Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks a greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers, especially in the South.
Fair Trade Organizations have a clear commitment to Fair Trade as the principle core of their mission. They, backed by customers, are actively engaged in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.
The World Fair Trade Organization is a global community of social enterprises that practice Fair Trade. Last Forest has been a part of this community and is certified Fair Trade since 2016. The principles of Fair Trade run deep in all parts of our supply chain. The principles are instrumental for us as we take up our daily practices and how we interact with our stakeholders!Listen to a special podcast between Erinch Sahan, Chief Executive at the Word Fair Trade Organization and Mathew John, Managing Director at Last Forest on how social enterprises have dealt with the pandemic here.
Here is another podcast on the journey of Last Forest, hosted by Erinch Sahan, Chief Executive at WFTO and Mathew John, Managing Director at Last Forest.
In 2017, Last Forest was the winner of the Mohammed Islam design award for the best new product packaging for our honey. You can check it out here.
The WFTO Fair Trade Standard The WFTO Fair Trade Standard comprises the 10 Principles of Fair Trade with a set of compliance criteria to assess how well members are implementing the Principles. The WFTO Standard applies to all members of WFTO: Fair Trade Organisations that trade Fair Trade Products (FTOs), Fair Trade Networks (FTN) and Fair Trade Support Organisations (FTSO).
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1. Opportunities for disadvantaged producers Poverty reduction through trade forms a key part of Last Forest’s aims. We support marginalized small producers, whether these are independent family businesses, or grouped in associations or co-operatives. We seek to enable them to move from income insecurity and poverty to economic self-sufficiency and ownership.
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2. Transparency and Accountability Last Forest is transparent in its management and commercial relations. It is accountable to all its stakeholders and respects the sensitivity and confidentiality of all information supplied. We find appropriate, participatory ways to involve employees, members and producers in our decision making processes. We ensure that relevant information is provided to all our trading partners. 
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3. Fair Trade Practices Last Forest trades with the concern for the social, economic and environmental well being of marginalized small producers and do not maximise profit at their expense. We are responsible and professional in meeting our commitments in a timely manner. Suppliers respect contracts and deliver products on time and to the desired quality and specifications. 
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4. Fair Payment A fair payment is one that has been mutually negotiated and agreed by all through on-going dialogue and participation, which provides fair pay to the producers and can also be sustained by the market, taking into account the principle of equal pay for equal work by women and men. The aim is always the payment of a local living wage. 
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5. Ensuring no child and forced labour Last Forest adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national/local law on the employment of children. We ensure that there is no forced labour in our workforce and/or members or homeworkers. 
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6. Commitment to Non-Discrimination, Gender Equity and Women’s Economic Empowerment and Freedom of Association Last Forest does not discriminate in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, political affiliation, HIV/AIDS status or age. 
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7. Ensuring Good Working Conditions Last Forest provided a safe and healthy working environment for employees and/or members. It complies, at a minimum, with national and local laws and ILO conventions on health and safety. Working hours and conditions for employees and/or members (and any homeworkers) comply with conditions established by national and local laws and ILO conventions. 8. Providing Capacity Building Last Forest seeks to increase positive developmental impacts for small, marginalized producers through Fair Trade. We develop the skill and capabilities of our own employees and members. 
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8. Providing Capacity Building Last Forest seeks to increase positive developmental impacts for small, marginalized producers through Fair Trade. We develop the skill and capabilities of our own employees and members. 
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9. Promoting Fair Trade Last Forest raises awareness of the aim of Fair Trade and of the need for the greater justice in world trade through Fair Trade. It advocates for the objectives and activities of Fair Trade according to the scope of the organization. The organization provides its customers with information about itself, the products it markets, and the producer organizations or members that make or harvest the products. Honest advertising and marketing techniques are always used. 
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10. Respect for the environment Last Forest markets Fair Trade products and maximizes the use of raw materials from sustainably managed sources in their ranges, buying locally when possible. We use production technologies that seek to reduce energy consumption and where possible, use renewable energy technologies that minimize greenhouse gas emissions. We seek to minimise the impact of their waste stream on the environment. Fair Trade agricultural commodity producers minimize their environmental impacts, by using organic or low pesticide use production methods wherever possible. 
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FAQs about WFTO
The World Fair Trade Organization or WFTO for short changes all that. It is a global community focused on social enterprises that prioritises the welfare of the workers. It is a guarantee system, which attempts to create a new market for products that maintain Fair Trade Practices through its 10 Principles of Fair Trade. This ensures that members of WFTO prioritise the people, the planet and the product quality over the profits made. Being a guarantee system, it is based on the participation of these members to form trust, a social network and knowledge exchange. The WFTO relies on 10 core principles or goals, each of which is meant to be met through dialogue, transparency, and respect. This in turn promotes sustainable development. These principles entail opportunities for disadvantaged producers, fair and equitable payment, no child or forced labour, non-discrimination, gender equity, good working conditions, capacity building, promoting fair trade, respect for the environment, and accountability and transparency. By aligning to these principles, WFTO members and/or Fair-Trade Organisations (FTO) aim to create an equitable work environment that prioritises the welfare of the workers and the environment that the company works with. To know more, hop onto our WFTO page. You can also access these links: https://www.fairtrade.net/ https://lastforest.in/pages/fair-trade-1
As mass-marketing and consumption grows exponentially, the workers of the first and secondary sectors not only lose value but face insecurity and the alliance between Last Forest and the WFTO means to rid them of such financial insecurity. This is done by multiple methods. Firstly, producers are paid upfront for their contributions. This secures their financial output, no matter the success of the product, and a mutual loyalty grows between the company and the producers. Being a Fair Trade Oranganisation, Last Forest also grows their bond with producer and consumers. Through this process, even when understand and value of the marginal worker diminishes in the mass-market, their value remains or even increases with this alliance with the WFTO. Last Forest is also able to widen the customer base for any product sold.
A Fair Trade Organisation (FTO) is a locally focused guarantee system and products sold have a guarantee label. In the current market, where transparency and clarity is rare, customers are able to trust that the products are sourced and made ethically as well as genuinely have the value they claim. With this alliance, Last Forest is also able to spread awareness amongst customers, educating them on the process and tradition of a product sharing the understanding and value of the product.
In 2016, Last Forest Enterprises became a WFTO member. By becoming a member, WFTO certified Last Forest as a Fair Trade Organisation. Last Forest serves as a market platform for many groups from all over India. These small producers then have wider market access. While the non-profit institution, the Keystone Foundation, endeavours to make an impact on the market side, Last Forest is driven on a slightly different approach. It means to show everyone engaged in the value chain from producers to consumers that it is a profit-driven company but with a difference. The difference is, an atmosphere whose primary concern is ethics and value and development oriented where producers are shareholders. This structure enables producers to make decisions that benefit not just an individual but the whole community. By focusing on what they best do, they are able to control quality and the consumers learn to value the products more. The synergy between the two institutions and the producers work as a producer-led-enterprise that taps to India’s vast economy.
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It promotes local small businesses and sustainable foods. It also focuses on food quality, rather than quantity. It was the first established part of the broader slow movement. It speaks out against overproduction and food waste. It sees globalization as a process in which small and local farmers and food producers should be simultaneously protected from and included in the global food system. Know more about the movement here : https://www.slowfood.com/
objectives of the slowfood movement
- Developing an “Ark of Taste for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated
- Creating “Praesidia” grassroots organizations to promote slow foods to the public. Forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems.
- Preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation.
- Organizing small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering and short run products)
- Organizing celebrations of local cuisine within regions (for example, the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada)
- Promoting “taste education”.
