Fair Grounds, a Bradford based social enterprise is up and running, but whilst still in the conceiving stages its founder Nina and a friend came and visited me in Malawi to visit three Fair Trade co-operatives and see if they deliver what is pertained and the actual impact they have on the people who work for them.

The trip itself took us through three different parts of Malawi which is one of the poorest countries in the world. We loved adapting and living wherever our trip took us. Organising a trip like this without someone in the country would be hard. We felt like Malawi shaped most of our trip and organisation turned to chance in a country of very few definites and lots of 'possibly maybe's'.

Our first co-operative took us to Blantyre and to a paper making co-operative that supply elephant dung paper to Traidcraft. It was great to see the initiatives that were just as important as the retail section of the business that makes elephant dung writing paper. The co-op also teaches women how to make recycled paper brickettes for use in fires instead of wood that is currently over harvested in Malawi.

We then headed to one of the poorest parts of Malawi to a place called Neno to group of Macadamia Farmers. Again here it was great to see the associate programs invloved in developing this community. They had a number of 'Income Generated Activites' including fish farming, bee keeping, solar drying fruit and baking classes. These were financed by a rolling loan system. As soon as a person had payed off their loan they could get another one straight away and buy their second beehive or solar tent. This was the most amazing place to see. Fair Trade was only a small, but essential part of their life. So much was being done through personal ambition, hard work and community partnerships.

Our final co-op took us to the desert heat of Chikwawa and the place where all the co-ops and tradecrafts fair trade sugar originates from. This was a Fair Trade co-op on another scale. Designed with an irrigation system, it was like a mirage in the desert. Not all their sugar is bought by Fair Trade companies however, so go out there, buy more Fair Trade sugar and make some cookies for your niehgbours!