Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
06 January 2021
Post No. 177
The New Year’s Contents
• What is New at the Start of the New Year and What is on this January 2021?
• The 9th Issue of Consume to Reduce Poverty, in Focus: Essential Consumption
• Coming up this Winter: The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 70th Issue) to be entitled as Generational Economics and Reduction of Intergenerational Poverty
… and much more!
The New Year’s Key Messages
• New Year, New Hope & New Relief
Happy New Year and Welcome Back to Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development in 2021!
• What is New at the Start of the New Year and What is on this January 2021?
We have got the following initiatives making this January 2021 calendar at CENFACS:
√ Consume to Reduce Poverty (Issue No. 9) with a Focus on Essential Consumption
√ Zero Income Deficit Campaign
√ COVID-19 Campaign in 2021
√ Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit Economic Development Projects (New)
The above mentioned initiatives are amongst the ones we have selected to kick-start 2021. We shall soon unveil the other selected initiatives making the Season of Light at CENFACS.
• The 9th Issue of CRP (Consume to Reduce Poverty), in focus: Essential Consumption
January is the month of Responsible Consumption for CENFACS. The initiative featuring this month is our resource entitled Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change. The 9th Issue of this resource will be on “Essential Consumption”.
• • January as a Month of Responsible Consumption within CENFACS
Some of you are aware that January is our month of Responsible Consumption following CENFACS development calendar. It means that the theme for January is Responsible or Sustainable Consumption and the monthly project carrying this theme is Consume to Reduce Poverty.
It is the month we act against consumption-based poverty and we deal with measures of poverty reduction through consumption. It is also an opportunity to act to preserve a good relationship between the way in which and products we consume on the one hand and the reduction of climate change on the other. In particular, January is a climate reminder month as it is the month in which we raise awareness of the relationships between humans and the nature through sustainable consumption; that is consumption that does not destroy the nature.
This January we will go further miles by exploring the relationship between humans and essential consumption since the coronavirus and related lockdowns have made the non-essential economy to shut down; meaning that humans need to rely on essential consumption as the fight against the coronavirus continues.
Consume to Reduce Poverty (CRP) is our users’ New Year supporting information and accompanying booster that focuses on Buying and Consumption elements conducive to the reduction of poverty and hardships. It is indeed a complimentary support to our Autumn Festive Income Boost resource.
The Festive Income Boost is an income-generating resource while CRP brings in a consumption-led look in our fight against poverty. The next issue (issue no. 9) of CRP will be on Essential Consumption as mentioned above.
For further details about CRP project, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/services-activities/
• • The 9th Issue of CRP (Consume to Reduce Poverty), in focus: Essential Consumption
We will be working on Essential Consumption. Since there is a surge of coronavirus pandemic with a new COVID-19 variant which forced decisions to be taken for a further lockdown of the non-essential economy, we thought that it could be a good idea to focus on Essential Consumption in this year’s issue of CRP.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have given some highlights about this Issue.
• The New Year’s and Next Issue of FACS (The 70th Issue) to be entitled as …
Generational Economics and Reduction of Intergenerational Poverty –
How to avoid and reduce the transmission of poverty to future generations
Poverty can be transmitted between different generations. In the 70th Issue of FACS, we will be exploring ways of reducing this transmission. The Issue will show that it is possible to avoid and or reduce the transmission of poverty to generations to come.
In order to do that we shall refer to the generational economics which is that part of economic knowledge and theory that explains how resources are allocated between different generations at a point in time and analyses how this is done.
Through this study, we shall apprehend that a better allocation of resources, especially non-renewable ones, between different generations at any point in time can help to reduce even to eradicate intergenerational poverty that many income deficit people and families face, particularly but not exclusively in Africa. In this respect, the 70th Issue will deal with the intergenerational poverty and the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
The 70th Issue will therefore extend the topic of income deficit which featured our last Festive Income Boost resource while putting into practice Goal no. 5 of our Poverty Reduction Goals Project.
More details about this Issue will be given this Winter. However, for those who would like to enquire about it before it appears, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
The New Year’s Extra Messages
• Africa-based Sister Organisations in 2021 of Africa’s Free Trade Area
Can Africa-based Sister Organisations find any room for poverty-relief creation from the new African Continental Free Trade Area?
As African countries are starting to trade in the context of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we will be discussing how Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) can reap off the benefits from the new space provided by the AfCFTA in order to further up poverty reduction. This discussion is a continuation of the discussion which we started last year about the implications of AfCFTA for poverty reduction. This time, the focus is on ASOs, on how they can benefit from this new trading space.
The main aim of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market for goods and services with free movements of persons and investments while laying down the foundations for the establishment of a continental customs union.
From this aim, it is clearly true that AfCFTA is an economic and profit-making or driven integration area in the meaning of the neo-classical theory of trade and regional economic integration. However, this does not stop not-for-profit and voluntary organisations like ASOs to search for windows of opportunities in order to find new ways and or markets of poverty reduction.
