COWC Network Update

Issue 3

15 August 2007

COWC trustees and volunteers would like to announce that the centre has moved to the upstairs flat at 2 Lowthian’s Lane (above the shop). One year’s rent has been made possible through grant funding from Awards for All. We hope to secure a small income through renting out the meeting rooms, donations for Fairtrade refreshments and other sources but we still will require further external funding from June 2008. In the meantime, we would like to increase the activities at the centre, to make it sustainable. We are encouraging local groups to have their meetings there, use the space to display information about their activities, use the volunteer workspace and we are also going to encourage members of the public to call in and use the centre’s resources during the hours it is open - currently Monday to Wednesday 10am to 12pm. Volunteers are welcome to talk to Adrienne, Celia or Esther about how then could assist at the centre during these hours or on other days. Any occasional help with the upkeep of the centre would also be appreciated.

Feel free to call in during any of the above hours for a cup of coffee and a look around. We will be holding a launch event on Thursday 27^th September from 5pm to 7pm and we hope to see many of you then.

Finally, donations of the following would be greatly appreciated:

-         soft furnishings (small 2 seater couches or armchairs)

-         a set of 2-4 office telephones (a long shot!)

-         Indoor plants

Carlisle Cathedral will host the third Fair Trade Fair this August Bank Holiday weekend. The fair will take place in a marquee in the Cathedral grounds on 25^th, 26th, and 27th August as part of the Carlisle Great Fair. The opening times are 10am to 4pm Saturday 25th and Monday 27th and 11.30 to 4pm Sunday 26th August. Admission is free. Please spread the word about this annual celebration of Fairtrade produce in Carlisle and we look forward to seeing you there. Volunteers are still required to assist with manning some of the stands. Contact Lorna or Anna (lorna@carlisleworldshop.co.uk) for more info.

If you didn’t get to Keswick in June, this is to let you know that there will be a second chance to see Black Gold, the powerful film about the impact of the world’s coffee crisis on the lives of Ethiopian coffee farmers.  It is being shown again in Keswick at the Lonsdale Alhambra, on Sunday 26^th August at 6.00.   It is 78 minutes long.

As you will have read elsewhere, the power of Black Gold lies in the way it uncomfortably contrasts the lives of impoverished farmers who grow our coffee (and earn about 2p per cup of regular cappuccino for doing so) with those of us who drink it (and pay anything up to £1.75 for that cup).

The film’s only ‘star’ is the tireless Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union, who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of Ethiopian coffee farmers by getting a fair price for their coffee.   It was Tadesse who came to Cumbria in March 2005 and met many campaigners - in Kendal, Carlisle, Millom and Keswick.  (Tadesse is now facilitating our Keswick link with the people of Choche.)

The Times: Carefully packed with a sackful of information, Black Gold brings the aroma of coffee plantation poverty in Ethiopia right to our lips to stir our consciences. [Five stars out of five]

Black Gold has been variously described as ‘remarkable’, ‘moving’, telling a ‘scandalous and shocking story’.

If you missed Black Gold the first time – don’t miss it the second!

To read this newsletter online and to follow the links click

http://dotm1.net:80/cr.asp?i=138586245&EmMailerKeywords=notrack