High up on the superfood list, bananas are rich in Vitamin B6 and C and are a good source of dietary fibre and manganese. But the true heroes behind Britain’s favorite fruit are farmers like Foncho from northern Colombia who work incredibly hard to grow bananas for us on their small family farms.

High up on the superfood list, bananas are rich in Vitamin B6 and C and are a good source of dietary fibre and manganese. But the true heroes behind Britain’s favorite fruit are farmers like Foncho from northern Colombia who work incredibly hard to grow bananas for us on their small family farms.

Albeiro Alfonso ‘Foncho’ Cantillo is a member of Coobafrio, a Fairtrade co-operative located in the lush banana lands between Cienega and Santa Marta. Famously the face of Fairtrade’s award-winning ‘Stick with Foncho’ campaign a few years ago, he now has his own brand of bananas called ‘Foncho’s Bananas’. He, along with millions of other banana farmers and workers worldwide, has experienced many shocks over the years, and Fairtrade has helped him get through some of them, thanks to the continued support and loyalty of British banana lovers.

‘We experienced very difficult times when we weren’t in Fairtrade. We didn’t have the resources to provide an education for my children and the banana business barely provided enough for basic meals. It was very worrying to have children and know you couldn’t provide the opportunity for the life they deserve. Being in Fairtrade makes me very happy knowing that there are opportunities to achieve some of the goals I had planned.’ – Foncho

In spite of the pretty, multicoloured village houses and vibrant flora, the region is poor with high levels of unemployment, low levels of education and numerous social problems, including overcrowded housing, domestic violence and gangs.

Fairtrade works with small banana producer organisations to build the economic and social development of farmers and their communities. Fairtrade Standards require that farmers’ organisations are paid a Fairtrade price plus an additional Fairtrade Premium per box of bananas to invest in their business or farm development and community and environmental projects, which they choose collectively and manage via an elected committee. They also receive regular in-depth training in agronomy and best practice from the Fairtrade producer network in the region (CLAC).

In 2017, Foncho and the other members of his group had suffered yet another devastating hurricane* that had flattened the crops of many of his neighbours.

Maximillian, a neighbouring farmer, explains: ‘Thanks to the organisation and the committee, we have a fund for disasters. Those producers whose crops weren’t affected by hurricane Maria also gave money to those who lost their crop. Seventy percent of farmers’ crops were entirely wiped out, and some lost everything.’

Manuel Barrio adds: ‘I lost my whole crop with another hurricane two years ago. With the Fairtrade Premium, the farmers again pooled funds, but we wouldn’t have done that without Fairtrade, as 2% of the Premium is saved for natural disasters. But we also have insurance for our farmers. That’s the only way we can survive these things.’

Coobafrio have focused their collective income generated through sales of Fairtrade bananas on improving productivity and investing in fertiliser, drainage, irrigation and trenches. (Previously high costs of essential fertilisers prevented farmers from applying correct amounts, resulting in low yields.) This has improved crop sizes and led to better incomes. The farmers also used the Premium to set up an education fund to help members’ and employees’ children, as well as the wider community. It’s helped ensure 82% of members have been able to pay for their children’s education fees, uniforms, equipment and other costs. Foncho’s nephew is currently studying agricultural production in Santa Marta and the fund is helping cover his costs. Sports, dance and music groups have been set up to keep children off the streets and another separate pot of money has gone towards a home improvement fund, providing small loans to do up kitchens, flooring, and upgrade sanitation and roofing.

The Fairtrade Premium has also helped pay for members’ social security, meaning health and pension provision. In light of the latest pandemic, new guidance just issued by Fairtrade International means that producer organisations can spend Fairtrade Premium funds more flexibly to minimize the spread of disease, such as by purchasing and distributing face masks or other personal protective equipment, or by implementing hygiene campaigns.

Bananas producers in Colombia have been affected by decades of bloody civil war. They have seen guerrillas take over their farms and homes, demanding food and protection money.

Eighty-year old Jose Manuel Suarez has seen and experienced a lot over the years. Life has taught him to keep all his family’s land intact and never break it up, no matter what, even after he passes. He is the oldest producer member of Coobafrio so can draw from previous disasters.

‘In 1995, we had a hurricane which wiped out everything, so we had to take out expensive loans which we’re still paying off today.’

‘The violence during the civil war was very cruel. We suffered two major episodes of fighting, but it was worse for the bigger producers. Once I had a new pair of boots and a female guerrilla came onto the farm and asked me my size. She didn’t say anything, and just took my boots because they fit her. I couldn’t challenge: no one knows what would have happened to me if I had.’

