U-landsforeningen Svalerne in Aarhus was founded in 1973. The national association – The Swallows in Denmark – was founded in 1963. In the first twenty years of our existence, the national association sent volunteers to Bangladesh and India for helping poor people. Today we support grass root organizations in those countries.

Parallel to this, U-landsforeningen Svalerne in Aarhus has been involved with Fair Trade producers in developing countries. One of our founders was a volunteer in Bangladesh, where she started a handicraft project for women (later handed over to CORR-the Jute Works) – that’s how we got involved in Fair Trade. The Fair Trade Gruppen activity started as one of several workgroups under U-landsforeningen Svalerne in Aarhus. We started in the 70s by importing goods from CORR-The Jute Works in Bangladesh. The foundation is to practice “Fair Trade”. The main part of the import is still from Bangladesh but also from Chile and other countries.

The overshadowing objective is to help in fighting suffering and injustice in the world. We import and sell mainly handicrafts from developing countries. The imports are from producer groups that are active in fighting poverty, suppression and underdevelopment. The trade is on terms that secure the producers a fair pay for their labor. It is the goal to promote the alternative trade with goods from developing countries. Any surplus from this trade is used to promote this form of trading.

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