Fair trade enthusiast Elaine Willmore from Gateshead travelled 5,000 miles to Bangladesh to visit some of Traidcraft's producers, who make the products she sells from a stall in her church. After supporting the movement for many years, Elaine, a cancer researcher, was keen to find out for herself whether fair trade really makes a difference to the lives of the producers.
 | | Women cutting cotton to make paper |
Accompanying Elaine was quality manager John Hinton, who is responsible for ensuring all of Traidcraft’s 400+ fair trade products meet UK quality standards. Traidcraft is based in Gateshead and John regularly travels to the developing world to work with small-scale producers on quality issues. Making a difference In rural Bangladesh, Elaine met women making hammocks from jute and was very moved by their personal stories. She said: "They were simply inspiring. I met Nargis who was educated with the income her mother earned weaving hammocks and has since founded the village school. This has to be just about the best illustration of how fair trade is really making a difference." Elaine was also given the chance to try her hand at weaving a jute hammock and soon realised the high level of skill required. "They said I was a quick learner but I think they were being polite as I'm not sure my efforts would actually make it past quality control at Traidcraft."
 | | Schoolchildren in Sinobah |
Elaine recorded her experiences and feelings throughout the week in an audio diary. You can listen to some of her thoughts using the links below. Working together Also on the visit itinerary were producers Swajan and Bonoful. Cards made by Swajan, with handmade paper from Bonoful, are now sold in forty of Marks and Spencer's largest stores. During the trip, John worked with the producers to cut rejection rates by introducing the use of an electronic scale for weighing the paper. To overcome Bangladesh's frequent power cuts, the scales are powered by a rechargeable battery. The fair trade producers are keen to grow and John says their potential is great. "The appetite of our producers to grow in capacity and capability is enormous and it's really satisfying to be able to work closely with them and be a part of it." Elaine and John's visit to Bangladesh was featured on Look North on BBC 1. You can watch Mark Batey's reports here: | 