Worse than the guerrillas were the paramilitaries who ran protection rackets and grabbed land. Many people were affected by the violence and forced to sell their land for an inflated price. But what do you do when you’ve spent your entire life on a farm and suddenly find yourself with lots of cash in your pocket? You move to the city. Many of these farmers are now banana farmers on plantations as opposed to land owners.

‘Forty years ago, we were so poor that we literally had to do everything on the farm with our bare hands. Today the farmers have the Fairtrade Premium which helps them and they don’t need to work as hard as they did then.’

Suarez said he was never temped to sell his farm to the big palm oil plantations. When the mayor offered him good money to sell up, he set his price at $1 million. He wants to keep it for his family so they can continue to farm bananas.

But the threat to the farm feels like a lifetime ago now and back then people were so scared they never thought they’d survive.

‘Now we have a television set, I can only imagine where my bananas end up. I love bananas, and I eat them every day. My secret to longevity is that I eat green bananas every day. And plantain, with my own green bananas on the side.’

Now banana farmers are facing a new line-up of challenges. The climate crisis is bringing strong winds, heavy rains, floods and droughts that can damage their crops. The first case of TR4, also called Panama disease, (a fungus disease which attacks bananas and has already destroyed 10,000 hectares of the Cavendish variety), was confirmed in Colombia in 2019, sparking fear among farmers and now COVID-19; the challenges seem endless.

So far, banana farmers like Foncho haven’t yet been heavily affected by Coronavirus as the virus has yet to establish itself in banana producing countries. However, public movement and distancing restrictions are now being introduced in some regions, with a 19-day lockdown in Colombia. The risk is that it could result in income losses among groups who were already vulnerable, and is likely to increase poverty.

The unprecedented global events of the last few weeks have driven home how connected we all are and how much we need one another for our food security, as millions of people in the UK’s food supply chains face the risk of illness and mortality from COVID-19. Protecting and supporting communities like these as the world faces the pandemic in isolated solidarity is Fairtrade’s number one priority. But with so much uncertainty, the support Fairtrade provides through the Fairtrade Minimum Price, Fairtrade Premium and the Fairtrade producer networks is more important than ever to farmers and workers.

Finding your usual Fairtrade products may be more difficult right now, and many of us have very pressing concerns for our families and local communities. But by buying and backing Fairtrade over the years, you’ve been making a real contribution to strengthening vulnerable communities across the world.

Find out where to buy Fairtrade bananas

* Hurricane Maria occurred in 2017

Photography by Ian Berry

Top 12 facts about Fairtrade bananas

24 August, 2022

In the UK we eat over 5 billion bananas every year. How much do you know about this delicious and versatile fruit?

About bananas

10 June, 2020

Bananas are thought to have originated in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines in Southeast Asia where many varieties of wild banana still grow. They were spread across Asia by travellers and brought to Africa by Arabs where they were given their present name, derived from the Arabic word for finger.

The post Why buying Fairtrade bananas supports farmers in the face of hurricanes, war and disease appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/distraction-reads-dive-into-the-stories-behind-our-products/ Wed, 01 Apr 2020 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/distraction-reads-dive-into-the-stories-behind-our-products/ Looking for interesting articles to read during isolation? Get stuck into these 5 fascinating reads on the complexities and human stories behind the products we buy.

The post Distraction Reads: Dive into the stories behind our products appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> by Heather Nicholson

Get stuck into these 5 fascinating reads on the complexities and human stories behind the products we buy.

Colombia: no guns, no drugs. Just bananas…

Colombia’s farmers can hope again after decades of bloody civil war – but they’re not relying on politicians to help them.  

Read Colombia: No Guns… on the Guardian

The New Queens of Cocoa 

In Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, cocoa is king. But life is hard for the farmers there, who grow nearly 60 percent of the world’s cocoa supply. They’re poorly paid for what they grow. In late 2016, the price of cocoa crashed. Extreme poverty is rife. It’s even harder for the women who work in the fields, and at home, but often see little of the profit. But a new crop of women cocoa farmers are growing in courage and standing tall with men. Together, they’re asking a simple question: don’t we deserve more?  

Read The New Queens of Cocoa

How the gift of coffee is empowering women in Kenya 

Lizzie Rivera travels to Kenya to learn about the Women in Coffee project that’s giving female farmers grounds for hope 

Read about the Women in Coffee project on the Independent 

25 Years of Fairtrade Impact  

Give yourselves a pat on the back and look over what the Fairtrade movement has achieved for farmers across the world since the first Fairtrade product, Green & Black’s chocolate, hit the UK shops back in 1994. 

Read 25 years of Fairtrade impact 

The 4,000 mile delivery 

Our love of flowers might seem frivolous, but it drives a worldwide industry worth billions of pounds. The cut flower industry provides a livelihood for millions of flower workers in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, many of whom are women, in areas with few employment options.

