Members of the local Fair Trade Movement and the public joined city officials today to celebrate National Fair Trade Month and Milwaukee’s status as the first major Fair Trade city in the United States .
The celebratory event included a conference where Fair Trade and City leaders discussed fair trade issues. Speeches were given by Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Alderman Tony Zielinski, the sponsor of the Fair Trade Resolution which was passed by the Milwaukee’s Common Council earlier this year. In his speech, Major Barrett proclaimed October 15 as Milwaukee Fair Trade Day and expressed hope that other major American cities would follow Milwaukee and join the Fair Trade movement.
Milwaukee based World Artisan Guild, importer of ARGAND’OR Argan oil, is a member of the City’s Fair Trade Steering Committee and one of the sponsors of the event.
Argan oil is a nutritious gourmet oil extracted from the seeds of the Argan tree, a rare UNESCO protected species which only grows in a remote part of Southwestern Morocco. ARGAND’OR Argan oil is produced by democratically governed women co-operatives in Morocco’s Berber region, unified in the Union of Women’s Cooperatives of the Arganeraie (U.C.F.A). The U.C.F.A. women cooperatives fully control the production of Argan oil, from harvest of the wild growing fruits to the actual oil extraction. The oil is entirely hand-crafted by these artisan women, using traditional stone mills rather than mechanical presses to extract the oil. Hand-pressing does not generate heat, resulting in an oil that maintains its fine flavor and valuable nutrients. Furthermore, hand-crafting provides jobs which otherwise would be lost to modern expelling equipment and keeps the centuries old Berber tradition of artisan Argan oil production alive. Supported by ARGAND’OR, the U.C.F.A. cooperatives offer education to co-op members in a region were illiteracy amongst women is high, and works on infrastructure development projects. To support and further grow the Berber women co-op movement, ARGAND’OR pays prices well above market level. Due to the international success of hand-crafted ARGAND’OR Argan oil, the U.C.F.A. has grown from five cooperatives in 1999 to 22 in 2007, providing employment to more than one thousand rural Berber women.
At today’s event, the public was invited to taste samples of ARGAND’OR Argan oil and learn more about the fair trade aspects of Argan oil production. ARGAND’OR Argan oil is available in natural food stores, gourmet stores and fair trade stores around the country. Milwaukee stores carrying ARGAND’OR Argan oil include Future Green in Bay View, Larry’s Market in Brown Deer, Fair Trade For All on the West Side as well as all Outpost Natural Foods Coop outlets. Sponsors of today’s event, aside from World Artisan Guild, include Alterra Coffee Roasters, Fair Trade For All, Four Corners of the World, Future Green, the Mt. Meru Coffee Project, Organic Valley Family of Farms, Outpost Natural Foods Coop, Rishi Tea, Stone Creek Coffee, Sven’s Coffee, United Students for Fair Trade and the Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition.
About World Artisan Guild:
World Artisan Guild LLC is the exclusive US importer of ARGAND'OR Argan oil. ARGAND'OR is the only Argan oil available in the USA that is entirely hand-crafted by the UCFA Berber Women Cooperatives of the UNESCO protected Arganeraie. Award winning ARGAND'OR is a product of fair trade practices. The oil is cold pressed in stone mills, does not contain any additives and is certified 100% USDA organic.
Contact:
Stefan Hauke
World Artisan Guild LLC
633 W Wisconsin Avenue, Ste. 700
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Direct Line: (414) 431-8652
stefan@worldartisanguild.com
