At Traidcraft we have a vision for a better world
We just think it’s outrageous that over a billion people on this little planet of ours still live in poverty – when we know we can all do something about it!
Kridonia, a tea farmer in Malawi
We believe in making the world a place where each person not only gets a fair wage for a fair day’s work, but where they can really flourish. It’s not complicated – it’s just about things like feeling safe, having a sense of community – and hope for the future.
At Traidcraft HQ we’re a practical bunch, so in 1979 we decided that rather than hanging around, thinking about our vision for a better world, we’d go for it and try to make it happen.
We started by trading and working with poor craft producers in Bangladesh. We produced a very simple, hand-drawn catalogue full of jute baskets and handicrafts.
Women at Saidpur Enterprises in Bangladesh
Our friends and families helped us get going (by buying lots of Christmas presents from us!) and happily we found that our new customers loved the products. They also loved the project and soon became fantastic supporters. That’s when we knew we could do more…
Now we trade with all kinds of groups from women’s co-operatives in India through to tea and sugar growers in Malawi. We have trade links in Africa, Asia and South America – in more than 30 countries! Wherever we can, we work with small-scale groups because we know they need us most.
While we’re busy doing all of that, we often meet other producers who we are not yet able to trade with. So, to help them too, we’ve set up a development charity.
That means we are in touch with hundreds of thousands of producers through development projects – helping them to help themselves in ways we never thought possible. Duck farmers in Bangladesh, beekeepers in Tanzania and alpaca wool knitters in Peru are all now enjoying new opportunities for a brighter future.
Campaigning outside the Houses of Parliament
Traidcraft also has a small, but dedicated team of brilliant people who get their heads round all the complicated trade policy stuff… So then we do everything we can to persuade the big cheeses in government, business and other organisations (anyone we can find who can help!) to change the rules so we can solve the problems!
We hope that you now have a better idea of what we get up to at Traidcraft HQ. If you’d like to find out even more or you fancy getting involved with us in making the world a fairer place, then we’d be over the moon!
