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developmentWales

FARM-Africa was established in 1985 to help develop sustainable livelihoods for rural farming communities and ensure improved management of natural resources.  FARM-Africa operates predominantly in eastern Africa.

In 2008, the Foundation provided FARM-Africa with a grant of £25,000 towards a project working with farmers in the Nou Forest region of Tanzania.  The project has established bee-keeping groups in six village communities, and supported them to access improved hives and training on bee-keeping practices and business skills.  FARM-Africa has also worked with regional honey buyers to link the farmers to a guaranteed market for their produce.  It is anticipated that the programme will significantly increase the annual income of over 200 rural farming households.

www.farmafrica.org.uk

The Fairtrade Foundation was established in 1992 by a coalition of international development NGOs keen to increase the positive benefits of trade on producers in developing countries.  The Fairtrade Foundation is the organisation responsible for licensing Fairtrade products in the UK according to the internationally agreed Fairtrade standards. 

In 2008, the Foundation provided the Fairtrade Foundation with a grant of £20,000 to help develop new Fairtrade standards for gold and associated silver and platinum.  The Foundation’s grant was used to support a mining community in the Choco region of Colombia to organise miners into community-based groups and improve their productivity and business skills.  The Fairtrade standards have been tested and monitored though the project, and will be used as the basis for globally agreed standards which it is hoped will lead to the launch of Fairtrade gold jewellery available on the UK high street.

www.fairtrade.org.uk

MicroLoan Foundation was established in 2002 in Malawi with the aim of providing microfinance to women who were unable to access the financial services required to grow their small but successful businesses.  MicroLoan Foundation’s business training and loan model has resulted in very high loan repayment rates and allowed the organisation to expand to 20 branches across Malawi.

In 2008, the Foundation provided MicroLoan Foundation with a grant of £100,000 to establish two new branch offices in the eastern province of Zambia which will provide loans and small business training to groups of women.  These entrepreneurs will use the loans to sustainably grow their businesses, taking out increasingly large loans as their business requires.   After four years loan repayment rates are expected to reach 97% which, together with affordable interest rates, should allow the operation to become financially sustainable.

www.microloanfoundation.org.uk