Over the years we have produced a number of papers which explain the reasoning behind our work. For example, what we mean by 'empowerment', why we prefer the term 'social profit' to 'non-profit' or 'non-governmental' when describing our kind of organisation, and why we work in Eastern Europe.

We have provided below some extracts from this work. We would be interested to hear from you if you want to challenge any of our statements or assumptions, or if you think you can help us present the ideas in a better way. But please be aware that our resources are limited and our main focus is on helping people in need in lower income countries and finding the resources to do this.

A Climate of Change?

We took the above photo during a break in a workshop on sustainable agriculture held in Benin. It shows Ganvie, a village of 12,000 built on stilts in Lake Nokoue by people fleeing from slave traders.

Perhaps we will see more villages and towns like Ganvie if sea levels rise as a result of climate change. It is the poor countries that will suffer most. We should all be reflecting on what we personally can do to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and especially those of us living in West who have the largest environmental footprints. We have included this comment because of the threat now posed by climate change and the lack of commitment at all levels to get to grips with the problem and its causes. It is the only piece of environmental propaganda you will find on our website!

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