Newsletter Feb 2011

Raisin Awareness! Fairtrade from Afghanistan

Juicy, sweet, Fairtrade raisin's .....from Afghanistan. These are the first of what we hope will be many Fairtrade products to come out of Afghanistan! The grapes are grown and sun dried by the Parwan Raisin Producer Cooperative on the Shomali Plain, with whom Tropical Wholefoods and international NGO Mercy Corps have been working closely for the last three years. Known as “the Garden of Kabul” the Shomali Plain is famous for producing grapes, but the area also saw heavy fighting during the Soviet era, Civil War and Taliban regime. The low lying grape vines provided perfect cover for fighters and therefore many of them were destroyed. Fairtrade export of the raisins brings hope to the farmers most of whom say that what they want for the future is simply "Peace and Education." Buying Fairtrade Raisins is a way of delivering that to them. The raisins are available in 250g and 50g packs from our website, www. tropicalwholefoods.com Oxfam shops and health food shops nationwide. Whilst we love to snack on raisins, they are also a great ingredient.For some lovely recipes, go to: www.fmfoods.co.uk/resources/recipes.htm TW founder, Kate's favourite raisin recipes are: Spicy Beef Stew with Raisins, Lamb Pilau with Raisins,and Chutney Gashneez. The family are patiently waiting for her raisin recipe craze to die down...last year it was apricot kernels....

Recipe: Afghan Chutni Gashneez

From Helen Saberi’s Afghan Food & Cookery. This fresh relish is great served with pilaus, kebabs and samosa . Keeps well in the fridge. Enough for 8 people. 225g fresh coriander (not the lower stems or roots) 10 to 25g hot green chillies, seeds removed and chopped 10 to 25g garlic, peeled and chopped 50g Tropical Wholefoods Fairtrade walnuts 25g sugar 225ml lemon juice or white wine vinegar 2 tsp salt 30g Tropical Wholefoods Fairtrade raisins Blend coriander, green chillies, garlic and walnuts in blender making sure they are well mixed. Add the sugar to the lemon juice or vinegar and again mix well. Add this to the coriander mixture with the salt and raisins, mix, put into clean jars, and refrigerate ‘til using.

Comic Relief Funds Biogas in Burkina Faso Dried Mango Cooperatives

We all love dried mango! But when you produce hundreds of tonnes like our Coops do in Burkina Faso, you need a lot of heat for your ovens, and you generate alot of waste peels, stones and any bruised flesh. Currently this waste is composted in the fields, but wouldn’t it be great if it could be converted into fuel to heat, yes you've guessed it, the ovens to dry the mango. Comic Relief have funded a 3 year Research and Development project with us to develop Biogas production out of the mango waste, combining it with human and animal waste. We are working with a team of biogas experts on this exciting project. In 2010, we funded Devkota Govinda from Nepal, a former Ashden Sustainable Energy Gold Award winner to visit Burkina, build a biogas unit and carry out training with local artisans. The unit is being tested in preparation for the 2011 mango season which starts in May. In the UK, Engineering firm Max Applicances have produced prototype mango waste chopping machines to speed up the composting process; and David Fulford from Kingdom Biogas is researching maximising output from the biogas units. Finally, Devtech at Imperial College are working on mechanisms to improve the efficiency of the drying ovens.www.imperialconsultants.co.uk/showcases/efficientmangodrying Interested? Call Kate 0845 258 2781

DFID Back Berry Growing in Uganda

We are at the end of the first year of a two and a half year funded Department for International Development (DFID) programme to develop berry growing and drying in Uganda with our partners Fruits of the Nile from whom we already buy sun dried pineapple and banana. The Cape Gooseberries have grown very well, and we will be showing these, sun dried, at Biofach Organic Trade Fair in Nuremberg, Germany in February 2011 where we are exhibiting in the Africa Pavillion. Cape Gooseberries (also known as Physalis) are small tart berries, rich in potassium, vitamin A and C. The Strawberry plants are also doing well, although the fruits are vulnerable to insect and pest damage. Raspberry canes and blueberry bushes have established well but will be slower to fruit. Tim Sobey from TSA Consultants and Julia Wright from Garden Organic collaborated with our farmers in Uganda to establish the new berry gardens. See farmer Kellen Kaboine in her strawberry and cape gooseberry plot in our new video on Uganda. Visit: www.youtube.com/user/tropicalwholefoods

