Wirksworth Fairtrade Fortnight

Weaving a way forward in Fairtrade Fortnight

Wellspring Church in Wirksworth has been exploring the potential of weaving this autumn.  We offered a “Fabric and Faith Weaving Journey through Psalm 139” during the Wirksworth Festival, for anyone and everyone to come and try their hand at various looms.  Having seen the enthusiastic response to this venture, a “Community Loom” was then loaned to Churches Together in Wirksworth for their Fairtrade stall at the town’s October Farmers’ Market, celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight 2026.

People were invited to create messages of support for Fairtrade (the weft) and weave them into the warp.  The picture shows Rev Jenny Few (centre) with Churches Together colleagues at the stall.  They were also offering a free copy of a new booklet, Fairtrade Recipes from the Wirksworth Churches.  The editor, Ingrid Keith, Wellspring’s Fairtrade Rep, points out in the introduction that finding Fairtrade ingredients has become more challenging in recent years.  Items such as Fairtrade dried apricots and dates are no longer available locally and now have to be bought on line.  All the more important, therefore, to choose Fairtrade and grow the demand to bring back the old Fairtrade favourites.

The Churches Together team encouraged people to sign a digital petition asking our government to hold businesses accountable for human rights abuses and climate damage behind their products.  Fairtrade is a volunteer movement.  But the better the government legislation about how companies regulate their supply chains, the less vulnerable farmers need to rely on being able to sell through Fairtrade for a living wage and decent working conditions.

The Community Loom made an appearance at Wellspring’s All-age Harvest Service the next day, where Rev Kevin Price (pictured), inspired by the clasped hands of the Wirksworth Fairtrade logo, took hands as his theme.  With prompts from the congregation, he explored all that our hands can do, including selecting Fairtrade options when we shop and paying a fair price for them.

Wellspring Church is an LEP, created by the weaving together of the Wirksworth Baptist and Methodist churches in 2014.