Karen Crooks, founding director, and her partner Bill (who has been working in the area of humanitarian aid for over 40 years), visited Southern Calabria in late 2021 as volunteers with FCEI/Mediterranean Hope and saw at first hand the huge challenges of the area.  They witnessed the rubbish strewn surroundings of the tent cities where many of the labourers live and the contrast with the Dambe So hostel which, at that time, was still in development.

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They visited the Mani e Terra Co-operative and met Peppe, the manager.  He spoke passionately about the conditions of the migrant workers and the mission of the co-operative to bring dignity and humanity into their situation.  Karen and Bill were very struck by the contrast of the clean, airy and friendly surroundings there, and the squalor and desperation they had witnessed at the camps.  Lamin, one of the workers, spoke about how he loved his job.

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Peppe explained how almost every orange bought in a supermarket is produced from virtual slave labour, with minimal wages paid to the pickers, and very low to non-existent welfare conditions.  His words lodged in their minds, along with the information that the fruit they process there is not yet marketed in the UK.  To their eyes, a 99p bag of supermarket oranges now has an invisible label  ‘the product of exploitation and suffering’.  What if we could bring this delicious organic fruit to the UK and at least double the quantity of fruit that Mani e Terra can sell through fair trade channels?

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So, in 2024 Karen Crooks and her fellow directors, Tom Hilton and James Carney, registered Oranges for Justice as a Community Interest Company.  We aim to begin importing fruit in late 2024/early 2025, in 3-4 trial areas, followed by expansion to other areas in the UK.  We look forward to the time when UK customers are making it possible for Mani a Terra to employ more workers and build more hostels, bringing dignity and hope to many.