Promoting fair trade and cooperative enterprise
It all started when Isabel Gilchrist, an RME teacher in South Lanarkshire, brought democracy into her classroom. She invited her students to choose what and how they wanted to learn.
One of the results is the Stonelaw High Fair Traders, a pupil-run fair trade cooperative business whose sales exceeded £5000 in the first five months.
Stonelaw High School is one of 10 schools in Scotland participating in the Young Co-operatives pilot project. with pupils running their own fair trade cooperative business. It has since developed and is now part of a local fair trade project involving pupils from Trinity High School and Rutherglen High School.
A democratic approach to learning: igniting interest in fair trade
Interest in fair trade at Stonelaw High School developed among pupils in an S3 class who were experiencing a democratic approach to learning in religious and moral education. Given a genuine say in how they wanted to learn, one team opted to invite a Christian Aid teacher to speak about fair trade. A significant positive attitude change in relation to poverty in the developing world and consequent consumer action followed: this was demonstrated in pupils' enthusiasm for buying fairly traded products.
"I've really enjoyed having people who are working with people in poverty, and seeing what a difference the money makes to their lives from someone who is actually there and sees everything going on."
Heather Thomson, fifth year, Stonelaw High Fair Trader
Setting up a fair trade business
Their growing interest led them to set up, along with pupils in other year groups, a Young Co-operatives Fair Trade business with three intertwined strands of learning - basic business skills, cooperative and democratic working, and appreciation of the importance of fair and ethical trading. These represent important elements in education for citizenship.
The business group buys from six suppliers. The group sells to pupils, has held two fair trade coffee mornings for school staff, and sets up a stall at every parents' evening. Some pupils have also set up stalls in local churches.
The business group decided unanimously to distribute all profits among projects that provide education for children in developing countries: £10 pays for a child to attend school for a year in South Africa.
In their own words....
Stonelaw High Fair Traders talked about their experiences within the group and the support they received.
Audio file: James Wallace, third year, discusses why they run the business as a cooperative (435 KB) : 29 secs Audio file: David Samson, third year, talks about the support the group has received (371 KB) : 51 secs Audio file: Andrew Stevenson, third year, explains where and how they sell their products (111 KB) : 15 secs Audio file: Laura Armstrong, third year, on why she enjoys being part of the group (182 KB) : 24 secs
Participating nationally in the debate on global trade
In March 2004 the business group joined 13 other groups from schools all over the UK at the first Young Co-operatives Congress in Stockton-on-Tees. They were inspired by hearing directly from a cocoa farmer from Belize and participating in workshops on public speaking, cooperative working and global trading issues.
Working with local schools to raise awareness in the community
Pupils in Trinity High School and Rutherglen High School are now sharing the ambition to make their schools fair trade schools. During Fair Trade fortnight, pupils and teachers from the three schools raised community awareness of ethical trading when they set up a fair trade stall together in Rutherglen shopping arcade on a Saturday.
"There were a lot of people going past and we approached them and gave them leaflets informing them about fair trade, because a lot of people didn't really know what fair trade was about and hadn't heard of it. So as well as selling the products we also raised awareness that day. I think we really made a difference in explaining what it's about to people who didn't know."
Connie Pearce, fifth year, Stonelaw High Fair Trader
Pupils and staff involved in the joint school project are sharing ideas and supporting each other, welcoming the opportunity to change society for the better locally as well as globally.
Contact details
Isabel Gilchrist
igilchrist@stonelaw.s-lanark.sch.uk
Stonelaw High School
140 Calderwood Road
Rutherglen, Glasgow
t: 0141 643 0212
Claire Carpenter
youngcoop@totalise.co.uk
Young Co-operatives
20 Stanley Road
Edinburgh, EH6 4SG
t: 0845 458 3211