Essential Trading are a wholefoods co-op specialising in vegan and vegetarian foods.  They also distribute ecological household products and cruelty-free toiletries, and have been doing so for over 50 years. They also offer a click and collect service, and even wholesale at Glastonbury each year! In Dec 2010 we supported them to buy a new […]

Today in our series of interviews with friends from the last fifty years we speak to James Berry, Chief Executive of Great Western Credit Union – previously Bristol Credit Union. ICOF have always been fairly close neighbours of ours, because we’re both based in Bristol. The original direct involvement has been through support that ICOF offered to […]

Formed following a series of pop up events running in Bristol and Cardiff between 1996 and 2002, Bristol vegan cafe and community space Cafe Kino first incorporated in 2004.  After outgrowing their first premises within a few years, we worked with and lent to Cafe Kino in 2010, to support their relocation to a larger […]

Today in our series of interviews with friendships forged over fifty years, we meet worker co-op stalwart Siôn Whellens. Siôn is part of Calverts, Principle Six and the recently formed workers.coop federation. “I guess the first time I became aware of ICOF was when we had our second loan, back in around 1994/95. We borrowed something like £27,000 to buy […]

Some loans are for more tangible things than others and this one, to Bristol Plumbing Co-operative, was for a very tangible new asset – a brand new van. Bristol Plumbing are still going today, albeit with a new look – check out the gallery on their website to see some really stunning examples of their […]

Today in our series looking back at the people who’ve been part of ICOF over the last fifty years, we speak to someone to whom many of you will need no introduction. Ian Taylor was part of ICOF for thirty years and he’s been mentioned by many of you. Over to you Ian… “I think […]

Wood Recycling Projects exist all around the UK and we have been proud to work with the Oxford Wood Recycling Project on a number of occasions. Far more than simply a shop selling wood, wood recycling projects tend to include elements of employment support, volunteering and training. Oxford Wood Project is no different – their […]

We’ve been celebrating our fifty years of friendship and finance by talking to the people who have worked with us along the way. Today we introduce Christina Wigmore, of Soft Touch Arts, in Leicester We first got involved with ICOF in around 2005. We needed to make improvements to the building we were in at the time, and […]