What Fair Trade looks like from down here

by Alexandra Buck, Advisor for Trade Justice

I was at the office by 8:45 am.

Jorge, the Bridge of Hope program coordinator, and I, scurried to the corner to get onto a passing bus. We scrunched in the seats as we zig-zagged through lanes of traffic to the outskirts of Lima. We got off the bus, got in a taxi, and drove out to an industrial district. At an unspecified location, we got out and rang the bell on an unmarked wall. I would never have done this alone....

We got let into a yarn factory, where we met with a representative in a nice office. We looked through the color samples and picked out the ones we need for our line of stuffed animal pigs, elephants, and turtles, knit in cotton. The representative promised that in three weeks, when we get the 30 kilos of thread, she'll have a color sample card ready for us, to avoid returning in person to order more.

We headed back to the dusty street and took a taxi into the crowded downtown. It let us off at the Congress. We waited in line in the hot sun as the officials reviewed our information. We were invited to participate in a meeting of MYPE (Micro and Small Business) with key Congresspeople to discuss the Free Trade Agreements with the USA and China. Once inside and seated, the representatives of the MYPE Forum outlined their points: the Free Trade Agreements benefit big international companies and not small, local producers.

Representing small cooperatives of artisans, we agreed that micro-entrepreneurs are excluded from negotiations promised to bring growth and wealth into the country.

Peru is one of the only countries in Latin America whose economy is growing during this time of financial crisis (Colombia is the other). This is a result of prolonged neoliberal strategies that bring disadvantageous investment into the country. Growth, to the government, means more manufacturing for products for export.

     This does not mean growth for the people. The companies that perform these operations make money off the cheap labor and environmental damage wrought on the country. Peru is robbed of its resources and riches. The cheap prices of products imported from Peru in the US result from such a high cost paid here, in exploitation of people and earth.

Jorge and I dashed back to the office in time for the Fair Trade workshop. Two new girls were starting at our local store in Miraflores (the first fair trade store in Peru!) and we had some new volunteers. So we spent the next two hours talking with them about what it means to be Fair Trade in a day-to-day, relational concept. That it is a commitment, by all parties, to work with transparency, collaboration, respect, and integrity. That it goes from thread to Congress to artisans to supporters, maybe all in one day.

Fair Trade, down here, where the producers are producing so that consumers up there can consume, means more than earning a living wage. It means being respected as a person instead of just a pair of hands. It means working towards a humanized economy where well-being is an added value. Fair Trade, down here, is Bridge of Hope.

News:

*March: Bridge of Hope Fair Trade Store was awarded by the Mayor of Miraflores for being the first Fair Trade store in all of Peru! Read the PCUSA News Article

*April: Jewelry artist Peggy Eng visited us for three weeks to work with Munay Rumi, the artisan jewelry group here. Thanks to her, the group has new ideas, new products, and new tools.

*May: We welcome back two artisans, Eva Pizarro and Ayde Riveros, from their three week tour in the US, where they shared their testimony about Fair Trade. Organized by Partners for Just Trade, and Green America.

Connecting Communities through Fair Trade

Filmed in both Peru and the US, Partners for Just Trade is producing a documentary illustrating the human connection between consumers and producers. Catch a sneak peak below, then visit PJT's website to learn more and shop.

Doe Run Peru is a unique processing plant on two accounts. One, its advanced technology allows it to break down metals and minerals into quantities of by-products and sub by-products to be sold on the market that other processing plants are not capable of doing. Two, because of its tremendous capital it is able to employ a business model wherein it purchases concentrates from nearly 30 mining companies in Peru in order to sell the by-products on the global market for its own financial gain, as opposed to providing a service for the mining companies (as other processing plants do) wherein the mining company retains ownership of the products and thus the financial gains on the global market. It is this second unique aspect of Doe Run Peru that has led to its apparent financial crisis.

In order to purchase the concentrates from mining companies, Doe Run Peru has engaged in a revolving fund with private Peruvian banks and creditors. In late February, citing the rapid fall of metal prices on the global market, as well as a decline in sales, the banks withdrew their credit line to Doe Run Peru, thus leaving the company unable to purchase concentrates from the mining companies.

