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	<title>Shared Interest&#039;s Fairtrade Discussions &#187; Opinion</title>
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		<title>“Their Innovation Knows No Bounds”</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:57:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sally</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2902</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
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<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
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	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
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		<item>
		<title>Imagine all the People&#8230;.</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/03/04/imagine-all-the-people/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/03/04/imagine-all-the-people/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stina</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Comic Relief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[comic relief's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Imagine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Only now after watching Comic Relief’s Famous, Rich &#38; in the Slums can I genuinely understand the impact it must have on Shared Interest staff when they travel to see the communities we help support. This is the closest I &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<item>
		<title>Is it possible to change black to green?</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/11/25/is-it-possible-to-change-black-to-green/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/11/25/is-it-possible-to-change-black-to-green/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:30:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Andrea Shared Interest Foundation</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s no surprise in the current economic climate, where there is a sharp rise in redundancies, along with stock market and housing market crashes, that retailers are expecting a bleak holiday season. Tomorrow marks Black Friday in the US; a &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/11/15/ethical-investment-the-elephant-in-the-room/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/11/15/ethical-investment-the-elephant-in-the-room/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:53:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sally</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethical investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In this, the third National Ethical Investment Week (NEIW) the elephant in the room appears to be the question “how do you know if your investment is ethical?” With so many terms and acronyms out there; ‘ethical investment’, ‘SRI’, ‘positive &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3878191042_27f57b5fbd_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Namayiana - Fair Trade Producer Visit" border="0" /></a>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>First for Felixstowe</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/10/20/first-for-felixstowe/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/10/20/first-for-felixstowe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:42:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sally</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AGM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fairtrade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[towns]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Standing up to speak at the Felixstowe Fairtrade Forums AGM I realised it was almost a year to the day since my first visit to meet the group, which is led by Shared Interest Ambassador Alan Muchal.  Alan had invited &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>BBC shares an interest in Swaziland</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/09/27/bbc-shares-an-interest-in-swaziland/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/09/27/bbc-shares-an-interest-in-swaziland/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:59:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stacey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shared Interest Foundation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Swaziland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2110</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As Shared Interest Foundation gears up to begin its Comic Relief funded project in Swaziland the country has received some press attention from the BBC. The organisation has invited comment on the state of the nation’s political system. The debate &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<tr>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3878191042_27f57b5fbd_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Namayiana - Fair Trade Producer Visit" border="0" /></a>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>The BBC looks at the benefits of Fairtrade chocolate</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/31/the-bbc-looks-at-the-benefits-of-fairtrade-chocolate/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/31/the-bbc-looks-at-the-benefits-of-fairtrade-chocolate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:31:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBC looks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chocolate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fairtrade]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Related Articles Imagine all the People&#8230;. Is it possible to change black to green? Ethical investment: The elephant in the room? First for Felixstowe Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade. Click here to donate to &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>Emma Watson Discovers the Real Impact of Fair Trade</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/31/emma-watson-discovers-the-real-impact-of-fair-trade/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/31/emma-watson-discovers-the-real-impact-of-fair-trade/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:01:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bangladesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[designer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fair trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[workers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2007</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Watch Harry Potter actress Emma Watson as she is “moved and inspired” by fair trade producer group Swallows in Bangladesh. As part of her ongoing work with People Tree, Emma joined Safia Minney in Bangladesh where they visited both the &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
