“We are seen as pioneers and change makers of our community”

Every year, brilliant supporters like you gather your community together to fight for trade justice by sharing tea, coffee and cake – and we couldn’t be more thankful for your support.  

I’m sure you’ve read now about the community-run shops being set up in Bangladesh – we hope you will share the stories in your Big Brew pack at your event, so your guests can understand the work they are supporting.  

We’re asking you to host a Big Brew because we know how brilliant these community-run shops, and more importantly the people running them, are. Rani Das is part of a group which built one of these shops. After months of planning, challenges finding a suitable site for the shop, and training in business management and bookkeeping, they opened in January 2023.  

Rani Das explains more clearly than we ever could why these shops matter:  

“We are seen as pioneers and change makers of our community because before us no one would have thought women are capable of running a successful business in this area. I have told you that our people are very conservative. So, for us to succeed with this venture was more challenging than any other Sadaipati store of other places. 

It gives us immense happiness to see more women being interested to start their businesses after getting inspiration from us. This is a wave of change and we feel proud that we initiated it. We changed people’s perception on women and working women in our community. The males of our community are seen to become more co-operative and more understanding towards the working women. We opened their eyes about how women can significantly contribute to family and society in financial terms. We are seeing a sense of unity in our area among the women. Our women community started to believe that they can achieve anything and no dream is too big for them.” 

£350 raised at your Big Brew could help make more shops like the one co-run by Rani Das possible – transforming perceptions of working women and creating access to economic opportunities for more people.  

We are so excited to see everyone celebrating Big Brew this year, proving, as the shops do, how powerful a community is when they work together.  

In case you need a little inspiration, we’ve gathered loads of fundraising tricks and tips to make your Big Brew fun and meaningful for everyone taking part. 

Plus, if you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you – please reach out to hello@transform-trade.org.  

Everyone who raises £350 at their Big Brew will receive a certificate and a special thank you post for your community on our website for all of your efforts and enthusiasm – but every penny raised is valuable and gratefully received.