MEATU
Organic Cotton for tomorrow

Cotton is the world’s most important textile fibre. Industrial production of cotton is one of the greatest environmental and social disasters. A quarter of all pesticides used worldwide rain down on the cotton fields, and the crop requires vast quantities of water. This form of cotton production has driven farmers in developing countries to despair. The fields are polluted, the pesticides are unaffordable and earnings melt away as prices on the world cotton market shrivel. But as the film shows with reference to the Meatu Project in Tanzania, it does not have to be like this. After Maikaal in India, Meatu is the bioRe’s second organinc-farming development project. With the support of yarn trader Patrick Hohmann, the enthusiastic head of the project, Coop Naturaline and over 300 farmer families, a chain of solidarity has been set up to cultivate cotton by organic methods. Organic crop production saves on expensive pesticides, protects nature and the workers’ health, and guarantees fair prices for the farmers. Meatu now enjoys a modest prosperity. The farmers are proud and optimistic, and are shaping their own future. The example of Meatu shows that organic cultivation and a partnership extending over the entire product chain are a valid model for creating a long-term future for small farmers in developing countries that is compatible with human dignity.

16 min.