Did you know October is Fair Trade Month? We’re celebrating with Fairhills Bus Stop Red and Bus Stop White. Both of these wines are products of one of the world’s largest Fair Trade projects, a joint venture between exporter, Origin Wine, Mendoza Vineyards in Argentina and Du Toitskloof Winery in South Africa. Over 1,400 farm employees and their families benefit from this unique social development project.

The Fairhills Bus Stop Red is full-bodied with aromas of berry fruit and chocolate and hints of plum on the lingering palate. It goes great with fall and winter dishes like hearty soups and stews, grilled meats like pork loin and lamb chops or pastas in red sauce. You don’t have to take our word for it’s great taste – The Beverage Institute’s World Wine Championships awarded it the Gold Medal. And what makes this wine taste even better? Proceeds are dedicated to purchasing a school bus for the children of the over 800 farm employees and communities of San Martin, Lavalle and Medrano in Mendoza, Argentina.

If you’re in the mood for something a little on the lighter side, try the Fairhills Bus Stop White. It has a creamy acidity on the palate with flavors of apricot and melon and aromas of lemon grass on the nose with a hint of spice. You can enjoy it with shellfish, grilled trout and vegetables, poached salmon or chicken dishes. This one brought home the Silver Medal in the World Wine Championships. Plus it will be so much more enjoyable knowing that proceeds from this wine are dedicated to purchasing a small bus to transport tourists from the city to the communities.

So raise a glass to Fair Trade this month and know that you have impacted the lives of over 1400 farm employees and their families. Salud! Cheers!

And that is a good choice. Naked Juice has taken a lead in the food industry in terms of scrutinizing their carbon footprint. They are making some cool choices to improve the sustainability of their production facility, their juice bottles and even the tasty stuff inside the bottles. Here’s how.

Their first big move will actually be that: a relocation into a brand new LEED certified production facility. This means they have met some pretty stringent criteria for water and energy efficiency, use of recycled building materials and waste reduction. Whole Foods Market has also gone through this certification with some of our new stores and it’s quite an accomplishment!

Next, Naked Juice announced that they will be the first national beverage company to use 100% post consumer recycled plastic, or RPet. This means their bottles will be made from previously used bottles. This is pretty important for a few reasons. Most drink bottles are made out of #1 Plastic, or PET, and this is one of the most prevalent and easily recycled plastics. The folks at Naked Juice estimate that once they complete their transition, they will be able to reduce virgin plastic use by over 8 million pounds. This also translates into over 57,000 barrels of oil a year that they will not be importing.

As you know, there is a lot of plastic in the environment – including an area in the Pacific Ocean called the North Pacific Gyre, where many tons of plastic bottles have ended up. Naked Juice estimates that if you took a 55-story building and stuffed it full of plastic, it would equal the amount of plastic they will be keeping out of the trash stream. Not only that, their leadership serves as encouragement for other big brands to use recycled plastic and create a bigger market for RPet.

And that ain’t all, folks. Naked Juice has also decided that they will become the first major American juice company to partner with Rainforest Alliance to certify the tons of bananas used in their juice. Rainforest Alliance is an independent nonprofit working to ensure that the folks who grow your food use sustainable environmental and agricultural practices while gaining better livelihoods and working conditions. They are one of three certifiers who are part of Whole Foods Market’s Whole Trade Guarantee™, which guarantees that the products are ethically and sustainably sourced. Rainforest Alliance’s green tree frog logo can be found on many of the chocolate, coffee and produce items that we sell. Naked Juice’s decision means that over 20 million more tons of sustainably grown, fair trade bananas will be produced every year.

Whole Foods Market is proud to partner with cool vendors such as Naked Juice, whose commitment to quality and sustainability sets new benchmarks in the natural foods industry.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! Hopefully, many of you were the recipients of your favorite treats today – quite possibly flowers! If you did get flowers and if they have the Whole Trade Guarantee™ seal on them, you can know that they helped support communities and families (and moms!) where they were produced. Here is the story of one mom behind the flowers.

