2009 Fair Trade Holiday Festival

Dear Friends,

The 2008 Holiday Festival was our first at Monona Terrace, and it was definitely a success. We got positive feedback from vendors about the openness of the space, the convience of the loading area, and the benefit of being next to the indoor Dane County Farmer's Market. Shoppers liked the wider aisles and that all the vendors were in one room. So for 2009, we'll be back at Monona Terrace!

This year we will also continue our experiment with Domestic Fair Trade vendors. While we don't wish to become a farmer's market, we want to encourage shoppers to connect their international fair trade purchases with the idea of continuing that minimum "degrees of separation" from the producer when they buy local products. Last year shoppers enjoyed local foods as well as wool and honey.

So, save the date and time - Saturday, December 5, 2009 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Send email to "festival" at "calamadison.org" to become a vendor. Only 100% fair trade items are sold.

Promote the Festival!

You can help promote the festival by downloading and distributing our flyers and posters.
Download a color page with 4 small flyers PDF, or a black and white one.
Download a letter-sized poster in color or in black and white.
You can also copy the above graphic to email or post online.

Our 2009 vendors and what they offer:

. Adventure Yarns Mohair yarns and knitted products such as scarves and shawls. Tajikistan, Central Asia . African Youth Outreach Cards, bookmarks, beaded bracelets and pins, keychains, ornaments and other new items, all hand stitched and the cards are all signed by the artists. Ingwavuma, South Africa . Amahoro Handcrafts baskets, cards, hats, etc Rwanda . BaaBaa Shop LLC Wool mattress toppers and bedding, some felting and wool products, dog cookies, bath salts. wisconsin . Bali and Soul Textiles, batiks. Bali . CALA Bakery items. Hand made locally. . Casa Guatemala Textiles and handcrafts. Guatemala . Chiripa: Artisan Crafts of the Americas Items handcrafted in Mexico by small producers. For example: wood carvings (alebrijes), "tin" stars, clay nichos and figures, hand-hammered copper vessels and accessories, clay or tin holiday ornaments. Mexico . Cloudforest Initiatives Ironwork, coffee, posters, cards. Mexico and Guatemala . Cooperative de Femme de Artisan de Thiotte Ccrocheted purses from recycled plastic. Haiti . Dawa Phuntsok Nepali wool sweaters and rugs. Nepal . Doers Cards and handcrafts. Afghanistan. . Downtown Designs Jewelry and beads Kenya . Earth Delights Hand crafted sterling silver jewelry Kathmandu, Nepal . East Timor Action Network Traditional Timorese weavings (cloth and baskets), purchased from women's weaving cooperatives in Ainaro and Dili, East Timor. East Timor . Equal Exchange Coffee, tea, cocoa, domestic nuts Global. . Faces of Siberia greeting cards Siberia . Family Farm Defenders Gift baskets of local foods. Wisconsin area. . Gatumi Women's Group . Global Reflections & Bellabirds Handpainted Nahuatl (indigenous Mexican) ceramics, Tile and tin mirrors, Hammered tin ornaments, Clay bird ornaments. Mexico and Guatemala

