Lucy Bee Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is certified Fair Trade by The Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance (FairTSA).
“Small farmers and workers are at the heart of the FairTSA Fair Trade certification. Through community development projects and capacity building we are facilitating a direct impact on the agricultural communities that grow and process our food.”
Lucy Bee Coconut Oil is sourced from the southern tip of Luzon, Philippines, from 1,500 farmers and 10,000 hectares of land. By being certified Fair Trade it means that we help with community development and infrastructure projects under difficult circumstances, including COVID 19 and frequent typhoons.
Coconut Farming
Over a third of the Philippine working population are in some way involved in the coconut industry.
However, it is difficult for many farmers to earn a steady living growing coconuts, with around 60% living below or around the poverty line.
This is due to:
- Expensive transportation costs
- Unpredictable and fluctuating market prices
- Exploitation
Many workers in the coconut processing facilities work under difficult circumstances with low wages to lead a decent life.
FairTSA Fair Trade certification aims to alleviate these issues by:
- Strict labour requirements (does this sound bad) or how about: strict labour working and conditions policies
- Fair price policy for small farmers
- A Social Premium is paid by the buyers of the coconut products, this is then invested in projects to help improve farmers’ and workers’ lives.
- Community members are empowered by including them in making decisions about the investments,
How are projects chosen?
Every three years a needs assessment is conducted with participating farmers taking part in the meeting. Based on this assessment, the projects are chosen, a plan created, then carried out and evaluated.
Projects
2016: Seedling Project
One project was replanting of coconut seedlings for future generations to produce high quality coconuts. Approximately 11,000 seedlings on close to 70 hectares being replanted. Seedlings are checked every third month until their viability is secured after a year. The farmers who successfully care for their plants are rewarded with small incentives.
2017: School Tuition Project
A project granting students of the farmer group financial subsidies to attend high school, this was started due to farmers expressing a strong desire for a thorough education for their children.
An additional project was started to support members hit by natural disasters, as the area is frequently hit by typhoons.
2018: Farming Seminars
A project to help improve the farmers’ financial literacy commenced. It consists of training facilitators leading two workshops for 100 farmers each. This workshop was aiming to help achieve financial competence and efficiency in planning and managing growing operations. It also included useful practices including intercropping of various crops, and included in this workshop was meals and transportation.
2019: Farmer Seminars Expanded
For leadership, management skills and financial literacy. These sessions were to help improve efficiency, productivity, quantity and quality in their line of growing and production.
2020-2021: Coronavirus Aid, Counselling & Health Education
In 2020 it was decided to provide hygiene kits and dry food staples for the families in the community, including PPE and Vitamins. Later in the year, lectures about birth control, parenting guidance, marriage counselling, and healthcare was provided to the community.
2022: First Aid & Income Diversification
The main projects for 2022 were to distribute First Aid kits and income diversification education. Following on from the health care seminars in 2021, 1170 first aid kits were distributed to farmers.
A seminar for income diversification for several Fair Trade committees has been conducted.
Over the last decade, the income of small farmers has been mostly based on coconut production, which is risky.
Many traditional farming practices and agricultural products have been abandoned, creating risk to livelihoods.
This seminar was aimed at helping provide small farmers with the knowledge and the means to diversify agricultural production, creating better food security and additional income streams for their families.
2023: Intercropping, Coconut Re-Planting and Medical Assistance
This year’s intercropping project was based on a successful participation of last year’s crop diversification seminal.
Several thousand seedlings for cacao, bananas and a variety of legumes were distributed to farmers for planting.
Many coconut trees are also reaching the end of their productive lifespan (60-80 years). They also need 10 years to produce meaningful crop, replanting is often delayed or neglected, which means that there is a large number of old trees which have or will stop producing in the near future. In light of this, several thousand coconut seedlings were distributed, with information on how to care for them, along with a maintenance programme.
The Health Care programme has continued with financial support for 31 farmers with major medical expenses granted.
We are proud to be a part of these community projects and development by being certified Fair Trade FairTSA. Thank you for your help and support - each jar of our coconut oil that you purchase helps the farmers and workers that produced it. Together we are all making a difference.
You can read more about Lucy's visit to the Philippines here