Meanwhile, despite apparently having lost over $200 million in the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, Ira Rennert still ranked among the top 150 wealthiest individuals in the world, according to Forbes Magazine, with a reported net worth of $4 billion. Doe Run Peru claimed it needed a $150 million credit line in order to resume business. Rennert declared that if the state of Peru did not bail out his company, it would go bankrupt. In mid March the plant did indeed place thousands of workers on leave without pay as the plant reduced its operations to minimal capacity. And this is how a river begins to flow backwards.

Recognizing the unconscionable plot line unfolding before our eyes, Uniendo Manos (Joining Hands Peru) worked in partnership with other civil society networks and its presbytery partner in the U.S., Giddings-Lovejoy to raise the voice of conscience, declaring that in no way should the state use tax payers’ money to bail out a private industry – especially one owned by a New York billionaire! With such outrage and with the passion of a prophet, it provided an alternative solution of the private mining industries to open up a credit line if, and only if, Rennert could not be forced to provide such credit. Through letter campaigns and public announcements in Peruvian newspapers, it appears that the voice of conscience reached the ears, if not the hearts, of Peruvian congress persons and mining industry executives.

In early April an alternative bailout agreement was apparently met. Mining executives offered to open a $150 million credit line in concentrates. However, not wanting to let Doe Run Peru nor Rennert off the hook, it was stipulated that an additional $150 million debt that Doe Run Peru owes to Renco Group must be converted into shares and delivered to the government of Peru to hold onto until Doe Run Peru completes its state mandated clean up program in response to the severe contamination of La Oroya by the pre-determined deadline of October 2009.

Having accepted the agreement, Doe Run Peru declared it would have its plant fully operational within a matter of weeks. As of late May, the plant was not yet operating at half of its capacity. Furthermore, it was revealed that Renco Group had not yet abided by its end of the deal; it had still not turned Doe Run Peru’s debt into shares for the state of Peru to hold onto. And, furthermore, it claimed that it would not do so until the state provided “more flexibility” with the clean-up program. To note, the deadline for the clean-up program has already been “flexibly” extended four times by the state.

Outraged by the lack of cooperation by Doe Run Peru and Renco Group, the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy (a consortium of private industry executives in Peru) threatened to expel Doe Run Peru from the society for its failure to abide by the agreed upon terms of the deal. Likewise, the state declared it would indeed close down the plant if Doe Run Peru did not meet the October deadline. No body – not the state itself, not the mining industry, not the workers’ unions, not civil society -- no one (except perhaps Rennert himself) wants the plant to close down. And, no one is budging.

We appear to be witnessing an old fashioned stare down.

And in the midst of it all, we continue to search and find our voice of conscience, remembering that our call is for the justice of La Oroya, the welfare of its people. Regardless of who operates the plant – Doe Run Peru, the State, or another mining company altogether – our goal is for a sustainable and integral solution that prioritizes first and foremost the people. Our end is the rapid and relentless downward flow of righteousness … that not only the course of the river may be changed, but the course of history, too.

Editor's note:

Since the writing of this article in May, the Doe Run Peru metallurigical processing plant in La Oroya has been shut down indefinitely (as of June 2). Suppliers will no longer sell concentrates to the Doe Run plant until the issue of the environmental clean-up has been resolved between the plant and the State. According to representatives of the Ministry of Mining, a complete re-structuring of the administration of the plant is being considered. Uniendo Manos will be leading a demonstration on June 5 in La Oroya to continue to urge the state to consider first the welfare of the people and the environment of La Oroya and all mining towns as well as complete transparency when negotiating with transnational mining companies. More about this new development in the September edition of the Newsletter.

Peru on alert over water:

From an Andean worldview to our times

by Conrado Olivera, Executive Director of Red Uniendo Manos

The Inca culture maintained itself in the customs and beliefs of the high Andean communities “ayllus”, that knew about the integral management of water from the mountains, in harmony with the heavenly bodies and natural laws.  They considered water a sacred god and worthy of worship. It was from Lake Titicaca, where the god “Wiracocha” planted the seed of life of the first inhabitants of the empire.

Part of Peru’s fresh water is found in the Andean glaciers, forming perpetual snows. These give rise to over fifty rivers that serve as life sources, which maintain Andean ecosystems, communities and towns along their paths.

For each climate, the ancient Peruvians selected and adapted typical plants and animals as the main source of human sustenance. But now, with the effects of climate changes, the encroachment of aggressive technology on the environment and the concentration of 70% of the nation’s population on the coast, a place where only 2% of the country’s water resources can be found, have put the stability and survival of all of Peru’s inhabitants at great risk.