Maria lives in Juan Pablo Sesundo, Colombia and works on a farm producing Whole Trade Guarantee flowers. She has been with the farm for 11 years (and working in the flower industry for 22 years). Maria works the flower beds in the greenhouse, maintains the crop and harvests the flowers. “Every day I come to work with a positive attitude filled with love that makes me want to do my best. Our farm is filled with people who love their job and are very devoted to producing the best and most beautiful flowers that we can,” says Maria.

Maria and her family have benefited from the farm’s foundation, as it has provided her children with an education, daily meals and healthcare. Each purchase of Whole Trade Guarantee flowers supports this foundation and families such as Maria’s. “This has been a blessing for me and my family. Thanks to the foundation I was able to give my three children the best possible education. Without the foundation, this would not be possible.” Her two sons currently attend school, while her oldest daughter has graduated and is now continuing her studies. “Our children are given not only a good education but are provided with daily good balanced meals. This has taught good values and makes us feel part of the farm’s family.”

When asked what she would tell customers buying their flowers in the U.S., Maria says: “By buying flowers from our company, that behind each flower there is a lot of love and dedication, that every flower picked and grown is a sign of love knowing that we care and has helped and benefited us.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Fairhills Tierstel Daycare. 90% of the personnel were employed in the vineyards on all the individual farms where they stay. The daycare opened in 2006. In total, 85 children attend the specific daycare.

These wines, apart from being extremely tasty and yummy, also have the great distinction of directly benefiting over 1300 winery workers, vineyard workers, smaller farmers and their families with fair wages and fair prices for their crops. The Fairhills project covers three of the major growing regions in the wine world: South Africa, Argentina and Chile. Two continents, two great goals: to make great wine, and to improve the living and social conditions of all who participate in making the wine great!

The Fairhills project is committee-driven, with 80% of the team farm workers, 10% importers and the remaining 10% winery owners. Together, they decide their fate in the wine business and, more importantly, the needs of their communities. Presently in their lands they are concentrating on bettering their communities with improved healthcare facilities, adult literacy, transportation to healthcare and to schools, pre-schools, HIV/AIDS awareness, alcohol abuse and domestic violence treatment and prevention, and a host of other initiatives. That is one BIG commitment!

“Craft Center built for winery tourism”. All employees were working in the vineyard just one year ago. The manager was able to go to school, and now manages the shop. Charlet M. – Craftshop Manager, Louise A. – Marketer, Jeanine V. – Crafter, Shirley V. – Crafterm, Samantha W. – Crafter

The Fairhills’ South American properties are shooting for total organic production from their present conventional status within the next two to three years…another major commitment to benefit their communities. Plus their great wines…we all benefit!

Look for the following Fairhills Whole Trade Guarantee selections in our wine departments this February:

Fairhills Chardonnay, South Africa: bright and citrusy on the nose, with some hints of vanilla and oak, too. Good balance with crispy acidity and white fruit characters. Good match with shellfish, any fish. Plus chicken. Or alone with friends on the porch or by the fire.

Fairhills Merlot South Africa: aromas of bright red fruits, medium-bodied with some blueberry and dark berry flavors on the palate, smooth and silky going down. Pair it with some grilled steaks or lamb, plus veggies. Good alongside some zesty tomato sauced dishes too!

Fairhills Malbec Argentina: This is one jammy wine, with some plum and purple fruits on the nose; rich flavors of cherry, nice density and balance on the tongue, and pleasing finish. We love it with some rich, spicy meat dishes, and grilled veggies. Stews and mature cheeses too.

Fairhills Cabernet Sauvignon Argentina: rich nose of dark fruit and coffee, well balanced with good acidity and layers of fruit and smoke on the palate. Good with grilled meats and veggies, also hearty cheeses…and friends over a good game of Scrabble.

You may remember Karen’s Whole Trade roses post from last summer, sharing the story of the Ecuadorian Fair Trade certified flower farms that supply our Whole Trade Guarantee roses. Well, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, what better time to share an update on Whole Trade flowers with you?