Likewise, ASOs can use this new platform to form and build poverty-relief alliances or improve the links with other organisations of similar aims in order to better deliver cross-border poverty relief outcomes, especially in the post-coronavirus era.
Furthermore, they can together develop and or improve poverty relief value chains across Africa. This kind of chains will enable to deliver more and better poverty reduction results to those in need.
Briefly, it is for them to make happen or make sure they get poverty-relief creation effects or gains, if any, from the new trading space. It means they need to be prudently active and intelligently engaged with this new space if they want any continental poverty-relief creation to happen; otherwise they may face poverty-relief diversion effects from the new space.
To discuss poverty-relief creation or diversion effects of AfCFTA for ASOs, just contact CENFACS.
• Zero Income Deficit Reports and Campaign
In December 2020, we ran a campaign on how not to carry forward an income deficit into 2021. As we are now in 2021, we would like to share together income deficit experience from those who managed not to carry it forward in 2021.
This sharing is about supporting each other in any effort to maintain a zero income deficit or income surplus policy so that one can reduce the level of poverty transfer to future generations, especially for those who have children.
Our work on this matter is about how to pursue this zero income deficit or income surplus policy without adversely affecting other areas or items of expenses/consumption budget.
For those who may have any experience to share or report in this area of zero income deficit or income surplus practice, please do not hesitate to do it with CENFACS.
• Campaign for Resilience and Recovery from the Coronavirus Pandemic
Due to the persisting life-threatening and –destroying situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we are stepping up our COVID-19 Campaign. We are doing it since we are again in a national lockdown in England and it is taking much time for the country and the world to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Our COVID-19 campaign, which was about resilience, is now and also about recovery from it.
In Summer 2020, we argued about a sinusoidal Autumn 2020 where there would be rises and falls in the coronavirus trend. Unfortunately, the sinusoidal effects of the coronavirus still continue and apparently we are back where we were in March 2020. Yet, we thought that at this time of the year 2021 we would have been at the phase of Rehabilitation Strategies, phase 3 of our COVID-19 Campaign. Instead, with new COVID variants in the UK and in Africa, there is urgency to step up the COVID-19 Campaign in all its three phases and dimensions.
As result, we are bringing back all the tools we have so far developed to fight coronavirus, tools that can be found in a new CENFACS COVID-19 Poverty Relief Station. We are continuing to follow to letter the coronavirus rules and restrictions as requested by the UK Government, the World Heath Organisation, the NHS and the charity sector. We hope that everybody is doing the same in following COVID-19 guidances and restrictions for their interest and of the public health. Our shadowing model of following the epidemiological curves of the coronavirus is still in place and in application.
Because of the current challenging situation, many of our projects and programmes have been scaled down or postponed until such time we are able to implement them. However, because of the new and changing needs that the coronavirus has brought there are services that are still running and even they have been re-organised to meet the current challenge. One of them is the Advice service to help during this very difficult time. Those who need coronavirus-related services, they can check with CENFACS’ COVID-19 Poverty Reduction Station.
We hope you will keep looking after each other as you did it during the first national lockdown. Please do not hesitate to remotely contact CENFACS, should you need any help.
The New Year’s Main Development
• The 9th Issue of CRP (Consume to Reduce Poverty)
In focus: Essential Consumption
Key highlights, Tips & Hints
• • What is Essential Consumption?
Essential consumption is the fundamental or indispensable fulfilment to meet basic life-sustaining needs of food, health, housing, information, shelter, education, etc. Generally, these needs are met via essential consumption goods that enable us to fulfil the basic requirements of life. For example, consumption of food productions that is essential for good health. In time of the coronavirus outbreak, face masks are essential consumption to protect against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Essential consumption can also be sustainable. It is sustainable consumption when one consumes or uses products, materials and energy that have minimal impact on the environment. Generally, these kinds of consumption and uses will meet sustainable development goals and principles.
• • Essential Consumption Shopping Basket
Using the internet, e-mail, social networks and other communication technologies; it is possible to get enough information about products and services that meet essential consumption while reducing poverty at the same time. It is as well possible to find resources and websites that compare these kinds of products, services and prices. People can then choose products and services that are good value for essential consumption and add them to their online shopping basket.
• • Reducing Poverty through Essential Consumption
Individual and family strategies of reducing the state of having little or no money or even no material possessions can be implemented via essential consumption or use. Individuals and families (including the poor ones) can consume essential products and services that do not have negative waste, but that help to reduce or even end poverty. People and families can leapfrog poverty reduction to essential consumption.
• • Essential Consumption and Circular Economic Model
Embracing the recipes of the economic model that decouples (bad) exploitation of natural resources and the desire to meet human needs and wants (circular economy), can help improve consumer behaviour via essential consumption. It is said that all processes create waste. However, the circular economic model helps to direct consumption towards what is essential to maintain human life; in doing so it benefits humans to fix, reuse, reduce and save resources through their consumption.
