing countries and shared similarly life-changing experiences. In 2005 Traidcraft was highly commended in the Responsible Tourism Awards.

Carolyn Morris booked on to the Southern Thailand tour last year as a retirement present and preparation for life after teaching, when she hoped to deepen her involvement with Traidcraft. She returned with 800 photographs to turn into a presentation, has applied to join the speaker scheme and has already been booked to give two talks.

“I thought it would be a good idea to find out more about fair trade by actually meeting the suppliers,” Carolyn explains. “I learned so much and it was a superb holiday. I’ll be able to talk about it with a real passion.”

In Thailand the fair trade producers are involved in traditional crafts, from weaving to tie-dying, silverwork, jewellery, and wood and coconut carving. The local expert collaborator is ThaiCraft, established by Stephen and Suwadwee Salmon in 1992 to help artisan groups become self-sufficient.

“They put so much effort into organising our tour; nothing was too much trouble,” says Carolyn. “We’d certainly never have seen the things we did without them.”

ThaiCraft runs a monthly craft market in Bangkok, which coincided with the first day of the two-week holiday. The Morrises then visited 12 of the producers – and did a bit of shopping. “We arrived with our suitcases half empty on purpose and still found ourselves wondering if we could squeeze in one more thing. It was wonderful to be able to buy direct from the craftsmen and the goods were of such a high standard.”

For one village in the tropical highlands, providing bed and breakfast is an important source of income. Watching, or even trying their hand at, vegetable dying helps visitors and villagers to overcome the language barrier.

The Morrises also went sea-kayaking, paddling through a low-ceilinged cave into the middle of an island, and stayed in a fishing village, still rebuilding after the Tsunami. “That was one of the development projects,” Carolyn explains. “The house was on stilts and we slept on the floor. The bathroom was out the back and we used a plastic saucepan to throw water over ourselves. It was an adventure.”

The pre-trip briefing at Traidcraft’s Gateshead HQ gives a flavour of what to expect, and some useful cultural tips – for instance, in Thailand it is very rude to sit with your feet out in front of you. The organisation also arranges reunions. These are dangerous affairs. One group had become such firm friends on a trip to Cuba that by the end of their get-together they had booked to go to Chile together. Next year they’ll have Peru to choose from too: visits to fair trade coffee growers supplying Café Direct and scaling Machu Pichu.

Helen Baggott would love to do a trip to South America but she is probably too busy now. “I am a practising Christian and working with Traidcraft has been part of my spiritual journey. The holiday reinforced that and I hope many other committed fair traders will be able to enjoy the same marvellous experience.”

For more information about our trips to Southern Thailand and South Africa please click here:

                                                     South Africa

                                                Southern Thailand