Fair Trade refers to business practices in which the primary goal is not profit maximization, but rather the fight against exploitation and poverty caused by economic, political or social circumstances. So, Fair Trade is a form of international business that tries to guarantee producers and laborers in developing countries fair and respectful economic and social treatment. Fair Trade is fundamentally opposed to the exploitative business practices so often used by multinational corporations.

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TRADE?

1) Assuring a fair price to producers in the Southern Hemisphere
A “fair” price is the price of a product (food, handicrafts, etc.) that covers the needs of the workers and their families and allows them to live a dignified life.
2)  Guaranteeing dignity in the workplace
A fair-trade organization guarantees its workers a healthy environment that fulfills all security requirements. Discrimination towards and exploitation of minority workers are not accepted.
3)  Democratization of the work process
The producers are usually organized (in co-operatives, for instance), so as to ensure the participation of all workers and make them more responsible. Furthermore, there aren’t large differences in pay between the various positions in the organization.
4)  Developing environmental sustainability
Fair-trade organizations favor work that is non-polluting and organic, with minimal industrialization. When possible, they also use recycled material.
5)  Promoting community solidarity and local development
Fair Trade aims for a strong, positive social impact, with the redistribution of resources in the interest of the local community. For instance, fair-trade organizations support the construction of schools, roads and hospitals and work to improve production methods.

Minka Fair Trade
In 2008, PeruEtico inaugurated a new set of tours that collaborate with Minka Fair Trade: “Fair-Trade Tours”.
Minka Fair Trade is a network of organizations of producers, mostly from rural Peru. Minka, in Quechua, means: “working together for the greater good.”
Minka is an active member of and driving force behind the International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT), since the federation’s creation in 1991. Since 1978, Minka has worked in Fair Trade, with the goal of introducing Peruvian produce and handicrafts into the local and international market.
Its work consists of: supplying raw materials; creating procedures to ensure quality; designing stuffing and labels; researching and creating new, better markets; creating and experimenting with new marketing strategies; spotting and running small projects of integral development in the communities.
In 1978, Minka started to commercialize its products, directing them towards foreign markets. Only 20% of Minka’s products is sold through the fair-trade network. The remaining 80% is sold by individual families in the traditional local market. This traditional market functions by speculation, informally, with large nets of intermediaries and, above all, without any moral principles.
Thus, in 1999, Minka decided to start a tourism project, with the goal of increasing profits and covering basic needs, without destroying the familial unity. In addition, this tourism has created a more direct relationship with the consumer. In this exchange of experiences, the producers demonstrate their ancestors’ techniques, explain the inherited philosophies and, above all, show the effect of Fair Trade in the organizational life of the communities.

PeruEtico, Minka and Fair-Trade Tourism
The term “Fair-Trade Tourism” comes from the need to join two concepts: “tourism” (responsible, ethical and sustainable) with “Fair Trade” (generally associated with the word “business”).
In collaboration with Minka and to its thirty years of experience with local communities, PeruEtico offers tours in which you’ll discover the roots of Fair Trade.
Who makes the beautiful handicrafts or the alpaca sweaters you can find in fair-trade stores in the U.S. and Europe? What processes and challenges are hidden behind our fair-trade purchases? Together, we’ll answer these questions, with the help of the artisans themselves. We’ll go into their homes, we’ll share moments of their lives, and we’ll go home knowing that we’ve experienced something unforgettable.

FEATURES OF FAIR-TRADE TOURS
Lodging in Lima at Minka Headquarters, Minka Wasy, where we’ll get to see up close the largest exporter of fair-trade products in Peru.
A night in a local family’s home during visits to two communities: Huayllano on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca and Cuyo Grande (or Cuyo Chico) in Pisaq, near Cusco.
Day trip to the Collasuyo community, on the Andean altiplano, near Lake Titicaca, specialized in working alpaca fiber.
The project contribution goes to Minka Fair Trade which redistributes it at the end of the year among the producers, who organize projects that benefit their communities.

Fair-Trade South & Andes - 19 days
A classic: beautiful Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and Taquile Island, and finally Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Fair-trade producers, long-term collaborators with MINKA FAIR TRADE, will open up to us worlds unknown to mass tourism, as they tell us about their lives, their experiences, their problems and their victories after 30 years of cooperative work. A truly unique, authentic look at Peru…   ...
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Fair-Trade Andes - 12 days
12 days to explore Lima, Lake Titicaca and Taquile Island, Cusco and the Sacred Valley, and finally Machu Picchu. Fair-trade producers, long-term collaborators with MINKA FAIR TRADE, will open up to us worlds unknown to mass tourism. A different, authentic look at Peru…   ...
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Fair-Trade Trek - 17 days
A truly unique trip… to the roots of Peruvian Fair Trade. If you love to hike through breathtaking, unforgettable landscapes, this is the trip for you… we’ll go on a fantastic trek, the Inca Trail (or Lares or Choquequirao), exploring the Andes and the Incan culture on foot.     We’ll also introduce you to fair-trade producers, long-term collaborators with MINKA FAIR TRADE, the foremost fair-trade organization in Peru. Potters, wood carvers and ...
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