Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust (KKĠ) is the organization that manages the day-to-day activities of Il-Ħanut l-Arka and embarks upon educational projects and outreach activities.

Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust is a Maltese-registered Fair Trade Cooperative, set up in 1996. Since then it has been constantly active in the promotion of fair values in trade through regular outreach programs in the form of formal, non-formal and informal learning processes. This work aims for and achieves the empowerment of the Cooperative's members, its associates and partners, members of the civil society and the general public, who are educated in becoming more active, socially responsible and critical citizens and consumers.

KKĠ runs its educational process in a flexible and easily-adaptable way that meets the needs of particular communities within society, and different niches within the market. The Maltese population is small and technological changes have a rapid and widespread effect. KKĠ is very conscious of this and plans ahead in order to convey its message creatively and in a relevant way.

Reaching these aims has always depended on the ongoing educational process the members of KKĠ and its associates undergo, which creates a shared pool of resources and developmental tools that are constantly improved and updated.

The Educational Process

In brief, KKĠ runs its constant learning structure and addresses the educational needs it faces in the following ways:

• Encourages the empowerment of its members
• Promotes collaboration on projects inside the Cooperative
• Promotes understanding and collaboration with other voluntary and socially-committed organisations
• Also runs formal education programs

  The Process in Practice

  KKĠ achieves the above by using various media within formal, informal and non formal learning processes. Chiefly, it:

• Transmits skills (both within and outside the cooperative) related to communication, presentation, education, management, accountancy, promotion, organisation and capacity-building through the setting up of seminars, meetings and the dissemination of printed material
• Actively assists its members in attending seminars and meetings (of a similar nature to the ones described above) and organised by other local or foreign bodies such as CTM-Altromercato, the Italian Fair Trade consortium and NEWS, the international network of World Shops
• Is actively involved in the Maltese Social Economy. KKĠ pioneered research in identifying and empowering a number of local NGOs that contribute to making the economy more sensitive to the social dimension. KKĠ originated and helped found together with four other foundations/cooperatives that work in the fields of disability, organic farming and social inclusiveness. The Social Economy forged stronger links between its representatives and created a ripple-effect that is currently leading to further collaboration
• Is actively involved in the Malta Forum for Social Justice and Development, and the NGDO Platform (Malta)
• Regularly sets up events that generate interest on a national level and are attended by members of the civil society, political representatives, religious representatives, the media and the general public. Chiefly, these are Worldfest, the celebration of World Fair Trade Day in May, and Taste the World, an open festival which achieves a healthy balance between non-formal education and entertainment
• Runs formal education programs regarding Fair Trade and sustainable development in primary and secondary schools and higher education institutes
• Combines formal with non-formal learning by collaborating with a local cooperative (Outlook Coop) in getting students involved in Fair Trade education and marketing both within the school structure and outside (thanks to extracurricular sessions and hands-on projects)
• Uses its website regularly and extensively in encouraging informal learning
• Disseminates a quarterly newsletter to all its members (via email and post)
• Regularly publishes articles about Fair Trade in various newspapers, fighting poverty and raising awareness about ethical consumerism