I was one of the Team Members to visit the Ecuadorian farms. I look back on these trips & consider myself lucky to have been a part of them – such a beautiful country, incredible product, wonderful people and inspiring stories.

Over a year after the launch of the rose program, I am happy to report that the Whole Trade flower program continues to grow. Now, in addition to the roses (and calla lilies) from Ecuador, we have added Colombian product to the program!

We journeyed to Colombia to visit Rainforest Alliance certified flower farms last year (Rainforest Alliance is one of our certifying partners for the Whole Trade Guarantee). There we found another great fit for the program- a farm committed to quality, people and the environment. Working with this farm, we added gerbera daisies, alstromeria & spray roses to the Whole Trade offerings with mixed bouquets soon following.

Much like the Fair Trade roses and as a part of the Whole Trade program, we pay an additional percentage (called social premium) with each purchase of flowers we make. In Colombia, it is paid directly to local foundation providing health care, education and meals to the children of farm workers.

The foundation (the kids!)

The stories of the people behind these products are a constant reminder as to why this program is so compelling and so important. Just check out the pictures and quotes below. The social premium that Whole Foods Market has paid back to the communities producing our flowers – totaling over $200,000 since the launch of the program- is truly making a difference. This premium is in addition to the Whole Planet Foundation donation given with each retail sale …so this flower program is contributing to good things twice (three times if you count that everyone loves flowers!)

And the final super cool tidbit? As part of our Whole Trade Guarantee Month you can win Whole Trade Flowers for a year! 10 winners will receive a bunch of Whole Trade Flowers every month for a full year…all you need to do is enter online before March 4th, no purchase necessary…now how can you say no to that?

Here are some stories straight from Ecuador, enjoy and thanks for reading!

Alfredo Monta – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 6 years

“To be able to work on a Fair Trade farm has permitted us to secure benefits that normally we wouldn’t have, for example, acquiring a hot water heater that allows us to heat water.

Before we have to heat water in a big pot to bathe ourselves, and since there are nine people in my household, we have to boil water many times, and could only bath at most twice a week. Now we have the hot water heater which is much better. We only have to watch that we don’t run out of gas in the tank and we have hot water all the time. We can bath every other day or every day if we want to.

Also, the people that had electric hot water heaters see a significant savings in their energy consumption, and are able to use the money that used to go to the electricity bill for other basic necessities of the family.

In our community there are quite a few people that work at Agrogana which is a Fair Trade farm. For that reason, the benefits are more palpable because we can observe how the quality of life for the people has improved with the different projects started by our joint body.”

Martha Chuquiana – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 7 years

“The best benefit that we have received from Fair Trade is the capacity building given to our children in reading and English courses.

The English course for my daughter represents a higher level of learning for her, and through that we’ve seen a stronger commitment to her studies.

If we had to hire a private teacher, we definitely couldn’t have been able to do so, since money is limited for us. Thanks to the English courses, my daughter has been able to overcome a little bit her shyness.

In what we see as a benefit to the community, we have directly felt the work of the joint body that administers the premium as they work on community projects this year including donating desks to the school where our children attend. Not only the children of the workers of Agrogana which is a Fair Trade farm has benefit, but rather all the families that have a child in that school.”

Soraya Falcon – farm worker on Fair Trade farm for 6 years

“To work at a company that has Fair Trade certification has permitted me to improve my quality of life and that of my family.

Before (the Fair Trade premium), when I left work I arrived home to wash my families clothes on the rock (in the stream) every afternoon and eventually into the night. This caused me, in addition to physical exhaustion, pain in my hands from spending so much time with my hands in cold water.

I didn’t have much time to help my children with their homework because I was spending the afternoon washing clothes.

Now that we could acquire the washing machines, thanks to the Fair Trade premium, things have changed. I can spend my time with my family; I can help my children get their homework done and help them study, and the pain in my hands is gone, thanks to the fact that I don’t have to spend much time with them in cold water.

