By Gemma Thomas in conversation with Hannah Hiles.

When we set up Brilliant Bamboo as a community interest company rather than a charity, it was a very deliberate choice. I wanted us to be able to trade, especially in the long term.

The funding landscape is tougher than ever. Organisations are often asked to be ambitious while being given fewer resources to do so.

But at the same time, people still want to spend their money. They’re used to transactions. The challenge – and opportunity – for Brilliant Bamboo is working out how people can spend that money with us in a way that fully aligns with our social, environmental and economic values.

This is why taking part in the Trading for Good programme has been incredibly valuable.

Trading for Good, a free programme delivered by The School for Social Entrepreneurs, supports social enterprises to develop income streams that strengthen their impact. For me, one of the strengths of the programme is that it starts with the big picture.

We’ve spent time sitting with our mission and asking: what difference are we really trying to make? And how can trading help us do more of that?

I often talk about what Brilliant Bamboo has done – and hope that people can see the impact. So far, through Trading for Good, I’m learning to reframe that story as ‘this is the difference we have made through what we have done’.

A friend once said to me: “You can tell people what you’ve been doing, and they might be thinking ‘so what?’”

But if you put the ‘so what?’ first, it completely changes the perspective.

We have started to list all our potential trading ideas and value propositions, and asking some important questions:

• What transactions can we have with people that align with Brilliant Bamboo?
• How do we price things so they’re accessible, but still support us to do what we’re here to do?
• Which ideas do we put forward first, and which can come later?

Some of this thinking isn’t new to me, but it’s been refreshing to look at the whole picture in a structured way and ask these questions.

Looking ahead, we know that in five years’ time we’ll have bamboo on site that will need processing, either to use ourselves or sell to others.

We’re exploring ideas such as products made from materials found on site, such as pottery shards, and items like bags, T-shirts or wallpaper featuring surface pattern designs inspired by the Brilliant Botanicals murals.

We’re also thinking about experiences, away days and CSR/ESG activities, and simple things like people paying for drinks on site as part of events or visits.

Each idea comes back to the same core question: how does this make Brilliant Bamboo – and what we stand for – more viable for the future?

As part of the Trading for Good programme, Brilliant Bamboo can access matched funding of up to £4,000 if we raise additional income. It has a structured development programme from October 2025 to July 2026 and a dedicated mentor, with four one-to-one sessions to help with strategy.

The mentoring has been particularly helpful in exploring what’s already happening, identifying what can be realistically sold now, and what’s worth investing in for the future.

I’m excited to explore further how trading can support the work of Brilliant Bamboo, while continuing to be socially, economically and environmentally responsible.

Let’s see what happens next.

The Trading for Good programme is delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund and supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Power to Change, The Dulverton Trust.