Presbyterians mobilize in support of the Extractive Industries Transparency Act (EITDA)

by Alexa Smith, PHP/JH Associate for Presbytery support

The following is an update of what is happening within the PCUSA to promote the passage of the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act (EITDA):

• Spearheaded by Los Ranchos and the Twin Cities Area, our Presbytery Joining Hands networks are organizing people in more than 50 presbyteries. Chicago may be joining in through a McCormick Seminary student, who participated in a training on PWYP offered to seminary students by PHP.
• The selected 50 presbyteries are targeted because either their House Representative or their Senator is considered to be key to the coalition. Each Joining Hands Network is also working within their own districts.
• The following are the steps of this strategy:
  1. We are asking Executives or Clerks in each of the 50 Presbyteries to send an initial letter explaining the church's support for the eitda and why.
  2. This letter will be followed by a visit by two or three folks in the presbytery to the district office of the elected official.
  3. Then, congregations follow up that visit with either generic letters of support, or, telephone calls. those letters, as well as links to www.openthebooks.org have been circulated to the peacemaking networks to. we will add the africa mission networks as the date of the bill's introduction gets closer.

We are getting very positive response. No one has said no, people are very eager to participate. Where a Presbytery already have a missional to Congo or Sudan, for example, they immediately make the connections.

• Three seminary students participated in a training provided by PHP on PWYP and the EITDA, one in Chicago and two in louisville.
• An interview with the National PWYP-US Coordinator, Sarah Pray was aired at drive time, both in the evening and morning. More media will be sought when the bill is actually introduced.
• Sarah has offered to visit key presbyteries to educate and help build energy.
• A call-in day to congress may be organized when the bill is introduced, with folks from the Joining Hands networks and the other presbyteries calling in to voice support for the EITDA
  

Fair Fruit - Harvest of Hope

by Christi Boyd, Companionship Facilitator

RELUFA's exploratory shipment of Fair Fruit to the US has turned out a great success. With the fruits nearly sold out before the end of the year, our PCUSA affiliated distributor, Partners for Just Trade, placed its first official order for our dried pineapple, mango, papaya and banana.

Meanwhile the network took a number of steps for the Fair Fruit project to better profile itself within the larger theme of Trade Justice, and to make a chance as Fair Trade product on the US market. On the one side we decided on a set of criteria for the selection of farmers and dryers involved in the production of our Fair Fruit. Following feedback received during the sales of the first shipment we also made a few changes to adapt the product to the likings of its American consumers. And last but not least a number of decisions needed to be taken on the packaging of the product. We hope that our Fair Fruit clientele will be pleased with the following directions:

Criteria Producers

We decided that our Fair Fruit should serve to highlight the hardship caused by economic globalization on small producers. Our Fair Fruit and what it means for its producers should contrast with the fruit produced by multi national fruit companies and the lives of those who've lost their livelihoods. Our product should serve to tell their story. Besides, we wanted for our project to make a direct difference in the lives of those who suffered the consequences of Trade Injustice, and offer them new hope. While there is a great number of producers involved as farmers and dryers in the fruit drying projects of our member organizations, RELUFA has elected for its Fair Fruit Project to focus on communities in the Njombe/Penja area affected by the presence of a multinational fruit company affiliated with Dole Food Company Inc. Fair Fruit producers are farmers who were forced off their fields for the fast plantations and the dryers groups are made up of youth who at times work as day laborers in the plantations.

Product Quality

At the request of consumers, the dryers have adapted their dehydration process to obtain a greater tenderness, in particular for the mango and papaya. Also, it became clear that Americans are used to seeing processed banana in round slices rather than long strips. Though not crunchy, the bananas have therefore been dried in the familiar shape of banana chips.

Product Packaging

While we had already figured sonsumers would prefer resealable bags, they also told us that the view of the colorful fruit itself is appealing. Retailers indicated stand up pouches were the popular model for packaging, but would be more practicle to market with a punch hole. And so months of internet search led us to an excellent experience with an Ohio based company that helped us upgrade the packaging of our product. The next shipment of our Fair Fruit is presented in a transparent stand up pouch with ziplock, tearnotches and a punch hole.

We have worked with Partners for Just Trade to develop labels that are attractive, yet don't drive up too much the production price of the fruit in a stage where we are still needing to invest in exploring the market. Though we've not yet reached the moment to decide on the long term more cost efficient customer printed pouches, this is certainly a few notches up from the bags of our first shipment.

