Category Archives: Success Story

Shared Interest customer provides market for Afghan raisins

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We recently commented on the Institute of Economic Affairs’ critical report of fair trade. One of the concerns raised in the report is that fair trade doesn’t do enough to help those who need the most support.

A significant case study to counteract this argument is the development of Fairtrade certified produce from conflict zones. Thanks to a Shared Interest customer, Fairtrade raisins from Afghanistan are now available.

Sunderland-based Tropical Wholefoods have been working with the Parwan Raisin Producer Co-operative (PRPC) since 2006. Tropical Wholefood’s Co-Founder, Adam Brett told the Fairtrade Foundation “The past three decades of fighting during the Soviet occupation, civil war and Taliban regime have virtually decimated the plain. Grape farmers experienced ever decreasing yields, and due to the troubles, access to improved technology and to markets was impossible. Fair trade will help them to a sustainable living by creating export opportunities.”

There are around 300 farmers involved in this co-operative, current member Haji Aenudin said:

“By selling raisins directly to exporters and not going via a trader, we will get more money for our raisins. My great hope is that peace will return to Afghanistan and for a good life for my children and their children.”

Shared Interest provides finance to enable fair trade buyers such as Tropical Wholefoods to pre-finance orders from producer groups like the PRPC, who may not otherwise have access to finance. To find out more about ethical investment in fair trade click here.

Tropical Wholefoods purchased 40 tonnes of raisins from the producer group in 2010. Whilst 40 tonnes is a small quantity, according to their website, Tropical Wholefoods are confident that substantially higher quantities of raisins will be purchased in 2011 and into the future. You can purchase Fairtrade raisins directly from their website.

We are giving away three bags of these Fairtrade raisins, to be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is post your answer to the following question in the comments box below:

What is the name of the Afghan raisin co-operative?

Good Luck!

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Fairtrade purchases hit €3.4 Billion

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Yesterday the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO) announced that despite facing one of the most difficult economic years on record, consumers spent an estimated €3.4 Billion on Fairtrade products in 2009 – a 15% increase over the previous year.

Cocoa and sugar farmers experienced among the strongest leap in sales, 35% and 57% respectively, thanks in part to 100% commitments by global chocolate and confectionary brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Nestle’s Kit Kat, Green & Black’s, and Ben & Jerry’s. Sales in Fairtrade herbs and spices multiplied as FLO opened its scope to include all varieties of herbs and spices. Coffee, the pioneering Fairtrade product, grew steadily at 12%.

Rob Cameron, CEO of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) said “As 2009 began in the midst of the worst recession in 70 years, we worried that Fairtrade producers could lose sales. Instead, consumers across the globe bucked the trend and proved their deep commitment to giving producers a fair deal“.

This is great news for the Fairtrade Foundation as in addition to this increase in sales they have recently joined Shared Interest as winners of the Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, the award is a tribute to the hard work and entrepreneurialism of tens of thousands of producers in developing countries and the UK public who see Fairtrade goods as a fantastic way of addressing global trade injustice and poverty.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: “This award is recognition from the very top that there is a fairer way of doing business. Winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise will spur us on to take sales to an even greater level, opening further opportunities for producer organisations to build a better future”

Overall this feels like a great time to be involved in the fair trade movement and we are proud of our role within it, congratulations to the Fairtrade Foundation for both the increased sales and the Queen’s Award. Here’s to a Fairtrade future!

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Congratulations Joe Human MBE

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Joe Human MBEYou may remember that back in January we announced that Shared Interest member Joe Human was to be awarded an MBE for services to Oxfam and the Fair Trade movement.

We are delighted to say that Joe was presented with the award at Buckingham Palace last Friday, after years of voluntary work; the prestigious award is highly deserved.

Thanks to the work of campaigners like Joe, Cumbria now has more Fairtrade towns than any other county, not to mention the UK’s first Fairtrade landmark in the shape of Hadrian’s Wall!

Joe currently helps run the Cumbria Fairtrade Network and has started a project to link Keswick, his home town, with the coffee-growing village of Choche in Ethiopia.

Joe said: “I was pleased to hear that I’d been awarded an MBE as I hope it shows that Fairtrade is increasingly seen as a force for good, he continued, the link with Choche shows supporters that Fairtrade really does work and is helping producers to lead a much better life.”

If you want more information on how you can help producers in the developing world secure livelihoods for themselves and their communities visit www.shared-interest.com for more information.

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Helping people in the Nairobi slums

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The video below shows the startling truth about how an investment can go a long way in improving livelihoods in the slums of Nairobi.  If you would like to watch the video in a larger size and High Definition (takes more time to load) please click here.

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Shared Interest supports Bio-Exotica the fairtrade pineapple business

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Fairtrade Pineapples being packedShared Interest is to loan to Bio-Exotica, a Ghanaian pineapple producer, for the purchase of some much-needed equipment; which will enhance both their sustainability and their social impact.

Bio Exotica, established in 2003, are the sole employer in the Asegya area, providing work for more than 100 field workers and other staff. They also play an active social role in the local community and have founded 1 modern primary school and renovated another.

The organisation aims to provide assured employment for workers and the transfer of knowledge to local famers. Additionally, they aim to improve the living conditions of their community by contributing to employment, education and the development of local infrastructure.

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Cards from Africa – in Welsh!

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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, who have never made cards in Welsh before.

Cards from Africa are one of fifty companies in Rwanda to receive training from the Shared Interest Foundation to support their business development.  For more on the cards available at Fairdo’s see here.  For more on Cards from Africa see here.

