Archive for May, 2009
Ambassador Action from your Armchair
This month we have another simple action you can take from the comfort of your own home to help spread the word about Shared Interest. Simply by writing a letter, or email, in to a national or local paper. For more detail and a recent example of a member’s letter to the Guardian please see [...]
Networking in the North East
April and May have provided many opportunities for business networking, and the chance to meet entrepreneurs from the social enterprise and co-operative sectors. I attended the Scottish Social Enterprise Trade Fair in April, where there were many exhibitors, from CIC to Triodos, Charity Bank and the Social Audit Network. Throughout the day there were many [...]
Hello from a Sunny South East
I have been venturing outside of my ‘South East’ zone this month to venture westward. At the beginning of the month I headed to Bristol for the ‘Cotton On’ conference which was organised by one of our very own Ambassadors and attended by at least one other Ambassador. ‘Cotton On’ looked at the issues of [...]
Fairtrade in Your Region
Are you a member of your local Fairtrade steering group or do you have any contact with them? Do you have links with a Fairtrade school, church, or university? If so we would really appreciate it if you could please send us an email detailing what involvement or contacts you have. We are working hard [...]
SI Ambassadors Unite on Facebook & Twitter, & New Virtual Volunteering Opportunities!
We now have a Shared Interest Facebook group, a place where Facebook members can discuss all things Shared Interest and fair trade, link with likeminded people and keep up to date with fair trade events happening throughout the county. If you’re on facebook join the group by clicking on this link If you are on [...]
People with Pens have Power
It is great to see Shared Interest investors getting onto their soapboxes to wax lyrical about the power of social return. Scanning today’s letters page in the Guardian, we spotted Jake Bachus’ response to an article highlighting the benefits of trade versus aid. We are always hot on the heels to join this topic of debate [...]
Would you trade a few pence for a £1 coin?
Related Articles World Fair Trade Day 2010 Panorama: Chocolate – The Bitter Truth Mainstreaming Fairtrade – The Great Debate Social Responsibility in Banking: An Oxymoron? Its time for Fairtrade 2.0 Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation var addthis_config = { data_track_clickback: [...]
Daisy Chain Reaction: we’re green with ethics
At Shared Interest we are definitely of the ‘share and share alike’ mentality (guess we’d have problems with our name otherwise!) which is a fundamental part of fair trade. Sharing skills and resources is vital to the businesses we lend to in the developing world but perhaps it is almost as important here; plus it [...]
New Lending in Kenya
A new Export Credit Facility and Term Loan has been approved for handicraft group Bega Kwa Bega, based in Korogocho, one of Nairobi’s largest slums. Bega Kwa Bega is a Kiswahili expression meaning shoulder to shoulder. The goup was founded in 1991 with the help from the Catholic Church in Korogocho to help rehabilitate girls and women rescued [...]
Fairtrade versus Local
Thinking of how to engage all you blog fans I found myself gazing at my home grown tomato plants. I’ve grown them from seed and I have been so thrilled that they’ve grown so well and are beginning to show signs of flowering and producing tomatoes!! There have been some casualties along the way but [...]