Trade Aid 1973 - 2008

- celebrating 35 years of making a difference

Nearly 40 years ago a young Christchurch couple went looking for adventure. They had no idea that their drive and vision would lead to the founding of a fair trade organisation unique in New Zealand.

It was in 1969, when Vi and Richard Cottrell were in their early 30s, that they saw an advertisement for an adviser to a resettlement scheme for Tibetan refugees in northern India. They applied and were sent a cable that read simply: "proceed to India" A fledgling carpet export business had been set up to create an income for the refugees and it was Vi’s job to find foreign buyers, while her Tibetan counterpart dealt with the weavers. When the Cottrells returned to New Zealand they wanted to go on supporting the Tibetan refugees. They ordered $1000 worth of carpets that they displayed in the CSA Gallery in Christchurch. Within 15 minutes of opening, all the carpets were sold.

His Holiness The Dalai Lama with Richard and Vi Cottrell, Dharamsala, 1970

Earning A Future

Vi says the organisation was “green as grass” when it started out, but its aim was to increase the trade of handcrafts and commodities between New Zealand and developing countries. At the heart of Trade Aid’s philosophy is the notion that income generation is an essential part of breaking the poverty cycle. Over the past 30 years Trade Aid has seen that approach reap practical results.

Changing lives In many developing countries where women were once confined to their houses they are now working and earning an income. Because they have money, their daughters can go to school –something that in many countries was previously unheard of.

Trade Aid's history