A strange concept to grasp but you can, in effect give without giving for good, thanks to Newcastle-based organisation Shared Interest.

The world’s only 100 per cent fair trade lender, Shared Interest lends over £30 million each year to the developing world, to help communities sell their produce and handicrafts via the fair trade market.

This pool of money is created by people like you and me, who may have a small amount of money to spare but, amidst the current economic climate, are not quite sure if and when they might need it again.

Shared Interest supporter relations manager Paul Sharpe explains:

We currently have over 8,600 members investing anything between £100 and £20,000 in the organisation. This money can be withdrawn at any time should those people need it for a rainy day but in the meantime it is lent out time and time again to help communities in the developing world earn a decent living.

It means that fair trade farmers can buy the tools they need to harvest their crops before they receive a return on them, as some have no access to loans in their own country, and if they do, the interest rate can be phenomenal.

By investing as little as £100 in Shared Interest, people can do amazing things like helping tea producers in Tanzania make use of abandoned plantations, which is a pretty big thing to accomplish without even crossing your front door.