A Stronger, More Connected Team Behind Fairtrade Farmers and Workers in Asia and the Pacific- Fairtrade NAPP Annual Team Workshop
Thirty-three Fairtrade NAPP staff members based across nine countries came together at the Ambassador Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, from 12 to 14 May 2026, for three days dedicated to strengthening donor-funded project delivery and deepening collaboration across the Asia-Pacific team.
One Team, Nine Countries, One Shared Purpose
Fairtrade NAPP's team of 33 staff members works from nine countries, across multiple time zones, languages and programme priorities, to support 273 producer organisations representing more than 260,000 farmers and workers in 20 countries of Asia and the Pacific. When a team this dispersed communicates clearly and pulls in one direction, producer organisations feel the difference in every training session, audit support visit and project. That conviction brought 33 staff members to Bangkok in May 2026 for a workshop combining two days of skills sessions on managing donor-funded projects with a full-day experiential team session facilitated by Pygmalion Solutions. The team returned home with sharper project delivery skills, new collaboration agreements and a shared vision they wrote together.
Sharper Systems for Donor-Funded Projects
The first two days focused on the competencies that keep donor-funded programmes running well, covering the entire project cycle from proposal development through implementation, monitoring, reporting and donor compliance in line with international standards. Programme managers, thematic leads and finance and administration staff worked through these stages together, building a common understanding of what quality delivery looks like. Stronger project management systems reduce implementation and compliance risks, strengthen reporting and accountability, and build credibility with institutional donors, so that donor investments translate into tangible, sustainable outcomes for farmers and workers across the region.
Trust That Reaches Beyond Roles and Titles
The team day opened with Amoeba, an immersive icebreaker designed to dissolve hierarchy and build authentic human connection from the outset. Colleagues who usually meet as job titles on a video call stepped beyond roles and designations, creating psychological safety and openness across a culturally diverse regional team. That early foundation of trust carried through the day, giving participants the shared energy and rapport needed for deeper dialogue, including in moments that required real courage.
Understanding Yourself to Work Better with Others
Using the Thomas-Kilmann inventory, each participant gained insight into their own collaboration style and how it shapes team dynamics and decision making. Guided reflection connected these personal styles to real workplace scenarios, while small group discussions built on live case prompts surfaced behavioural blind spots and diverse perspectives. Through a facilitated debrief, participants traced collaboration breakdowns back to their root causes, such as roles, assumptions and communication patterns rather than surface conflicts, and translated these insights into practical team norms and collaboration agreements they can apply in daily work.
A Vision the Whole Team Wrote Together
The closing session used Appreciative Inquiry, an approach that draws out a group's core strengths to build forward momentum. Guided by facilitators Ranjini Kumar and Punam Bhardwaj of Pygmalion Solutions, the team co-created a shared vision grounded in its strengths, aspirations and collective purpose. Participants left with increased ownership of the region's future direction and clearly articulated, strengths-based commitments that turn that vision into actionable intent. Engagement remained high throughout the day, and the group showed genuine capability, warmth and willingness to participate.
Carrying Learnings Back to Nine Countries
The real test of the workshop begins now, as team members return to their countries and bring the collaboration agreements, team norms and shared vision into everyday work. Working across borders, time zones and languages remains demanding, and no single workshop resolves it; strengthening how the team works together is an ongoing journey. Fairtrade NAPP plans to build on this foundation so that a more aligned, more connected team continues to translate into better support for producer organisations, and a better deal for farmers and workers across Asia and the Pacific.
