Elaine Jones: Tribute and Celebration
Sadly, Elaine passed away on 21st March 2022 with her friends and family. As all the shocked and raw exchanges of the last few days suggest there is so much to say about our friendship, and the collaborations, work and adventures we have had together with Elaine over the years.
These really deserve to be marked and her life, work, capacities and writings celebrated and pushed out for recognition and passed on to her family and grandchildren. So, we've created this space for a wide range of contributions here on the Journal of Fair Trade Society website. This dedicated space sits alongside other inspiring people we have lost from our movement and paid tribute to since starting up in 2019: Robin Murray and Mr Yorokamu K. Abainenamar (Abaine).
Here we've gathered links or the PDFs of Elaine's reports, books, chapters, articles and writings with comments from friends, colleagues and collaborators (all as one) on the project, piece of work or report giving some context.
It's really astonishing to consider the range and subject matter/territory that Elaine covered over the years.
"To be one - we need oneness" Elaine wrote back in June 2006, which was a precursor to Elaine and Pauline Tiffen working intensely with Kuapa Kokoo over the next 4 years. On reflection it was the beginning of the period when Kuapa was most functional which was partly down to the work Elaine did on training the farmers on Co-operative principles and values particularly in the run up to that [critical] election which she ensured was free and fair partly by making sure that all candidates could participate in hustings. It was definitely the most contested election that delivered a useful productive Executive and a dedicated President in Mr Buah."
To be one - we need oneness" was a very Elaine title and the section which says that "Once we want to be one, we need a constitution of oneness" transforms an abstract vision into practical action. I like the framing of the report and in hindsight it contains so much information that was important in what happened next like the move to decentralisation.
Click to read https://www.joft.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/TO-BE-ONE-Visit-report-June-2006.doc
Dedicated by Sophi Tranchell MBE, former CEO of Divine Chocolate.
