Perú Moda se realiza en una nueva edición. Esta vez la invitación es del 28 al 30 de Abril. Prendas de excelente calidad realizadas en fibras naturales de algodón y alpaca serán presentadas por diez empresas peruanas con prácticas de  Comercio Justo.
Las diez empresas peruanas del sector textil confecciones de Lima, Arequipa, Puno, Junín y Ayacucho, fueron seleccionadas de un total de 68 que vienen participando en este importante programa que se viene desarrollando con la finalidad de incorporar en sus respectivas organizaciones practicas de Comercio Justo, con las cuales podrán ampliar sus redes de negocios y contribuir con el desarrollo y sostenibilidad de la cadena productiva menos favorecida.
También es importante señalar que Perú es el mayor productor de algodón orgánico de Latino América, durante la exhibición estarán presentes las empresas y manufacturas  Peruanas que confeccionan prendas con algodón orgánico, incluidos el algodón de color.
Para mayor información visita http://www.perumoda.com/ES/index.aspx

Del 3 al 9 de septiembre se celebra en San José, la capital de Costa Rica el Primer Encuentro de la Red Textil Iberoamericana bajo el lema de Creación Textil: Tradición sostenible e innovación responsable.

Este evento se realizará en cooperación con el Centro Cultural de España, el Instituto Cultural de México, la Fundación Omar Dengo, la Universidad Veritas, la Casa de Cultura “José Figueres Ferrer” del Banco Popular y la Universidad Nacional, se complacen en convocar a todos aquellos interesados en las prácticas de la creación textil y sus promotores, al I Encuentro Internacional de la Red Textil Iberoamericana.
Encuentre la temática de la reunion en contactos en http://www.redtextilia.org/php/detail.php?id_edicion=19&id_nota=220

Ecology Izmir invites organic stakeholders from Eastern European Countries, Central Asia, Near and Middle East, and Africa to Turkey.

Organisations and companies exhibiting at “Ecology Izmir” will mainly come from emerging organic countries such as Ukraine, The Caucasus or Syria, Egypt and Iran. Visitors will be international looking for new supply or for marketing their products in this emerging region.

Turkey must be counted among the pioneer countries of organic production in the world. Already 25 years ago in 1985 export of organic agriculture started with three products. Today about 250 different products are produced and exported by 15.000 producers farming on 170.000 hectares and 250 exporters.

Pararell to the fair on May 7 and 8 “Ecology Izmir” will organize an international conference programme. Experts from practice, manufacturers, universities, authorities and other sectors are invited to speak about trade related issues and topics of interest to exhibitors and visitors.

Fair Contact: demet.karasu@izmirfair.com.tra, atalayman@ecologyizmir.com

T: 90 232 4971237 – 90 532 3371037 – 90 232 4460827

This is a very simple story of crop diversification for food security and the positive impact this has on the community – including the revival of traditional practices which help balance the effects of cash cropping.
This video shows the area in Kenya where tea is a cash crop and where it dominates the landscape. Crops depleted and market prices fluctuate which makes the community very vulnerable.
50 years ago the indigenous crops were replaced by the tea plantations. As the households grow less food for their oww use, farmers completely rely on the cash they make from tea. Food security has become a perennial problem for the community.
Training has been given by ICE through discussing problems and local solutions in order to let the community take control of their own food security.

More info: www.gaiafoundation.org
Produced by: The Gaia Foundation in collaboration with the institute for Culture and Ecology
Year: 2009
Language: English

See film here:

http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=53&video_id=524

The Global Organic Cotton Community  was launched in 2009 and disposes of a virtual discussion space where registered members do exchange knowledge and know how about organic cotton.

From March 29 until April 23 we will run an e-discussion about “How to support small brands & designers sourcing organic fabrics?”   with the aim to gather relevant information and learn from experiences about sourcing of organic cotton (fabrics). We would be very happy if you contributed with your expert knowledge to enrich this dialogue.

All you have to do is register at www.organiccotton.org  (membership is free) and you will receive automatically the invitation to this dialogue next week. Once registered you will also have access to all previous dialogues clicking on: http://dgroups.org/Library.aspx?c=a3abfe5d-13df-4205-8609-ac237883d5e5

Summary of the Organic Cotton Community discussion

Integrity is about building and reinforcing trust: both business to business and business to consumer.

However,as long as there is profit to be made, cheating will exist, and we have to put in place measures to be sure that everyone is operating to the same standards.

Although third party certification is indispensable and a powerful tool, it is not enough – industry integrity relies on the actions of the whole supply chain;taking responsibility for their own operations, and having a good knowledge of their supply chains. In addition some contributors mentioned a difference in effectiveness of certification bodies.

Transparency was identified as a key factor, and suggestions were made to achieve it by taking away anonymity in the supply chain through the development of strong and personal B2B relationships and/or to work with a system such as Transparency International. It was also suggested that farmers could even make public their organic farming systems; and that certifiers could publish not only certified companies, but those that were denied certification.

At the farm level, group certification was identified as the solution for the many small-scale farmers in developing countries. But it was also mentioned that standards should be made better understandable for the producers. Thus organic standards applied worldwide are mostly a simple copy of EU or US requirements and neither adapted to the reality of the countries nor available in local languages. This circumstance leads to a missing transparency for producers -  the most important precondition for a organic product.

