We recently had an email from Phil Shore who is a volunteer who raises awareness about the organisation Shared Interest. We asked him to write a blog for the website to tell us about the work Shared Interest are involved in.

 

 

“Have you ever thought: “How can I directly invest in Fairtrade farmers and artisans?”

Well, way back in 1990 a group of Fairtrade pioneers asked themselves this question, and from it was born The Shared Interest Society.  Now, 25 years on, and having received many awards including two Queen’s Awards for Sustainable Business, Shared Interest has over 9,000 investors and provides loans of over £45 million to Fairtrade businesses.

These loans provide fair and just access to finance that enables producers to create sustainable livelihoods for their families and their communities.  Investors in Shared Interest can be 100% confident that all their money is being invested in a way that directly supports Fairtrade farmers and artisans in Africa, South America and Asia.

At this year’s (2015) Shared Interest AGM, Chino Henriquez – General Manager of Apicoop in Chile – explained how Shared Interest finance had not only supported Apicoops growth into a Co-Operative with 300 smallholder beekeepers, but had also enabled Apicoop to expand and become the world’s first producer of Fairtrade blueberries.

If you would like to learn more about Shared Interest, how it helps Fairtrade producers like Apicoop, and maybe even become one of its growing number of investors, please contact Philip Shore who is a Derby-based volunteer and long-standing investor in Shared Interest. “

Philip’s details are:

Telephone: 01332 831904

Email: Philipshore@email.com