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Cards From Africa, a Fair Trade Success

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Rachel from Cards from Africa

Rachel from 'Cards from Africa'

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 hope and personal triumph were even more dramatic than the cards themselves. I would like to share just one of the many stories I heard that day.

Rachel lives in an orphaned household; at just 18 she takes care of her sister and brother, aged 15 and 12. She was just four when her dad died from stomach ulcers and only 11 when her mum died from AIDS.

Her aunt eventually took them in but was too burdened by having three mouths to feed. Up at 4am each day to do chores, Rachel started being absent from school and went from the top of her class to the bottom in just a year. When she couldn’t take any more and finally moved her siblings back to the house they were raised in, they discovered there was no furniture left and Rachel struggled to find a way to feed and clothe her brother and sister.

But since Rachel started working for Cards from Africa, all that has changed. She is now even able to pay the yearly health care fee in case her brother and sister fall ill and need to see a doctor. They are both eating well and wearing better clothes.

Rachel says that ‘the joy and dignity that come with providing for everyone’s needs is a new experience.’
Cards of Africa are just one of the 50 businesses that Shared Interest Foundation will be working with over the next three years. Training them in business and financial skills, market access and environmentally sustainable ways of working, we can help many others like Rachel to achieve their potential and provide for their families.

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Shared Interest Increases Lending in South Africa

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Our East African Regional Development Executive, Rachel Ngondo has recently assisted another new African producer group with access to credit from Shared Interest. AMWA are a South African handicraft producer where fair trade, environmental responsibility and commercial viability, are integral parts of the manufacture and marketing of products.  AMWA works with disadvantaged women in the rural area of Knysna and has given lots of producers an opportunity to earn a livelihood and change their lives. AMWA have plans in place to target the huge, potential market that the World Cup will bring to South Africa in 2010. By financing the term loan they applied for Shared Interest will help AMWA to further enhance their growth and increase their impact in the community.

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The Best of Times and The Worst of Times

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Good Deals 2009, the Social Enterprise conference, was a huge success yesterday at the British Library.  Organised by social enterprise magazine the event showcased a number of social enterprises and support organisations through panels, debates and workshops as well as pitch slots for a lucky four social enterprises.  The event was hosted by Liam Black of Wavelength, and the lesser spotted social investment partridge (aka the British Library fire alarm).  We were welcomed with the positive news that since the last Good Deals conference in 2008 social investment had moved from the marginal to the mainstream, much in a similar way to fair trade.

We heard from a number of speakers including Angela Smith from the Office of the Third Sector, Nigel Kershaw from Big Issue Invest and Jonathan Jenkins of UnLtd, a fan of the IPS model which Shared Interest uses.  We heard pitches from four social enterprises pitching for finance, including Happy Kitchen and the Ethical Property Company.  Those of us who were unlucky in getting to the stage to pitch were offered sixty seconds of video time to pitch for investment and these will be available on You Tube shortly.

Liam Black played the role of Parkinson in the afternoon hosting ‘The Big Interview’ with among others, Anne MacCaig, CEO of Cafedirect who began with a video showing Cafedirect’s work to support their producers in tackling the effects of climate change on their crops.  We also experienced ‘Social Investment in Court’ where cases were made for and against a number of issues and the concept of bringing the Community Reinvestment Act to the UK was voted hugely in favour of.

The day concluded with a wine networking session and no further evidence of the Social Investment Partridge, whom I hope has gone to spread the message about social investment.

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Fairtrade in the Capital

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After finding my way into the tardis like building that it London’s Guildhall I spent yesterday afternoon in the thick of Fairtrade action in London.  Celebrating their 1st birthday as a Fairtrade city the Fairtrade London campaign held a workshop with activities, tastings, networking and presentations.

We were welcomed by Emma Bara and Rev George Bush of the Fairtrade Campaign in the City.  Following these introductions Veronica Pasteur of the Fairtrade Foundation took on her role as member of the Fairtrade London Campaign and talked us through the successes of London in the past year.  A number of events including the Fairtrade banana flash mob in Trafalgar Square, Farmers of the World Unite on May Day and Holland Park’s Environment Day were all mentioned as highlights of the campaign so far.  All these events are ones at which Shared Interest also had a presence, showing we’re getting involved in the right places in the South East but we’re always looking for more opportunities.  Hannah Reed then told us about the Fairtrade Towns work and the plans for 2009.  One of the highlights was hearing a real case study from Zaytoun.  Manal Ramadan told us about the progress made by Zaytoun in supporting Palestinian olive farmers and their achievement of gaining fair trade certification for their olive oil.

We had a discussion session around Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 in preparation for activites for ‘The Big Swap’ and the theme of tea.  I’m not sure that a Fairtrade tea costume is going to be as easy as a Fairtrade banana costume was for last years’ events!  Get your thinking caps on for suitable ‘tea’ themed events and ways to achieve the target of 1,000,001 people making ‘The Big Swap’.

We were treated to a tasting session by Cafedirect which was an eye opener.  Similar to wine tasting we were encouraged to sample oranges and chocolate before tasting the coffee.  Slurping is the best way to ‘taste’ the coffee and a room full of adults making such noises was certainly an entertaining highlight of the evening!

A workshop around the Fairtrade London Campaign discussed the soon to be launched website with interactive blogging pages for each London Borough.  So get your blogging caps on and get writing about what’s going on with fair trade in your borough here.  There will also be a ‘Best of Fairtrade’ interactive map where you can add your favourite local cafe, shop or venue supporting fair trade and write a few words about why you support it.

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Namayiana - Fair Trade Producer Visit Click here to learn how you can invest in fair trade.

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