Variety is the spice of life

A talk on spices from around the globe, live ethnic music and exotic foodstuffs are just a few of the attractions of the third annual fair trade festival, Taste The World.

The festival, called Spice Up Your Life, is being held at St James Cavalier, Valletta, on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Apart from a wide range of fair trade stalls, this year's event includes free tasting of spice-based food and drink; fair trade forums in English led by Italian fair trade expert Valeria Calamaro and a live concert of ethnic music.

Ms Calamaro, who has just published a book on recipes with fair-traded spices, will be the guest speaker at two fair trade seminars starting at 10.30 a.m. and at 4 p.m. in the Music Room at St James Cavalier.

She is the marketing manager for fair trade food products of CTM-Altromercato, the Italian partners of the Maltese fair trade cooperative and the second largest fair trade organisation in Europe.

The first seminar will concentrate on spices. It will deal with the origins of spices, those who produce them, and the process by which they are traded. Ms Calamaro will analyse what difference fair trade has made in the trade of spices.

In the second seminar she deals with the latest issues in the fair trade world and draws on her vast experience with spice producers in various countries to explain the difference fair trade is having in this area.

She will also present some of the special spice recipes she has learnt from her friends in the south and which are included in the book she has just written.

A wide selection of spices shall be available together with recipes from a variety of cultures. The aroma of freshly brewed spice beverages shall permeate the busy market air, inviting all those present to taste the specially prepared recipes, which will be served for free.

The fair trade market will be open all day between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. with a display of the latest stock of fair trade foodstuffs, musical instruments and crafts, from Asia, Latin America, and Africa, for consumers who choose to make a difference.

The ethnic music concert starts at 8 p.m. and will feature the sitar and didgeridoo music of Andrew Christie and Wailin Grech from Malta, as well as Congolese, Nigerian and Maltese musicians, singers and dancers of Kilimanjaro, who will spice up the evening.

Kilimanjaro play Afro-Cuban music, Afro-Raga, Soukous, Rumba, Zouk, and Salsa.

This event is being organised by the Koperattiva Kummerc Gust, Malta's sole fair trade cooperative, which runs the shop L-Arka in St Paul's Street, Valletta.

Its members shall be available for whoever wishes to discuss fair trade and acquire further information on these products.

This event also serves as an ideal opportunity for those who would like to become members of the cooperative.

For more information call on 2124 4865.

Entrance to all events is free.