Traditional and wild in Brno
Brno, Czech Republic, 25th September 2012—more than 30 participants met last week in Brno to assess their progress in implementing a “Traditional and Wild” project in Central Europe. The project focuses on the use of traditional medicinal plants in the region.
Project partners include TRAFFIC and WWF Hungary, who are securing sustainability in wild-plant harvesting and trade through implementation of the FairWild Standard.
TRAFFIC was among the organizations who helped develop the Standard, and promotes it through its partnership with the FairWild Foundation.
Those attending the meeting in Brno included project partners and external experts in socio-economic and capacity building issues, NGOs, scientific institutions, local authorities and government organisations.
Kristina Rodina, Medicinal Plant Officer with TRAFFIC in Europe spoke about social and fair trade issues from a FairWild perspective.
Afterwards, delegates discussed issues ranging from the financing and operation of the FairWild certification process, and potenital benefits to local harvesters made possible through a FairWild Premium Fund, such as support for local schooling and public health improvements.
“It’s vital to have transparency in how the FairWild Premium Fund is used and how pricing agreements are implemented,” said Rodina.
Other delegates spoke about recent developments concerning the project in a number of selected villages in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.
A field trip after the meeting visited the Mendel University’s Mendeleum Breeding Station in Lednice, where the visitors learned about the specialist drying equipment soon to be installed that will assist with processing of Moravian traditional medicinal plant species.
The meeting was organized by the Regional Agrarian Chamber of the South Moravian Region and the Mendel University in Brno, also official partners in the Traditional and Wild project.
