Maya fair trading - Miel Maya Honig

There are people behind honey

Fair Trade is an economy in the service of men, and not men in service of the economy

Miel Maya Honig is a small, Belgian non-for-profit organisation that works in partnership with marginalised beekeepers organised in co-operatives.

This partnership respects the Fair Trade criteria, of which the principles are: a fairer price for honey, an advance payment to the producers, a long-term relationship and a collective organisation of the producers.

Miel Maya Honig started working 25 years ago with beekeepers in Guatemala. As a consequence of the repression in Guatemala in 1982, the activity shifted to the other side of the boundary, to the south of Mexico (Chiapas). Now 500 beekeepers and their families (3000 people), benefit from the action of Miel Maya Honig in Guatemala and Mexico.

Maya Fair Trading annually imports approximately 100 tonnes of honey, from Mexico and Guatemala. 50% of the Maya honey is sold on the Belgian market. The remaining honey is exported to France, Norway, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Maya Fair Trading sells jars of multifloral, butter, and orange blossom honey; honey sweets, lollipops and cookies; and honey beer. On 20 October 2000 Maya Fair Trading organised a seminar in Brussels, Belgium about fair trade.

Participants were introduced to how Maya Fair Trading operates, with a presentation from each “link” in the chain: producer, exporter, importer, quality controller, manufacturer and distributor.

Next, participants chose between two workshops: Workshop I discussed the modalities of fair trade: What is a fair price? How can we fix and apply it? Is a fair price the answer to the needs of study of beekeeping production costs of 11 co-operatives in Latin America.

Workshop I discussed the development potential of fair trade: What are the opportunities or threats concerning the wholesale distribution of fair trade products? The Proceedings of the Seminar will be Spanish languages. Miel Maya Honig asbl is the organisation in charge of development education and Maya Fair Trading asbl is its commercial counterpart.

For more information please contact: Miel Maya Honig/ Maya Fair Trading.

E-mail: esneux@maya.be

Website: www.maya.be