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Bangladesh, 2009. Photo: Peter Caton/Tearfund

Livelihoods and food security

Finding a sustainable way to make a living is critical for people trying to work their way out of poverty. One way that Tearfund works with local churches is to support them in running self-help groups and income generation projects. 

Small microfinance loans can make a huge difference to a family’s well-being. Women particularly are encouraged to start a small business, perhaps selling eggs or chickens – they are then able to earn enough for their family, pay back their loan and use the profit to help another member of the community get started. 

Meanwhile, Tearfund’s Created range of handmade gifts provides jobs and a fair salary for craft-workers from some of the world’s poorest communities, helping them create and market products of the highest standard. That means every purchase you make from Created has a lasting and positive impact.

Through Created, we:

  • run a financially sustainable business to import and distribute fairly traded goods at the right price and quality.
  • have a beneficial impact on producers and their communities.
  • engage people in the UK in issues of trade and development.

I didn’t hear about fair trade from anybody. I read my Bible and I learnt to love and be fair. I think that fair trade is the best example of this.
Founder of Manos Amigas, Created producers in Peru