El Sol Celebrates 25 Years of Fair Trade in Wangen
“Was heißt das für die Schule?” That question launched a quarter-century of global commerce education in Wangen, according to school principal Patrick Well, as the city marked the 25th anniversary of the El Sol student-run fair trade store. The milestone celebration on the Marktplatz brought together municipal leaders, founders, and students who have operated the sustainable enterprise since its inception.
- Wangen celebrated the 25th anniversary of the El Sol school company on the Marktplatz under summer-like weather conditions.
- The city has maintained official Fairtrade Town status for 12 years following an extensive preparatory process involving local steering groups.
- Bernhard Baumann, Myriam Gompper, and Sylvia Mauch established the project under former principal Frieder Gros to integrate global trade awareness into education.
Celebration on the Marktplatz
Mayor Michael Lang joined current El Sol students on the market square to cut the anniversary cake. The celebration featured musical accompaniment from drummer ChikaDora, a Chilean artist with Congolese roots who performed for attendees. Sabine Müller, a permanent employee of El Sol, used the gathering to promote the autumn fair trade orange ordering campaign running through elsol@bs-wangen.de, while visitors spun the Weltrad for a chance to win “Wangener Bissle” chocolate.
Patrick Well Details History of Student Company
School principal Patrick Well detailed the history of the student company during the opening remarks, thanking Bernhard Baumann, Myriam Gompper, and Sylvia Mauch for taking over the One World store as a student-run enterprise 25 years ago. Well noted that the project demonstrated how early the school addressed globalization under former principal Frieder Gros. The city of Wangen and Rainer Ziesel from the Weltpartner cooperative provided continuous support to the enterprise from its earliest days, alongside volunteers who ensured daily operations.
Delegation Travel With the Federal President
The student-run initiative gained international visibility over the decades, highlighted by former student Katharina Bitz during an interview with Bernhard Baumann. Bitz recalled traveling to South America as a member of an official delegation accompanying then-Federal President Horst Köhler. Invited alongside two other youths, she met state presidents and observed social projects firsthand, noting a warm atmosphere among the entire delegation, including the presidential couple.
Fairtrade Town Development
State Secretary and Member of the State Parliament Petra Krebs, speaking for herself and colleague Raimund Haser, traced the evolution of Wangen’s fair trade movement. Krebs, who supported the Fairtrade Town initiative from its inception as a municipal councillor before moving to Stuttgart, described how two students pursued the project with persistence. While purchasing fair trade chocolate or coffee does not instantly transform global markets, Krebs stated that it serves as an essential prompt to examine production conditions abroad. Rainer Ziesel of Weltpartner praised the generations of students who kept the shop running, while Eiscafé Capri provided ice cream vouchers for every active student worker.