Season's Greetings from WFTO!

A great thank you from Fair Trade Lebanon to all the WFTO management, members, friends and patners worldwide! May you have the warmest greetings!

Are you ready for Christmas?

Join us at the AFKART Christmas exhibition held in BIEL (Hall 3) from December 16th until the 22nd for some real festive spirit, gift packages and plenty of tastings!

A bientot, see you there!

Au marche de Noël !

Christmas Market at l'Institut Francais du Liban!

Fair Trade Lebanon will be present at the Marché de Noel organized by the French Institute of Lebanon (by the French Embassy).

From December 7th until the 10th, Lebanese artisans and local NGOs will be there to sell paintings, accessories, pottery, candles, chocolate and local produce!

All gift ideas to suit your taste!

Practical Info:

Entrance: Free

Hall: Espace des Lettres

Damascus road, Beirut

Tel: 01 420 200

www.institutfrancais-liban.com

Opening Time:

Wed 7th, Thu 8th and Friday 9th: 1:00 PM until 7:30 PM

Saturday 10th: 10 AM until 3 PM

See you there!

...Are you looking for Christmas gifts?

....Stay tuned!

Fair Trade Lebanon will be in two Christmas exhibitions in less than 15 days!

FTL at the school of Saint-Coeur Kfarhbab!

Fair Trade Lebanon gave two conferences to students (aging from 9 till 13 years old) at the school of Saint-Coeur Kfarhbab! Our conferences revolved around the theme of Lebanese food-processing cooperatives and Fair Trade as a means for rural development.

We've discussed in detail how cooperatives work: the  nature of their activity, the products they prepare, their location as well as their strengths and everyday challenges.

We've also introduced the principles of Fair Trade and the role that FTL plays as a link between small rural producers and consumers!

The audience was delighted! they are now eager to go visit and meet directly with the producers!



We will renew this experience real soon!

Our video: World Rural Woman's Day 2011

Fair Trade Lebanon has celebrated on Octobre 15th the World Rural Woman's Day at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Zahle and the Bekaa. Our producers came together to discuss their experiences and promote their activities around the principles of Fair Trade.

This video reveals some precious testimonies!

A word of thank you goes to all of our partner producers who were present with us and showed a great deal of solidarity!

Thank You All!

Le Liban en France: very positive feedback

What an amazing feeling...to be there in Paris and feel the enthusiasm and nostalgia of people looking for their hometown specialties. We've sold our complete stock of products...we could've even sold the pictures that were decorating the stand! No I'm just kidding...I believe that what I want to say is that we would have definitely stayed longer if we could, and we would've loved to continue to tell our story and promote the work of our small fair trade producers. Their products were such a success that we came back home with an amazing dynamism.

We will keep going forward and bring you even better and more innovative products. Paris, we love you. And we will be back....

To all our supporters, all the new people we met and all the volunteers who gave us a hand and helped us through those 3 full days of exhibition: Thank you so much!



FTL : Le Liban en France

Le Liban en France? Here we come!

Ahla w sahla fikon bi Baris!

"La France au Liban" in 2010 in Beirut and "Le Liban en France” in Paris in 2011, two events, one goal: To boost business relationships between the French and Lebanese.

In order to promote Lebanese products in France, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris, the Franco-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of France, are organizing from october 28th until the 30th, an event of great dimension held at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, and entitled “Le Liban en France” (Lebanon in France)!

The objective of this event is to allow Lebanese companies to meet with new professional contacts and investors and to promote their products and services to the grand public.

Le Liban en France is an opportunity to discover a new culture, a new story, that of Lebanon. Fair Trade Lebanon will be there to exhibit its range Terroirs du Liban. We invite you all to come and visit our stand; you will definitly not regret it and will go back home with an amazing gourmet selection:

Baba ghannouj, Hummus ready to eat, Pomegranate molasses, Traditionnal Lebanese soaps from Tripoli, Sirops, Virgin olive oil, Spices and the list goes on! of course, all natural with 0 additives nor colorants!!

We are waiting for you! Pictures will be uploaded starting this Friday!

Practical Information:
Location: Palais des Congres (2, Place de la Porte Maillot, 75017 Paris)
Halls: PASSY A, B, and C
Dates: From Friday 28th until Sunday 30th of October, 2011
Time: From 10:00 AM until 8:00PM

Entrance: Free

October 15th: Happy Rural Woman's Day!

