A fair trade event, the Ten Thousand Villages Festival returns to Trent University in the lower level of Peter Gzowski College from Thursday, November 18 to Saturday, November 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All members of the community are welcome to the student-organized event.

Ten Thousand Villages is North America’s oldest and largest Fair Trade Organization. Available for sale are Fair Trade coffee & tea, jewellery, scarves, baskets, candles, craft items, books and more.

Ten Thousand Villages is a not-for-profit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in 35 countries. As one of the world’s largest fair trade organizations, the organization has spent more than 60 years cultivating long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to unique gifts, accessories and home décor from around the world.

Bringing Ten Thousand Villages to Trent was the brainchild of Dr. Ellen Bentzen, principal, of Peter Gzowski College, who felt the mission of the organization was a good fit with the College’s Living and Learning Community (LLC), which is focused on environmental sustainability. Students have worked to organize the festival which will also feature educational displays about fair trade, ethical trade, and third world conditions.