Signs of change 

When travelling along the route from Huancavelica to Rumichaca, we as passengers have the chance to see the beauty of the Andean mountains of Peru as well as the south-American camelids, such as alpacas, llamas and even the most graceful of them, the vicuña.  The Vicuña’s figure appears on the national coat of arms as a symbol of liberty and is an exponent of the beauty of the native animals of the land of the Incas.

Along that route, we find Victoria Chuchocca who is the shepherdess with a small heard of alpacas in the community of Chocloccocha.  She lives there and dedicates herself to the raising of alpacas. We ask her, by way of a greeting, “How is it going Mam?”, she replies “well, here, but we are a bit worried about the water”.  Water was her topic of conversation.  “But you live near a lake”, we say to her.  “That water is no longer ours, it’s for Ica; we are worried about the lack of rain because then we don’t have any grass for our alpacas” she replies.

Even though hundreds of families like Victoria’s live close to the Chocloccocha lagoon, its water is not used by those country folk of the nearby communities. That is because as of about 50 years ago it was converted into a large artificial water reservoir (9.7 km long).  Now this infrastructure is part of a chain of interconnected lagoons, which, by a mandate from the country’s central government, said water is captured and is transferred from one basin to another, channeled and taken to the arid lands of Ica on the Peruvian coast.  There the water is used to irrigate thousands of hectares of farmlands dedicated to supplying the national markets as well as agricultural exports.  These lands have been at their peak in recent years, but it has been forgotten that they have been damaging the farmers and ecosystems of the high Andean areas.

As if she wanted to ask for help from the charitable passers-by who happen along the route or maybe, thinking she would find some creative idea to solve her fundamental problems, she makes a comments and says: “Nowadays it is not like before; now it’s the rainy season but its been about 15 days since it rained.  We are very worried, sometimes it rains two or three days and then it doesn’t rain for eight or more days”.

Victoria Chuchocca is a humble country dweller whose hopes of subsistence are alpaca meat and the harvesting of its wool. Without the presence of regular rains during the September - April time period of each year, which are what cause the natural grasses to sprout on the Puna, they place at serious risk, not only the nourishment of her family and the communities, but also the sustainability of the natural ecosystems of the Andes.

The day before, we talked with David Tunque, ex-leader of the Parinacocha community and member of the Presbyterian Church in Huancavelica.  He was standing next to the entry door of an old mine of the area.  First he talked to us about his family but later he recalled his community and his lands.  With an anguished look on his face he said to us: “with the changes in the climate the water is disappearing in this area, the glaciers like the snow-capped Huamanrraso, Monteroyo and the Collipata are disappearing…”, he seemed to be sensing a real threat  which would manifest itself at any moment in the face of which we would be unable to control.  He seemed nostalgic at the thought that he was losing what was most important in his life, the reserves and water supplies for his town, the glaciers.

He also said: “…the mining industry has already left this place, but they showed up in other places, many looking for or actively mining gold near water sources.  They contaminate more; that is why the water is so scarce in this part of Huancavelica”

Meanwhile, some “Huallatas” (Andean geese), unaware of what is going on, still swim on the surface of the Chocloccocha lagoon.  With their flat beaks and their insulating feathers all over their bodies, they do not suspect that all this will not last long, because David Tunque thinks that the shortage of water in the Andes «will soon cause an accelerated emigration of animals and people to other regions of the country”.

The water problem is also very serious for those who live in the marginal neighborhoods of Lima and Callao.  For example, in the Ventanilla district, around 80 shanty towns lack drinking water in their homes and nearly 90 thousand people get this liquid element by way of non-conventional systems, that is, by way of water fountains or the traditional distribution using cistern trucks.

Vulnerability and conflicts

Today Peru is one of the three countries most vulnerable to climate changes.  It is severely affected by the melting of the tropical Andean glaciers and prone to dramatic events with the growing increase of external events like the Niño phenomenon, droughts and lengthier freezes which are affecting our country.

In Ancash, the Pastoruri glacier in the Cordillera Blanca, where people used to ski, is now in an accelerated thawing process.  In only the past 10 years (between 1995 and 2005) it has lost 38.9 % of the total glacier surface, and that is without considering the loss in the thickness of the same. This is changing the seasonality of the water levels in the rivers of the Peruvian coast.

