Organization: Fairtrasa
Country: Mexico
Patrick Struebi is changing the face of fairtrade exportation across Europe, North America and beyond. Through his organization, Fairtrade South America (Fairtrasa), he has developed a hybrid certification program, which links sustainable agriculture with community empowerment. His methods have provided small scale producers with access to international markets, increased production capabilities, fostered community development, and brought new products into the international marketplace.
After spending 5 years working with small growers in Mexico, Fairtrasa replicated their model in only one year to Peru by establishing a fully-functioning organization. Today the Peru program has eclipsed that of Mexico with 1,100 farmers compared to Mexico's 900. In July 2011, Fairtrasa continued its expansion by establishing their own import company in Europe to give retailers direct access to their products. With Fairtrasa's holding company in Switzerland, they currently have offices in England, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and India. Fairtrasa's current market for product sales is 70% in Europe and 30% in the USA and Canada where their products can be found in all major supermarkets.
The market for fairtrade and "sustainable food" products is growing by 20% in the USA, highlighting a movement for more accountability in food sources. Realizing the core systemic issue with fairtrade is that importers price-gouge farmers, Patrick's goal is to bring down the cost of organic food and thus is looking to create a movement around Fairtrasa's mission and expand their reach around the globe.
Given the current scope of their operations, Patrick's objective is to reach 20 countries in the next 8 years. His primary plan to scale is to use a franchise model by finding entrepreneurial farmers, establishing a local-to-local training methodology, and including more intensive capacity-building modules on farming practices. Fairtrasa is also looking to go beyond their specialty of fruit and has already moved into wine (Argentina) and spices (India). Perhaps their most ambitious goal is to launch an IPO in the next 10 years and become the first fair trade/sustainable food company in the world listed on the stock exchange. By enlarging his global fairtrade system, Patrick is poised to develop socially conscious exportation throughout the Americas and the rest of the world.
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Brendan Martin - Ashoka Globalizer Fellowby AshokaGlobalizer124 views
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