Mary Reid

Howard Taylor's blog caught my eye today. He writes about that dilemma at the heart of ethical trading - we want to buy goods that support developing countries, and yet transporting them to the UK uses many food miles

Howard is better placed than most to talk about this - he works in Ethiopia where the economy partly depends on the coffee and roses that find their way onto affluent dining tables in the UK.

I didn't just find this blog through random surfing. Howard works for the Department for International Development (DfID), and is one of a small group of their staff who have taken up blogging recently. It's all good stuff, embedded in the reality of their firsthand experiences, and it's great that DfID is supporting and encouraging it.

The other two who have launched their blogs already are Emily Poskett in Tanzania, and Vicky in Afghanistan. More are on their way.

I have been very marginally connected with this project through Gallomanor. It got started while I was away on holiday, so I have just been lurking and watching the inspirational Griff Wigley at work.

I contributed to Gallomanor's Civic Surf project, and I'm hoping to be more closely involved in future blogging projects with them as well.