Shared Interest Foundation
How you can provide hope for Haiti
We have all seen the horrific results of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti without warning.
The Shared Interest Foundation Livelihood Security Fund was established in 2009 to assist Fairtrade craft makers and farmers during disasters. The fund helps to rebuild businesses and communities.
Haiti based Shared Interest customers Comite Artisanal Haitien (CAH), who work with 180 [...]
Panic in Pakistan
On 4 January 2010 the Hunza District of Pakistan was hit by a devastating landslide. Two villages, including Atta Abad, were forced into the Hunza River. Parts of the main road between Pakistan and China have been destroyed and remaining debris is now blocking the course of the river, which could lead to severe [...]
Philippines, Haiti and Pakistan….what do they have in common?
Many of us over the festive period were spending time with loved ones, snuggling up on the sofa with the new DVD we got for Christmas and indulging in way too much food and wine. While others all around the globe were struck, without warning by landslides, typhoons and earthquakes.
Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan have [...]
Cards from Africa – in Welsh!
Fair trade shop, Fairdo’s, in Cardiff has recently started to sell fair trade cards with Welsh language greetings. The cards, made by Cards from Africa, in Rwanda are a first for both Fairdo’s as the first Welsh language cards made for them by a company based in the ‘South’, it is also a first for [...]
Cards From Africa, a Fair Trade Success
As I set foot inside Cards from Africa, I was immersed into a bustling environment of people sitting around wooden tables, gluing, cutting, bending and laughing as they hand-make each card.
The results are beautiful but as I sat and chatted with a group of ladies at one table I soon realised that their stories of [...]
Fairtrade Foundation Supporter Conference
There was an excited ‘buzz’ on Saturday at the Fairtrade Foundation’s Supporter Conference. The announcement that DFID have given £12million pounds to the Fairtrade Foundation started the conference off with a bang. This finance, which will be used to support fair trade producers in achieving fair trade status, was announced by Douglas Alexander to a [...]
Making Fair Trade Fair for all
My recent visit to South Africa provided me with a number of opportunities to meet those involved and those wishing to become involved in the South African fair trade movement. Whilst in Johannesburg and Cape Town the Shared Interest Foundation ran a number of training days giving those interested in learning more about fair trade [...]
Business Training for Rwandan Fair Trade Producers
During a busy 10 days in Rwanda Andrea Wilkinson visited six producer organisations, met several stakeholders of the project, presented at the trainer graduation day and saw 5,000 trees that had been planted as a result of the environmental training by one of the producer groups.
“The evaluation trip was a great success, it was incredibly [...]
Holiday Prize offered for £1,000 Challenge
Would you like to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world and see first hand the impact that fair trade has on craft producers and farmers?
By entering our £1,000 Challenge you will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a Meet the People fair trade holiday to Peru, Kenya or [...]
Carving a fair living
Today Joan and I are hopping on a local bus and heading into the heart of Rwanda to visit COPABU (Coopertive du Producteurs Artisans de Butare). This is the final organisation that we will visit during this evaluation trip and it sounds like they have really taken the training on board.
The group is the first [...]