Trade As One

Lynne Lorentsen just got back from her first trip to Rwanda, and can’t stop thinking about how the other side lives (the other side of the planet), where the folks who grow coffee for the world cannot even afford to drink it, at $2.70 a cup, on their daily wages.  When she’s not writing, she’s raising two teenage daughters with her husband, David, or out for a bike ride in scenic New Hampshire.  She blogs at http://knitme2gthr@blogger.com/.  If you’re interested in guest posting on our blog, email us at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

This past August, I had the outrageous opportunity to work in cooperation with The P.E.A.C.E. Plan in the African country of Rwanda.  Piloted by Saddleback Church, The P.E.A.C.E. Plan is a project with goals that support sustainable spiritual and economic development worldwide. For a few incredible weeks, our teams got to work with local leaders to develop simple skills that, when passed on, may change their tomorrows.

Back track: I’m a normal everyday working mom, doing life and loving God up here in New Hampshire, and I happen to attend an extraordinary church.  Together, we make little ripples which sometimes turn into tidal waves, like getting to assist community development volunteers (CDV’s) in Rwanda.  Our days were spent teaching HIV/AIDS prevention and healthy home hygiene, building English skills, visiting hospitals, doing pastor workshops, and making children laugh.  The brave and gracious people of today’s Rwanda survived one of the most heinous genocides in modern history and are laser-focused on rebuilding their country.  It was the privilege of a lifetime to come alongside them.  As a result of what I saw, I’m reevaluating many of my everyday choices with a heart for justice that fuels my new normal.

If you’re like me, you already know that it makes good sense to buy fair trade.  Preaching to the choir, right? Manchester Christian Church has a terrific Trading Post and we routinely enjoy these beautiful and yummy fair trade items and give them as gifts. It’s pretty simple: growers and crafters in under-resourced nations are cheated daily by importers and middlemen and paid unfairly for their labors, and it doesn’t have to be that way.  The logical conclusion is that average individuals can affect justice and hope with our buying power.  But for me, it’s personal; I’ve come to love Rwandans, and plan to work with them for the future they dream of.  Fair trade supports the kind of development that is positively vital to the fertile future of people I am proud to say I shared meals with and sang next to. 

So, what is development and why is it different from relief work? And what does any of this have to do with fair trade? In a nutshell, Relief says: send money, build houses, and give resources.  Development says: train people committed to training others, support cottage industries, and empower nationals so they can grow a stronger nation for themselves.  Relief to under-resourced nations has grown in the last 50 years, but not enough to change the trajectory of poverty.  Buying fair trade products aids development by enriching the local economy and the individual farmer/crafter.  It’s the Hand Up vs. the Hand Out philosophy.

My brother recently asked me, “Do you feel like you moved the needle?”  Of all the questions I’ve had since returning from Rwanda, that one’s my favorite.  It references (in market-speak) the concept of a gauge that measures progress.  The answer is yes. Community development volunteers in Rwanda are being trained through the local church to activate changes in their neighborhoods which will ripple out nationally. In a recent interview, President Kagame said that the people of Rwanda are her greatest natural resource.  I just love that.  And Trade As One is moving the needle, too.  They make it so easy! When I help myself to great fair trade products, my dollar promotes development in countries like Rwanda.  Development equals dignity, and dignity is the pulse of fair trade.