Local authorities and communities celebrate success of wild plant collection initiative

Wild plant collectors in Bac Kan studying sustainable harvesting guidelines produced under the UK Government Darwin funded project © TRAFFIC

Hanoi, Viet Nam, 15th March 2018 —Sixty collectors of wild medicinal and aromatic plants met in Bac Kan this week to reflect on their achievements and the challenges overcome during the implementation of a project on “Enhancing Management and Benefit Flows in Viet Nam’s Wild Medicinal Products.”

The three-year project helped train 1,060 local wild plant harvesters, including 460 women, in Viet Nam’s northern Bac Kan province on sustainable harvesting techniques and equitable trading practices following the FairWild Standard principles. 

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FairWild @ Biofach 2018: Why wild matters

FairWild at the Organic Africa Pavilion, BioFach 2018 ©Profound – Kyle HughesNuremburg, Germany, 14–17th February 2018—The FairWild Foundation once again attended BioFach, the world’s largest organic trade fair to showcase how their best-practice standards and certification scheme provide a unique opportunity to create a win-win situation for human development and the conservation of nature.

BioFach is a key annual event for all those involved in the trade of organic and wild plant ingredients and attracts producers, manufacturers, traders, brokers, NGOs, standard-setters and certifiers from the world over. FairWild Foundation was among the 3,218 exhibitors from a total of 93 countries. FairWild exhibited at the “Organic Africa Pavilion”, meeting with new and existing stakeholders to discuss the benefits that derive from sustainable trade of wild plant ingredients.

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Join FairWild @ BioFach 2018

January 2018 - Are you attending BioFach 2018, in Nuremberg, Germany 14-17 February? Join us at the world's largest Organic trade fair!

Find out more about FairWild at our booth on the Organic Africa Pavilion, Hall 4-359. Come and meet the FairWild team and stay for a cup of herbal tea (or coffee)!

Please also join us for our annual event in the Exhibitor Forum, on Thursday 15th February, 16:00 - 18:00 PM (München 2, NCC Mitte). At the event "Why wild matters: Achieving Development and Sustainability impacts with the FairWild Standard", we will introduce the FairWild Standard for wild plants as a means to achieve development goals and global commitments on biodiversity conservation, while at the same time contributing to meeting sustainability principles of the private sector.

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FairWild Foundation welcomes Mike Brook to the Board of Trustees

Mike Brook, Founder Director of the Organic Herb Trading Company, UK, joined the FairWild Board of Trustees in 2017.Zürich, December 2017 – This year saw the expansion of the FairWild Foundation Board of Trustees, with the welcoming of Mike Brook to the Board. His nomination was approved at the FairWild Annual Board meeting in July 2017. Mike now joins the seven other Trustees of the Foundation; a non-profit charitable organization registered in Zurich, Switzerland.

Mike Brook is the Founder Director of the Organic Herb Trading Company, UK. Passionate about organic herbs, Mike has built a business based on lasting relationships with growers worldwide, and has also pioneered organic production in the UK. He started by supplying herbalists from his own organic herb fields, and has since transformed the Organic Herb Trading Company to supply a diverse range of customers in the herbal tea, food, health & beauty and medicinal markets, including some of the UK's leading organic brands.

Mike will serve a three-year term as Trustee of the FairWild Foundation – helping to chart the course for the further development of the FairWild initiative, and ensure the organization stays true to its mission and achieves impact for wild plant populations and the livelihoods of harvesters worldwide.

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Job opportunity: FairWild Support Officer (position hosted by TRAFFIC)

Cambridge, UK, November 2017 – Fancy working for FairWild? Our partner organisation, TRAFFIC, have advertised for a "FairWild Support Officer", based in Cambridge, UK. This part-time role (20 hrs / week) is a maternity cover contract offered for nine months, with possibility of extension.

It is an exciting and challenging opportunity to help us build the FairWild initiative through support to the FairWild Secretariat, which TRAFFIC hosts on behalf of FairWild Foundation. You'll need good organisation and communication skills and attention to detail - ideally with a background in standards and certification, and/or a knowledge of sustainable trade and wild plants conservation issues.

Please visit the TRAFFIC website to learn more, and to submit an application – deadline for applications is Monday 11th December. http://www.traffic.org/job-opportunities/

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