I think that not everyone can (access this benefit) due to the high cost of those washing machines, we achieve the purchase thanks to the micro-credit project that we have through the join body, and thanks to the premium that we receive for the sale of Fair Trade flowers.

In our community the people really didn’t have the possibility to access washing machines. Thanks to Fair Trade, we are the pioneers in improving our system of washing clothing, preserving our health in the future, and improving the quality of life of the whole family.”

February is Whole Trade Guarantee Month! (Enter to win Whole Trade flowers for a year!) During the season of romance, we are also celebrating fair wages, environmental sustainability and philanthropy throughout the world. When you’re shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts, I recommend browsing our Whole Trade Guarantee™ beautiful roses and decadent chocolates (Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange and Theo Chocolate, just to name a few brands).

Beyond romantic treats, I shop for Whole Trade teas, coffees, body care and grocery products throughout the store. Here are a few of my very favorite items:

Kombucha Botanica

I recently became a kombucha enthusiast. I kept hearing about the incredible health benefits of kombucha (fermented tea), due to its probiotics, acids, enzymes and B-vitamins. However, I never actually enjoyed drinking it…until I tried Kombucha Botanica. The Santa Cruz-based company offers organic and raw kombucha that are deliciously refreshing and mildly sweet. They get their sugar from Wholesome Sweeteners (another Whole Trade product) from Paraguay.

In addition to contributing 1% of sales to the Whole Planet Foundation, Kombucha Botanica is a member of the 1% For the Planet program. Its current recipient is the Homeless Garden Project, a community supported organic garden that provides job training and transitional employment to homeless men and women. This small company gives back in a big way!

Kombucha Botanica is also a recipient of our Local Producer Loan Program. Funds from the loan have allowed the small company to invest in more production space. Kombucha Botanica is currently available in Northern California and Southern Oregon, but will be expanding soon into the rest of California, Nevada and Utah.

365 Organic Swiss Chocolate

When I need a chocolate fix – especially while on a budget – I grab a 365 Organic Swiss chocolate bar. For just around $2, the smooth, rich organic chocolate satisfies my cravings without breaking the bank. My favorites are the Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Dark Chocolate with Coconut, both made with 54% cacao.

The cocoa beans are grown by the YACAO Project, a co-op of small-scale farmers in the Dominican Republic. YACAO works with producers to ensure fair and equal salary for equal work, absolutely no child or forced labor, purchase of whole production guaranteed, 10-25% bonus paid for organic production, and financing of all organic certification.

Alaffia Body Lotion

I am also a big fan of Alaffia’s Shea & Rooibos Antioxidant Body Lotion, which is made with unrefined shea butter, antioxidant rooibos tea, skin firming papaya and nourishing red palm oil. I use it daily after I shower, and love how it absorbs quickly and completely without leaving a sticky residue.

The Alaffia/Agbanga Shea Butter Cooperative in Togo provides fair income and medical care to over 80 families. I had the privilege of meeting Alaffia founder Olowo-n’djo Tchala, and was inspired by how he uses sustainable skin care to build awareness about women’s health issues in Africa. The back of my lotion bottle reads, “In West Africa, 1 in 16 women may die from childbirth related complications.” 10% of Alaffia sales benefit community projects, including the Fousena Fund and Alaffia Women’s Clinic in Togo, which provide prenatal care and funds for complications to help reduce preventable deaths. Check out their website www.alaffia.com for more info about Alaffia’s empowerment projects.

From teas to chocolate to skin care, the Whole Trade Guarantee program offers something for everyone. So, what’s your favorite Whole Trade product?

Thanks to our Whole Trade Guarantee program, I get to work with a ton of great vendors who are using their businesses in order to change people’s lives. Every day I hear stories that are truly inspiring, and this blog is a place where I get to share it all with you.