Read The 4,000 Mile Delivery on the BBC 

You might also like

Why fairer trade is crucial to fighting the climate crisis

11 December, 2019

‘The fight for democracy and justice and the fight against environmental breakdown are one and the same.’ – George Monbiot

7 Fairtrade Switches to cut your plastic use

18 September, 2021

Take the standard supermarket product. We buy it, consume it, discard it. But we all know that a product’s life is longer than that. Fairtrade works to shed light on what happens before you buy a product but what happens after you discard it matters too.

The post Distraction Reads: Dive into the stories behind our products appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/bake-a-difference-with-these-20-fairtrade-baking-ingredients/ Sat, 23 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/bake-a-difference-with-these-20-fairtrade-baking-ingredients/ By choosing Fairtrade, you can make a difference to the lives of others, just by baking a cake.

The post 20 Fairtrade Baking Ingredients appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> It’s easy to forget that the ingredients we use have been grown in countries around the world. But by choosing Fairtrade, you can make a difference to the lives of others, just by baking a cake.

When you choose Fairtrade you can rest assured that the people who grew the food, drink or ingredients, were not just paid fairly for their work, but have access to training and other benefits including Fairtrade Premium (an additional sum of money paid to farming cooperatives), and that the products were grown sustainably and ethically in order to achieve Fairtrade status.

Here is our run down of some of the Fairtrade ingredients available for your next life-changing bake.

Sugar

Tate and Lyle Golden Caster Sugar

This Fairtrade sugar from Tate and Lyle is a pale golden sugar, with a delicate honeyed flavour. What’s more, it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans. There are several other Fairtrade sugar variations available from Tate and Lyle, including preserving sugar, royal icing sugar and fondant icing sugar.

Find it in most major supermarkets. Look for the Fairtrade Mark.

Waitrose – Dark brown Muscovado Fairtrade sugar

Waitrose has a range of Fairtrade sugars and this dark brown Muscovado has a beautiful rich flavour and will bring a delicious depth to your bakes. Other Fairtrade sugars from Waitrose include unrefined cane sugar, light brown Muscovado and dark brown soft sugar.

Buy in Waitrose stores or online

Tate and Lyle Fairtrade Icing Sugar or Fondant Icing Sugar

Essential for finishing any show-stopper, you can simply mix icing sugar with water or lemon juice, to produce a glossy glacé icing, or cream it together with soft butter to make a delicious butter cream filling or topping. For special occasion cakes, choose royal icing for piped and firmer results.

Find it in most major supermarkets. Look for the Fairtrade Mark.

Cocoa powder

Green & Blacks organic cocoa powder

Made with Fairtrade certified cocoa beans, Green & Blacks organic cocoa powder has a complex flavour and is ‘Dutched’ to emphasise the robust chocolatey notes. Use it in your favourite chocolate recipe, and if there’s any left over, you can drink it in a cup of hot milk while you wait for your goodies to come out of the oven!

Find it in most major supermarkets.

Spices

Steenbergs Organic Fairtrade Ground Cinnamon

This delicious, organic cinnamon powder comes from the true cinnamon tree – Cinnamomum zeylanicum. It has a complex and fragrant citrus flavour that is full of exotic sweetness with hints of clove, nutmeg and sandalwood. As well as in savoury foods, cinnamon is great in sweet baking, such as spiced orange cake or ginger biscuits.

Steenbergs buys its organic Fairtrade spices from the Small Organic Farmers Association, a ground-breaking mutual of spice growers in Sri Lanka. 

• Try our tasty Fairtrade ginger biscuit recipe

• Buy Steenbergs Fairtrade spices online

Bart Ingredients – Fairtrade organic ground ginger

Another delicious, warming spice, Bart Fairtrade Organic Ground Ginger is grown by a small farmers’ association in Sri Lanka. As well as a guaranteed fair price, the farmers receive a social premium to invest in improving farming methods and the quality of life of their families and communities.

Available in store and online from Waitrose, Ocado and Bart Ingredients.

Taylor and Colledge Fairtrade Organic Vanilla Bean Extract

Make life a little sweeter when you choose Fairtrade vanilla. Taylor and Colledge Fairtrade Organic Vanilla Bean extract is made from the finest quality vanilla beans, is gluten and preservative free and made from Fairtrade certified ingredients, sourced from Fairtrade producers.

Available in store and online from Waitrose and Ocado, as well as health food shops.

Steenbergs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Essence

Alternatively, Steenbergs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Essence has no added sugar. They suggest adding it to mashed potato to make the ordinary very exciting… We haven’t tried it, but if you do, let us know! Or you can stick to using it in a sponge cake or traditional vanilla ice cream.

