Archive for February, 2008

“Fairtrade Fortnight” at the University of Bradford

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Fairtrade continues to raise its profile across the UK. In the case of the University of Bradford (home of the Fair Tracing project’s principal investigator Dr Apurba Kundu), an institution-wide Fairtrade status was acheived in December 2006 by making more ethically-sound food and drink choices available for its staff and students.

Fair Tracing Fortnight

This year, the University of Bradford is holding a “Fairtrade Fortnight” beginning from 25 February to 7 March that will include a public debate on “Fairtrade and Trade Justice”, a screening of the documentary “Coca Cola: Drinking the World Dry”, a presentation of the play “Dreams of an African Child”, storytelling events and special Chololate and Nut days.

Special report on the growth of the fairtrade movement

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

The Society section of The Guardian published a special report on fair trade yesterday, which looks at the growth of the Fairtrade movement.  Some of the topics it considers are whether fair trade is a permanent solution to poverty, whether the goods are in conflict with the environmental impact of their production (such as flying the products in from far-off countries), and whether big brands, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S, are in fact committed to the cause. 

Major Grant for TechnoServe to Double Coffee Incomes of Small-Scale Farmers in East Africa

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

$46.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help small-scale farmers improve coffee quality, increase production and link to markets.

JANUARY 25, 2008 — Washington, DC A significant grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow TechnoServe to help small-scale coffee farmers in East Africa double their incomes.

The $46.9 million, four-year grant will fund an initiative to help approximately 180,000 farmers living on less than $2 a day improve the quality of their coffee. Better quality translates into higher prices and increased incomes that can help break the cycle of poverty. The initiative will be based on a collaborative approach between farmers and TechnoServe to develop local solutions for local needs. The grant is envisioned as the first phase of a larger TechnoServe program.

Tracing Chianti

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Want to obtain more information about the bottle of Chianti you just purchased? You can trace it here (in Italian). Each bottle has a code than can be entered via the web form or by sending a text message.

Open Source Data Entry Tool for Mobile Devices

Monday, February 18th, 2008

EpiSurveyor allows anyone to very easily create a handheld data entry form, collect data, and then transfer the data back to a desktop or laptop for analysis. EpiSurveyor is one key part of a comprehensive technology partnership led by DataDyne with the support of the UN Foundation, the Vodafone Group Foundation, the WHO, the CDC, and Nokia. Our vision is to address the need for better public health data by providing sustainable and adaptable software tools to the developing countries themselves. 

India’s greener IT revolution

Monday, February 18th, 2008

“The man who helped mastermind India’s “green revolution” in agriculture in the 1960s is now hoping to do a similar thing for information technology in the country.”

A survey on coffee shop chains (January 2008)

Monday, February 18th, 2008

“Inferior coffee at an inflated price, that’s the verdict of a new survey on the coffee shop chains that have sprung up over the UK. You get a better brew at an independent coffee shop. But how are the small guys staying afloat?”

Food Labels and Their Meaning …

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Stuck on you 

“Organic or fairtrade? Sustainable or certified? With so many labels on food, clothes and white goods, it’s a miracle that we make it to the checkout before closing time. So just how useful are ethical labels to the average shopper – and which ones live up to their eco credentials?”

e-Sagu: A Web-based Agricultural Information Dissemination System

Monday, February 18th, 2008

e-Sagu 

“Indian farming community is facing a multitude of problems to maximize crop productivity. In spite of successful research on new agricultural practices concerning crop cultivation, the majority of farmers are not getting upper-bound yield due to several reasons. One of the reasons is that expert/scientific advice regarding crop cultivation is not reaching farming community in a timely manner. Due to several reasons the current agricultural extension system in India is unable to deliver the advice to all the farming community in a personalized manner. The traditional ways of advice dissemination through radio, news papers, magazines, television are not meeting the expectations of the farmers due to the lack of coverage, accountability and personalized advice.”

Poster Presentation at the University of Bradford Annual Research Showcase

Monday, February 11th, 2008

The University of Bradford held its Annual Research Showcase on Tuesday, 5 February 2008, attended by staff, students and community representatives. The Showcase consisted of an exhibition of the  best research currently being conducted in the University, as well as a programme of seminars delivered by external speakers from Research Councils and Yorkshire universities.

Fair Tracing poster

The Fair Tracing Project entered the above poster (PDF) as part of the display of the School of Informatics. Research student Ashima Chopra was on hand to answer queries about the project. In the end, the Fair Tracing poster helped contribute to the School of Informatics winning first prize as the best School display!