As you may remember, The Whole Trade Guarantee is a buying program that brings together a strict set of criteria for products from developing countries. This program guarantees exceptional product quality, more money for producers, better wages and working conditions for workers, sound environmental production practices and the support of poverty eradication through a donation of one percent of product sales to our Whole Planet Foundation.

The Republic of Tea was so excited about this program that they decided to create an original product line exclusively for Whole Trade Guarantee. Their new Whole Trade Tea Collection includes FairTrade Certified™ blends made from premium organic full leaf black, green and red teas. The Collection includes: Big Bold (Wake Up the World Black Tea), Bing Cherry Vanilla (Share the Bounty Black Tea), Blueberry Lemon (Fruitful Partnership Green Tea), Blood Orange(Harvest of Hope Green Tea) and Apricot Honey (Branch Out to the World Red Tea – Rooibos). Each tea is packaged in a recyclable, airtight tin containing 3.5 ounces of full leaf tea (brews 50-60 cups).

So what about the inspiring story? Here’s one. The green and black teas in their Whole Trade Guarantee teas come from Korakundah Garden in Southern India. This FairTrade Certified™ organic garden uses sustainable production methods and works to conserve local ecosystems. Tigers, panthers, elephants and sambars are spotted regularly in the dense jungle surrounding this pristine garden. And the tea sales fund healthcare, education, retirement, and safety for the workers. Here are a few highlights provided by Transfair USA:

• Fair Trade funded school improvements, including construction of a well-equipped new science laboratory, and purchase of a school bus and a set of 12 computers. Fair Trade income has also been used to construct a hostel that houses students who live far away from the tea garden’s school.
• Cooking gas is provided to all tea workers, reducing their reliance on time-consuming and resource intensive firewood collection.
• The workers created a pension and housing fund for retired tea workers. In a country that lacks adequate care and services for the elderly, this fund provides vital financial support, and helps retired members maintain their homes.
• All workers and children are now vaccinated against Hepatitis B and Typhoid at the garden’s health center. The workers are provided with accident insurance and medi-claim policies for all the workers.
• Fair Trade revenue funded infrastructure improvements to the workers’ community hall, including purchase of 700 chairs and protective window grills, and electricity installation.

I told you it was inspiring! A choice as simple as which tea to drink can have a huge impact on other people’s lives.

Want to learn more about these Whole Trade Teas? Check out this video created by The Republic of Tea.

Continuing our cold weather = tea weather theme, I wanted to spotlight the Choice Organic Teas.  Recently Whole Foods Market launched four new tea items from Choice, a new line of full leaf teas, which, if you recall my last post, is one of the hottest trends in the tea category.  The tea experts at Choice use hand-picked whole leaf teas, flavorful herbs, and delicate flowers in a biodegradable tea pyramid pouch.  The pouch and the pungent tea leaves are the precise combination to create the prefect brew.  The new products are a mix of traditional methods and flavors combined with high quality tea.

The new Jasmine Green Tea is a classic.  Its leaves are hand-picked on small Chinese tea gardens, quickly pan-fired, then blended with fresh jasmine blossoms that are removed once they’ve imparted their essence.  Estate Blend Darjeeling features leaves that are hand-picked at the height of the season in the famed hills of India’s Darjeeling region. The English Breakfast is an old favorite with rich taste that comes from teas that hail from Vietnam and India’s Assam region. The Chamomile Citrus comes from whole yellow chamomile flowers harvested in Egypt while the orange peel and pink hibiscus add a light, fruity essence to this caffeine-free blend. However, the fact that this is great tasting tea is not what makes these Choice products so special.

At Whole Foods Market, we have a fantastic selection of some of the finest teas available so it should come as no surprise that the new teas from Choice please the palate.  What makes this tea special is the socially responsible aspect of how these products are sourced.  All of these teas mentioned are Fair Trade Certified by Transfair USA.  In fact, Choice Organic Teas has been one of the companies in the U.S. tea industry at the forefront of the Fair Trade movement since 2000.   Because their new products are certified Fair Trade…actually almost half of all their products are Fair Trade certified…they can be listed under the Whole Trade Guarantee.  Whole Foods Market donates 1% of all sales of products covered under the Whole Trade Guarantee to the Whole Planet Foundation, who then gives micro loans to people in developing countries. This is changing people’s lives.