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	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
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	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>Let Them Eat Cake (fair trade of course!)</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/26/let-them-eat-cake-fair-trade-of-course/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/26/let-them-eat-cake-fair-trade-of-course/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:46:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Stacey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fair trade event]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Let Them Eat Cake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tate modern]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tea party]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2018</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here at SI HQ it would appear that we are unable to escape the Mad Hatter’s Tea party theme, literally everyone is getting involved. I thought I was over it, however, thanks to Emmy Lou Cakehead, I have happily been &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3878191042_27f57b5fbd_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Namayiana - Fair Trade Producer Visit" border="0" /></a>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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		<title>Machine invented that makes plastic into oil</title>
		<link>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/24/machine-invented-that-makes-plastic-into-oil/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.shared-interest.com/2010/08/24/machine-invented-that-makes-plastic-into-oil/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:28:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invented]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Machine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Machine invented]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic oil]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=1994</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Plastic creates lots of problems, it needs lots of oil to make, disposing of it is problematic because it is non biodegradable and burning it releases CO2. Akinori Ito the Japanese inventor and CEO of Blest had a simple question. &#8230; <a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/2011/04/01/%e2%80%9ctheir-innovation-knows-no-bounds%e2%80%9d/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As Supporter Relations Officer part of my role involves promoting Shared Interest to potential new members. Fairtrade Fortnight in particular usually means the opportunity to speak to a myriad of different groups. I often find that case studies are the best way to illustrate the work that we do.  One group that I tend to talk about is Apicoop. I recently had the opportunity to meet Apicoops’s Manager, Chino Henriques, I love meeting the people that we work with as it’s great to put faces to names as well as hear their stories directly.</p>
<p>Apicoop was established in 1980 and was a direct result of the challenging political situation facing Chile at the time.  There was little trust and communication among the population so the idea of Apicoop was to work with insects, in this case bees, to encourage co-operation among the people.  Chino explained this concept: “Bees organise themselves in a way very similar to that of a co-operative with the Queen Bee as the CEO with Worker Bees working together, with a 97% female workforce and 3% male, who are kicked out once their work is done anyway.”</p>
<p>The co-operative’s 300 members cover an area of 1,200 km<sup>2</sup> to reduce the risks associated with beekeeping.  By covering a wide area any localised issues, such as weather conditions, may affect some honey production but not the entire co-operatives supply.  Due to the widespread membership the co-operative requires trucks to be able to deliver the hives and reach their members, they started by hiring trucks but with their first Fairtrade premium they were very pleased to be able to purchase their own truck.</p>
<p>Another clever investment Apicoop made was buying 20 hectares of land, they didn’t initially know what they would use it for but they thought it would be a good investment.  Now they operate a blueberry farm there where 80 women work as part of Apicoop.  They earn 100% more income than other blueberry fields and next year they will need more women and every woman who works there has vowed to bring a sister, daughter, mother or friend to work.  Apicoop aims for the blueberry field to be an example of good work to others in the country and around the world. </p>
<p>Chino explained to an audience in Nottingham that without finance from Shared Interest Apicoop would not have been able to set up the blueberry project but since setting it up three banks have visited the blueberry field and asked how they can help.  Apicoop’s first crop of blueberries produced 80 tons, 50 tons of them going to their main Blueberries UK buyer, the Co-operative, with fellow North East organisation, Traidcraft, among their other buyers.</p>
<p>After the blueberries are collected, they are sent to Apicoop’s local exporter who packages them before sending them on to the UK. There is a risk that the exporter may be unable to fully support Apicoop in the future and so they plan is to build their own packing station…their innovation has no bounds!</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2905" title="Sally" src="http://blog.shared-interest.com/wp-content/uploads/Sally1-260x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="300" /></a>
<div id="apf_post_footer">
<h4>Related Articles</h4>
<ul>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2784">Imagine all the People&#8230;.</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2477">Is it possible to change black to green?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2421">Ethical investment: The elephant in the room?</a></li>
<li class="apf_footer"><a href="http://blog.shared-interest.com/?p=2185">First for Felixstowe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle;" align="center">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><strong>Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.</strong></a><br />
<br />
	<a href="http://bit.ly/9VATYV"><strong>Click here to donate to the Shared Interest Foundation</strong></a>
</td>
<td style="width: 75px">
	<a href="http://www.shared-interest.com/member.php?utm_source=Shared%2BInterest%20Blog%20Footer&#038;utm_medium=blog&#038;utm_campaign=sharedinterestblogfooter"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2909253327_78b8f9c31e_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Mexican coffee farmer at work in the fields" border="0" /></a>
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