- Educating consumers about the risks of fast food
- Educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms
- Educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
- Developing various political programmes to preserve family farms
- Lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy
- Lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering
- Lobbying against the use of pesticides
- Teaching gardening skills to students and prisoners
- Encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces
Last Forest, within Slow Food and Slow Food Nilgiris, has consistently championed the cause of preserving traditional and local foods in the Nilgiris Biosphere Region. As a steadfast advocate for sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation, Last Forest has, through the years, played a pivotal role in promoting the consumption of locally sourced products, fostering a strong connection between producers and consumers. Through its active participation in the Slow Food network, Last Forest successfully incubated a remarkable culinary establishment named ‘Place to Bee.’This pioneering restaurant, which emerged as one of the first slow food restaurants in the country, exemplified the essence of Slow Food’s principles. ‘Place to Bee’ not only offered delectable dishes made from locally grown, seasonal ingredients but also functioned as a community space, promoting education on the importance of preserving indigenous culinary traditions and supporting local farmers. Last Forest’s efforts in nurturing ‘Place to Bee’ underscored its unwavering commitment to the Slow Food movement and its mission to celebrate and preserve the cultural heritage of food while embracing sustainability and environmental consciousness.Place to Bee was launched in 2015 with Aritra leading the project and Abhijeet from Kolkata joining as a chef. An Italian couple helped put together a fusion menu with local dishes. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was a pause. LFE team members had to migrate back to their home base. Eventually, it marked the end of the restaurant. Become a memberDownload the Slow Food Movement pamphlet here, to know more or even sign up for a membership! Download Here
சுற்றுச்சூழல் சேவைகளுக்கான (PES) கட்டணங்கள் என்ன?
சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பு சேவைகளுக்கான கொடுப்பனவுகள் (PES) பல்லுயிர் பாதுகாப்புக்கான வருவாயை உருவாக்க பொதுவாகப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் வழிமுறைகளில் ஒன்றாகும். காடழிப்பு போன்ற பல்வேறு நோக்கங்களுக்காக நிலத்தைப் பயன்படுத்துவதைத் தடுப்பதற்காக சுற்றுச்சூழல் சேவைகளை (ES) பாதுகாக்கும் நில உரிமையாளர்களுக்கு நன்மைகளை வழங்குவதாகும். நிலப் பயனர்கள் தங்கள் இயற்கைச் சூழலை சரியாக நிர்வகிக்கவும் பாதுகாக்கவும் ஊக்குவிக்கப் பயன்படுகிறது, இதனால் சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பு சேவைகளின் ஓட்டத்தை உறுதி செய்கிறது (Pagiola and Platais 2002).
லாஸ்ட் ஃபாரஸ்டின் சூழலில் PES
லாஸ்ட் ஃபாரஸ்ட் மூலம் விற்பனை செய்யப்படும் தேன், காடுகளின் சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பில் முக்கியப் பங்கு வகிக்கும் ராட்சத பாறை தேனீயிலிருந்து (Apis dorsata) பெறப்படுகிறது. தேனீக்கள் இந்த வெப்பமண்டல காடுகளின் பல இனங்களை மகரந்தச் சேர்க்கை செய்கின்றன, இதனால் இயற்கையின் சுழற்சிகளை செயல்படுத்துகிறது. இந்த காடுகளில் பல தாவர மற்றும் விலங்கு இனங்கள் செழித்து வளர்கின்றன. இந்த பகுதிகளில் இருந்து பல நீரூற்றுகள் மற்றும் நீரோடைகள் வெளிவருகின்றன - அனைத்து உயிரினங்களின் உயிர்வாழ்வையும் செயல்படுத்துகிறது. நீங்கள் தேன் மற்றும் தேன் மெழுகு பொருட்களை வாங்கும்போது, மனிதனுக்கும் இயற்கைக்கும் இடையே உள்ள கூட்டுவாழ்வு உறவை ஆதரிக்கிறீர்கள். இந்தத் தொகை பின்வரும் செயல்பாடுகளுக்குப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும்:
·தேனீக்களின் வாழ்விடங்களையும் காலனிகளையும் அதிகரிக்கும் மர வகைகளை நடுதல்
· சமூகங்களுடன் தேனீ வளர்ப்பை ஊக்குவித்தல்
· பாரம்பரிய மதிப்புகள் மற்றும் நிலையான அறுவடை முறைகளை உள்வாங்குவதற்கு இளைய தலைமுறை ஆதிவாசிகளுக்கு பயிற்சி மற்றும் அறிவு பரிமாற்றம்
வெறுங்காலுடன் சூழலியல் வல்லுநர்களைக் கொண்டு இந்த காடுகளில் சுற்றுச்சூழல் கண்காணிப்பை மேற்கொள்ளுங்கள். பிரீமியம் வசூலிக்கப்படுவது தேனீக்களால் வழங்கப்படும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பு சேவைகளின் உண்மையான செலவுகளின் அடிப்படையில் அல்ல, இது பணம் செலுத்த விருப்பத்தைத் தீர்மானிப்பதற்கான ஒரு கற்பனைத் தொகையாகும்.