To check out any of the previously mentioned Choice Organic Teas, just go to your favorite Whole Foods Market Store and grab one off the shelf.  Not only will you be satisfying your tea craving, you’ll be supporting socially responsible products as well.

Dr. Bronner’s Magical Soap was one of the first Whole Body products offered at our original Whole Foods Market store in Austin, Texas in 1980. Over the years Dr. Bronner’s and Whole Foods Market have successfully grown their business in parallel, always committed to caring for the communities and environment around them. Today Dr. Bronner’s and Whole Foods Market have taken great strides towards improving the lives of producers in Third World countries with the fair trade certification of Dr. Bronner’s ingredients and the establishment of the Whole Trade Guarantee.

In shifting their supply chains to certified Fair Trade ingredients, Dr. Bronner’s makes a big difference in the lives of several thousand farmers and workers. Here are a few of their stories.

Olive Oil from Palestine

Olive oil imparts velvety smoothness to Dr. Bronner’s soaps. Since 2005, the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA) and Canaan Fair Trade, an ethically motivated trading company, have organized some 1,700 olive oil farmers in the Westbank into fair trade cooperatives. The Issa family is one of them. In 2004, Mahmoud worked as a day laborer. With the price of olive oil so low and the economy crippled under occupation he wanted to give up farming his family’s land. Fair trade changed his life. Now he and his extended family are farming olives full time in the traditional manner. Their oil is produced and marketed by Canaan under fair trade principles to buyers in the U.S. and Europe.

Mahmoud’s entire extended family — there are 7 brothers and 4 sisters — benefits from their land and labors. His brother Arafat told with pride that his oldest daughter Renad, who’s in high school and earned a Canaan college scholarship award this year, wants to go to medical school. Arafat’s wife is a member of one of Canaan’s women’s cooperatives, making couscous. Arafat’s family is expanding their home by two stories as their lives improve.

Fair trade cooperatives in Palestine bring back traditions lost in the midst of conflict. They reintroduce a new spirit into the work ethic of the villages and renew the social values and ties weakened by the conflict. Farmers receive organic and fair trade premiums over unsustainable market prices. Canaan and PFTA have developed modern processing and storage facilities and support several community development programs.

With his natural leadership skills Mahmoud was elected to the PFTA Board and leader of the local cooperative, one of 43 in 2008. Mahmoud says that “…before fair trade, life was bad. Now, things have improve much and working the land pays off.” The overall program is coordinated by only a few PFTA employees and by 1,700 owners who volunteer their work for the common good.

Coconut Oil from Sri Lanka

To build a supply of organic and fair trade coconut oil, in 2006 Dr. Bronner’s founded Serendipol (Pvt) Ltd., a Sri Lankan subsidiary. Its first task was to recruit coconut growers and convert them to organic and fair trade practices. Serendipol hired Dhanoj Meegahapola to build and oversee the required “Internal Control System” (ICS) and manage the purchases of coconuts and fair trade programs.

Dhanoj (39) comes from a modest middle-class background that taught him social values. In high school he participated in community projects that helped city beggars start small vending businesses. After high school he worked for several coconut fiber companies and got to know and love the “Coconut Triangle,” Sri Lanka’s rural center of coconut production. During that time he advised groups of women producers on setting up small-scale manufacturing businesses, such as charcoal making.

His own small coconut fiber business failed due to a drop in the market and he was stuck with high-interest debt. Now married with three children, the offer by a former supervisor who knew his potential, to set up Serendipol’s organic and fair trade structure changed his life. Dhanoj trained a team of five extension officers who then identified and converted some 400 growers with 6,300 acres to organic practices. The team also handles the purchasing of some 15 million coconuts per year.

