Stakeholders of the jewellery and precious metals industry recently had the rare opportunity to meet directly with representatives of artisanal and small-scale gold miners. For its Fairtrade Gold roundtable on October 9th, Fairtrade International had invited representatives of current and future Fairtrade/Fairmined certified gold mining organisations to its London offices. In front of stakeholders from across the gold supply chain, the representatives of these small mining businesses gave a presentation on their organisation’s history and their journey towards certification and sustainability.
The stories the miners told in their presentations were examples of how Fairtrade Gold can be a concrete model to proactively address social, economic and ecological challenges within gold supply chains. The stories also underlined the role Fairtrade certification can play in fostering environmental sustainability and the protection of critical ecosystems. The mining communities of the Colombian Cooperative Oro Verde for example have historically operated in the country’s Choco bioregion, which is considered the most biodiverse region on the planet. For them, Fairtrade certification and the Fairtrade premium provides a way to preserve the environment and biodiversity in their area as well as their community's cultural heritage for future generations.
The following are edited transcripts of the miner’s stories. They are impressive accounts of socially and environmentally responsible artisanal gold mining and proof that trade-offs between mining, conservation and social and economic development can be turned into mutually beneficial and sustainable solutions.
