Background
Transrural Trust is a dynamic registered charity that stimulates creative ways of empowering remote rural communities, often in mountain areas, to achieve self-reliance, to stem rural exodus and to articulate their concerns vis-a-vis government authorities.
Much of our work takes place in cross-border regions, bringing together ethnic groups split by the forces of history, such as Albania and Kosovo, Romania and Moldova, Romania and southern Ukraine. Now that these countries are becoming more closely integrated within European networks, we are increasingly active in remote areas suffering from recent or current conflict or suppression, notably the eastern districts of Nepal that border with Tibet.
We are committed to maintaining a lightweight, cost-effective structure with low overheads. The organization consists of four trustees, an executive team comprising a director and part-time personnel to handle accounts, administration, information and communication. The team draws on a wealth of experience from the trustee and adviser network. We implement the major part of our activities through local personnel and thoroughly-vetted partners in the countries where we work, and through volunteers in the UK.
We are funded by grant-making agencies, trusts and foundations, and private donations. All funds allocated for overseas projects are channelled directly to the projects, never through government ministries or other bureaucracies.