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ALTER TRADE CORP. (Fair Trade Sugar)

“With fair Trade…my family could build a new house last year, and our farming group could set up a small health care centre right in the village. They used to have travel for two hours to reach the nearest clinic. I was appointed as the health worker because I have training in first aid and acupuncture”. Dina Mansayon, an organic sugar farmer and a leader of a farming group on the island of Negros.

Oxfam Belgium Organic Mascobado Cane Sugar is made in Negros, the fourth largest island in Philippines. In the past, farmers had no access to other buyer, they are often exploited by the large, privately-owned sugar mill in Negros. The low prices the mill offered could barely covered the farmers’ costs of transportation and other expenses. A local cooperative, Alter Trade Corporation, buys directly from small producers and cooperatives at a higher and stable price. The price of the sugar cane is agreed between the farming group and Alter Trade Corporation, and the farmers have voting right within the cooperatives on issues such as profit distribution. Local small farmers, therefore, earn stable income to improve their living standards, such as building a new house, setting up a small health care centre in the village. Alter Trade also promotes the development of organic farming in order to protect the environment. It also initiated various projects to improve conditions and status for women.