Mountain Fruits looking for a better 2011

2010 was a very difficult year for Mountain Fruits and their farmers. A landslide in Jan uary buried the village of Attabad where many of our apricot farmers lived. In July, the rising levels of the lake resulted in 90% of another apricot producing village, Shishket being submerged. Many other villages suffered terrible flooding. Thousands of people are still displaced and living in temporary camps. We sincerely thank all supporters who donated money to the relief effort. The producers have voted to invest the donated money in creating new irrigation channels, and if possible building a new school. Understandably they only wish to do this once they have been relocated to their new land. The government is not being very quick about this but they live in hope. Meanwhile, Mountain Fruits have managed, despite the difficulties, to continue work on their new nut processing factory at Damas, near Gakuch. Grant money from Sainsburys Fair Development Fund is helping fund the development of the new nut factory. Mountain Fruits will be able to process Fairtrade almonds & walnuts here for use in Ben and Jerry's icecream, as well as pressing them into oils for use in Boots, Neals Yard, and Lush cosmetics range. Boots Extracts range is also using the walnut and apricot kernel shells as exfoliant ingredients. Go to: www.youtube.com/user/TropicalWholefoods to see our Pakistan video.

Fairtrade Labelling Organisation in Uganda

Fruits of the Nile Growers Association (FONA) which represents all the growers and dryers of our pineapple and bananas, had their first full FLO inspection in September 2010. Whilst some issues came up to do with organisational structures and record keeping which FONA have now addressed. FONA were seen not to have done too badly at all for a first inspection. We have not heard yet, but we are cautiously optimistic that FONA will succeed in getting FLO certification for their products in early 2011. This will mean that at last we will have both Organic and FLO Fairtrade certification for our Sun Dried Pineapples, Chewy Banana Chips and Bogoya Banana. After twenty years of trading with Fruits of the Nile, these will be nice certificates to have!

Fairtrade Fortnight Fruit Hats, Rumer & Hugh FW

Hats off to Rumer

Fantastic singer Rumer is offering a pair of free tickets to her concert at the Royal Festival Hall on March 28th to the winner of a Fairtrade Fortnight Facebook competition backed by Tropical Wholefoods. All you have to do is create a fruity head dress for yourself with a hat, turban or cap. Use fresh or dried fruits but be sure that they are Fairtrade! Be inspired by Kate here in a lovely Easter Bonnet made up of dried fruits! Take a picture of yourself in your hatted finery and post it up on the Fairtrade Foundation’s Facebook challenge which will be open from March 4th. www.facebook.com/FairtradeFoundation The person whose head gear gets the most “likes” wins the 2 tickets AND signed vinyl and a CD from Rumer, and a TW basket full of dried fruit & nuts.

Raisin Awareness Sample Boxes

Tropical Wholefoods are “Showing Off” for Fortnight with a Raisin Awareness campaign box to let people know how proud we are to be selling Fairtrade Raisins from Afghanistan. Campaigners and Retailers will receive Raisin Awareness stickers, x3 250g bags of Fairtrade Afghan Raisins, a taster tub of Fairtrade mango, Raisin Awareness Recipes, a DVD containing 4 short videos on our partners, postcards, posters, plus packs of roast Apricot Kernels, Bogoya Banana, and snack bars. To help us with costs, it would be great if if you could send us a cheque for £5, made out to Fullwell Mill and posted to: Rachel Gurak, Fullwell Mill, Unit 5d, Southwick Industrial Estate, Sunderland SR5 3TX. Please ask for TWRaisinAwarenes Box and enclose your address for sending the box to and any special delivery instructions.

In The Papers

We have just heard that Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is doing a Fairtrade feature in The Guardian Weekend on February 26th on Cooking with Fairtrade Dried Fruits. Hurrah! In 2010 it was also exciting to get written about in, amongst others: The New York Times, The Times, Financial Mail, Observer Food Monthly, The Guardian, Ethical Consumer, The Big Issue and Green Futures. www.fmfoods.co.uk/news/news.htm

4 New Videos on YouTube

For a preview of our great new videos on Pakistan, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Afghanistan go to: www.youtube.com/user/tropicalwholefoods Richard Wilson from one31studio.com has edited these using footage shot by Adam and Kate whilst working with our partners.

Working With Charities

During 2010, we were lucky to work with: Found a Pound in Liverpool www.foundapound.com The Women's Institute Anti Poverty Day in Cheshire The Fairtrade Towns Network over summer sampling events and Fairtrade Fortnight and last but not least, Oxfam who are sampling our Fairtrade Afghan raisins to customers in January and February. We're also contributing a recipe to Oxfam's recipe booklet available in store from end of February for Fairtrade Fortnight and beyond.

If you would like to find out more about our work: Call: Kate Sebag 0845 258 2781 or 07834 343664 or Rachel Gurak 0845 258 2783 Or email: kate@tropicalwholefoods.com, Rachel@tropicalwholefoods.com Our address is: Tropical Wholefoods , Fullwell Mill, Unit 5d, Southwick Industrial Estate, Sunderland SR5 3TX tel: 0845 258 2781.