A W O R K E R C O - O P E R A T I V E UNE COOPRATIVE DE TRAVAIL

October 11, 2007 RE: Letter of Recommendation for Clay McLeod To whom it may concern, I was the Project Director for La Siembra Co-operatives educational toolkit created and written by Clay McLeod. La Siembra is a worker-owned co-operative that imports, manufactures, and distributes Fair Trade Certified and certified organic products under the brand name Cocoa Camino. Part of our mission is to educate the public about Fair Trade and the co-operative model as mechanisms for social change. Clay was the ideal collaborator in the development of a toolkit that helped us meet this educational objective. His commitment to social justice, environmental sustainability and global education were apparent throughout the process. His willingness to learn from practitioners and researchers meant that he developed a nuanced understanding of Fair Trade that enhanced his ability to write about Fair Trade with integrity and depth. He nonetheless maintained his strong commitment to presenting the material in a language that was clear and accessible to both educators and youth. Clay and I worked together on this project part-time for a year. He demonstrated a strong capacity for independent work and a high degree of professionalism that allowed him to complete the project within the timelines we had requested. He was very responsive to feedback and input from myself as the Project Director and from La Siembras review committees. I have rarely encountered a writer as respectful and open-minded during the editing and review process as Clay. Finally, it was a pleasure to meet Clay at the completion of the project this past May. We launched the toolkit during a workshop at the Canadian Teachers Federation Annual Conference. Clays engaging public speaking manner and interactive approach to the workshop lived up to the expectations created by his written work. I would highly recommend Clay for a position with your organization. His commitment to progressive social change and his research, writing, and communication skills would be an asset to any organization. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Warm regards,

La Siembra Co-operative, Inc. 4 Florence Street, Suite 210 Ottawa, Ontario K 2P 0W 7 Cooprative La Siembra inc. 4, rue Florence, bureau 210 Ottawa (Ontario) K 2P 0W 7 info@lasiembra.com 613 235-6122 Fax Tlc. 613 235-6877 www.lasiembra.com

Creators of Cocoa Camino Fair Trade & Organic Products www.cocoacamino.com Artisans des produits quitables et biologiques Cocoa Camino
MD

Caitlin Peeling