Fair Trade Stirling going the distance in cycling fundraiser for Malawi

Fair Trade Stirling is holding a sponsored bike ride to raise money for its long-term partners in the Karonga District of Malawi.

Article Source: Fair Trade Stirling
Last Updated: 4 September 2025 15:00

A group of volunteers are virtually cycling 300 of the 7,500 miles between Stirling and Karonga before the end of September, with the aim of raising £1,500 to support the training needs of young people in the district’s fair trade rice growing communities. Further cycling fundraisers are planned by the group over the coming years with all the miles totted up to reach the total distance from Stirling to Karonga. This will surpass previous virtual cycling fundraising events which have taken the group as far as Libya.

Cllr Alasdair Tollemache, Stirling Council’s Fair Trade representative on Fair Trade Stirling (FTS), is among those in the group putting their pedal to the metal for the fundraiser.

He said: “We have been proud to work with the communities in Karonga for 15 years and help provide them with vocational skills.

“This year we are raising funds to help meet the cost of training materials such as cloth, metals and wood as well as a new priority coming from our partners – the provision of basic skills for younger children.

“By supporting this fundraiser you will be empowering poor and disadvantaged young people in Malawi to develop the skills to secure a sustainable livelihood in the future. This will enable them to improve their living standards, pay school fees and provide food for their families, as well as other wide-ranging economic, social and environmental benefits.”

Jon Cape, FTS Co-ordinator said: “The virtual journey to Malawi is a novel and low-cost way of building our relationship with our Malawi partners. Rather than making a physical trip, it means that all our fundraising goes directly to support our Malawi partners.”

Sponsorship can be made at the Just Giving website justgiving.com by searching Fair Trade Stirling or via this link www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alasdairtollemache.

Fair Trade Stirling is a voluntary organisation that works with various bodies, including Stirling Council, to promote Fairtrade and fairly traded goods.

Stirling Council first passed a motion in support of Fairtrade in March 2004. This action, combined with the work of the Fair Trade Stirling group, led to Stirling receiving Fairtrade city status later that year.

In October 2012, the council passed a further motion about expanding its support for Fair Trade Stirling. As a result, the whole council area was awarded Fairtrade Zone status in 2013.

Fair trade is an international movement that improving trading practices to guarantee a better deal for disadvantaged farmers and workers in developing countries. It involves entering into long-term trading relationships, agreeing on stable prices for producers and giving developing businesses support so their workers can gain skills.

For more information on Fair Trade Stirling and a list of places selling Fairtrade goods in the area, visit: fairtradestirling.org/

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