Good extension and trainings and strong Internal Control Systems are essential but costly. Clear guidance would also be needed to integrate this complexity into best practice, regulation and pricing. At present those who do not make these investments do gain a price advantage. Pragmatic measures were also noted, such as increased random and risk-oriented inspections, mandatory testing for the presence of GMO’s or pesticides, greater training of inspectors and a peer-to-peer approach within the entire chain.

‘Reliability’ was discussed too and perceived as only possible in a direct personal or professional relationship.  Thus it was suggested to elaborate reports as per country about the pro and cons for each organic cotton producing country including local price definitions.

There are many issues to be addressed regarding organic integrity, and ultimately everyone will have to play a role in making it successful.  Discussions such as the one we’ve just had are essential in raising awareness of issue and identifying possible solutions,and we encourage everyone to keep up the dialogue in your professional lives. 

Sommaire de ladiscussion de la Communauté du Coton Biologique

au sujet de „comment assurer l’intégrité ducoton biologique?“

Atencion productores organicos.
El dia domingo11 de Abril se realizara una nueva Feria Organica en el Palacio Duhau- Park Hyatt de Buenos Aires.
La misma se realizara en los jardines del hotel, con stands para la exposicion, degustacion y venta de productos organicos. El evento tendra lugar entre las 11 y las 16hs.
Debido a que se llevara a cabo al aire libre, en caso de lluvia, la fecha alternativa sera efectuada el Domingo 18 de Abril.
Convocamos a ustedes a participar de este evento con un stand para promocionar y vender sus productos. Cada stand tendra un costo de $500 para los socios del Mapo, y de $650 para los no socios.
Interesados contactarse con:
Oficina MAPO: (011) 43825562. De Lunes a viernes de 10 a 17hs.
Virginia Gibson: (011) 1561963366 o 47655365 (dejar mensaje en el contestador).

El 12 de marzo se llevo a cabo la Jornada de Campo Agroecologica, convocada por el Movimiento Agroecologico Chaqueño Argentino, con apoyo de Coop Agroecologica del Litoral, Escuela de la Familia Agraria Fortaleza Campesina, INTA San Martín, (IPAF NEA e IPAF Pampeana), Asociación Civil Encuentro, Subsecretaria de Agricultura Familiar del Ministerio de Agricultura de la Nación, Ministerio de Produccion y Ambiente de la Provincia del Chaco, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Instituto Agrotecnico Pedro Godo, Centro de Formacion Rural Juan Penco, Otro Mercado al Sur y la CTS.
La convocatoria supero las 300 personas entre productores, tecnicos y funcionarios. Se realizaron visitas a chacras por la mañana, almorzamos todos juntos en Gral San Martin empanadas, sopa paraguaya y jugos naturales de los productores de la zona. Por la tarde se relataron experiencias y hubo talleres de debate y plenario.
Los resultados son alentadores, viendo el crecimiento de este modelo de produccion donde desde lo biodiverso obtenemos alimentos sanos para las familias de productores y sus comunidades, productos comercializables de calidad como el algodon, y salud para las personas y la madre tierra.
Lee mas en cadenatextilsolidaria.blogspot.com/

Please see the below announcement from Helvetas and Louis Bolk Institute. The link to the Guide is included for you to sdownload this.

'Dear all,
over the past 9 months we worked on the ambitious project of elaborating an Organic Business Guide. It is a joint project of Helvetas, Agro Eco Louis Bolk Institute, ICCO and IFOAM, with support from ICCO, SECO, UNEP and SIDA. Numerous people from other organisations also contributed in some way or the other to the book.

We are now happy to present you the result of this work (attached). Print copies will be launched during Biofach at the following occasions, to which you are most welcome:

• Tue 16.2.: IFOAM Trade Symposium
• Thu 18.2.: Organic Night, receptions at  the IFOAM stall (18.00h) and African Pavillion (20.00h)
• Fri 19.2.: Organic Africa Symposium (11.00h)

Thereafter, print copies can be ordered from http://shop.ifoam.org/bookstore. The pdf version will also be available for free download from there. We will send you the agreed free copies after Biofach. In case you are at Biofach, please let me know, so that we can hand over the copies there. If we miss each other at Biofach, please pick up your copies from the IFOAM booth.

Maybe when reading the document you find that some aspects could be elaborated further, or additional examples or tools come to your mind that you think should be included? No problem! We also set up an interactive wikibook-version at http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Organic_Business_Guide. You can edit the book there and thus further develop it.  

The French edition is in preparation and should be ready by mid March.

Now we need your support in making the book widely known among the target groups. You could for example:

• Mention the book at your website, with a link to the IFOAM bookstore and to the wikibook
• Inform your network about the book by e-mail or include it in your newsletters
• Mention the book in presentations (e.g. using the attached slide)
• Distribute copies of the book among the target groups (let us know in case you require additional copies, against shipping costs)

We want to use this occasion to wholeheartedly thank all of you who contributed to this project. A special thanks to ICCO, SECO, UNEP and SIDA for their generous support.
And of course we are looking forward to receiving your feedback!

Best regards,

Frank Eyhorn
Helvetas Organic & Fairtrade Competence Centre

and

Bo van Elzakker
Agro Eco Louis Bolk Institute '