Lorna Young Foundation (LYF)
The Lorna Young Foundation (LYF) is a UK registered charity that helps smallholder producer organisations in developing countries to make the transition from being simply growers of raw crops to being in control of their own businesses.
Our work helps them to add value to what they grow and lift themselves out of poverty without the need for aid, see Our Programmes page to find out more.
We also work with communities in the UK to raise awareness and activism about trade injustice in the developing world. This involves the creation of community-owned ethical trading social enterprises that move value along the supply chain and support communities at both ends of the process.
We are all about self-determination for communities – both in developing countries and in the UK – offering the knowledge and capacity they need in order to take more control of their livelihoods.
What We Do and Why
We develop innovative ventures for learning and enterprise in partnership with smallholder producer organisations and communities, education institutions and local specialist organisations. We ensure that our development work respects and reflects the cultural sensitivities of the communities in which they are set.
Whether based in rural farming areas in the developing world or in deprived urban areas in the UK, our programmes are designed around the needs and aspirations of local people.
The LYF was set up in 2003 with initial funding from Cafédirect in memory of the late Lorna Young, a pioneer of fair trade, see Our Mission, Values and Lorna. The LYF shares Lorna’s belief that producers in developing countries can lift themselves out of poverty – they just need help to gain better commercial knowledge and access to markets.
We are an unusual charity. We take the approach of listening to the needs of producers in the South and working to match them with the interests and concerns of consumers in the North.
http://www.lyf.org.uk
