Tag: True Origin

AGM, Charity

Reminder: Rainbow Turtle AGM 2023

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When: Tuesday 10th October at 7pm.
Where: Paisley Methodist Central Hall (Smithhills Street entrance).

The annual general meeting of the Rainbow Turtle charity will take place in person as above. We would be delighted if you could attend to hear about the progress of the organisation. 

For more information about the AGM, and to obtain copies of the papers for it, please click on the following link.

The business section of the meeting will be followed by the showing of a set of 5 short films commissioned by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum marking the 10th anniversary of Scotland as a fair trade nation. The films feature people from 5 different towns across Scotland (Alford, Castle Douglas, Motherwell and Wishaw, Paisley and Perth) celebrating the work that they are doing for fair trade. After the films we will have a discussion about them featuring a panel including Charles Sim of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum, John Riches of True Origin (formerly JTS), and Nate Strawser of The Gatehouse Coffee Roasters. Tea and coffee will be provided with an opportunity to sample some Rwandan coffee from the Gatehouse and Kilombero Rice from True Origin.

Please email us to let us know if you can or can’t attend.

We do look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Education, Podcasts, Shop

Interview with Sally Sawaya of Meru Herbs

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Sally Sawaya of Meru Herbs, Kenya

In this episode we play a recording of a talk by Sally Sawaya of Meru Herbs in Kenya that she gave recently to the staff of True Origin and Rainbow Turtle in Paisley, Scotland. Sally is the managing director of Meru Herbs, the Kenyan fair trade company that produces tasty sauces, jams and herbal teas. Meru is a semi arid region of the country where, for many years, water was hard to obtain for farming and domestic use. Things changed just over 30 years ago with a collaboration between the Meru catholic diocese, the Italian government, and the local people which implemented a project to provide water to about 430 families. This change in conditions sparked off the creation of Meru Herbs that went on to improve the lives of many people and empowered women to both work in and run the company.

Sally’s story is one of many of the inspiring ones that have come out of Meru Herbs, where a change in circumstance, combined with fair trade, has transformed their lives. Sally left university with a degree in marketing and started out as an intern with Meru Herbs. Other women have been able to buy land and grow their own food. In rural areas it was often the boys who were sent to school, not the girls, because there wasn’t the money to pay for both. The conventional wisdom was that the family got a better return by educating the boys.