With its 150 workers, Craft Aid is far from being an ordinary company for several reasons. This non-governmental organisation (NGO)’s first objective is to promote the concept of fair trade, quite unknown in Mauritius. As a member of the International Federation of Alternative Trade (IFAT), it has to adhere to its code of practice, thus abiding by a certain number of rules.

As last Saturday was the International Day for Fair Trade, Craft Aid organised special events – a perfect occasion to discover the mission and daily work of this NGO. This special day is celebrated in about 50 countries all over the world where seminars and exhibitions are organised. In Mauritius, Craft Aid is the only place where this is celebrated. For the occasion, an exhibition (where people were able to buy products) was organised as well as a cultural show.

Members of the IFAT are linked through a trade partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect towards others. The aim is to reach more equity in the world market. “We have to abide by a certain number of criteria such as sex equality, respect of the environment; we also have to help poor people, remain ethical in the way we deal, we do not employ children…” explains Soodesh Mockoobah, Craft Aid’s human resources manager.

Founded in 1982, the initial mission of Craft Aid was to provide disabled people with a job to allow them to earn a living while being rehabilitated into society. Among the 150 people employed in the organisation, about 45% suffer from a physic or mental handicap. Many of the others are poor people. “More than only getting a salary at the end of the month, these people feel they are doing something constructive, they meet others and feel they have people around to listen to them and help if necessary.”

The organisation is divided into five departments: furniture manufacturing, sugar, cards or albums, serigraphy and textiles. All the products except for the furniture are sent to the US, France, the UK, etc… which guarantees a respectable turnover for the organisation.

All the products made by the organisation’s staff are exported to the United States or Europe. And not to the least famous companies: Body shop and Traidcraft to mention just two of them. “We actually export our products to members of IFAT only; this is a way of showing our commitment to fair trade. Moreover, our products are much appreciated abroad and they order our whole production capacity.” This may be why so many people went to the “one day exhibition” last week… This is the only day when Craft Aid sells its products on the local market.

<B>Special sugars for export</B>

The textile department is divided into two parts; on the ground floor a small hall is given over to the manufacture of samples and, on the first floor, there is a much bigger workshop where about 50 people make different types of textile products – T-shirts, kitchen clothes, dresses…

The serigraphy department is the place where handicraft impressions are done on T-shirts or cards. Four people are employed in this section, two of whom are disabled. The supervisor believes that disabled people enjoy their jobs there since it is different everyday. He is the one to design the prints and he makes sure to always create new designs so as the staff doesn’t get bored. They can do up to 2,000 cards and albums a day and around 700 T-shirts.

One of the most amazing departments is the sugar packing one… The most impressive aspect of it is not the fact that the 20 people there pack the sugar – initially in 50 kg packs – into smaller bags but to see the several types of sugar Mauritius is able to produce. On the local market, we actually get only a small part of the capacity. The different types of special sugar (dry demerara, dark muscovado) are used for different purposes in Europe. The European customer would not use the same type of sugar for pastry making and to put into a hot drink for instance. The supervisor insists that all employees are trained to abide by the HACCP norms. These are in fact hygiene norms to respect such as the wearing of a cap, the absence of all jewels…

The 12 employees of the furniture sector (among whom10 are disabled) do not have a fixed job everyday. It may change according to the type of furniture they are doing. The manufacturing of beds, tables and so on all depends on orders they receive from their customers.

Last but not least… The cards and albums department or should we say the flowers department… The visitor is greeted by the smell of lavender as he enters. The producton line is well organised. After flowers have been cut, treated and dried by some of the workers, others take them and stick them on cards or albums. The flowers are chosen to suit various occasions such as weddings or birthdays…

After a guided tour of the Craft Aid factory, there is no one product which appears better or more beautiful than the others… All creations by the staff are a proof that disabled people can do as good a job as any other person as soon as they are given the chance... It is also a way of adapting the way production is done to their capacities… The only disappointment is the fact that we can’t have access to their products in Mauritius… Just make sure you don’t miss their next exhibition – next year!