I didnt get much of the work done that I wanted to before this Synod Standing Committee meeting (this weekend), but Im pretty excited about it. I have arranged to replace all the non fair trade stuff with Fair Trade options. Im going to have a mini stall and I think it could go well.

I think that I am going to save the big presentation of all this stuff for Synod, and make sure that its done well.

Fiona and Andy were talking about how we can set some stuff up in the Illawarra and then present how it can be done by example. I think that sounds good.

I was also reminded on the weekend that the 10c discount on the milk that Uniting Care use equated to $2 million per year.

I thin I need to stop using the “fair trade” language and start talking about Trade Justice. Not only does it cover more ground, it also removes the bias towards the FairTrade label.

The Youth Unit have asked me to organise a group of young adults who are interested in Social Justice issues. Im not sure how much I can blur the lines for all this. I have heaps of idea of things that would be great to do.

Firstly, there is getting the proposal and presentation for Trade Justice in the Uniting Church. For now this is specific to tea and coffee, but we can make it broader later.

Then, there are issues within Australia we should be vocal about, for example the Close the Gap campaign and the “Pacific Solution”

Then there are international issues, such as human trafficking (specifically the selling of Women in China), the Diamond trade issues, HIV/AIDS awareness, etc.

I really feel like I need to learn to make a website and soon so that I can have info about all this stuff on there. It would be a great way to communicate with the broader church too.

To me, there is no solution to any of the world major problems that dont have problems or reasons they might not be as effective as we would like. Does that mean its ok not to try?

I dont have too much power in this world. Im not rich and I dont have a powerful job. The biggest power I think I do have is my education and the fact that I am a consumer in the global economy.

I feel like I need to use this power to do whatever I can. If this means buying some things and not buying others I can do that. It may not make a huge difference in the world, but it might make a difference. If heaps of other people did the same thing we can actually make businesses bankrupt, we can change their practices, we can support businesses that might not otherwise make it, we can change the world.

This is not easy, Im not trying to pretend it is. It seems to me the biggest barrier at the moment is that people think that their contribution is too small so it wont make a difference. im disappointed that people have this attitude, when a whole society or country are all thinking that they cannot do anything then nothing will get done.

I hope that makes some sense. I really wish that we would give making a difference a go. Coming up to chrsitmas I want to point people to www.tear.org.au have a look at (arguably) the worlds most useful gift catalogue. Maybe you can use your Christmas gifts to make a difference in the world.

well, kind of.

I have now registered a business name and have a domain name for my website. Im pretty excited about it all, now the actual hard work begins of sorting out how to make this happen.

The aim is to have a mail order fair trade business. The reason for this is that there are plenty of people who would like to buy fair trade stuff but dont really know where to get it from. So, hopefully, I will make it easy for them by sending stuff straight to them.