The Fair Market Project

The Fair Market project is up and running. Using donations from you all, we have started a new social enterprise company in Myanmar. This company does something very surprising… it lives for the people it buys from. Poor subsistent farmers in Myanmar, usually struggle from year to year and often have to sell at rock bottom prices after harvest time. They are also often the victim of debt slavery. Can you imagine then, what an additional 10% in income can do for a family? 

The Fair Market project goes into communities and buys rice paddy (unhusked rice) from farmers at 10% more than current market value. Needless to say, farmers are lining up to sell us their paddy!

How on earth does the project stay afloat then? Our gifted management team is made up of business people who are dedicated to the people of Shan State Myanmar.  At this early stage of the project they are all volunteers. With our extensive community network these wise people reach out into the community and buy the rice. It is then taken to rented storage facilities where it waits until the price rises through the year.  Unlike other businesses, the Fair Market project does not engage middlemen/brokers to sell the rice. Using our network on the selling side of the market equation, buyers approach us directly in order to purchase a high quality product. 

When the time is right to sell, retailers make a purchase order to Fair Market. Paddy is then milled in our small facility near Inle lake. The retailer comes to the facility and picks up perfect white rice to sell.

But that’s not the end… as the Fair Market Project makes profit, it brings farmers in our network to our facility for training to improve agricultural and business practices. Funds from the social enterprise are also reinvested into the community in the form of social projects.

This cycle can happen several times throughout the year depending on market conditions and may involve buying and selling other products such as peanuts, soy, maize and other agricultural goods.

Since our beginnings, Circuit has dreamed of building a self sustaining legacy in Myanmar. Having for the last ten years, focused at individual community level, we now have the capacity to expand to the whole state… who knows, maybe even the whole country. 

We’re honoured and excited to work with such amazing and dedicated people in such a challenging environment.

We would love to expand further, and we can do this with your support.

If you would like to become more involved in this legacy project that will change the lives of poor families for generations to come, please feel free to donate here. Www.circuitinternational.org/donate

Over 4 years, this project is structured to develop the household incomes of  1,000 farming families in the Taungyii, Yawngshwe area of Shan State, leading to increased farmer income and family stability.  

The project will achieve  this by:

1. Fair Trade Intermediation: Acting as a TRANSPARENT intermediary, we ensure farmers receive equitable prices for their produce, enhancing their economic stability.

2. Profit Reinvestment: Allocating a portion of profits to community development projects, including infrastructure improvements and educational programs, fostering sustainable growth.

3. Capacity Building: Offering training sessions to farmers on sustainable farming practices, financial literacy, and market dynamics, empowering them to make informed decisions.

Our Vision.

• Reduce Forced Migration: Providing viable economic opportunities locally will diminish the need for individuals to seek work abroad under precarious conditions.

• Combat Human Trafficking: Strengthening community resilience and economic independence will make residents less vulnerable to traffickers.

• Promote Sustainable Development: Through fair trade and community reinvestment, we envision a self-sustaining model that can be replicated in other regions.  

Join us in realising this vision!