Netherlands facilitates fair trade opportunities for Lankans

Ruwanthi Abeyakoon in Amsterdam

"Wereldwinkel" which means the world shop is an organisation that imports handicraft, spices, sweets and other gift items from developing countries to assist entrepreneurs trying to reach the international market.

The organisation provides an opportunity for the rural entrepreneurs to sell their products at a fair price.

There are no intermediates in the trade and the small and medium entrepreneurs are given an honest and a fair price for their products.

Hiske Zwaan from the "2Bfair" organisation said she imports goods made by handicapped from the project Jayamedura in Sri Lanka.

"They are mostly wooden handicraft and paintings. Through the fair price project the handicapped will find a market for their products," she said.

The employees of the world shop are volunteers. There are 12,500 volunteers working in 320 world shops in Netherland. In 2007, the world shop won the certificate for the best gift shop in the Netherlands.

The vision of this organisation is to support international businesses making the producers stronger by advising and providing information about fair trade.

"We give the producers the experience that their products are demanded by us and buying their products is not for help or aid but trade," a volunteer of the world shop, Corrie de Groot said.

The project also strengthens producer networks, sharing knowledge and experience to develop the businesses of entrepreneurs. International fair trade movements such as IFAT International Federation of Alternative Trade) assists and promotes this project. The world shop imports handicrafts from developing countries like Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Peru, South Africa including Sri Lanka.

The products on display at the world shop