Fall 2005 Fair Trade Rice Speaker Tour
Portland, ME -- Blue Hill, ME -- Washington, DC -- Chicago, IL -- Los Angeles, CA -- Santa Cruz, CA --San Francisco, CA

For three weeks, ENGAGE traveled around the United States with three Fair Trade rice farmers from Thailand to talk about the newest Fair Trade product to come to the United States – Fair Trade Jasmine Rice! – along with the trade justice issues surrounding rice. Through organizing and attending a series of events, the tour increased demand for and awareness of Fair Trade rice, educated audiences about the injustices found within the global rice trade, spurred networking with allied fair trade and trade justice organizations and businesses, and enabled positive exchanges with alternative trade communities in the United States. ENGAGE provided a translator so that the farmers, Phakphum Inpaen, Kanya Onsri, and Arat Saengubon, were able to interact directly with audiences about their experiences and livelihood.

Ten new importer-producer relationships were initiated as a direct result of the Fall 2005 Fair Trade Farmer Tour.

Speakers
Photos

Itinerary
September 21-24, 2005 – Portland and Blue Hill, Maine
Day One – 6:00 p.m.
People’s Free Space
Potluck and Presentation

Day Two – 6:30 p.m
BlueHill Public Library

Day Four – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Common Ground Country Fair
Workshop
 
September 25, 2005 – Washington, DC
Day Five
12:30-1:30 p.m.  
Green Festival Fair Trade Pavilion
Workshop
8:00 p.m.
Wat Thai Washington, DC.

Day Seven – 12:30-2:00 p.m.          
Oxfam America
Brown Bag

Day Nine
2:30-4:00 p.m.
Bread for the World
Rural Responses to Free Trade in Mexico and Thailand
Co-sponsored by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concern and Catholic 7:00-9:00 p.m.
George Washington University
Presentation
 
September 30-October 1, 2005 – Chicago, IL
Day Ten
12:00-5:00 p.m.
Angelic Organic Farms
Farmer Lunch and Share
7:30 p.m.
University of Chicago

Day Eleven – 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Fair Trade Futures Conference
Workshop: The Stories Behind our Food: Fair Trade Rice from Thailand

October 2-4 – Los Angeles, CA
Day 11 – 7:00 p.m.
Dinner and Presentation with Thai CDC

Day 12 – 11:30-1:30 p.m.
Occidental College

Day 13 – 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Glendale, CA
Event with Archdiocesan Office of Justice and Peace & Catholic Relief Services

October 5, 2005 – Santa Cruz, CA
University of California at Santa Cruz
5:00-7:00 p.m.

October 6-11, 2005 – San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Day 13-5:30 p.m.
Breads of India, Berkeley, CA
Event with Indus Farms

Day 14-7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Berkeley Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA
Potluck and Presentation

Day 16
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Wat Mongkolratanaram, Berkeley, CA
Thai Breakfast
4:00 p.m.
Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco, CA
Fair Trade Day

Day 17 – 5:00-7:00 p.m.
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Fair Trade Month Panel

Day 18
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Café Gratitude, San Francisco, CA
Tuesday Morning at Café Gratitude
7:30 p.m.
Thai Basil Restaurant, Sunnyvale, CA
Dinner and Presentation