Banana Women Part 1: The Decision to Act

January 1973: „Bananera Libertad“

One could start at many points; however, decisive was certainly the film by Peter von Gunten „Bananera Libertad“, which highlights the contrasts between the harsh conditions on the banana plantations and the cheap bananas that were and are sold in Europe. As part of a women's discussion evening, a group of women in Frauenfeld watched this film in January 1973. Some of them were so shaken afterwards that they decided to do something about these unjust circumstances.

February 1973: Letter to Migros

As luck would have it, Migros proclaimed the so-called banana miracle in February 1973: “Thanks” to the devaluation of the dollar, bananas now cost only Fr. 1.35 per kilo instead of 1.50. This inspired the shaken women to take concrete action. As a first step, a letter was written to Migros: Instead of selling the bananas 15 rappen cheaper, they could be invested in development projects in Central America.

But Migros was not receptive to such ideas, neither in this first attempt nor in various further approaches the women made in the following years. In response to Migros's rejection, the women carried out a witty action: with the widely circulated request to send back Migros's 15 rappen. Thus Migros was burdened with many payments of 15, 30 or 45 rappen, accompanied by the note “banana money, it does not belong to us, we do not want it”.