Birth of the Banana Women
In January 1973, Ursula Brunner organises a screening of the film Bananera Libertad for some 150 women, which exposes the abusive conditions on banana plantations. A few days later, Brunner receives a letter from Liselotte Räschle, which will be the starting point for the first meeting of the Banana Women, although they will not be referred to by this name until much later.
"Now that we've seen what's really going on with the bananas, we can't just keep buying bananas and act as if we didn't know. What should we do now?"
– Liselotte Räschle

Calling out Migros
On 3 March 1973, Migros announces the "banana miracle." Given the strong dollar valuation, the supermarket chain decides to reduce the kilo price of bananas by 15 cents. Horrified by this price cut, the Banana Women ask the retailer to allocate the 15 cents to projects for banana workers. Migros refuses. So the Banana Women ask everyone they can to send the money back to Migros. Many people respond to the call to action, transferring anywhere from several cents to a few francs. In this way, the women force the supermarket into talks.

15 cents more per kilo
Starting in 1974, the Banana Women convince 100 grocery shops to sell Chiquita or Dole bananas at a 15 cent surcharge. The campaign runs until 1985, raising a total of 117'350 francs. The Banana Women transfer the money to projects for banana workers in Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia.

Banana Women everywhere!
By 1977, the Banana Women are no longer a small group from Frauenfeld, but a movement throughout all of Switzerland. There are organised groups in cities like Winterthur and Basel and many lone warriors from Burgdorf to the Engadin. Banana Women from all over Switzerland meet for the first Banana Women conference to share their experiences.

The Nica bananas
In May 1985, Brunner's phone rings in the middle of the night. Abelardo Carles, director of Unión de los Paises Exportadores de Bananos in Panama, is on the line. The US has just imposed a trade embargo on Nicaragua. Until now, Nicaragua has been exporting 20 million US dollars worth of bananas to the United States each year. "What should we do with the bananas?" the director asks desperately. Brunner pulls out all the stops. In 1986, the first Nica bananas are sold on the Swiss market.

GErechter BANAnenhandel (fair banana trade) association
On 12 March 1988, the Banana Women found the association Gerechter Bananenhandel, or gebana, for short, which stands for "fair banana trade". By creating an organisation with a professional structure and a strong name, they hope to carry more weight in negotiations and at the commercial level.

Relief agencies establish Max Havelaar – without the Banana Women
In 1992, the Swiss relief agencies create the Max Havelaar Foundation, a funding organisation for fair trade. The organisation develops standards for the cultivation and pricing of agricultural products. Anyone who adheres to these standards and can provide proof of this is allowed to label their products as fair. The Banana Women are concerned about this approach. They view fairness as a process and not as an end state. Because gebana interprets fairness in a different way and for a number of other reasons, disagreements with Max Havelaar remain unresolved for years. And when the organisation decides to introduce the fair-trade banana, it does so without the Banana Women, even though they are the only experts in the country at this time, with over 20 years of experience in the field.

"Success with Pablitos"
Between 1992 and 1993, banana production in Nicaragua collapses. The Banana Women seek an alternative, which they find with Pablitos bananas from Costa Rica. They are introduced to the Swiss market in November 1993. The bananas are met with great success after gebana association member Beat Curau brings the Volg retail chain on board. By the spring of 1994, 350 Volg supermarkets and 350 other shops carrying Volg products start selling Pablitos.

And we're off!
At the Annual General Meeting at the end of March 1998, the members of the gebana association decide to establish a joint stock company, gebana AG. The plan is for the company to build socially, environmentally and economically sustainable retail chains while the association continues with its awareness-raising activities. The first product will be organic soy from small-scale family farmers in Paraná, Brazil.

gebana in supermarkets - or perhaps not
Alongside the Barrita sesame bar and the dried bananas which date back to the time of the gebana association, we develop other brand name products: chocolatecovered dried fruit with cool-sounding names like Salsa, Mambo and Merengue. After our initial success in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, there's not enough money to secure shelf space in the long term. By 2005, we're forced to drop the branded items project.

Bankruptcy and starting over
After big losses and failures in sales, gebana is bankrupt. The investors have to write 90 % off. But there are still people who believe in gebana and reinvest. In Brazil, Japanese investors take over our local partner and want us out. In the same year, we establish our first subsidiary in order to continue working with the family farmers – gebana Brazil.

Straight from the farmer to the customer
For the first time, we sell products from the country of origin directly to consumers through online channels. gebana direct shipping is born! In 2005, our online shop goes live. For the first time, customers can order over 150 organically produced fair trade food products online. This branch of the business will prove to be the key to stabilising the risky gebana business model in the coming years.

Ahead of our time
In search of funds, we accept loans from private individuals and issue participation certificates for the first time. This gives us greater financial independence from banks and makes us a pioneer of the crowdfunding trend that only begins much later. In addition, we establish the subsidiary gebana Afrique in Burkina Faso in order to better structure and control the purchase of dried mangos. We also develop close partnerships with holdings in Tunisia and Togo which, together with Brazil, form our gebana South operations.

Business model put to the test
Shortly after the 10th anniversary and the first profitable year in the company's history, we are hit by the economic crisis that lasts until 2011. Wholesale demand collapses as a result. At the same time, the entire organic soy harvest in Brazil is contaminated with the pesticide endosulfan. Traces of the toxin from nearby conventionally farmed fields entered the environment through wind and rain and accumulated in the organic beans. The crops can no longer be sold as organic soy, and gebana Brazil is facing financial ruin. Together with the soy farmers in Brazil, we launch the Chega! – We've had enough! campaign in protest, and it's a great success. Thanks to our dedication, endosulfan is taken off the market! Painstaking restructuring in Burkina Faso and Brazil allows our subsidiaries to survive. Following heated discussions, our business model, including our commitment in the South, is approved and further developed.

Burkina Faso gets its own factory
The people in Tunisia and Burkina Faso are revolting. Nevertheless, we are making good progress. We're diversifying in Burkina Faso and investing in our own cashew factory. Around 400 jobs will be created in Bobo-Dioulasso. During the crisis, thousands of small investors and direct shipping customers come to our rescue, while business customers and investors let us down. This has a profound influence on the way we see ourselves as a network. This is echoed by our new catchphrase, Global Farmer's Market.

Bobo-Dioulasso, we have a problem
The boom of previous years comes to an abrupt halt. Soaring purchase prices, a poor mango harvest and necessary investments in processes and management lead to the collapse of gebana Afrique. We launch the Burkina Faso relaunch campaign and sell five-year advance orders of dried mangos and cashew nuts. Thanks to the support of investors, retail partners and 2'841 private individuals, gebana Afrique relaunches under the name gebana Burkina Faso.

"Fair" no more!
On the occasion of gebana's 20th anniversary as a trading company, we decide to stop using the term fair going forward. This is because there are no fair products. To quote Ursula Brunner, the original banana woman, "Fair trade is a process." By taking this step, we're distancing ourselves from companies that drive down prices, lack transparency and push the limits of fair trade standards. Instead, we implement our gebana model the following year. Under this model, 10 % of our sales price goes back to the family farmers – on top of the organic and fair purchase price.

Art for a new factory
The Walls Against Walls crowdfunding project brings together private supporters and international artists and raises nearly €1 million to build a new factory in Burkina Faso. The new factory will create 1'000 additional jobs. The plan is for local artists to decorate the walls surrounding the factory.