A SERIES of events is taking place across the district in support of Fairtrade Fortnight.

Bradford Council, businesses, churches and groups are staging a wide range of activities.

On Saturday, members of Haworth Fairtrade Group travelled on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, handing out samples of Fairtrade goodies.

Also present were staff from Oxenhope Co-op, and musical entertainment was provided.

Bradford Council employees baked cakes using Fairtrade ingredients such as cocoa, chocolate, bananas, sugar and spices. The items were sold to colleagues and £175 was raised for the Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank.

This Saturday, there will be Fairtrade drinks and cakes – plus product tastings – in the Old Mall Cafe, in Keighley’s Airedale Shopping Centre, between 10am and 2pm.

The event, as with several other Fairtrade activities, is being held to tie in with the annual International Women’s Day.

A Fairtrade and Bronte Society spring walk takes place on Sunday, March 17.

The event celebrates the Rev Patrick Bronte, with a focus on his social reform campaigning.

Walkers will set off from St James’ Church, Thornton, at 9.30am and head – via Denholme – to Haworth.

They aim to arrive at the Old School Room at about 2pm for Fairtrade refreshments and to join a Bronte 200 event.

Keighley West councillor Adrian Farley, the council’s Fairtrade champion, said: “Almost all cocoa farmers in West Africa live in poverty, earning less than half of what is considered to be a ‘living income’ for the region.

“For the women, the situation is even worse. They may work hard on the farm, transport the cocoa beans to market and still take care of children and family life, but often with fewer rights than men.

“Fairtrade Fortnight aims to help make a living income a reality for cocoa farmers in West Africa.

“We can all do our bit by choosing Fairtrade and helping improve the lives of the people who grow our food.

“I’d like to thank all the volunteers, businesses and groups involved in Fairtrade Fortnight this year for giving the district’s people an opportunity to make a difference.”

Haworth was the world’s first Fairtrade village and Bradford district became a Fairtrade zone in 2006.

All coffee, tea, chocolate and bananas provided as part of Bradford Council meetings and events are procured wherever possible from Fairtrade sources.