Cumbria County, UK
Population: 488,000
Declaration date: 11th March 2006
www.cumbriafairtrade.org.uk

The Cumbria Fairtrade County campaign started in 2004 when campaigners from communities across the county met for the first time to share and learn from their experiences in promoting Fairtrade within their communities.  At that time Kendal was the only Fairtrade Town in the county, but at least five other groups were working towards it. Some ‘clusters’ of groups were forming but most were quite isolated from each other in a very large rural, mountainous county: isolated and yet with all sorts of experiences worth sharing and learning from. In addition to talking to each other, there was also a need to talk to people operating at the levels ‘above’ the communities – not just campaigners and residents - so councillors and officials were also invited to the first meeting.

The meeting was a great success, attended by over 30 people.  Apart from the exchange of information, there was a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm, and people came away motivated to do more.  They also wanted a follow-up meeting and asked for the groups to be loosely constituted in an informal network that met twice a year in ‘Open Meetings’, as they are open to anyone to attend.
The ‘Cumbria Fair Trade Network’ now has a formal structure with a Steering Committee, which meets every two months and has a constitution, and a Business and Communications Plan.  The Committee has representatives from groups all around the county (though not from every Fairtrade Town group) as well as a Cumbria County Council representative.  Some specific roles and responsibilities are assigned to committee members.

The idea of Cumbria becoming a Fairtrade County was raised at the initial meeting, but it was a year later that the idea started to generate action.  At this point Cumbria had seven Fairtrade Towns, there was strong support for Fairtrade from the Deputy Leader of the County Council and Somerset had become England’s first Fairtrade County.  There was, therefore, both momentum and evidence of county-wide grassroots success in Fairtrade campaigning as well as learning from another county to tap into.  This was made easier when luckily the ex-Coordinator of Somerset Fairtrade Network moved to Keswick in Cumbria and brought lots of experience with them! There were two areas within which to work: the political - with other councillors (the lesson from Somerset was to secure cross-party support), and the official (to ensure that commitment to procure Fairtrade products was both practical and legal). On 17th November 2005 a very strong resolution, almost identical to Somerset’s, was passed unanimously at a full County Council meeting. In the 18 months that followed the number of Fairtrade Towns in the County doubled to reach fifteen in total.

Reasons for success
1.    The first and most important reason lies with the formation of the Network as a meaningful group of groups who genuinely learn from, offer support to, share resources and ideas with, and motivate each other, and celebrate together. The Open Meetings are a key to the Network’s success in this respect – they are truly inspirational.
2.    The formation of a properly functioning and regularly meeting Network Steering Group has been vital to provide a framework (in the form of a Business and Communications Plan), and agreeing priorities and ways of working.
3.    Regular contacts with the County Council have been critical in monitoring the implementation of the resolution.  Though the quarterly Contact Group meetings have frequently lapsed, contacts with individuals from within the Group have continued to ensure momentum.

Top Tips
•    Be organised, meet frequently and regularly, and share the work.
•    Be ambitious, but realistic: don’t bite off more than you can chew.
•    Be passionate, but don’t bore people.
•    Set yourselves high standards in all that you do.
•    Play to your strengths.
•    Network, and learn from others, but remember that every community is different: what works in one place may not work in another.
•    Always ensure you have enough funds for what you want to do,     and manage your finances well.
•    Plan carefully, work systematically, but be flexible and opportunist, and use good luck when it comes to you.
•    Work on the best ‘multipliers’ , but don’t work alone: find allies.
•    Keep your identity: don’t be seen to represent any sectional interest, group, or organisation, and don’t get lost in a bigger entity.
•    Wherever you can, make the links between Fairtrade and Trade Justice.
•    Build good relationships with the media, and seek publicity at every turn.
•    Review progress regularly, and learn, learn, learn.

Remember getting Fairtrade Town status is not the end, only the beginning.  As soon as you have it, dream and plan for what comes next.