An Economy of Love

A Celebration of the Power of Friendship

This Valentine’s Day, we wanted to celebrate one of the most precious forms of love: deep friendship, or Philia as it was known in ancient Greece. True friendship is rooted in some of the most virtuous of values: care, respect, equality, support, and trust. It is also an avenue for growth – a terrain where you can learn more about yourself through the mirror of the other, finding inspiration to develop and meet the crunchier parts of oneself, but also to co-create and build. When friends come together, magic happens – working together, dreams are supported and transformed into reality.

That’s how Solidarity Trade came together: a group of friends that, through a shared dream and commitment to food sovereignty, decided to do something out of the ordinary –  to bring the Kayapó’s Brazil nuts to the UK for the first time. We knew we had to create a supply chain that defied the status quo. It had to be built on a foundation of friendship—drawing from the true meaning of the word, which comes from the Old English verb frēon: ‘to love, to like, to honour, to set free.’ We had to start developing an economy rooted in love.

An Economy of Love

An economy of love is grounded in two fundamental principles: love as agape - an unconditional love for all - and respect. It stands as an alternative to the current economic system — one driven by profit, with value added through hidden costs such as human rights abuses, waste, and environmental destruction; competition, with businesses seeking to maximise their own gains at the expense of others; and, too often, greed. In contrast, an economy of love honours the natural cycles and needs of the planet, recognising our interconnected reality and the importance to hold collective responsibility. It operates with respect, collective care, and wisdom, embracing a cyclical understanding of nature’s rhythms of abundance and scarcity, and the collective responsibility that comes with them.

The climate and biodiversity crisis has not come about in isolation; it is the direct result of a worldview born of colonialism and forged in the industrial revolution, one that celebrated extractivism and exploitation. The climate crisis is nature’s message, signaling that we need to change how and what we are doing. The actions of globalisation – driven by unchecked industrial growth, resource exploitation, and environmental negligence – have set in motion a chain of events that affects every corner of the planet, shaping a future that threatens the wellbeing of us all.

Though uneven trade is part of the problem, equal trade offers a pathway out of this crisis. Unlike traditional economics, trade allows you to define the terms of value. When practiced with integrity, it becomes an agreement built on trust and a deeper understanding of mutual benefit. Trade has been with us since the beginning of time, transversing species and transcending human history. For example, a flower trading nectar with a bee for pollination; or when the soil nourishes the roots of a plant in exchange for oxygen – nature shows that trade should be a reflection of mutual benefit. When you view trade and economics through this lens, the beauty of diverse value systems begins to emerge.

Creating an Emergent Future Through Friendship

Conventional supply chains used by corporations don’t need to be transparent; they can legitimately hide their moral and criminal behaviour, evading accountability. Many farmers and suppliers are squeezed to their core, falling victim to merciless retailers and supermarkets that disregard the risks involved in growing the food that we eat. It is a system that prefers profit over shared responsibility.

Our relationships matter. We take it personally and have a philosophy of friendship and shared responsibility. For example, when we started growing lentils, we knew there would be crop failures - potentially as frequently as once every four years. Working with our first lentil farmers we developed an approach that acknowledged that risk and paid a premium to compensate for potential failure - we want the farmers we work with to grow for us every year.

Equally, harvesting Brazil nuts is no small feat – it’s physically demanding work that requires strength and perseverance: the long treks to the groves; cracking open the tough, hard-shelled nuts with machetes; and carrying the heavy sacks back home, to name but a few. It’s work that demands not only physical endurance, but deep knowledge of the land and its rhythms. The Kayapó’s dedication deserves not only recognition, but fair and just compensation – it warrants an equally beneficial reward.

A Celebration of An Economy of Love

For us, food is more than a commercial exchange – it is an avenue to develop and create true friendships; friendships that are mutually supportive. To celebrate this, we’re recording a conversation on ‘An Economy of Love’, bringing together members of our community, including the Kayapó, to explore the power of friendship, its capacity to build supply chains of resistance, and exchanging tips and ideas about how to use the Brazil nuts! We’ll post the recording here in the coming weeks.

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