Partner Article

Bdaily fairtrade blog launched

The world’s only 100% fair trade lender – Newcastle’s Shared Interest – will today kick off a campaign to encourage people to swap everyday items with those that have been created in good working conditions and sold at a fair price.

To mark today’s start of Fairtrade Fortnight, The Big Swap has been launched with the aim of raising awareness of the benefits of ethical trade.

Shared Interest, which sources investment to fund business and enterprise in the developing world in places as far afield as Peru and Rwanda, will also write exclusively for bdaily over the next fortnight as it welcomes its globally-dispersed workforce back to its Tyneside headquarters.

The first entry in the Shared Interest blog follows this story.

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My Big Fairtrade Birthday Cake Bake Off

Here we go. The first day of my Big Swap Blog challenge and let’s hope my first venture ’rises’ to the occasion. Quite literally or this could be embarrassing. I want to make my fair trade swaps appealing to you and relevant to me so I’m beginning the only way I can with a cake, something for you to try for yourselves (I mean, who doesn’t like cake?!) and something I’ve developed a bit of a reputation for making and baking!

It does have to be a bit of an occasion for me to dust off my rolling pin but the fact that Shared Interest is all grown up and 20 years old this year deserves a bit of time in the kitchen.

So, because I’m swapping my usual products for fair trade ones, I had to make sure I tracked down the right recipe.

A Banana and Raisin tea loaf seems ideal because I can use dried fruit from Tropical Wholefoods. Plus all but two of the ingredients - flour and eggs are fair trade and tea is something we should all be swapping this Fairtrade Fortnight - we are a nation famous for drinking the stuff after all.

I’d best let you in on this now: I’m not really a measuring type of baker. I generally measure ingredients by seeing if the amount looks right and throwing it in the mixing bowl; bit like my cocktail technique, but you’ll hear more about later. I hope this practiced technique works here…Although I already eat Fairtrade bananas I hadn’t really considered banana chips or tried the Bogoya slices in this cake. So…some for the cake…some for me…munch munch munch…Quality control is, of course, vital!

Well, let’s hope that the cake tastes as good as it looks. I’ve just peeked in the oven and it’s currently trying to escape from the loaf tin. Apparently it tastes great straight from the oven with some butter on top.

If this is the case and its mission successful, I’m going to try and keep up this swap to fair trade cake ingredients, then all my friends and family can enjoy their celebrations the fair way. I’m already thinking of replacing chocolate eggs with some Simnel Cake for Easter. In the meantime, check out my cake bake in real time on my video blog here: .

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .