Fairtrade Fortnight filled with food and fairgrounds

It's pretty fair to say that here at Oxfam we love Fairtrade. We love Fairtrade muesli for breakfast. Big cups of Fairtrade coffee keep us pepped-up during the day. And we love nothing more than snacking on a bunch of Fairtrade bananas.

So, with this year's Fairtrade Fortnight shaping up to be a big one, I'm sure you can imagine we're feeling practically giddy at the moment.

There'll be the usual stuff happening around the country - coffee mornings, art exhibitions, and fashion shows. City councils will be coming out in support of Fairtrade, and even supermarkets will be flexing their Fairtrade credentials.

There's even going to be a Fairtrade fairground - complete with a helter skelter, Fairtrade coconut shy, and Fairtrade teacup rides - to kick things off the Fairtrade frolicking in London.

If you've not heard of it before, Fairtrade Fortnight is two weeks of the year where people come together to 'big up' Fairtrade.

And why not? In 2005, global Fairtrade sales amounted to an estimated value of £738 million. That's not just a big number, it adds up to people in developing countries being able to feed their families, and put their children through school.

This year Fairtrade Fortnight will run from 25 February until 9 March. Not wanting to miss out on a chance to spread the Fairtrade love, Oxfam will be taking part in the fortnight's happenings.

For the second year running, one Oxfam member of staff will be transformed in the magnificent Fairtrade Woman - surviving on nothing but Fairtrade food for the entire Fortnight.

"Crazy!", we hear you cry. Well it just might be. After a not entirely painless experience doing the same last year, Fairtrade Woman needs some encouragement.

You can offer some moral support, and take part in the Fairtrade challenges she's running (where you can also win Fairtrade goodies), by browsing on over to MySpace, where we've also been featured on their MySpace Impact site, or by joining the Fairtrade Woman group on Facebook.