Ugandan tea grower spreads Fairtrade message

4:50pm Monday 25th February 2008

A UGANDAN tea factory manager is visiting Mid Devon during Fairtrade Fortnight to spread the word about fairly-priced products.

Martin Odoch comes from Gulu in Uganda where he is the Field Manager for the Mpanga Growers Tea Factory. The factory buys tea from 748 producers and markets it under the Fairtrade mark.

The Devon Fairtrade Steering Group decided to invite Martin to Devon for the whole of Fairtrade Fortnight which runs until Sunday, March 9.

He will be attending Crediton farmers market from 9am on Saturday (March 1), Cullompton Community College on March 6 from 9.30am and East Devon College in Tiverton on March 7, also from 9.30am.

Steering Group Co-ordinator Sue Errington said: "A cup of tea is such an essential part of our everyday life in England - and a crucial part of every Devon cream tea.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for Martin to explain the mysteries of how to grow a green leaf and then create black tea from it.

"Martin also has worked with small-scale tea growers to make sure that Fairtrade standards are met. I think we will be very interesting to find out more about this aspect of his work. It is going to be a very exciting fortnight."

Martin said: "I hope to highlight the importance of the Fairtrade consumers during my visit because they enable Fairtrade to put smiles on the faces of growers in Uganda."

Devon County Council is supporting Fairtrade for Devon's bid to have the county officially recognised as a Fairtrade county.