His leadership skills and familiarity with local growers and their lifestyle allowed him to develop relationships of trust and loyalty. Admittedly a bit of a “control freak” he is familiar with the problems of Serendipol’s workers, jumps in if other departments run into bottlenecks and commonly stays at the factory until after 8pm to ensure that someone is there to receive the last coconut deliveries.

He particularly likes that the company treats people with respect and appreciation and offers opportunities for growth to those who are motivated and show performance. Favoritism and grudges aren’t well tolerated – something not common in mid-size Sri Lankan firms.

Dhanoj sees the company’s commitment to organic and fair trade practices as a great opportunity to implement his favorite ideas: fair compensation, support of farmer and worker families, providing basic needs in rural areas, such as health care, and education – through hands-on economic activity. One pet project is offering counseling services to workers and their families, who often go through family dramas without having tools for conflict resolution.

Dhanoj used to support one rural child with money for a school year; now Serendipol gives that support to 47 of its staff’s children. One personal goal is to plant 100,000 trees in his life – Serendipol’s organic program helps him improve the health and productivity of some 600,000 coconut trees in the “Triangle” – in the course of doing business.

Palm Oil from Ghana

Since early 2008, three women have been producing palm oil for U.S. customers at a new, simple oil mill in rural Ghana that gives work to more than 20 villagers. Lucy Aboagye (32), Grace Ampofo (37) and Janet Karikari (35) all come from the village of Asuom, some 100 miles inland from the capital Accra. In that area, many small farmers grow palm fruits on plots a few acres in size. The fruits are bought by local entrepreneurs and processed in very basic mills, called “crammers” and the oil is sold in Accra.

With support from the German development agency GTZ, Dr. Bronner’s funded the installation of a simple but advanced crammer, dedicated exclusively to the production of organic palm oil. The project is coordinated by the non-profit organization Fearless Planet. Its director Danielle Gold selected the women who now jointly operate the business as “Danieama Women’s Organic Palm Oil Association.” All three were previously involved in the palm oil business. Lucy bought oil from women in her village and sold it in Accra where she now lives. She felt the need to develop small-scale oil production in her area and when she met Danielle saw an opportunity. Lucy is married to a minister and has a ten-year-old son. She oversees oil processing and works closely with farmers and buyers. She ensures quality and safety standards and assists in all areas of production. To improve communication with the foreign project partners she takes English lessons. Of her work in the project, Lucy says, “This project makes me feel proud.”

Grace lives in Asuom where she used to run another crammer. She is at the site every day to buy fruit from the farmers and manage the workers. Unlike at her previous crammer she can now provide her workers with health insurance and a retirement fund. Grace has five children between the ages of 4 and 17, and is married to a schoolteacher.

Janet was a middle person in the palm oil business. She bought palm fruits from farmers and processed them at a local crammer before selling the oil to Lucy. Now a co-owner of the crammer business she coordinates purchasing and production with Grace. Having received accounting training she now manages the daily accounts. She started a hot lunch for all crammer workers, for whom she has taken on the role of the cook. Janet has three children aged 5 to 12.

Lucy, Grace and Janet see this project as an opportunity to make a more predictable living while improving their business skills and helping their community provide better paying and more dignified jobs. They enjoy cooperation with the agricultural researchers who ran the organic control system and with the foreign project partners who give them a sense of connectedness with the rest of the world.

“Thank you Whole Foods. Thank you for our new class room!”

Those are the words of a song written for Whole Foods Market by students in Ghana Africa.  The school was built because Whole Foods Market customers bought Blessing Baskets. Thank you for helping us weave hope into the world one basket at a time!

To see the global chain reaction you helped start, click here.

Note: These great baskets aren’t available in all of our stores. Sorry! Look for them in the Midwest, North Atlantic, Northeast, Rocky Mountain and Florida.

Learn more about The Blessing Basket Project and their mission to pay weavers multiple times more than Fair Trade wages for their baskets — calling it “prosperity wages.” Every basket they sell helps create sustainable jobs and helps reduce poverty in the villages they serve.