The new formal business name of Preda Fair Trade is Profairtrade Development Enterprise.
Updated June 1, 2016
A tribute to Annaluise Kammerer
The Preda Staff and children and Father Shay says a farewell to our long time friends, supporter and active volunteer Annaluise Kammerer from Austria. Annaluise has being at Preda for the third year in a row and stayed for four months this year. She has been dedicated and working in the Fair Trade activities and the children’s homes.
Annaluise founded as World Shop in Eisenstadt and has promoted the ~Preda fair trade mangos and is a wonderful fund raiser for the children”s projects. She was able to visit the farmers and join in the sharing of dividends to the farmers and brought other gifts for the children of the farmers for their education.
Annaluise undertook her special mission to verify the traceability and sourcing of the Preda mangos from the Preda farmers to the processing plant and the shipping to the Preda Fair Trade partners and customers.She also visited the Aeta indigenous farmers to help with the harvesting. (Photo) Besides this her work took her many times to the Preda Home for girls where she helped the children in the arts and crafts sessions .They will be sad when their best friend
Annaluise has to leave .We give our thanks and appreciation to a great volunteer and supporter of fair trade Annaluise Kammerer and welcome her back again next year.
THE HARVEST OF 2016
The impact of climate change has been seen thsi year in the Philippines as harvests have bene much lower than in previous years. The exceptional high temperatures brought on early and unexpected rains and wind that damages the flowering of th e mango trees. This has resulted in a smaller harvest. This of course harms the mango industry as a whole but especially the indigenous Aeta farmers and the Preda small farmers in Mindanao.
The commercial partners of Preda continues to grow there sales and Kestrel of Northern Ireland is not eh single biggest buyer of Preda Dried mangos buying more than all other partners combined. They are a seriously ethical company of the highest moral standards and the advocate the work of Preda to stop the trafficking and sex trade in children.Their sales continue to grow and they have placed orders in 2016 for 7 containers 4 of them forty footers .They are also considering moving into the buying mango puree for the juice drinks trade.
The inspectors for the Organic mangos project and certification renewal are to come this June .They will visit the mountain villages and the area under inspection by OCCP and Ceres the inspection agencies. It will also be the start of the Fair Trade inspection which will be competed by Naturland later this year.
ORGANIC CERTIFIED PREDA MANGOS
Since the launch of the Preda organic certified mango puree during the Stuttgart Fair Trade exhibition last March 31 demand for the bio/Fair trade products of Preda Fair trade is growing . Preda fair Trade now has the new formal business name of Profairtrade Development Enterprise.
During an TV interview at the exhibition and where Fr.Shay gave two presentations to the public he announced that Preda fair trade is calling on the Fair Trade movement and the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) to be more than truly fair and strongly campaign to oppose the trade in humans, and take action more than words against people trafficking and all forms of forced labor and sexual exploitation of children.
He also told the media that Fair Trade movement is not doing enough to challenge the sale of the Fair Trade label to multinational corporations. He told the media that some discount Supermarkets and giant food corporations were using it for propaganda and self promotion as Fair Traders while many are accused of unfair labor practices. Nestle that carried the Fair Trade logo has been linked to the slave trade in fish products from Thailand where 2000 fishermen in slavery were rescued from a secret island prison after an investigation by the Associated Press (AP). The AP won the Pulitzer prize for investigative journalism for this expose and rescue.
Fr.Shay testified to the US Congress on the issue of child slavery. The fish products made from the slave labor were sold to multinationals food corporations to their eternal shame he said. The results of the APO investigation were presented to the US congress committee on human rights headed by Rep.Chris Smith . At the same hearing Father Shay presented the dire and outrageous situation of children and women enslaved in the sex trade, for mostly foreign sex tourists which he said must be apposed by all. The US congress has passed a law forbidding the importation of any product made with forced labor.
Fr.Shay called on the Fair Trade movement and the WFTO to awake from it inertia and be a outspoken supporter of human rights and become a campaigning organization opposing all forms of forced labor and especially child exploitation in the sex trade. Their actions not just statements in this field will be a criteria of a Fair Trade Organization with whom Preda trades. We are willing to sacrifice for this important criteria of Fair Trade ,it ought be added to the list of Fair Trade criteria,he said.
The new development in Preda is the certification of mango puree produced in cooperation with the Aeta Indigenous people and Naturland of Germany. The mangos are grown and harvested in the Zambales and Bataan mountain range and is already certified Organic according to the strict Naturland and European Union organic standards among some of the most strict in the world. The German Government organic certification monitoring agency has given its GO signal for the Preda Bio products to be distributed in Germany with the organic label. This is a great step forward and a important achievement for the Aeta communities of farmers.
It is a remarkable achievement for these indigenous people living in the remote mountains to meet the understanding of the organic standards to respect and implement them.
The Preda Fair-trade mango puree has also passed stringent certification process of Naturland among the most prestigious and higher standards of organic certification in Europe. It is a very well knows and respected organization that certifies and monitors organic standards on food products imported and sold in Germany.
The certification Inspections and monitoring was carried out by A.C.TY of Thailand and verified additionally by CERES. Preda Fair trade and the indigenous Aeta people as many 1200 farmers living in remote areas of Zambales and Bataan united to achieve this standard in their ancestral domain and are determined to keep it so. Many other products grown in this pristine area will also be inspected and as application will be made for these crops to be included in the organic certification.
The Preda Mango bio products are already in the world shops and available to the Public as bio certified and fair Trade .The products as certified were finally announced and launched during the Stuttgart Fair Trade Exhibition where Father Shay gave two presentations to the public. During question time, in rely to a question, he also said Preda will likely renew its membership in 2017.
Preda Fair Trade certification; During the next inspection by Naturland with its partner CERES of the Aeta ancestral homelands mango growing areas that stretch over the mountain range of Bataasn and Zambales there will be an additional certification of Preda as a certified fair-trade organization. Preda in cooperation with the Aeta communities are helping to protect the ancestral rights of the Aeta people against the incursions of mining corporations.
They want to explore and exploit the land for minerals on the Aeta domain and this has to be opposed when it arises as it has in other communities in other places. The mining destroys the environment and would make organic certification next to impossible.
While Preda has been a highly respected and recognized Fair Trade and this has been true for the past forty years it is important to have independent monitoring and certification of the Fair Trade criteria and standards.
Preda Fair trade is a leader in promotion and a pioneer in Asian fair trade it is all the better to have a monitored and inspected fair trade process to add and strengthen the reputation and the trust of the Preda customers and partners. Inspections notices how more safeguards can be put in place, older one strengthened and the whole process improved. Everything can get better
The annual monitoring in May 2016 and inspection by Ceres and OCCP of the Philippines will confirm that all the required safeguards and protective systems are in place and are effectively operating .The Internal inspection System developed by Naturland whereby trained local inspectors and guardians of he environment are seeing that the organic standards are being followed, implemented and no contamination of any kind is allowed into the pristine environment.
Preda Fair Trade compliance with criteria will be tested and monitored. It is also possible to have the annual inspection by Naturland and CERES to cover other products grown in the same mountain area as the mango trees so as to bring them into the organic certification system. This will greatly enhance the livelihood of the Aeta people and provide unique specialized fruit products to the customers who value the purity and chemical free products of Preda mango farmers. End.
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