Culture Oddyssey

Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 has just got underway, the focus this year is on encouraging people to "take a step" for Fairtrade.

Choosing Fairtrade gives some of the world's poorest people a better chance to work their own way out of poverty by guaranteeing them fairer wages, safer working conditions and a "Fairtrade premium" which they can invest in projects that improve life for their whole community.

An annual event in which fair and ethical trading values are celebrated, and Fairtrade products are promoted, Fairtrade fortnight was pioneered by the Fairtrade Foundation in 1997. It has so far been a very successful campaign that has since spread worldwide.

According to fairtrade.org.uk, the aim is for a total of 1.5 million steps to be achieved by the end of 2012 - one step for every farmer and worker in the Fairtrade system.

Your Fairtrade step could be to try a new Fairtrade product, invite a friend around for a Fairtrade coffee, start a facebook page promoting a local Fairtrade company or even campaigning for more Fairtrade products in supermarkets.

Culture Oddyssey is a big supporter of Fairtrade products, and ethical trading in general, so have decided to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight by offering a wonderful free Fairtrade gift to anyone spending £20 or more in our online shop. Most of our fantastic range of unusual gift and home products are 100% Fairtrade and made from environmentally friendly materials. Please click on the picture above to find out more!

Whatever step you decide to take, be sure to add it here to raise further awareness for this great cause.

Take a look at our beautiful collection of Fair Trade, hand carved stone sculptures. These elegant figurines are made by traditional craftspeople in Kiisi, Kenya, using the techniques that have been handed down from previous generations. Timeless and exquisite, they make wonderful gifts for all occasions.

These beautiful and practical domed storage boxes are made in Northern India from mango fruit wood - a soft and sustainable natural material that has minimal environmental impact. They are also Fair Trade.

The exceptional hand carving skills demonstrated in the intricate "Owl Tree" lid design are passed down from generation to generation.

These colourful, hardwaring doormats have been hand woven from coconut fibres in India. Coconut palms are called the 'tree of life' in southern India where they provide shelter and soil structure in coastal areas.

These lovely mats are almost too good to wipe your feet on!

Handmade in Indonesia by a small family firm, these iron animal photo holders are great fun, marvelously detailed and beautifully finished.

As well as holding photos, these charming little creatures can be used to display cards, tickets and signs.

They make adorable gifts and look fantastic as a set! Six animals to collect.

Our wonderful hand carved and hand painted wooden animals are made by one of our new suppliers in Bali on a fair trade basis. Together we are working hard to keep these precious traditional crafts alive.

Bali has suffered tremendously in recent years. Due to terrorism and the demise of their tourism industry, its people have undergone much hardship.

Our supplier in Bali buys wood carvings from traditional village based carving groups and then adds high quality finishes in their own workshop to give this wonderful craft a new lease of life. These handsome carvings have been individually made by a happy workforce, employed in good conditions and the wood is from a sustainable source.

The colouring and paintwork on these wooden animals is simply stunning.

In addition to our homeware, gifts and accessories range, we have also hand-picked an exclusive selection of obscure, independent, low budget and foreign language movies from a wide range of genres that have one thing in common - their brilliance!

So, whether you're looking for enchanting family animation, thought-provoking documentary, mind-blowing arthouse or shocking extreme cinema, we have something that is guaranteed to fascinate and stimulate...