. Greenola and Solidarity Clothing Hats, scarves, knitwear Bolivia . Heart of the Sky Fair Trade Guatemalan table runners, assorted weavings, purses, jewelry. Baskets from West Africa. Lotions and soaps from Alaffia. Mostly Guatemala. . Hmong Pandau Hmong embroidery and stuffed animals Made in Madison. . Hope United . Jinja Jewelry Jewelry that is all made from recycled materials. Paper, cowhorn, banana fiber and tree bark. Uganda, Africa . Just Coffee Co-op Pottery mugs and bowls. Hand made in Wisconsin. . Jolica of Madison Silver, glass, and shell jewelry Global . MACSAC Cookbook. Recipes emphasizing local foods. . Madison Arcatao Sister City Project (MASCP) Embroidered aprons, napkins, shopping bags, greeting cards, woven bags, painted wooden items, ceramic goods. Chalatenango, El Salvador . Madison Infoshop Information on trade, labor, and global justice issues. Madison. . Madison Rafah Sister City Project Palestinian embroidery, hand-made crafts, olive oil, and olive oil soap. The products are produced by the General Union of Palestinian Women in Rafah, Palestine and by other cooperative groups in the West Bank and Gaza. . MAPC . Malia Designs Purses and recycled bags from rice bags, silk, and netting. Cambodia. . MarketPlace: Handwork of India Apparel, Accessories, and Home Interiors India . Mata Traders Bags, shawls, a few winter clothing styles (knit and wool dresses, skirts), jewelry, and home decor. Our products are make in India by women's co-ops and artisan groups that practice fair trade principles. . Minga Fair Trade Imports Sweaters for men, woman & children. Eco-friendly Jewelry using seeds and Tagua vegetable ivory from south america, Hand knit Hats, Scarves, Gloves and instruments. All hand-made, All people & planet friendly. Ecuador & Peru . Nature's Bakery Hand made bakery goods with natural ingredients. Madison. . Pamplemousse/Honey Bee Jams and preserves emphasizing local fruits. Wisconsin. . Playgrounds for Palestine Olive oil, spice mixes. Palestine. . Prayas USA, Inc Hand stitched and embroidered re-usable fabric gift bags, suitable for wrapping gifts of wine, olive oil, soap, CDs, books or DVDs. Dhamote, Maharashtra, India . Queen of Peace Sister Parish Organic, shade-grown coffee, crafts (purses, handbags, eyeglass cases, cell phone cases, etc.). Chiapas, Mexico

. Rainbow Bookstore Books on trade, labor, and justice issues. Global. . Rainbow Fleece Wool blankets and yarn. Wisconsin. . Rhumy Wara IWeavings, Andean dolls, hats, woven bags, photo greeting cards of the people of Salasaca. All products are handmade by artisans in Salasaca, plus photo cards. . Rishi Tea Tea. Global . RPCV Calendar. Global . Scotch Hill Farm Goat's milk soap. Wisconsin. . SERRV Wide range of arts, crafts, and home decor products. 35 different countries. . Terra Experience Ethnic 18" Doll Clothes, Textiles, Books, Arts and Crafts from Guatemala and Central America Guatemala primarily. Some doll clothes are made in Nicaragua. Books are produced all over the world . Terrasource Chocolates Chocolates Fair Trade sourced globally. . TocaAqui Hand towels painted by kids Brazil . Trails to Bridges Jewelry, Baskets, Home Furnishings, Accessories, one of a kind African Art 35 countries. . Tupendane Cottage Industry Christmas cards, note cards, aprons and tote bags. Musoma Tanzania . Village Health Project Hand made paper necklaces and bracelets. Uganda . WCCN Nicaraguan Fair Trade Pottery & Pine Needle Baskets San Juan de Oriente & El Cerro, Nicaragua . WNPJ Information on peace and justice issues. Madison . WORT Community radio branded products. Madison . WISPIRG Fair Trade Fair Trade information. Madison

Festival Guidelines

We use a vendor application based on the Fair Trade Federation's principles for Fair Trade, (download here). We prioritize vendors who work with international producers in long-term relationships to create viable work in their home country. We are not focused on charitable organizations, though some such vendors are included. We hope to show that Fair Trade is a viable business alternative, not charity. To that end, we are glad to see more for-profit businesses at the festival, to show that businesses can operate both profitably and fairly.
We also use the draft Principles for Domestic Fair Trade for our local vendors. While the mission of the event is more about global trade, we would like shoppers who already purchase international Fair Trade items to consider how it might work to apply those same principles to local items. To that end, we have a limited number of vendors of locally made products. This is more specific than buying products from a locally owned business. We wish to see products that are made locally or where the value-added is local. In the long term, the focus of this event will remain international products.