• • Essential Consumption and the Growing Climate Economy
The process of using resources in a frugal way to satisfy human wants and needs can goes hand in hand with an organised system for the production, distribution and use of goods and services that takes into account the changing weather conditions. In other words, consuming anti-wasteful and essential products and resources can help reduce adverse climate change. As climate economy continues to grow, it can bring new climate educational opportunities, economic savings and improved well-being for the poor. These attributes of the Growing Climate Economy can help them consume goods and services that are essential and have less or no harmful wasteful materials.
• • Essential Consumption in the Context of Changing Climate and Life-threatening Impacts of Climate Change
Maybe enough has been said about the impacts of changing climate. If not, then one area of work could be for humans to rethink about the negative waste that their consumption can create. If there is such harmful waste for some types of consumption, then there could a need to reduce it and shift to essential consumption for the sake of the environment and the nature on which we all depend.
• • Essential Consumption as Means for Fighting COVID-19 and Surviving Lockdowns
The coronavirus and lockdowns have forced many economies to close non-essential retail. Since the coronavirus has threatened and destroyed many lives and economies, many economies have resorted to essential economy to survive. Likewise, people are now reconnected with essential consumption as means to keep the fight against COVID-19 and manage lockdowns.
• • Poor Consumers and their Affordability of Essential Goods
Essential consumption is not always the cheapest one. Not everybody can afford to buy essential goods as many of them may even lack access to affordable essential goods and services. Since the first COVID-19 lockdown, many low income people and families are struggling to access even essential goods and commodities. The asymmetry in the distributional effects of the lockdowns has denied to many of them even the access to essential consumption goods. Their expenses budget has gone up with the new coronavirus-related health items.
Giving them advisory support in terms how to increase their income, to make some changes in their expenses budget and find affordable essential consumption goods and services should be a priority amongst other ones. In this respect, a list of where to find affordable essential consumption goods in this CRP resource is essential to save and protect lives at this challenging time of the coronavirus surge.
• • Essential Consumption Good Practices within the Community
Despite the problem of affordability of essential goods for low income poor people and families, there are nonetheless essential consumption good practices within our community. To back up these practices, the 9th Issue of CRP highlights some cases of essential consumption good initiatives undertaken by the CENFACS Community that underpins essential consumption accounts as part of every day’s human life.
In this respect, those who have cases of essential consumption practices and who may find them worthwhile to share and be added to this issue of CRP, they can let CENFACS know.
• • Demonstrative Projects of Essential Consumption
In essential consumption economy, like the one in a close non-essential economy and lockdown where only essential economic activities are allowed to operate, every shopper demonstrates the ability to follow the rules of essentially consuming. Within the forced pattern of COVID-19 close non-essential economy, there could be those consumers who do more by taking a proactive action to consume essentially.
Likewise, there could be local projects (for example, local artists, local soap and face mask makers to fight COVID-19) that could display demonstrative talents and skills in promoting essential consumption goods, services and habits as a way of living rather than as an accident caused by the COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns.
For those members of our community who have developed this kind of demonstrative projects of essential consumption, it could be a good idea to let us know so that we can add them to this CRP resource.
• • Barriers to Achieve Essential Consumption Goals
There could be some handicaps for people and families to achieve essential consumption goals. One of the barriers is the lack of income that extremely poor people experience that could push them out of reach of essential consumption products. Despite that in charitable world and economy in which no one is left behind there could be still access for everybody to essential consumption goods and services.
However, people and families do not like essential consumption to happen to them in this way since they would like to work and pay for their essential consumption. Because of the barriers they face in finding opportunity to work and earn decent income, their prospect for meeting their essential consumption goals becomes remote.
As part of tackling these barriers, the current resource provides some leads in terms of print and online resources that users can further explore in order to respond to some their essential consumption problems.
• • Budgeting for Essential Consumption
It is a good idea for users to budget for essential consumption goods and services as part of the overall of household budget. This kind of preparation in terms of financial statement for any planned incomes and expenses for a particular period can help to maximise the use of resources and reduce wasteful spending in terms of what is essential and non-essential consumption. It can as well provide alternative to essential consumption to reduce poverty and hardships due to waste.
• • Essential Consumption Indication on Products for Verification, Identity and Authenticity
It is a good idea for any consumer, rich or poor, to check essential features on their buys and other specifications and read other people’s testimonies, reviews or comments about it. In this respect, selling the positive idea of essential consumption could be helpful for essential consumers.
• • Essential Security and Guarantee
When buying essential consumption products and services (whether using online or a physical store), one needs to check, compare and contrast products, terms and conditions of business, buying terms, prices, etc. There is a need to check as well guarantees and safety policies for essential features in terms of the coronavirus pandemic.
If you are buying online, before you sign up, add to your essential consumption shopping basket and purchase an item; you need to read, discuss and check what you are agreeing on. You may even take more precautions when selecting items, filling up buying forms to enter your personal, financial information and sensitive details.
You should also be aware of scams and illegal and malicious practices. For own online security, use the e-safety tools and advice.
To support Essential and Responsible Consumption and get the full issue 2021 of Consume to Reduce Poverty and Climate Change, please contact CENFACS.
Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this Festive Season.
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ PROJECTS, JUST GO TO http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/
Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