In general environmental conflicts and especially those over water have been increasing and escalating in

many places around the country. In mid November 2008, the Ombudsmans office announced that there were 94 social conflicts only over water utilization in some regions or areas of Peru. So, the problems over water usage are becoming more and more intense and complex because the current water reserves are turning out to be deficient and unable to equitably cover the needs of the population which is constantly growing and moving. In the face of this reality there is a need for a legal framework to face the problems at the institutional government level, with the participation of the social actors involved in the use and integral management of the water.

We propose to initiate the integrated planning of water resources starting with the smaller spaces like the micro-basins, in order to then expand to the basin level and continental water tables; Undoubtedly, for this we need to strengthen the capacities and abilities of the local actors as well as those of the national PHP networks for global water campaigns, support the institutional articulation for investigation, best practices training and technology transfer between countries and regions which will contribute to better management at every step of the way.

Its not just water, its not just Peru, humanity is on ALERT!

A personal statement on the recent events

by Alexandra Buck, Advisor for Trade Justice

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns for Peru. I would like to offer, as Facilitator for the Joining Hands Peru Bridge of Hope Fair Trade Program.


The situation in Bagua is stunning and heavy. We at the Red Uniendo Manos Peru have been following this situation now for weeks, cheering on the Amazon indigenous communities trying to defend their rights as people and peoples against the policies of Alan Garcia's neoliberal, free-trade loving government. We were all shocked and appalled by the violent force used late last week in response to peaceful, democratic protests.


Democracy, development, and human rights are in question here in Peru. Watching the news with my Peruvian colleagues, I listened to outbursts and protests against the government's callous interpretation of "order" and "citizenship." Few media channels are relating live footage and numbers of dead have been controlled by the government. A curfew was called, which allows the government to hide bodies. A mass grave has been discovered of indigenous people. And yet, the government is on record for calling the indigenous protesters terrorists. For many Peruvians, this situation brings up memories of the terrible Years of Violence between government and guerrilla forces.


As people committed to Fair Trade, the Bridge of Hope team recognizes the horrific effects of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement in these events. As Garcia's government pushes fast-track legislation decreeing exploitative industries in the Amazon to implement the FTA, residents of that area - indigenous peoples - are trying to voice their protest to protect their ancestral territory. The forces at work of globalization and neoliberalism silences these voices with military force by pushing guns into their faces. This is not a new story, unfortunately.


We, the Bridge of Hope team and all of the artisans, offer our solidarity to the indigenous communities in Bagua. We hope, along with them, for dialogue, transparency, respect, justice, and peace, all requisite elements of Fair Trade.


Please keep walking along with us together. Tonight, we will attend a an ecumenical Vigil, and tomorrow an inter-organizational event. We need your prayers.


The following articles are exceptionally analytical news of the situation. Please stay informed:
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/8/peruvian_police_accused_of_massacring_indigenous
http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2009/06/ftaspawned-crisis-continues-in-peru.html


Also, please read and send the following statement of support of the indigenous communities to President Alan Garcia. http://amazonwatch.org/peru-action-alert.php


As we sign off at Bridge of Hope:

Hoping, praying and working,
...Por un Mundo màs Justo y Solidario...
For a world with more justice and solidarity

A few days later....

I just got back from a beautiful ecumenical Vigil for the Amazon communities. My heart and head are full. We here are living on hope, the hope that is God, that the violence stops. Many people have traveled to Bagua to demonstrate that the communities there are not alone, that they are supported, and that there is a movement against the Free Trade decrees which the government must heed.


We need your solidarity, too. Please take a minute to send off two letters. One, to Nancy Pelosi and the House trade committee leaders . They need to know, and admit, that the US-Peru Free Trade agreement is negatively affecting Peruvian communities, and that people in the US care, and want it to stop. Second, send this message to Peru President Alan Garcia . He needs to know that the international community is watching, indignant, and willing to act.

The PCUSA's 3-5 April fast concentrated on the topic of Climate Change and Water with Peru as the country of focus.

Find in the PCUSA's Fast archives a collective account of the story of how water flows from one mountain area of Huancavelica to one lowland desert area of Ica — from the indigenous lands above occupied through centuries of care and tradition down to the corporate lands below who hope to generate economic growth for years to come.