PES உலகளவில் கடந்த இரண்டு தசாப்தங்களில், உலகம் முழுவதும் 550 க்கும் மேற்பட்ட செயலில் உள்ள திட்டங்களுடன் PES இல் குறிப்பிடத்தக்க அதிகரிப்பு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இருப்பினும், PES ஐப் புகாரளிப்பதில் அல்லது செயல்படுத்துவதில் சர்வதேச தரநிலை எதுவும் இல்லாததால் இன்னும் வரையறுக்கப்பட்ட தரவு உள்ளது.
முன்னே செல்கிறேன்
PES எவ்வாறு வரையறுக்கப்பட்டாலும், எளிய வார்த்தைகளில், பல்லுயிர் பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் சேவை வழங்கலுக்கான நிதி பொறிமுறையாக அது செயல்படுகிறது என்பதைப் புரிந்துகொள்வது அவசியம்.
Since April 2021, Last Forest has proudly assumed its role as a member of the Mountain Partnership initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This partnership stands as a testament to Last Forest's unwavering commitment to the preservation and upliftment of mountain communities nestled in the picturesque Nilgiris region. Working in close collaboration with the Mountain Partnership's secretariat, Last Forest embarked on a mission to enhance the visibility of these mountain communities through a unique avenue - by developing distinctive labels for their lip balms and honey products The creation of these specialized labels serves as an invaluable platform to underscore the immense significance of the Nilgiris' mountain communities. It not only encapsulates the rich traditions and sustainable practices deeply ingrained in these communities but also highlights the exquisite biodiversity and natural beauty that thrives in the Nilgiris, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By proudly adorning their products with these labels, Last Forest is not only championing the cause of mountain communities but also educating consumers about the importance of supporting these communities in their endeavor to preserve the Nilgiris' unique environment. In addition to these remarkable initiatives, Last Forest achieved a significant milestone with the acceptance of a grant from the Mountain Partnership. This grant has opened doors for a wide range of activities designed to create a positive impact on the Nilgiris' mountain communities. The grant allocation covers diverse areas, including digital marketing to amplify the reach and influence of Last Forest's products, the procurement of coffee and beeswax balms sourced directly from the Nilgiris, the implementation of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) Wild in the Pillur region, ensuring the highest standards of sustainable and organic production, and the organization of exhibitions to showcase the extraordinary craftsmanship and traditions of the Nilgiris' mountain communities.In essence, Last Forest's active participation in the Mountain Partnership initiative not only underscores its unwavering dedication to supporting mountain communities in the Nilgiris but also its visionary approach in creating a positive and sustainable impact through a combination of innovative labeling, grants, and diverse activities that ultimately aim to empower and celebrate the beauty of the mountainous landscapes and the communities that call them home.
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