[Buddha-l] Re: "So much for tsunami dana"

[Benito Carral]

On Saturday, October 15, 2005, Andrew Skilton wrote:

> Two questions come to mind:

> 1.  Is  this  happening anywhere? My knowledge of the
> fairtrade  'movement' is minimal (coffee and bananas,
> basically)  so forgive my ignorance if I should know.
> A  brief  internet search did not seem to uncover any
> thing  like this - just a mountain of organic bananas
> and coffee beans.

   I  have  been involved in the fairtrade movement for
some  time,  and  I'm  not aware of anything like being
happening.  It's my own personal proposal. The people I
discussed it with tend to think that it's too glabal.


> 2.  I'm not sure about your last two sentences - I am
> wary  of bureaucracy in any context (other than in my
> bureau).  Would  not  a  'ground up' approach be more
> suitable  and  in  keeping  with the fairtrade ethos?

   I  don't  exclude  such a view, I just complement it
because  I  think that some kind of global organization
is necessary in order to work in a global scale.

> (And,  in  my view, with Buddhist principals, insofar
> as  it  could support a greater degree of personal or
> individual engagement/responsibility. I note that the
> FairTrade  Foundation  attempted  to  link  FairTrade
> consumers  with  partners  in  Asia  who  could offer
> direct assistance to tsunami survivors.)

   I  like  very  much such an approach. The problem is
that  sometimes  there  is  nothing  to  offer  in  the
devastated  territories.  That's  why, in such cases, I
propose  that goods, services, and infrastructures come
from fairtrade cooperatives instead from corportations.

   Best wishes,

   Beni