Welcome
Wel com e to Sha red Inte res t. You are rea ding this boo klet bec aus e som eon e you kno w has dec ided to inve st in a fair er wor ld. The y may be inve stin g the ir tim e or the ir s mon ey – it doe s not mat ter whi ch. Wh at doe mat ter is tha t the y are cha ngin g live s acr oss the glo be by sup por ting Fair trad e.
What is Fa irtrade? a that farmers and workers earn Fair trade is about making sure a paid g bein and ns ditio in safe con fair living. This involves working Fair trade the see you If . uce prod they ds reasonable amount for the goo who p, this is a sign that the people mark on items in your local sho y. fairl ted ucts have been trea have helped make those prod
Where does Shared Interest fit in? Shared Interest lends money to fair trade farmers and workers around the world. People living here in the UK put their spare money in a Share Account. This is called ‘making an investment’. They invest between £100 and £100,000 and this money goes into one big pot to help people living in communities poorer than our own. These schoolchildren are holding new backpacks, full of school supplies as well as toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap. Their parents are Fairtrade quinoa farmers in Bolivia. They are part of an organisation called Andean Naturals, and used the Fairtrade Premium to help their children prepare for school.
The Fa irtrade Pre miu m is extra money that is give n to farmers to spend on making their co mmunity a better place to live.
What is Quinoa?
) has been grown in Bolivia for Quinoa (pronounced keen-‐wah s Andes, it is one of the few crop over 5,00 0 years. Found in the high fall, rain low of t men iron that can survive in the harsh env poor soil. altitude, cold air, hot sun and six taller than you -‐ from three to It is a herb that can grow even k. stal the of end the at ters clus feet high -‐ with seeds in large fluff y, and have a nutt y flavour. Once cooked, the seeds become is food of astronauts’ because it Quinoa is sometimes called ‘the and es bon es mak ch whi high in protein, calcium and iron muscles strong.
What is a co -operative?
ve le ar ne d Th e w ay w e w or k w e ha ba ck . fr om th e be es . Ba ck to Sh ou ld er to sh ou ld er.
This is Chino talking about how he thinks organisat ions should operate – by working together and everyone having an equal role. Co-‐operatives work a bit like beehives in that everyone has an individual responsibility and a shared goal. Co-operatives are all about team work, where everyone shares in the benefits of success.
Chino, from Apicoop ager of Meet Chino; he is General Man e in rativ ope ‐ a honey and blueberr y co- . oop Chile called Apic Chino says: as to not “We moved into blueberries so It was ket. bas one into s egg our of put all case’. in t ‘jus s a way of protecting ourselve ‐operative by giving Shared Interest helped the co- berr y seedlings Apicoop a loan to buy their blue . ting plan and prepare the land for Interest investors, Chino says: “Thanks to Shared te livelihoods and we can work together to crea the world.” r ove make dreams a reality all
Recent ly, a nearby volcano erupted and buried 5,0 00 beeh ives in hot ash. Lu ckily, when the farmers dug ou t their hives, the be es had survived.In the lon ger term, farmers realised they needed anot her pr oduct in case some thing happened to their bees.
Helping Communities Across the World Shared Interest
UK
ple There are over 9,0 00 peo ir spare the put o wh UK the m fro t. Alone, money in a Share Accoun not be y ma t oun each Share Acc pot this er, eth tog but ul, powerf 400 r ove ped hel ney mo of ies organisat ions in 58 countr in 2015.
Statue of Liberty Amazon Costa Rica
Apicoop
Andes Peru
Chile
ers live in an Apicoop beekeepers and blueberry farm earthquakes from rs suffe that Chile area of Sout hern mean that this like tions Situa . tions erup nic and volca but are hard really sometimes Apicoop farmers work is uce prod their use beca not able to earn money hard is follow must t “Wha says: damaged.Chino work to get things back in order.�
Eiffel tower
TradeAID
Ghana
weavers There is a group of basket ID. deA Tra led cal ica in West Afr kets from straw. They make colour ful bas the countr yside, in d wil wn The straw is gro pe the straw into and a team of weavers sha baskets using their hands.
Great wall of China Kenya
Gourmet Ga rde ns
Uganda
There is a country called Uganda in East Africa where the rainforest provides the ideal weather to produce organic and Fairtrade vanilla. An organisation called Gourmet Gardens began doing just this over 15 years ago. There are 1,000 farmers who grow vanilla for Gourmet Gardens within a large piece of land called a plantation that sits on the bend of a river. The farmers say that they like to grow their vanilla in harmony with nature.
e e b e h t p l He he ht g u o r h t h i ve
What does orga nic mea n?
Gourmet Garde ns On our map, we told you about a vanilla co-operative called Gourmet Gardens. Shared Interest investors help the co-operative to pay their farmers when the vanilla is harvested. Clemens is Operations Manager at Gourmet Gardens. He says: “The support of Shared Interest helps us buy the whole vanilla crop from farmers and ensures we can pay them on time.
la l i n a v e h t e c Tra outl i n e
When something is labelled organic, it means it is produced without the use of artificial chemicals or pesticides, and in a natural environment where animals are well cared for.
TradeAID You can see where TradeAID is based on our map. Thanks to Shared Interest investors, TradeAID bought a truck, which is now used to take the straw from the count ryside to the weavers. When the baskets are ready, the truck comes to collect them so they can be sold. As more baskets are sold, TradeAID needs more weavers. This means more children are able to go to school, because their parents can pay for their uniform and books. Before their craft centre was built, the weavers would shelter under trees from the rain.
said A basket weaver called Rhoda
We now also have a craft centre where we can weave even when the weather is rainy or harsh.
Did you know the straw used to make the baskets is collected from the countr yside in bunches and dyed in boiling water? For bright colours the straw is dyed yellow first, then the final shade on top.
What ca n you do to su pport Fa irtrade? Th er e ar e lo ts of th in gs yo u ca n do to su pp or t Fa irt ra de . Yo u co ul d ho ld a ba ke sa le w he re th e pr od uc ts so ld co nt ai n Fa irt ra de in gr ed ie nt s. If yo u ha ve a tu ck sh op , yo u co ul d se e w he th er it is po ss ib le to se ll so m e Fa irt ra de ite m s to o. So m e sc ho ol s in ve st th e m on ey ra is ed th ro ug h th ei r tu ck sh op in Sh ar ed In te re st . Th is m ea ns th at th ey ca n he lp fa rm er s do th in gs like bu y th e se ed s ne ed ed fo r th ei r ne xt ha rv es t. W he n yo u vi si t yo ur lo ca l su pe rm ar ke t, lo ok ou t fo r th e Fa irt ra de lo go on pr od uc ts like ba na na s, co ffe e, te a, ch oc ol at e, an d ev en th in gs like sh am po o an d bu bb le ba th .
Notes