This week join Fairtrade Label South Africa in their campaign to promote an ethical alternative for all coffee lovers.

Farmers like the one pictured here benefit from Fairtrade's efforts (Photograph by Natalie Bertrams)

While there are many events and initiatives on the theme of fair trade happening internationally - in correlation with last Saturday's World Fair Trade Day - this will be the second time Fairtrade Coffee Week takes place in South Africa.

“Fairtrade Coffee Week has a special meaning for Fairtrade, both locally and internationally, as it celebrates our flagship product and the thousands of small-scale farmers involved in Fairtrade coffee production worldwide,” says FLSA’s Executive Director, Boudewijn Goossens.

Stay healthy this winter with herbal tea, nature's own gentle medicine.

There is a herbal tea for every ailment

When it's cold out there and the wind is a-blowing, there is nothing like a good old cup of tea to warm the cockles of the heart. But by adding milk or sugar we lose much of the health quality of warm drinks, which makes herbal tea a great alternative to keep us hydrated during winter. Plus, the healing properties of herbs is a wisdom that dates far back into our history, and still holds true today.

Herbal teas can help address certain minor health issues, but of course in more severe cases other medications would probably be best. Below are some of the more widely available teas that can help aid our bodies.

Green Tea

Fairtrade Label South Africa celebrated their first ambassador this week, award-winning musician Loyiso Bala.

Loyiso visits a Fairtrade funded crèche (Photographer: Sydelle Willow Smith)

Joining the rest of the mingling media, we sipped delicious Fairtrade wine under the cool trees of Oude Libertas farm estate. Speeches commenced after the old slave bell was rung: the sound of irony.

'I plan to not just be a face, but to really get involved hands-on, so that hopefully this same time next year I can tell you about all the amazing Fairtrade projects I have been involved in,' commented Loyiso jovially during his speech last Tuesday.

Leeks, lettuce, lemon juice, lamb, loaves of bread and lovingly made mozzarella. The Dargle Valley is home to many small producers of good food. Most homesteads have a vegetable garden to supply their kitchens and often share the surplus with neighbours.

Dargle Local Living is an initiative aimed at building a better future for our community, starting by listing as much of the food which is locally produced in a small, sustainable way as possible.

At the market held beside ilPostinoResturant, you will find handmade cheese, mixed greens, pickles, jams, quiches, gooseberries, tomato plants, compost, farm yard eggs (duck, quail and chicken), pumpkins, homemade muesli and natural yoghurt too!

Where have all the fish gone?

The End of the Line urges us to change our view on fish

Based on the book 'The End of The Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat' written by journalist Charles Clover, this prestigious documentary serves as a wake-up call for all mankind.

Having won numerous awards including the Puma Creative Award and Environment Award at the 2010 One World Media Awards, The End of the Line asks us to re-evaluate the way we see fish.

Fairtrade: the facts

• SA is home to the first Fairtrade wine operation in the world – Thandi Wines (2003)
• wine has become one of the most important Fairtrade products in SA
• as of March 2012 SA boasts 16 Fairtrade certified wine grape producers, and over 39 companies involved in Fairtrade wine-making and trading
• in 2010 17 million bottles of Fairtrade wine were drunk globally
• two thirds of these were from SA
• for every Fairtrade labelled bottle you buy, 50 cents goes back to the farm workers to use for social economic investment (some include education and training programmes for workers and families)
• Fairtrade certification means wine is produced sustainably in accordance with Fairtrade Standards

The latest eat in magazine is now on the shelf and worth laying your hands on to drool over the winning foods that include Earthshine's range of Kale Chips (innovation award), Croft Chickens (best organic or free-range producer), Oude Bank Bakkery (best small producer: Bakery) and Boon Hill Salad Leaves (best small producer: Earth).

This edition is labelled the ultimate green shopping guide and lists farmers' markets, organic vegetables, sustainable seafood and free-range beef etc.

It also has a section on shopping ethically in SA, where urban sprout makes it to the list of websites to visit to stay in the green! (good to know we're still well regarded out there)

Get your copy at a stockist near you.

See our event calendar for details

South Africa's Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (80), revered around the world for his life-long fight against the oppression of people, became the first world leader today to embrace our planet and all its inhabitants in a new vision for the future.

By signing Compassion in World Farming's Vision for Fair Food and Farming at an official event recently at his Cape Town office, Archbishop Tutu leads the way towards a new era of sustainable, humane, and environmentally-responsible farming methods.

Said Tozie Zokufa, Compassion's South African Representative: "We thank Tata for signing Compassion's Vision for Fair Food and Farming. Tata's signature today is a triumph for the Earth, all its people, as well as for farmed animals."