November 25: First Congregational Church/UCC - Ten Thousand Villages & Beads for Life, 10:30a.m.-12 noon
MAFTTI Meeting - Thursday, November 8, 7:00p.m.
Main topic: Fair Trade Towns and Universities Conference, Chicago, October 26-28. Report back by MAFTTI delegation.
Venue: St.John's Episcopal Church (Warren/Broad Streets, Mankato).
Arlene Renshaw and Margo Druschel with Jorge Restrepo (l) and Felipe Zapata (r), Colombian Fair Trade Banana Producers, who visited the Mankato area, October 18-20, before contributing to the Chicago conference.
With a great deal of change taking place within the world of Fair Trade certification, this meeting is an important opportunity for briefing MAFTTI regulars and others interested in "conscious consumerism".
OCTOBER
SEE MAFTTI's FACEBOOK PAGE FOR PICTURES OF THE COLOMBIAN FAIR TRADE BANANA PRODUCERS AND MAFTTI @ MANKATO MARATHON. OCTOBER 18-21 WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. HERE'S A TASTE OF THE MARATHON:
THIS MONTH SEES THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF MANKATO BEING DECLARED THE FIRST FAIR TRADE TOWN IN MINNESOTA, AS IT WAS ON OCTOBER 24, 2011.
WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THAN BY COMING TO BANANAMANIA??
SEE BELOW.......
It's FAIR TRADE MONTH again - and a special one for MAFTTI.
We will be hosting two Fair Trade Banana Producers from Colombia, Jorge Restrepo and Felipe Zapata, October 18-20.
7:00p.m., October 18, 2012: BANANAMANIA at First Congregational Church, 150 Stadium Drive, Mankato. Dessert Buffet!!
Jorge and Felipe will be talking about why the availability of Fair Trade bananas in the USA needs to grow - to the benefit of both producers and consumers.
Courtney Lang (Fair Trade Towns USA Campaign) will introduce our guests and speak about the Go Bananas Campaign.
Tickets: Adult $5.00; Student $4.00 NOT TO BE MISSED.
AUGUST
The FAIR TRADE FILM NIGHT on August 21 started by featuring two videos on coffee from Thailand. The main focus was on bananas because of the national Fair Trade focus on bananas building up towards Fair Trade Month in October.
The drawing was made for the "Fair Trade" Quilt wall hanging made for MAFTTI by Shelley Cords-Swanson. MAFTTI funds benefited to the tune of $1,750.00 - a very fine effort. Thanks to all involved.
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JULY
The FUN DAYS PARADE took place in North Mankato on July 7, 2012, just when a 7-day heatwave abated - a little.
Also as usual - Carmen Miranda will be there, but with a difference - as is clear from the pictures on Facebook. Here's one:
JUNE
June 21 - SPECIAL EVENT - "Fair Trade in the First Person"
Come to hear Margo Druschel speak about her
her visit to the Dominican Republic, March 28-
April 4, and her experiences of coffee, cacao
and banana co-ops.
Venue: St. John's Episcopal Church, Mankato.
(corner of Warren & Broad Streets)
Time: 7.00p.m.
AND - MAFTTI's Third Anniversary Newsletter is HERE!
!!!NOT TO BE MISSED!!!
MAY
May 12 - WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY !!!!!!!!!!!!
May 12: FAIR TRADE COFFEE and INFORMATION at Coffee Hag, Fillin' Station, Smiley Cup. Tandem Bagels. (Also at Cafe Ambrosia Monday-Friday).
May 12: Pub 500, 1.00-4.00p.m. LIVE MUSIC, SILENT AUCTION and FAIR TRADE INFORMATION.
MAFTTI's Fair Trade Raffle QUILT on display - tickets for sale.
NOW ON (May 5-12): Book display at Barnes and Noble featuring titles on Fair Trade and related topics. Look out especially for "The Fair Trade Revolution". It may come!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to Loyola Catholic School on becoming the first Fair Trade High School in Minnesota - and only the THIRD in the nation!!!! Three cheers for Emily Kracht and the Loyola Fair Trade Committee.
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APRIL
April 22: MAFTTI present again at the Mankato Area International Festival.
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April 17: MAFTTI meeting at the Universal Unitarian Fellowship, Mankato, at which Margo Druschel reported back on her visit to the Dominican Republic.
April 5: Margo was interviewed on KTOE radio, 1.00p.m., with Pete Steiner. Margo's interview is available on an audio blog at www.ktoe.com.
April 4: MAFTTI Treasurer Margo Druschel returned from week-long field trip to the Dominican Republic visiting Fair Trade banana, coffee and cocoa cooperatives. Her first report, on a visit to a banana farm, is here. Notice also where one of our Fair Trade Town Declaration posters has got to!
Five other reports can be found on the MAFTTI Facebook page.
MARCH
March 31, 9.30a.m.-12.00 noon: A "Better Together Get-Together" of civil society groups focusing on different aspects of "Sustainability".
More details here. Fair Trade coffee provided by MAFTTI.
Venue: Conference Room, Good Counsel. $5.00 charge.
26 attended. Representatives of 15 local groups introduced their work. It was agreed to meet at Good Counsel on April 28 (9.30a.m.) to consider the next step.
March 27, 8.00p.m.: Paul Renshaw, MAFTTI Chair, gave the 2012
FEBRUARY
16th: MAFTTI Meeting - the first since the Fair Trade Town Declaration
First Congregational Church, 150 Stadium Court, Mankato
Highlights: 
1. Paul Renshaw, MAFTTI Chair, introduced a new celebratory Fair Trade Town Declaration poster and presented copies to Mankato City Council President At-Large Mike Laven.
2. Students from Loyola Catholic High School
spoke of the activities of their Fair Trade Committee around Valentine's Day, of planning a banana flashmob in the near term and having the ambition of becoming the first Fair Trade School in Minnesota.
Loyola students Casey Ek and Meghan Blaine (R) talk to MAFTTI about their plans for Fair Trade at the school.
3. Banana Campaign
Two members of MAFTTI's Steering Committee, Jane Dow (L) and Margo Druschel modeled banana suits that will figure during the year while MAFTTI joins with other Fair Trade Towns in promoting Fair Trade bananas, a product that seldom reaches the shelves of Mankato's supermarkets.
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Valentine's Day on the 14th. Stuck for ideas? Surely not. Check out
JANUARY
New Year Greetings to friends of MAFTTI and other visitors to our website.
2012 promises to be an interesting year for Fair Traders in Mankato as we develop our work as a new Fair Trade Town, the Mankato City Council’s Declaration having come on October 24.
We will also be following the impact of the very important decision made by
Fair Trade USA in September to leave Fairtrade International, set up a new “Fair Trade For All” program and establish a new Fair Trade logo. This step has not been received with unanimous support by all parts of the Fair Trade movement.
FTUSA’s ambition is to double the impact of Fair Trade in the USA by 2015. Perhaps the most significant way to achieve this is, in its view, to open up coffee estates to participation in Fair Trade. It will take some time for the initial pilot projects to show whether this is a viable approach and one that is consistent with mainstream opinion in the Fair Trade movement.
It will be vital for everyone interested in Fair Trade to become familiar with these developments as they unfold. These four links take you to resources that are very helpful to understanding what it going on:
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