Find it online on Steenbergs’ website

Chocolate chips

Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Chocolate Chips

Available in milk, dark and white chocolate, these Fairtrade chocolate chips are perfect for stirring into cakes, folding into cookies, or sprinkling on top of pastries.

A must-have in any baker’s kitchen! Available in store and online from Waitrose and Ocado.

Instant coffee

Percol Fairtrade Instant Coffee

Coffee and walnut cake is one of the UK’s favourite cakes. Make it Fairtrade and there’s even more to love about it. Percol’s Barista Gold is made from 100% Fairtrade Arabica beans, with a blend of 95% instant and 5% roast and ground coffee. It’s full-bodied with notes of caramel and is perfect for adding to cake mix or butter icing for classic coffee cake flavours.

Available in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

Nuts

Liberation Nuts

Liberation is nuts about Fairtrade! It’s the UK’s only Fairtrade, farmer-owned nut company and all the Liberation products carry the Fairtrade mark.

The range includes products such as almonds, cashews and crunchy peanut butter, so you too can go nuts for nuts! Liberation also pack their nuts for Sainsbury’s and Tesco own brand Fairtrade nuts.

Ground almonds / almond flour

Pearls of Samarkand uses only the best, light and mildly aromatic tasting organic Fairtrade blanched almonds from three smallholder producer groups. Use in cakes and tarts for a moist gluten-free alternative to flour.

Buy Pearls of Samarkand’s Fairtrade almonds from Ocado.

Zaytoun almonds

Zaytoun is a UK based social enterprise that delivered the world’s first Fairtrade certified olive oil. It works specifically with producers in Palestine and these Fairtrade almonds are picked and cracked by hand. Harvested in late summer and sun-dried so that they are full of the season’s sweetness. Grind them to add to a Bakewell tart or slice and toast and sprinkle on top of a pear and almond cake.

Try your hand at Zaytoun’s yummy Fairtrade almond and dark chocolate cookies

Jam

Make life for farmers a little sweeter when you fill the middle of your sponge cake with Fairtrade jam. You can find Fairtrade jam in Marks and Spencer, Co-op, Traidcraft, and Sainsbury’s “SO Organic” range has Fairtrade jam in strawberry and raspberry options.

Bananas

Everyone’s favourite Fairtrade ingredient – bananas! Find out where to buy them on the link below and then give the banana cake recipe a go. Let us know how you get on. Post a photo on Twitter or Instagram using the #ChooseFairtrade hashtag.

Where to buy Fairtrade bananas

Banana cake recipe

Tea

Making a tea loaf? Fairtrade tea is widely available. Or try this recipe: Green tea infused no-bake almond cookies recipe

Where to buy Fairtrade tea

Decorations

Maltesers

The best finish to your Fairtrade chocolate cake? How about our favourite chocolate treat with a crisp light honeycomb centre?

Maltesers make for a show-stopper topping every time!

The post 20 Fairtrade Baking Ingredients appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/fairtrade-banana-cake-recipe/ Wed, 02 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/fairtrade-banana-cake-recipe/ Gather your ingredients, then stir, mix and mash your way to tasty goodnes. Follow this easy-peasy recipe and get stuck in!

The post Fairtrade Banana Cake Recipe appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]> Gather your ingredients, then stir, mix and mash your way to tasty goodnes. Follow this easy-peasy recipe and get stuck in!

Cake ingredients

• 500g extra-ripe, soft Fairtrade bananas
• 400g plain flour
• 280g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 350g Fairtrade golden caster sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 200ml sour cream
• 3 tsp Fairtrade vanilla extract
• 4 large free-range eggs

Chocolate Icing

• 40g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 230g Fairtrade icing sugar
• 30g Fairtrade cocoa
• 2 tbsp milk

Method

1. First, preheat your oven to 180 °C/350 °F/ Gas Mark 4. a with unsalted butter. 
2. Next, sift the baking soda and flour in a large bowl. Stir together. Using an electric hand mixer, add in the butter until the mixture has a creamy consistency. 
3. Using another bowl, mix the vanilla extract and the sour cream together by hand. Blend this into the flour mixture above. 
4. Add in the eggs one at a time to the mixture, beating well after each egg. Mix in the sugar. 
5. Mash the bananas and add to the overall mixture until combined. 
6. Pour the mixture into the greased cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove from its case and place on a rack to cool. 
8. Serve your cake warm or without icing. 
9. For the optional chocolate icing, sift the icing sugar and combine with butter, sugar, cocoa and milk. Beat until smooth. Once the cake has cooled, spread evenly and serve.

More recipes

The post Fairtrade Banana Cake Recipe appeared first on Fairtrade Foundation.

]]>