(January 2025) In early October, Weltladen Marktheidenfeld e.V., in cooperation with the Fairtrade City and the Hotel Anker, hosted the Marktheidenfeld TanzFAIRgnügen for the third time. At the start of the event, guests were invited to vote on how the proceeds from the evening should be used. The choices were between a climate protection project and emergency aid for flood victims in Nepal. The majority clearly voted in favor of emergency aid for Nepal. Ulrike Steigerwald, who hosted the evening on behalf of the Marktheidenfeld World Shop (Weltladen Marktheidenfeld e.V.) as well as the Fairtrade City of Marktheidenfeld and the Hotel Anker, was delighted with the clear result.

About 100 guests enjoyed dancing to live music by Harry Schöffer—waltzes, cha-cha-chas, rumbas, and foxtrots. The Weltladen team provided food and drinks, consisting mainly of fair trade products. Thus, in addition to the joy of dancing, the evening also served the cause of social fairness. The thoroughly successful evening raised approximately 1,200 €.

Last week, Jürgen Herold from the fair trade import organization Frida Feeling visited the Weltladen to express his gratitude for the €1,200 in emergency aid for Nepal. He reported on his visit to the region in November, where catastrophic flooding near Kathmandu destroyed many homes, causing numerous families to lose all their belongings. Female artisans working with Frida Feeling were also affected and are now set to receive support for reconstruction. Numerous photos and specific family names document this; these are available for viewing at the Weltladen.

(April 2024) Nepal is home to one of the world’s northernmost coffee plantations, located about 80 km northwest of Kathmandu at the foothills of the Ganesh Himal mountain range. This coffee is grown on approximately 70 hectares in a frost-free mountain valley at an elevation of about 900 m on the banks of the Trisuli River.

Cultivation on a single plantation and organic farming ensure high and consistent product quality. Here, the coffee bushes grow traditionally—that is, in the shade of existing trees rather than in an artificial monoculture. This is significantly more environmentally friendly and also protects the coffee: when grown in the shade, the bushes are protected from excessive sun, the mixed cultivation reduces the risk of pests, and less water is needed for irrigation.

This allows the cherries to ripen to perfection; between January and April, only the truly ripe coffee cherries are then handpicked. While this is more labor-intensive than machine stripping of the bushes, it is also gentler on the plant and guarantees quality during further processing. The beans are then washed with fresh mountain water from the Ganesh Himal and, after natural sun-drying, sorted by hand.

This has created approximately 40 permanent jobs in this remote region, particularly for women; additional workers are hired during harvest season. As a result, people in the region have gained an opportunity to earn a living, and rural exodus has been halted.

In addition, the farm actively supports reforestation, soil conservation, and environmental protection: mixed-crop farming has enabled the return of various wild animals and a wide variety of (migratory) birds.

After being delivered to us, this coffee is hand-roasted using a slow-roasting process at a small roastery in the Rhine-Main region to produce gourmet coffee. This allows us to keep additional transportation costs and CO₂ emissions low while offering our customers coffee that is as freshly roasted as possible.

(January 2023) Admittedly, it was quite a bit of work to prepare all the documentation for the monitoring process by FAIR BAND (Federal Association for Fair Import and Distribution). But that’s just part of fair trade: transparency regarding our collaboration with producers and a willingness to undergo an evaluation by fellow experts—the peer review.

The documentation and the process are based on WFTO criteria but have been adapted to the specific needs of fair trade importers. And we’re very pleased that Frida Feeling has successfully passed this monitoring process!

Even though it was a lot of work and there were times when we thought we wouldn’t make it in time, the Frida Feeling team—thanks in part to the energetic help of some friends—was able to open our new facility right on time for the new year!

• a modern facility for a professional warehouse and fast shipping to our customers

• Ample office space for order processing

• Spacious break rooms for all colleagues

• a space for presentations and events with our customers

• a bright showroom to properly showcase the Frida Feeling portfolio and our new products

Please update your records (purchasing, accounting, etc.) with our new contact information

Frida Feeling GmbH
Carl-Zeiss-Str. 22
63322 Rödermark
Phone: +49 (0)6074 482-8080
Fax: +49 (0)6074 482-8220

Our email addresses remain unchanged: kontakt[at]fridafeeling.de and bestellung[at]fridafeeling.de.