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Background
The push for a unified set of international "Fair Trade" standards that would genuinely reflect what happens on the ground and truly benefit primary producers in developing countries is not over yet. Criteria or protocols have been set up for a wide range of commodities (e.g. Coffee, tea, cocoa, vanilla, certain handicraft products etc) to confirm their Fair Trade status in export markets. At the present time, no protocols have been established by the Fair trade Labeling Organization (FLO) for Fair trade with coconuts.
Alpha DME™ Coconut Oil - Fair Dinkum Fair Trade
The "Fair Dinkum Fair Trade" was developed when no other suitable set of standards existed in response to a need to express what was happening on the ground. As a result, our supplier has been proactive in implementing the Fair Trade principles with its DME technology for more than ten years. For this reason the supplier developed its own logo to represent its commitment to Fair Trade, their producers and the products they distribute.
They have used the phrase "Fair Dinkum" because it is an Australian expression meaning "the real thing" or "absolutely genuine". The vision for the potential economic transformation of remote island communities is summarized in the two flow charts below contrasting "a current island scenario" based on copra exports and the potential "sustainable development scenario" achievable by the production of high quality virgin coconut oil (VCO).
- A fair price for their goods (that is significantly better than the average world-price).
- Long term contracts which provide real security.
- Support in gaining knowledge and skills needed to develop their businesses and operate successfully in the global economy.
This vision of "empowering" local communities is being implemented by:
- Introducing a process (DME) which results in a 4 to 5-fold increase in the value of coconut exports compared to copra.
- Making much more effective use of an existing sustainable resource with 'zero-waste' potential.
- Dramatically increasing rural employment in a gender neutral manner (local employment of men, women and youth, minimizing urban drift).
- Helping set up complete Systems (such as training, extension services, oil purchase and quality control) to ensure full support for otherwise isolated producers.
- Purchasing all the DME Virgin Coconut oil (VCO) offered for export and finding markets for this oil.
- Arranging for (and in some cases funding) the Organic Certification of Producers and Packers by an internationally accredited OC Agency (NASAA).
- Providing technical support by regular email communication.
- Actively promoting the enormous health benefits of virgin coconut oil domestically and internationally (by advertising and attending Organic Fairs).
- Promoting the downstream use of virgin coconut oil in local soap making and as a sustainable diesel bio fuel.
- We consider all of these to be good indicators of our commitment to Full and Fair Trade.
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