Bintou Dambile, cotton farmer, UC-CPC de Djidian
Cotton, Mali
Fairtrade has brought lots of changes to women lives. In the past, men would take all decisions to do with the village, without consulting their wives. They would tell the women what to do. Now, women are represented in the co-operative. We have a voice and we are listened to. We discuss with men any development projects that will affect the village. We have input and this has had a huge difference on our lives. Furthermore, profits now go directly to women farmers too, and not to their husbands. We are managing our own money. This is changing the status of women generally in the community."
"Before, the women were not invited, not asked, not consulted. We were sad. We are pleased now we are included at the same level as the men. We know that men can’t do everything without us. Women are valued now."
"Before Fairtrade, it was a struggle to feed our children but now we are comfortable in the knowledge that we have enough to eat. This has been the most important change for my family."
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Moussa Keita, Speaker, UC-CPC de Djidian
Cotton, Mali
"Today, all my children can go to school because I can afford to pay the school fees; we eat every day, we are able to eat when we are hungry. I can also meet the costs of medicines should we need them. Before, it was difficult to find enough money to get by. Only three of my children used to go to school; today all of my children go to school. Our kids are well dressed, they have uniforms and they have materials for school. With the premium we’ve built two classrooms, a teachers staff room and a shop."
"Now we use organic inputs, fewer insecticides and more compost. There has been an improvement in the quality of the cotton and there is a better yield (before 1.2 tonnes per hectare, today 1.7 tonnes per hectare)."
"There have been lots of changes with switching to Fairtrade. With the extra profit I was able to buy my first cart. The cart allows me to transport the cotton, which makes the farm more efficient and productive."
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Ibrahim Keita, Speaker, UC-CPC de Djidian
Cotton, Mali
"I am helping improve the health and education of everybody in the village. We found a matron for the maternal health centre; we bought medication; and we have been able to train a pharmacist to administer drugs."
"Without Fairtrade there’s very little hope for us here. With Fairtrade and the support of countries like the UK then there is hope."
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