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Coffee Shop gets the Vote from MP

GALLOWAY MP Peter Duncan is urging Stranraer folk to give their backing to a new coffee shop set up in town.

The Fair Trade Cafe aims to do as the name suggests and promote the idea that smaller businesses, often in poorer countries, should get a fair price for their products.

The coffee shop has been named The Lighthouse and is open two days a week at Stranraer Baptist Church. On sale is Traidcraft tea and coffee - and much more.

A spokesman for the Lighthouse explained that millions of people in poorer countries produce many of the items we consume on a daily basis.

"Much of the time, however, they are victims of an international trading system controlled by big businesses who set tariffs and quotas which make it difficult for small firms to compete on the world market," the spokesman said.

"The result can be that small producers fail to earn enough to support themselves and their families.

Traidcraft is a Christian response to poverty operating on the principle that, by paying a fair price for products we buy, we can help create a more equal world."

Traidcraft is the UK's biggest fair trade organisation. Set up in 1979, its products include tea, coffee, clothes, crafts and books.

After his visit to The Lighthouse last week, Mr Duncan said he had enjoyed his cuppa and acknowledged there is a growing awareness among the general public awareness regarding fair and ethical trade.

The Lighthouse is open from 10 am to 12 noon and 2 pm and 4 pm every Tuesday and Thursday at Stranraer Baptist Church in Bellevilla Road.