As the UK feels the effects of the economic downturn, countries like Rwanda – that were struggling before the economic decline – are now faced with the crippling effects of rising food prices and declining handicraft sales.

In a bid to help Rwandan businesses survive the global recession, Shared Interest Foundation, with help from the Big Lottery Fund, embarked on a three year training project. The Rwandan Producer Support Project aims to provide training, mentoring and counselling to local businesses. The project encourages diversification, adding to the existing skill bank to ensure success for the future.

Despite the fact that it seems like the project only just started, I am preparing to head back to Rwanda, with our new Project Leader, Louise McLaren to evaluate the success of second year of the project.

During the ten day evaluation trip, we will visit ten producer groups along with our partners, the Rwanda Private Sector Federation, REDO (our environmental partner), RWAFAT (Rwandan Fair Trade Association) and our Project Coordinator Donatien.

Louise and I will be blogging from Africa so keep an eye out for tales of our adventures, and as always don’t forget to leave us your comments and questions!

Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation