What does a Fair Trade premium mean to a family in Sialkot?

Chandrika is 30 year old and works as a tapper on Frocester Estate, the first supplier of FSC-certified fairly traded rubber that is used in Fair Trade Sports products. She is pictured here holding a pair of sneakers from our sister company Autonomie Project which are made with the same eco-certified materials we use in our sports balls. Chandrika's husband is a mason and they have three sons (13, 10, 6), all of whom attend government school.

The joint body of Frocester decided to spend the Fair Trade premium from 2007 to provide clean water for a total of 64 families. This represents 227 people, 115 of whom work on the estate. All three water plans are in the one far away section of the estate, which until the arrival of the new manager had been totally neglected in all respects. While the water provided by the new plan is not enough for all needs (laundry still is done with water from the river or open wells), it is the first time in the history of these "labor lines" that clean water is available from taps.

What is particularly noteworthy is the fact that the Fair Trade money would barely have sufficed for two of the three plans, which include two wells with pumps, storage tanks, piping and taps. The new manager arranged for some unused material (e.g. a pump) to be utilized, the estate paid some of the cash costs, and the workers themselves contributed work and cash to complete the project. The remainder came from the Fair Trade premiums (reminder: we do not pass these premiums on to you, our consumers).

For one of the water plans the workers for the storage tank, the estate paid for the well, and the Fair Trade premium money paid for the piping. In another scheme the workers added more taps, and in two cases they even installed shower facilities. Two of the three plans require pumping; the estate provides the first 11 liters/fuel per month free, a water committee/plan charges families a small monthly fee to pay for the rest.

All of this has contributed to much better labor relations in the area. During an island wide plantation strike for higher wages in December 2006, Frocester was the only estate which produced throughout the strike.