For two weeks every year, thousands of individuals and groups across the UK come together to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight, which this year runs from February 25 until March 10.

At this time, we think about the people who grow our food, people who live in some of the poorest countries in the world and who are often exploited and badly paid. This year, the focus is on the people – in particular the women – who grow the cocoa in the chocolate many of us love so much.

So what does She Deserve? For a start, She Deserves a living income, i.e. £1.86. This is the amount a cocoa farmer in West Africa needs to earn each day in order to achieve a living income, though in fact a typical cocoa farmer lives on around 74p a day. Not surprisingly, almost all of the cocoa farmers in West Africa live in poverty.

For the women the situation is even worse. They may plant and harvest on the farm, look after children, carry water, collect wood, cook and clean for the family, and transport the cocoa beans to market - but often with fewer rights than men. So, as well as a living income, She Deserves clean running water, She Deserves a doctor, She Deserves an education for her children, She Deserves equality. This is why Fairtrade campaigns for better, fairer conditions for workers like the cocoa farmers of West Africa.

Cumbria showed that it has a heart for Fairtrade when it became the first Fairtrade County in 2005. There are currently 21 Fairtrade cities, towns, villages or zones in Cumbria - more than in any other county - with more on the way, and maybe this empathy arises from our understanding of the hardships faced by many of our own farmers.

In Matthew’s gospel, when Jesus is asked how we should live, his answer is very simple: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Just as we would want to be treated fairly, so we should be fair to others; and in Fairtrade Fortnight, there are plenty of ways to do that.

You could visit a Fairtrade coffee morning (there will be one somewhere near you) and enjoy a cup of Fairtrade tea or coffee. You could add all sorts of Fairtrade goodies to your shopping basket, as the range extends from bananas and herbs to wine and roses. You could visit www.fairtrade.org.uk and watch clips about the inspiring Fairtrade projects working with poor farmers. Or you could buy some delicious Fairtrade chocolate and do your bit to make sure that She – and He – receive what they deserve.

Kathryn Aldred, Beacon Hill Methodist Church and Fairtrade Furness