Product Information

The US Food and Drugs Administration requires a nutritional analysis box on all food products. For our exploratory first shipment we had to look hard to collect from the internet these data. But we did not feel assured that they represented the true values. Working with a Cameroonian Clinical Microbiologist and professional member of the American Naturopathy Medical Association, we arranged for a complete analysis of each our four fruits to be done. The results of this analysis feature on the new labels.

Energy Consciousness

For our Fair Fruit we decided it was important to bring in the element of energy consciousness about the consumption of natural resources. We studied up on the various alternatives of renewable energy sources and their feasibility in the area where the Fair Fruit project is located. In close communications with Cameroonian, Columbian, British and Australian experts, RELUFA decided to launch next June an experimential low cost, low tech biogas project in connection with our drying unit.

Production cost and Pricing

The final decision on the criteria for Fair fruit producers was taken just two months before PJT's shipment was due. All but two of the farmers targeted for this project had prior experience with Fair Trade, and the overall understanding of Fair Trade is nearly nil. We are working with dryers and farmers to come to a better understanding, to walk them through the calculation of production cost, and to eventually come with the dryers to  a common decision on the pricing. This aspect of our fair Fruit project is still a work in progress.

Farmers Association

While the number of families affected by expulsions are probably in the hundreds, there exists no record. RELUFA is working with the farmers to make an inventory with the idea to eventually establish an association of expulsed farmers households. This association will serve a platform for sharing, support and advocacy on their plight as well as on a new trade agreement that tarnishes anew their livelihood.

As Promised:

Credit Against Poverty-Nelly's Journey

by Ann Speyer, 2007-2008 volunteer at RELUFA

Nelly Njanjo, age 28, is one of Yaounde’s up-and-coming young entrepreneurs. Even as she finishes her Bachelors degree in management, she is putting her education into practice, managing her own growing meal delivery business. Although the vision for Quick Meal Delivery Service has been in her mind for some time, she was finally able to implement it at the beginning of this year. How did she get to this point? Step by step, starting with a loan from RELUFA’s Credit Against Poverty program.

STEP 1 For the past several summers, Nelly has interned at the Center for the Environment and Develpoment (CED), a RELUFA member organization. Last year during her time at CED, she was encouraged to apply for CAP Holidays, RELUFA’s new micro-loan branch designed for students on summer break. Happily, she was granted a loan of 100,000 FCFA (somewhat over $200 U.S.). From talking to women in her community, she knew there was plenty of demand for make-up, nail polish, and other beauty products, so she stocked up on those with her loan. As she had hoped, the summer was very successful, and she was able to sell her stock, repay the 100,000 FCFA to the CAP Program within three months, and have some profit left over

STEP 2 Having tested her skills, Nelly took the next step toward her goal. She used her profits to invest in sandwich-making supplies, and for the next three months, she made and sold sandwiches to her colleagues at CED. They were a convenient lunch option for CED’s employees and guests, and she also prepared larger quantities for meetings or seminars upon request. Bit by bit, she added to her profits, until…

STEP 3 Finally, Nelly was ready to launch her business. Her hard work and good project management had brought in around 120,000 FCFA (somewhat over $250 U.S.) with which she bought a few cooking pots and pans, some knives, kitchen spoons, lidded plastic containers in which to deliver the individual meals, napkins, plastic cutlery, and of course her stock of food for the first week. Starting with her client base at CED and RELUFA, she was able to sell enough hot lunches week by week, expanding her clientele by word of mouth. An aunt allowed Nelly the use of kitchen facilities and some storage space until she can make other arrangements. And so Quick Meal Delivery Service was born.

STEP 4 and BEYOND These days, business has picked up so much that Nelly is reviewing job applications – soon she will hire two people to assist her part-time with cooking and delivery. She has also been able to add to her equipment piece by piece, buying new pots here, a spice grinder there, serving trays for when she caters small meetings.

Her clients order their meals in advance and look forward to her arrival, her large bag full of hot meals in individual containers. The food is delicious and the menu varied, and Nelly has even created a page where customers can access her menu online.

In the future, Nelly would love to open a restaurant from which the delivery service can operate, so she can do all her work in one location. Her CAP loan helped her gain valuable skills and set her off in a good direction, she says, and she would recommend it to any young Cameroonian who seeks formative experience.