Field trips
A field trip will be organised to a Fairtrade certified producer organisation near Addis Ababa to help increase understanding of producer realities. All convention participants – producers, traders and other stakeholders – are welcome to attend either on the 1st or the 5th of November.
1 November
Coffee warehouse visit
Visit the warehouse and processing facilities of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union and learn how cooperatives work. Established in 1999 with 34 primary cooperatives, OCFCU managed to penetrate the international coffee market. Today, the number of members has grown to 217, counting over 200,000 farmer households and OCFCU has become one of the largest and most successful cooperatives in Ethiopia. (Please note that this trip does not include a visit to a coffee farm as all Fairtrade coffee farms are located too far outside of the capital.)
www.oromiacoffeeunion.org
5 November
Coffee warehouse visit
You have a second chance to visit OCFCU on November the 5th.
Flower farm visit
Or you can visit Fairtrade certified Linssen Roses, the very first rose grower in Ethiopia. The company cultivates roses on 50 hectares of land on the outskirts of Addis Ababa and employs a workforce of round 1300. www.linssenroses.com
All trips will take up a full day, starting early in the morning. Please make sure to confirm participation when registering for the Africa Fairtrade Convention. The price – including transport & lunch – is included in the registration fee.
Cocktail
After a hard day’s work, some relaxation is in order. A cocktail reception will be organised at the end of Day 1 of the Fairtrade Africa Forum (2 November) to network and get acquainted again with old friends.