100% Fairtrade bananas at Sainsbury's
A growing future.
In February 2007, Justin King visited banana farms in St Lucia and met one of many banana farmers helped by Fairtrade.
'Fairtrade makes a lot of difference, I get $7 more on a box of bananas and I have personally gained funding to fix up my shed. More widely, it helps with community aids like helping the Dennery hospital and schools in my community. I'm hoping my daughter can now go to college'. Rennicks Doxilly says, Fairtrade banana farmer, St Lucia.
Mr. Rennicks Doxilly has been a banana farmer for 32 years and owns a three acre farm at Hill Twenty Babonneau, quarter of Castries. He worked with WINBAN for 29 years, Ranju farms for 2 years and with SCIC Fertilizer mixing plant for 1 year. He is currently employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, in the Banana Emergency Recovery Unit where he supervises the demonstration plot.
Even with a normal eight to four job, Mr. Doxilly still finds ample time to efficiently manage his own farm through daily routine activities. On a typical Monday when Mr. Doxilly is not harvesting, (he harvests fortnightly) he does general sanitation work around his shed before going off to work. On harvest Mondays he goes through the preparation stage but leaves the harvesting in the more than capable hands of his wife. After work he joins his wife to complete the harvest and subsequently brings his fruit to the inland depot, where he offers them for sale.
A Tuesday morning would find our farmer friend doing one of two things. In a harvest week Doxilly would start his day by cleaning up his shed, removing debris and other discarded material. On Tuesday afternoon after returning from his regular job one could find him scrubbing the shed in continuation of the post-harvest sanitation effort. In a non harvest week he would typically spend early morning and after work de-suckering and propping his plants.
Mr. Doxilly explained that on Wednesdays he would detrash, ensuring that every plant was given due attention and that unwanted pseudostems were taken off, leaving the least competition for the parent plant. On a Thursday, time on the farm is spent sleeving (he also does early sleeving) and deflowering. Friday, he explained, is a much awaited day of relaxation. On this day Doxilly goes to the Bank to check up on his fiscal standing and later in the afternoon proceeds to the place he refers to as his “studio” (a local bar) where he enjoys a brew and catches up with his friends.
On Saturday, a day off from his regular job, Doxilly continues with the detrashing effort. He also does some general field sanitation work and lowering of diothene sleeves as well as otherwise non routine activities such as placement of fertilizer. Sunday he explains is generally a continuation of Saturday except on harvest weeks when these Sundays are spent erecting his boxes in preparation of course, for the harvest.
