Orange Walk Town Holds First Fairtrade Market Day
Micro and small businesses that operate within the Orange Walk District took part in the first-ever Fairtrade Market Day on Saturday. Despite a heavy downpour that lasted for the better part of two hours, it did not dampen the spirit of the occasion or the businesses from selling their products. Orange Walk, known for its rich Mestizo and Maya cultures, also brought out of the event an infusion of those cultures, with natural products from Belize’s rainforests to promote economic viability for the products on sale. In this week’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday, News Five’s Marion Ali brings you the sights and sounds uniquely wrapped in this economic, cultural piece.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The cultural dances and music that were showcased on Saturday at the Orange Walk Central Park added a special touch to the day’s event.
It was the first-ever Orange Walk Fairtrade Market Day, designed to boost economic activity for micro and small business owners, while offering cultural music, dance and food for those who came from far and near. Chairman of the Orange Walk Fairtrade Committee, John Burgos told News Five that the event can only get better from year to year.
John Burgos, Chairman, Orange Walk Fair Trade Committee
John Burgos
“Today is the first of many Market Days that we’re gonna be doing to promote the local micro businesses in Orange Walk and Belize.”
Marion Ali
“What kind of effort did it take to put all of this together?”
John Burgos
“This is the result of over six months of a committed group of people that form part of the committee. The main objective is that we want these little small and micro business to have additional source of revenue and income or the household.”
One of those small businesses was Culturally Alive Kombucha, makers of a variety of sparkling probiotic drinks. They have been in existence for the past ten years in San Ignacio. They took their beverages to introduce to the folks from Orange Walk. Co-owner, Laine Hoogstraten did the honours.
Laine Hoogstraten
Laine Hoogstraten, Co-owner, Culturally Alive Kombucha
“Kombucha is a cultured beverage that’s main feature is probiotic. Probiotic is the positive bacteria – the helpful flora that you need for your digestion and for your immune system. This is a drink that you could enjoy as you would enjoy a soda, or instead of a beer or wine, this is an alternative beverage that has a little fizziness to it, it’s a little bit sweet, it’s a little bit sour. We have twelve different flavours. As much as we can, we draw from the flavours from the authentic herbs from Belize and bringing that into the mix with the probiotic, with the gentle detoxification that this probiotic provides. It also gives a natural B vitamin.”
Aside from the sparkling probiotic beverage, the owners of this business also offer a quick energy booster for the average consumer, as well as a special variety for diabetics.
There were also soaps made from natural herbs and spices from Belize’s rainforest. Jessica Reyes founded Reyes Organic Beauty in 2018, when her mom began developing dark spots on her hands.
Marion Ali
“You make what?”
Jessica Reyes, Owner, Reyes Organic Beauty
Jessica Reyes
“Facial and body soap bars, as natural as I can go. I have a shampoo and an oil, those were how I started because I had a lot of hair loss, and since going organic is the best way at the moment, so I went and infused my oils and there is where a shampoo bar came out.”
Reyes enrolled in a special course abroad to learn what products to blend for what skin or hair condition.
Jessica Reyes
“A friend was like, Hey, Jessica, they’re giving a course on soap bars. Do you want to try it? And I went. I did not take the entire course because I went for limited days, but while there I took the intro and while back home it was all study. I brought books and researched and kept in contact with the soap person from the U.S I create the soap to help you with certain things. Like skin imperfections or things that a baby can have or adults can have.”
There were also organically-grown jalapeno peppers, plants and compost produced by the Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association. Jinnel Ozaeta is the association’s program director.
Jinnel Ozaeta
Jinnel Ozaeta, Program Director, Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association
“Today we’re celebrating the Declaration of Orange Walk Town as a Fair Trade Town itself and Progressive Sugar Cane Producers is probably where the idea was born. We’re displaying our jalapenos. We’re also displaying seedlings (for jalapenos) because we have three greenhouses on our grounds and we usually grow radish, jalapenos, cucumbers, ethically grown with our own fertilizer chemical-free, and we also have mahogany trees that we bought to raffle for farmers or anybody that visits the booth.”
And after all the purchases, there were these baskets and containers that were made by Mercedes Garcia and her family company, Montalvan Arts and Crafts.
Mercedes Garcia, Owner, Montalvan Arts and Crafts (via translator)
Mercedes Garcia
“We have lamps, we have little baskets for tortillas, and baskets for clothes. And the table matches with eight chairs. Everything is manual. We don’t have any molding, it’s just that in your mind you make out what you have.”
Marion Ali
“What’s it made of?”
Mercedez Garcia
“It’s vial, it’s Spanish for a tree that grows with a lot of prickles and you take it off and you strip it off and dry it. Actually you could do it green.”
Speaking of green, the grounds weren’t exactly lush on Saturday because there was a heavy downpour that interrupted the event for almost two hours. The rain was out of the organizers’ control, but they were pleased with the turnout.
John Burgos
“I’m satisfied with the turnout so far. I know normally the crowd comes out after midday. That’s the time when they come for food, for entertainment. Things were looking up but the rain came and I think that kinda slowed it down but I still we’re going to have more visitors coming in. We have about thirty-two booths and we have from food to coconut water, to seaweed to relleno, escabeche, tamales, deer salpicon, healthcare products, you name it, we have it out here.”
Marion Ali reporting for News Five.
If you want to try the sparkling probiotic beverages, you can contact Culturally Alive Kombucha, at 676-9329. If your interest is in the natural skin and hair products, you can call 626-1351. And if you want to buy any of the baskets, you can call Mercedes Garcia at 602-8531.
