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About Jambohut.

In 1998 an entrepreneur, Andrew Hind, formed the wildlife cafe group whose ethos is to return 50% of net profit to benefit wildlife internationally and nationally. He did so because he was disenchanted with the notion that his charitable donations each year were not wholly assisting those it was aimed at but either increasing large bank balance of organisations or being diverted by some corrupt foreign politicians.

The concept expanded and believing in fair-trade and the need to help others, but out of profit, in the last three years he has developed lines of fairly traded products not just in teas and coffees but in wood and soapstone carvings, batik work and jewellery and the lines continue to expand.

There are now around 200 product lines which are fair trade. We are a full member of BAFTS and an accredited importer.

Make Poverty History - £1million fairtrade campaign for 2006

At the end of 2005 we were retailing the products in our own five outlets and had received approaches from many other retailers asking us where we obtained our products and so we embarked on a campaign to offer not just retail but also wholesale fair trade goods into the general marketplace in three main ways

Firstly, by setting up and operating our own e-commerce web site at www.jambohut.com and producing a retail catalogue.

Secondly, by offering to chosen charities the ability to sell by catalogue, through their own charity shops and e-commerce, fair trade products at no cost to the charity.
We produce the catalogue at our cost and the customer buys at retail from the charity, or us. We charge the charity wholesale price and donate the difference between wholesale and retail to the charity. We are currently looking at working with Debra, Rainbow Trust, Sense International, World Vision and Oxfam.

Finally by offering our products on a sale or return basis to retailers willing to just offer up some valuable shelf space.

We are completely unique. We offer fairtrade non-food products together with a sale or return package for retailers and at a price to the customers, which is the same as if they were buying a similar product non-fairtade. After all if the product and the price is the same which would you buy, fairtrade or non-fairtrade?

We come from the standpoint of a hand up not a hand out. This is vitally important for us, as it is sustainable, important for our producers around the world as the money is directly to them in exchange for their work and we believe important for our customers.

Andrew says “We will do everything we can to help those in the south but they must also help themselves, with advice and guidance where appropriate, but throughout, we want products which are unique, exclusive, saleable and profitable for all and where continuing quality assurance in manufacture goes hand in hand with social, economic, ethical and environmental policies.
We believe that only in this way can we create real sustainability without philanthropy, the real and true course for fairtrade development.
The whole driving force is to provide customers with fairtrade goods at the same price they would expect to pay if the goods were not fairtrade.”

© Jambohut 20/01/06