Alex Pittinsky, Chris Sarvadi, Ryan Vaughn, Ross Salese, and Nick Guldin, all from Cabrini College, went to the first Fair Trade city in the United States and did this video.
Ryan had this to say:
When Sunday the 14th finally came around and I was finally going on this field trip to Media, Pennsylvania, I really didnt know what to expect. When we first drove by the main street that the fair was on the first thing I saw was a giant stage, and people tuning their guitars and basses and setting up their drum sets. The sight of this made my heart race, because I personally love music so much, and get so excited when I hear live music. When we finally parked the car I was very anxious to get back to the road and check out the rest of the fair. After walking down the road a little, we arrived at the main road where the fair was. I stood at the edge of the road and took about 5 pictures of directly down road, where it was just tents and smiling faces as far as they eye could see. After taking in the scene for a while I turned to my left where I saw a guy getting out of his mini van carrying a bunch of bags. On the back of his Ford Windstar his entire trunk was absolutely covered with bumper stickers, some even spilling off onto the side of the car. These bumper stickers ranged from band logos such as The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Cream, and many more. He also had many anti war bumper stickers, along with the NO FARMS NO FOOD sticker that a few of my friends have.
The one sticker that grabbed my attention out of all of them was the one that read Make Art Not War, which was exactly what he did. I decided to go up and talk to him, and I soon found out that his name was Fran Rodgers, and he made tie die, hemp necklaces, and hemp shoulder slings. I started to talk to him for awhile and he went on to tell me that the one thing that he found extreme happiness in was making art, so he had mastered the art of hemp making and tie dying. He told me that he spends every Saturday at a flea market in the town next to media, and he does the same thing that he was doing there. When I asked him why he likes selling his goods so much he told me, I like to see people put a new necklace or t-shirt on for the first time and see their face light up, because they knowthis shits definitely for me. This to me made me very happy because here is a guy that isnt exactly making a lot of money from what he is doing, but he does it to bring joy to others.
This was probably the best first experience I could have possibly had, because right away it showed me that the Fair Trade Fair was all about people selling their goods and other peoples goods, all just to bring joy to others.
After talking to Fran for a while I decided that I would walk down the road for a little with the rest of my group and check out the rest of the little shops and tents on all down the road. Everywhere I looked I saw delicious food, beautiful jewelry, and of course, lots of good music everywhere. Last year I took a photography class and I discovered that I really enjoy of taking pictures, so while I was at the fair I just took pictures of everything. I took pictures of everything in the shops that we walked into, even a few of this little kid who was jamming out on this handmade drum in Earth and State. I also took pictures of a group of about 7 or 8 people who were at this tent with
all these drums, and they were all just playing together making one big jam sesh.
I guess the point im trying to make here is that while at this fair trade fair, everyone was so happy and just enjoying themselves all day. All of these experiences were able to give me the right prospective on Fair Trade, since I hadnt known quite to much about it before arriving. Now that Ive been to this fair I realized that the whole point behind Fair Trade is doing something that you absolutely love and have a passion for, and selling it to others so that you can bring a smile to their face. These people give up so much of their time in order to make all their crafts, and then they come out day after day on the streets and markets, doing what they do best, bringing joy to people's lives, and that is what Fair Trade is all about.
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Why I support Fair Trade...by transfairusa1,454 views
fair trade is cool
jedimind24 1 year ago