Thanks to all 51 Kickstarter backers my book ‘Not in My Lifetime – A Fair Trade Campaigner’s Journal’ is now available to purchase online or through book shops with all profits from sales going to The FIG Tree, Oxfam and our very good friends at the Lorna Young Foundation who all do terrific work. We would raise more money however, if the book could be purchased directly from me by sending your order, postal address and phone number to: info@fairtradecentre.org Paperbacks cost £14 + p & p and hardbacks, which are not on general sale, cost £27 + p & p.
Read on to learn more about the book.
When the people of Garstang, a small Northern English market town, self-declared as the world’s first Fair Trade Town in April 2000, nobody knew that the idea would grow to become a worldwide movement consisting of over 2,000 Fair Trade communities in 34 countries and stretching across 6 continents. Today, Fair Trade Cities include London, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Seoul, Chicago and San Francisco.
As the person behind the Garstang campaign and founder of the movement, I have had the privilege of telling what became known as the ‘Garstang Story’ across the world; from Peru to Japan and from Norway to Ghana. My story inspired many other activists to follow in Garstang’s footsteps including Elizabeth from Media, the first Fair Trade Town on the American continents, Ståle from Sauda, the first Fair Trade Town in Norway, Shoko from Kumamoto, the first Fair Trade Town in Asia and the people of New Koforidua in Ghana that became Africa’s first Fair Trade Town.
Although never considering myself a writer, following many requests from the campaigners that I’ve encountered, I started to write my personal account of the Fair Trade Town movement and how too, it influenced the setting up of The FIG Tree International Fair Trade Centre in Garstang and the development of our Fair Trade/slave trade projects and chocolate workshops.
The book is entitled ‘Not in My Lifetime – A Fair Trade Campaigner’s Journal’. Written by a grassroots campaigner about the founding of an international movement for change, it is not a diary recording events as they happened, nor is it just an autobiography providing an account of my life. It is instead, a journal; an inspirational and aspirational piece of writing, exploring my ideas as they took shape, while describing the events that led to the creation and further development of the movement.
The book also combines aspects of my own personal life story – including my beliefs and views based on life experiences throughout almost four decades of campaigning. The story includes my childhood experiences, my early travels across Europe, to Kenya and Nicaragua and how I set about challenging the injustices of an unfair trading system levelled against the world’s poor.
The strength of Fair Trade Towns is that it is a grassroots movement that involves all aspects of a community. This book will therefore appeal to all those with an interest in Fair Trade and Fair Trade Towns; campaigners, charities, local authorities, faith leaders, schoolteachers, students and community leaders from the UK, as well as further afield from other international Fairtrade Town campaigns. But it is important to find a way to make the book accessible to all.
During Fairtrade Fortnight 2021, I was invited by Christina Longden, Writer in Residence for Kirklees Libraries, to speak about my book for one of Kirklee’s broadcasts. The talk, now available on YouTube (Kirklees Libraries channel) has received over 700 views/engagements via various social media platforms to date. There were many requests to be able to buy the book – in print – as soon as possible and thanks to so many backers that dream has now materialized.
Bruce Crowther
FIG Tree Director