True Origin Partnerships

05/04/2026

Happy Easter from everyone st True Origin Partnerships snd True Origin Food

17/03/2026

We are delighted to share a short update from Malawi on Grace’s Briquette Project which we are supporting. Grace leads a group of women in the Kilombero Rice growing area in Karonga District where the unique and award-winning True Origin Kilombero Rice is grown by farmers in the KASFA growers association.

This is a superb scheme where waste rice husks are made into charcoal briquettes for cooking, saving women long arduous journeys to cut down trees for wood to burn.

Checkout donations on True Origin Foods online shop in December have raised money for this project. This together with a grant from True Origin Partnerships has allowed some completion and remedial work on the building to house the project which is currently ongoing.

The group are hoping to be able to get a larger briquette machine which would enable them to upscale production but in advance of that ,the building needed some work. Plastering is ongoing and some new doors have been made in the workshop of rice farmer Howard Masukwa’s workshop with materials all funded by this grant (check out the stunning glasswork in the pics).

Some of you may have met Howard on his visits to the UK recent years. We congratulate the women on overcoming various challenges and on their amazing efforts. Thanks to all who have helped support this project here at home.

31/12/2025

Wishing all our supporters and producers a very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year. Thank you to everyone who has helped us support family farmers and producers in the global south over the past year. Here’s to a successful 2026. From True Origin Partnerships.

24/12/2025

Wishing all our supporters, producers and partners a Very Merry Christmas and a great festive break. Thanks so much for all your support. Have a peaceful, fair and lovely time.

27/10/2025

Notice of Annual General Meeting

True Origin Partnerships (formerly known as The Balmore Trust) will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 10th November at 1pm on zoom.

If you would to like to attend please contact [email protected] and you will be sent the link the previous week.

20/10/2025

These may just look like plastic chairs, but they play an important role in the Organic production process at popular Fair Trade producer organisation, MERU HERBS in Kenya. It’s crucial to be able to effectively separate organic produce from conventional streams for certification. Meru do this by colour coding organic production in green, and the non-organic in blue.

Thanks to a mixture of support from True Origin Food customers through checkout donations and funds from ourselves, Meru have been able to purchase the chairs and barrels to aid the separation process in dedicated areas. Previously they used these funds to purchase the likes of wheelbarrows, plows, machetes for weeding, plastic buckets for harvesting, and stainless steel bowls for harvesting chamomile.

If you haven’t already tried the delicious sauces, spreads and herbal teas from Meru Herbs, please do and help us continue to support this amazing women lead organisation.

https://trueoriginfoods.co.uk/collections/meru-herbs

02/10/2025

16/07/2025

“Dignity Through Trade” isn’t just a phrase we use at True Origin — it’s our purpose. Every decision we make, every product we offer, and every connection we build is guided by our commitment to trading fairly and having true impact at origin. We’ve just launched our Annual Report for 24/25. Read it in our short blog here: https://www.trueorigin.org.uk/dignity-through-trade-and-action