CUMBRE DEL SAJAMA

1 | Source: Kara Gammell, The Telegraph, “Gold: you can now buy Fairtrade bullion and jewellery”, 14 February 2011 - www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/gold/8323260/Gold-you-can-now-buy-Fairtrade-bullion-and-jewellery.html

2 | Source: ARM - FLO, “FLO and ARM create historic partnership for gold from artisanal and small scale miners by launching Fairtrade and Fairmined gold standards”, 17 March 2010

“The new economic model provided through fair certification of gold will help us to strengthen gold-mining cooperatives in Bolivia and to considerably improve the living conditions of miners and their families thanks to the social premiums.”

Daniel LAFUENTE,Cumbre del Sajama

Worldwide, and especially in Latin America and Africa, about 15 million people work in gold extraction in small artisanal mining operations. Acci-dents, poisoning, child exploitation, smuggling, violence, damage to the environment… these miners’ working conditions are generally appalling and the business practices of the traditional middlemen often condemn these workers and their family to poverty and misery.

The International Labour Organization (ILO), for instance, has pointed out that risks of accidents were six times higher in small mines than in large-scale industrial mines. The ILO especially highlights the threats emanating from daily exposure to the many toxic products used on the sites (nitric acid, mercury and cyanide) for the health of the miners and their family as well as for the environment and natural resources (water, crops, etc.)1.

A NEW DEAL

In 2004, a network of independent organisations created the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) to do something about this harsh reality and to provide a perspective of de-velopment and justice to some 100 million people who directly or indi-rectly live from such artisanal extrac-tion activities. Between 2008 and 2009, ARM and FLO, the federation of Fairtrade labelling organisations have worked together on establish-ing and formalizing the first Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold label.

This new label is based on 5 major principles2:

A minimum purchase price guaran-teed to the miners’ organisations.

Certified organisations are given a Fairtrade social premium and an additional premium of 5% if the gold sold meets strict ecologi-cal standards (no chemical treat-ment).

Trading procedures managed by miners’ organisations, which en-able them to better sell their pro-duction, even to have production pre-financed.

Certified mining sites must apply safe and responsible practices when using toxic chemicals for extracting gold ore.

Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold does not contribute to con-flicts or violence. On the contrary, the presence of certified organi-sations in zones of conflict helps restoring peace through economic stabilisation, traceability and the transparency of certified sales of gold.

THE FIRST FAIR CERTIFIED INGOT

The first fair certified gold ingot was produced in January 2011 by the mining cooperative of Cotapata in the La Paz province in Bolivia.

BOLIVIAN FAIR TRADE GOLD

BOLIVIALa Paz

KEY FIGURESBTC contribution : 67 707 euros

Project duration : 1,5 years

Beneficiaries : 400 miners (men and women)

This certification is the result of a project, starting 2009, that is implemented by Cumbre del Sajama, a Bolivian organisation that has helped mining communities since 1997, and financed by the Trade for Development Centre (TDC) of the Belgian development agency, which already was involved in 2007 and 2008, in an earlier programme.

At the time, the technical certification criteria of ARM were tested, product traceability evaluated and miners’ organisations made aware about the fair trade principles and rules. Especially thanks to the results obtained during this first project (and the results of similar products in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia) FLO decided to commit itself to this gold certification programme.

Thus, when ARM and FLO put together their expertise and know-how to jointly elaborate this new Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold label, Cumbre del Sajama and the miners’ groups that were already involved in this approach had acquired some significant experience in the area of certification.

And thus launched Cotapata the first certified ingot of gold on the world market.

MORE THAN ANY OTHER PRODUCT, GOLD HAS A HUGE EMOTIONAL AND SYMBOLIC VALUE. SINCE THIS FIRST FAIRTRADE AND

FAIRMINED LABEL WAS ANNOUNCED, MANY DREAM OF OFFERING OR WEARING JEWELLERY THAT IS MADE WITH VIRTUOUS GOLD.

NECKLACES, BRACELETS, RINGS…

OFFER SHINY HOPE.

AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING

By labelling these first ingots, the main objective of the project was achieved, and new horizons were opened for miners’ communities in the world. Protection of the environ-ment and of workers, adoption of so-cial regulations, financing of commu-nity infrastructure, valorisation of the work of women... The social benefits of this new fair standard are already noticeable in this sensitive business sector.

Yet, this is only a start. The initiative has already won the support of some players in the jewellery and luxury business, including Stephen Webster who has created one-off pieces for the likes of Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Kate Moss, and is now the crea-

3 | Source: Kate Carter, The Guardian, “Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard”, 14 February 2011 - www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/14/fairtrade-gold

tive director of Garrard, one of the oldest jewellery firms in the world. “We intend to quickly grow the vol-ume of business we conduct using Fairtrade gold”, he says and he adds, “One day I want it to be 100% of the gold we sell. Even though the cost to us for such gold is over 10% higher we will be absorbing this surplus. We do not want price to be the reason not to choose a more responsible product” 3.

To find out more: www.cumbredelsajama.comwww.fairgold.org

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