Fairtrade Fortnight: Cambridge Calendar

Fairtrade: you know what I’m talking about, getting a good deal for farmers via the medium of bananas and all that. Fab idea. And now it’s…

Here’s The Tab‘s handy guide to what’s going on in Cambridge:

Events

Tues 1st March – Murray Edwards Fairtrade Formal

What it says on the tin. You can view the menu here and if you want to dress to impress, splash out on some Fairtrade fashion from People Tree or ASOS to suit the evening’s ethics.

Wed 2nd March – Big Brew Coffee Morning

10.45am – midday, St John’s Church, Hills Road. (Map)

Fairtrade refreshments are going to be served by the church’s fair-trade team, who will also be plugging hard to get you to buy some of the goodies from their stalls.

Not that you should need much tempting; the fare is likely to be chocolate-heavy and light on the wallet.

Wed 2nd March – Magdalene Fairtrade Formal

7.30pm – Magdalene College.

Hurry, last few tickets going soon! Pre-drinks of Fairtrade wine will be available in the Buckingham Room from 6.45pm. There will also be a short talk from Anna Kim, a PhD student at Judge Business School, specialising in market-based approaches to poverty alleviation. For more information visit the Magdalene Fairtrade Facebook page.

Thurs 3rd March, Talk by Sally Reath on ‘Shared Interest’

7.00pm – Castle Street Methodist Church.

Shared Interest is a company that was founded in 1989 with the aim ‘Trade not aid’. Investors world-wide pooled their money to form a financial co-operative which lends money to Fairtrade businesses, helping them to develop in a sustainable manner. During her talk Sally will be explaining how the company works, and will show a DVD about one of their customer’s experiences. Basically: guilt-free cinema.

Sun 6th March, Clothes Swap

7.00pm – Christ’s College.

Fancy a new outfit but ain’t got the money? Make your way to Christ’s clothes swap where one man’s (or more probably, woman’s) junk will be another man’s treasure!

Mon 7th March, Fairtrade Debate

7.45pm – Trinity Hall Lecture Theatre.

Fairtrade: What is it, how does it work, and is it all just a con? Find out at this debate, where the Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, Robinson college’s Economics DoS, and a PhD student will speak about Fairtrade, before having a short Q&A session.

Wed 9th March, Fairtrade at the Grafton

10.00am – 4.00pm – The Grafton Centre.

Pop along for some Fairtrade food and fun.

Sun 13th, Football Tournament, Jesus

Mixed 5-a-side teams will compete for some great prizes. Here are the details.

Other events taking place (dates TBC) include:

– Showing of Blood Diamond, accompanied by free Fairtrade goodies @ Magdalene JCR.

– Coffee tasting @ Starbucks.

– Wine tasting @ King’s College.

There will also be Fairtrade stalls serving free tea on many lecture sites throughout the fortnight, so keep your eyes peeled. Butteries and bars will also be getting in the spirit of things by serving Fairtrade products.

Do it Yourself

Who needs organised fun? It’s easy to get into the spirit yourself:

Throughout the fortnight, Fairtrade are joining forces with other companies to run competitions with some very tasty prizes. Get involved.

These include turning yourself into a chocolate biscuit to win a day of chocolate making, making a towering ice-cream cone to win a year’s (a year’s!) worth of Ben and Jerry’s and two tickets to Sundae on the Common, and performing random acts of kindness to win £1000 worth of Fairtrade treats.

Cambridge’s very own Co-op on Chesterton Road is offering the chance to win a £100 hamper for answering these questions (Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 Quiz) and emailing your answers to this address: [email protected]

The Fairtrade website is where it’s at if you want to make your own event, but if that sounds a bit much like hard work, why not try these:

Come dine with me

Oxfam have created these handy fair-trade recipe leaflets, and the Fairtrade website has a fair few as well (although their list is almost exclusively ‘cake’ or ‘dessert’, but let us assure you that banana bread main is completely fine.) Pick 3 dishes (/desserts), and compete with your friends for title of culinary king.

Come wine with me

If you don’t fancy the King’s wine tasting session, why not run your own? The co-op have provided this DIY wine-tasting pack to make it easy for you and your friends to become connoisseurs of the life blood. Assign everyone a bottle  and let the drinking- sorry, ‘tasting’- begin.

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If you know of any more Fairtrade events that are taking place in Cambridge,  just post it below.