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| Christine Jeffries, Food and Beverage manager at Shugborough |
Fairtrade is child's play at Shugborough
Children from Africa will be helped by visitors to one of Staffordshire's most popular tourist attractions this year.
Staff at the Ladywalk Tea Room at Shugborough are celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight by unveiling a new range of products. Their sale will help producers in the developing world.
Throughout the coming season all tea, coffee, chocolate and fruit juice served at Shugborough will be Fairtrade branded. There will also be a range of Fairtrade biscuits and snacks available. In addition Shugborough has become a supplier of playpump water.
Playpumps were invented to harness simple technology to tackle a serious social problem in many parts of the developing world - the need for a reliable supply of clean water. The energy generated by children playing on a roundabout device powers a simple mechanical pump that can transfer water from a borehole up to 100 m underground to the surface. It is a vastly more efficient way of getting clean water than the two traditional alternatives which are handpumps or, more frequently, walking many miles to and from the nearest source of safe water with heavy containers. The UN's World Water Day is on Thursday March 22.
Terry Dix, Leader of Staffordshire County Council said: ""The County Council has adopted a Fairtrade Policy and we are delighted with this major initiative at Shugborough. Many thousands of people use the Tea Rooms every year and I am delighted they can visit such a wonderful visitor attraction and help communities in the developing world. We approved a Fairtrade Policy because we believe we can make a difference to people in some of the poorest parts of the world.
"We can all make a difference - by making small changes in the way we each act as consumers we can help other people to make changes towards a better way of life."
Playpumps were invented to harness simple technology to tackle a serious social problem in many parts of the developing world - the need for a reliable supply of clean water. The energy generated by children playing on a roundabout device powers a simple mechanical pump that can transfer water from a borehole up to 100 m underground to the surface. It is a vastly more efficient way of getting clean water than the two traditional alternatives which are handpumps or, more frequently, walking many miles to and from the nearest source of safe water with heavy containers. The UN's World Water Day is on Thursday March 22.
Shugborough's Ladywalk Tea Room is a partnership between the County Council and Olive Catering. Olive Founder Sally-Ann Bradley said: "People are becoming more and more aware of ethical consumer issues and there is a growing demand for Fairtrade products.. Selling playpump water is an extension of this, and we are proud to be supporting Fairtrade Fortnight and Staffordshire County Council's Fairtrade Policy."
Staffordshire County Council is also supporting Stafford's Fairtrade Fun Day in Market Square on Saturday March 10.
Also on this website:
Staffordshire County Council's Fairtrade Policy
Page Last Modified:
13/03/2007 14:05:53
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