|
Agbanga Karite is committed to upholding
fair trade principles, including:
Social Development:
We do not hire based on age, ethnicity, sex, color or religion.
We work to improve the positions of disadvantaged groups, such
as women and ethnic minorities. Also, we pay our members a
salary that is 30% higher than the national standard and provide
them with a pension plan, vacation, sick and family leave, and
overtime. Our members are free to organize and are provided with
education and training on how to do this. Our work environment
is comfortable, well ventilated and lit, with potable water
provided to all members. Finally, our revenues are invested back
into the community as educational scholarships, ecological
restoration projects, and renewable energy programs.
Economic Development:
Our members undergo extensive training in all aspects of our
business, including production, marketing and management. The
purpose of this training is to enable them to begin their own
businesses in the future. A percentage of our revenues are
dedicated to educational scholarships for local students to
study within Togo and abroad.
Environmental Development:
We plan to switch to renewable energy sources for all our energy
needs as our organization becomes established. These include
solar powered grinders, presses, and office equipment. We have
also converted our diesel powered trucks to use vegetable oil,
which in our case is unmarketable shea butter. We do not condone
the use of chemicals and actions that harm other species. We
have designed our production facilities and harvesting
practicies to minimize our impact on the natural environment.
More information on fair trade:
-
 AFRICA FAIR TRADE COUNCIL - a non-profit organization dedicated
to raising awareness in Africa and the rest of the world about
the importance of fair trade. It also advises new businesses in
Africa on how to incorporate fair trade practices into their
business plans so that they can support the growth of their
communities. FTA is currently working on a fair trade shea
butter project to promote the importance of supporting fairly
traded shea butter as the popularity of this African indigenous
commodity increases worldwide. Their hope is that raising
awareness will help shea butter producers realize a greater
percentage of the final retail sales of their product.
-
GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT - GACE is a non profit
organization established by the Agbanga Karite Group, Alaffia
Fair Trade Shea Butter, and individual volunteers from around
the world. The mission of GACE is to empower African communities
through the advancement of fair trade, education, sustainable
living, and gender equality.
< Back to Home
|
|
