On receiving the certificate Cllr Heath said “I am glad that so many people of Frome are supporting this movement and I appreciate the hard work of the committee and many other volunteers in achieving the five goals.” 

The Mayor, who is a keen supporter of the Fairtrade scheme, went on to say “I hope that more and more people in Frome will begin to buy Fairtrade products to really support our Fairtrade status and I look forward to hearing of future developments” 

The group has worked for nearly a year to attract public attention to the Fairtrade scheme and has been canvassing local shops and cafes to encourage them stock Fairtrade products as part of their range. 

Jane Talbot said “This is only the start of the group’s activities. We will go on raising awareness and surveying local businesses so that more Fairtrade goods are available.” 

Tamsin Thomas and Lizzy Oakley hand print the Fairtrade Frome cotton bags at Frome College Art Department

Many Fairtrade items were on display to show the large variety of products that can be bought in Frome and Fairtrade Frome cotton bags were on sale. These can still be bought at local shops like Frome Wholefoods and Sagebury Cheese which are both Fairtrade shops.

Other events included stalls at the Farmer's Market and at Sainsbury's where Fairtrade Frome handed out samples of chocolate, tea and coffee and were on hand to answer questions. There was also a small Fairtrade exhibition at the library in Frome for the whole fortnight.

Wendy and Paul Ridge answer questions at the Farmer's Market stall

Many schools took part in Fairtrade Fortnight including St John’s First School which had each year studying different aspects of Fairtrade as part of their ongoing theme of Multicultural Education. Year 4 are studying India and they focused on Fairtrade tea.

The children also designed posters to help publicise the fortnight around the town and the school held assemblies on the theme with guest speakers Peter Mac Fadyen from Fairtrade Frome and Gilly Hillier from GLADE.

GLADE is a charity-funded global development and education centre for Somerset and Gilly is the Outreach Worker for local schools. She held games at St John’s based on the Fairtrade issues around chocolate.

Critchill School went bananas for Fairtrade taking part in banana games and activities with GLADE. Judy Annan from Fairtrade Frome also went to Critchill to hold a workshop on Chocolate.

Fairtrade Frome, teamed up with local retailer Frome Wholefoods on Extravaganza night.  The group raised £150 by raffling two hampers full of Fairtrade goods in aid of local charity ADD and the promotion of the Fairtrade scheme locally. The hampers were on display in the window of Frome Wholefoods, which is a major local stockist of Fairtrade products. They were won by Mrs J Neilson and Ms Annabelle McFadyen.

Action on Disability and Development (ADD) is one of the Frome organisations that use Fairtrade products in the workplace. Their work with disabled people in developing nations is well known in Frome and the members of Fairtrade Frome felt that there was a strong link between the two causes.

Ruth Knagg of ADD said "The money was a fantastic help to us and means we are well on the way to completing our Bangladeshi project."

The new local Fairtrade directory was also launched that night so that people will know where to find the goods in Frome and other Mendip towns. It is available in various local stores and cafes where Fairtrade items are served or sold. Children from the St Catherine’s Church Youth Club, Explorers are keen supporters of Fairtrade and came along to help the group publicise the directory.

October 26th 2002 was Banana Bonanza Day and Fairtrade Frome went bananas to make sure fairly traded bananas are easily available in the town.

"Bananas are Britain's most popular fruit, with UK sales at £750m a year." said Alison Charlesworth, Fairtrade Frome campaigner, "Think what a difference that amount of money could make to some of the poorest countries where the bananas are grown."

But very little of that huge sum goes to the farmers who grow them. Unless, that is, the bananas carry the special Fairtrade mark. The mark is the independent consumer guarantee that the farmers who grow the fruit get a fair deal for their labours. An additional sum included in the price of bananas goes towards healthcare, clean water systems, housing & other benefits for the growers & their families.

Buying Fair Trade bananas is also a healthier choice for both the farmer & the UK consumer as they are produced according to strict environmental regulations which control the use of chemicals, protect water sources from contamination & minimise waste. Women in the Costa Rican packing plants working for one of the  multinational companies that currently control 66% of the banana trade suffer double the average rate of leukaemia and birth defects.

The group has distributed information packs to the town centre fruit & veg shops with details about how they can buy guaranteed  Fairtrade bananas wholesale. "It was interesting talking to the greengrocers" said  Emily Gerrard, "They are very aware of the problem of excessive use of pesticides in banana production, and already prefer to buy from small producers such as the Windward Isles for that reason. They also know the fruit will be a better flavour and that the farmer is likely to get a better deal than from the big international companies. We'd like Frome's independent greengrocers to go one step further and stock bananas with the Fairtrade Mark guarantee for customers who want them. We are also hopeful that Frome shoppers will soon be able to buy organic Fairtrade bananas at independent retailers. Watch this space."