HIP
HIP
HURRAY

HURRAY HURRAY HURRAH
THE DRYER IST WIEDER DA

Congratulations

SPFTC

We are proud of you!

Courtesy of Florence Tong
(Cropped by FM)

Believe it or not
What has also helped my sore throat
Is Virgin Coconut Oil

I was thinking
If the oil can sooth your skin
Why not the skin in your throat

And I remember the contented look
Of one customer hunting
For supplement & massage oil

Wow, yummy, he exclaimed
A jolly body-building training guy
From Australia or New Zealand or so

So I swallowed one teaspoonful
And kept it in my throat
An aromatic soothing agent

At HK$40 per 150ml bottle
There are 70 spoonfuls
(I just measured)

70 tsp for skin caring
70 tsp for smart cooking
70 tsp for immunity enhancing

No wonder people lined up for more
When we were running out of stock
At FARMFEST 2007

Cantonese people believe
Chocolate brings you ‘hot air’
But I with my ‘hot-aired’ cough
Found rescue in Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate
Soothed my throat
It stopped itching
It stopped hurting

Divine Chocolate
Bought at St John’s
On FAIR TRADE Day
Sold at a fair price by the Bookstore

Divine Chocolate
Full of symbols
AKOMA = Patience & Harmony
Click in to find

Wisdom & Knowledge
Humility & Inner Strength
Charisma & Leadership
Family & Solidarity

Democracy & Shared Destiny
Vitality & Enlightenment
Sanctity of Mother Earth
Life & Beauty

Wisdom & Creativity
Reconciliation & Peace
Interdependence
Revival & Adaptability

But what means the
Christmas-Tree-like
Fish-bone symbol
Pray tell me

At long last, a 45KVA Generator!
For 10,500 US dollars!
And only 6,000 running hours!
Almost too good to be true!

But alas! While waiting,
Waiting for the plinth to be firm,
The Gen Set has already changed hands.
Have now to hunt for a new Gen Set …

Will a better one be waiting?
Waiting somewhere in Manila?
Better than the one in Cebu?
Who knows? Who knows? Who knows?

World Fair Trade Day in Manila
(Courtesy of SPFTC)

Serve me right
Burning candles at both ends
No more wax
No more voice
Running nose
And sore throat

Can’t sell Fair Trade tomorrow
Can’t deliver mask to Wicky’s Mum
Ji-Ye will miss his dried papaya
And more will be looking for us in vain
Tomorrow
At Tai Po Farmers’ Market stand :(

Healthy drink from caring neighbour Eva

[淮山 Dioscorea opposita (Chinese yam), 百合 lily bulb,
龍眼 longan, 雪耳 white fungus, 玉竹 Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati,
蓮子 lotus seed, 茨實 (又名芡實) Euryale ferox (fox nut), 洋薏仁 pearled barley]

Please build a concrete plinth
For your new second-hand generator,
A plinth to be made of strong concrete:
Cement and sand and small stones,
Preferably reinforced with welded wire.

Height of concrete plinth not less than …
Surface slightly bigger than …
Two U-Beams to be set …
Beams to be fixed with anchor bolts.
GenSet to be placed on U-beams.

To fasten, use bolts and nuts of STAINLESS STEEL.
Earth GenSet AND U-beams with thick enough cables.
Remember to UPGRADE connecting cable.
Secure bolts by welding to guard GenSet from theft.

DON’T SAVE MONEY ON GOOD ENGINE OIL!
USE WHAT THE SERVICE MANUAL RECOMMENDS!
CHANGE ENGINE OIL FREQUENTLY!
AND LIFE OF YOUR ENGINE WILL BE PROLONGED.

I believe she has given
All that she could possibly give

It’s more than a cheque
It’s an out-reaching hand

From SP with Love
An out-reaching heart

Courtesy of Alfons Poon

Everywhere on earth
On 2nd May Saturdays
Fair Traders celebrate.
And so we gathered
At Li Hall, St John’s,
To celebrate the Day.

We had wanted to be there by 8.
But did not make it till 9:30.
Slowly visitors were already arriving …
Too long a night last night,
Preparing till 3:30 this morning,
Burning candles at both ends …

You, and you, and you, may say:
When old machines no longer run,
A well-run business should have reserves
For repairs or new purchase …

But, I know what it means,
When every day is a struggle for survival,
When you aren’t sure, how to pull yourself through
And the thousands who hang on you …

You, and you, and you, may say
There’s one grim rule of reality:
They should be left to fold up their business,
If they have no more means to stay.

But, I know how it feels,
To be in deep waters, drowning,
Then touching, a hand willing …
And seeing the sky again.

Fair Enough — with thanks to all who care

Was treated by my very dear ones
To a belated birthday dinner
At a sophisticated steak house
After a long Farmers’ Market Day.

On my birthday I was on a dirt road
In remote mountains of Yunnan, China,
On my way to see if poor tea farmers
Could be helped towards a better future.

At Sunday dinner table back in Hong Kong
Naturally we talked about
My trip to Yunnan and
Our Fair-and-Healthy Project.

Yes, Danyun will be helping the tea farmers we visited.
Yes, morale of our Filipino partners has been boosted.
Yes, our customers love our fair-and-healthy goodies.
Yes, unlike before, our initial costs are covered meanwhile …

Your Fair Trade partners may be benefiting from what you sell.
And your customers may find your goodies healthy & yummy.
But are you sure what you are doing is business?
Is this real Fair Trade or is this mere charity?

You have poured in time and energy and money,
At times more than you can actually afford.
And poor Stephen, too, has worked like a slave.
Tell us: are you being fair to yourselves?

This Fair Trade ‘business’ is our company’s community project:
This is what we know and our customers are told.
We know the prices don’t really reflect, as yet,
The costs of all our toil and labour …

How can your preach you’re practising FAIR Trade?
When you’re only looking after
Farmers, producers, and end-users,
Forsaking your very own welfare?

Should all goodies be priced at a low margin?
What means have you to subsidise the public?
Who says people aren’t ready to pay a fairer price?
Have you tried to reach out to a bigger crowd?

I may not have told you, but I’ve spent hours and hours
Brooding over all these questions you now raise;
I’ve been looking for and working on better options;
Ahead of me lies a better tomorrow and I joyfully march on …