For the third consecutive year, the NGO Fair Trade Lebanon (FTL) commemorates the World Rural Women’s Day. This day is celebrated worldwide on October 15th to recognize the great effort and dedication of rural women in our societies, while stressing on the importance of their activities within the agricultural sector, vital to our economy.

On this occasion, and under the theme “Women at the heart of Fair Trade: Exchanges and Cooperation”, FTL invited all its partners, more than 15 food processing cooperatives on Saturday October 15th 2011 at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Zahle and the Bekaa, in order to meet, exchange experiences and build a cooperation model based on the principles of fair trade.

In fact, since its creation in 2006, Fair Trade Lebanon works to promote Fair Trade, an alternative trading model that aims to help small producers by providing them with sales opportunities and offering them a fair price for their products. Moreover, in 2010, FTL has become member of the world fair trade organization (WFTO), and has hence given a global dimension to the cause of Lebanese producers.

The program of the day began at 9:30 AM by a word of welcome. It was be followed by a presentation on Fair Trade and its fundamental principles, as well as testimonies from women producers. Fair Trade Lebanon has also announced the project of establishing a platform for agricultural cooperatives as members of the international fair trade network represented in Lebanon by FTL.

 

Organic...the basics you need to know.

In Lebanon, we tend to confuse Organic production with "Home made", "Natural" or "Private gardening". We sometimes even believe that "organic" is restricted to "healthy"...healthy for your body and diet. But these prejudice are incorrect...Organic is actually extremely linked to Environment...so let us elaborate a little more in order to brighten the big picture.

1-How to define "Organic Foods"?

Organic foods are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.
For the vast majority of human history, agriculture can be described as "organic"; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new synthetic chemicals introduced to the food supply. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution.

Last but not least: [On the contrary to what you may think], the weight of the available scientific evidence has not shown a significant difference between organic and more conventionally grown food in terms of safety, nutritional value, or taste. [This must be double checked in reference to the Lebanese reality.]
source: wikipedia, more here.

2-How could we distinguish organic products from conventional ones (in local Lebanese context)?

No farmer can claim that his / her crops are organic just because they believe they are. Soils must be tested and the whole farming process must be monitored and regulated in order to accredit such sayings. There are independant certifying bodies who operate on this level in order to grant producers an official Organic Certification for their production, and hence, an official organic label for their products.

In Lebanon, two bodies are approved to certify and grant the organic label: IMC (Instituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione) and LibanCert.

During their assessment, they inspect the facilities, the soil, the water used for irrigation, the packing material, the cleaning products, and they do random sampling of final products to be sent for laboratory tests.

While buying local products at the store, look for the below logos for certification:

3-Organic farming and Environment...any impact?

According to a French study done by the Agence BIO (2006 report), organic farming has demonstrated positive impacts on the soil's structure and fertility; some of the study findings are listed below:

• Absence of residues of synthetic chemical pesticides
• Intense biological soil activity
• Higher level of organic sustances in the soil
• Limited nitrate pollution
• Crop diversity, landscape diversity
• Biodiversity of natural species are witnessed in the surroundings of organic farms
• Conservation of the genetic diversity of cultivated plants

The soil is a living environment, housing a variety of bacteria, micro-fungi, insects, earthworms etc. It is a complex and multi-functional nonrenewable resource! We must preserve it from often irreversible damage given its major role in the regulation of natural balances.

75% of French consumers accompany their organic purchase with an ethical incentive. They believe that choosing organic is looking beyond the present and making a sustainable choice for generations to come.

4-Where can you purchase fresh and processed local organic products?

I've researched some local outlets and specialized stores...listed below in random order:

Organic Bakery Chouf area Tel: 05340371; available in Beirut through network stores

Beit el Soha Facing Hotel Dieu hospital, Achrafieh; Tel: 01398366

A New Earth Achrafieh (Zahrat al Ihsan street); Tel: 01219920

Live Organic New Naccache, main road; Tel: 04444886

Healthy Basket Store in Hamra & Home Delivery; Tel: 01747831 and 03794438

Naturalia located in Baabda, Tel: 05456566

It is a narrow list and does not include all places, in addition to small selective outlets, all supermarkets usually do have imported and local organic items.