Meet The Team

Alistair founded Banana Link in 1996 after ten years of development education work on international issues in East Anglia and its farming community. The idea of focusing on a specific sector of the world economy came from a challenge by French colleagues for a concerted effort to explore how the ‘hidden’ social and environmental costs along the chain from producer to consumer could be incorporated and thereby transform a whole industry.

Holly joined Banana Link in 2020. As Project Coordinator, Holly collaborates closely with small farmer and trade union contacts in Central and South America and the Caribbean to develop and deliver projects and campaigns that push forward the agenda of a more sustainable and fairer international banana trade.

Before joining Banana Link, Holly has worked at Freedom from Torture on a creative writing project for torture survivors, in the field of sustainable river and wetland management and as a Montessori teacher in Dominican Republic where she met her husband. Holly speaks English and Spanish and her academic background is Social Anthropology.

Sacnicte joined Banana Link in 2022, having previously volunteered and then worked as a consultant with the team. Her focus areas are currently project work with small scale banana producers in Peru, and leading on Banana Links’ Occupational Health and Safety projects in Latin America.

Sacnicte has a background of working with small-scale farming coops in Mexico, where she is from, with a focus on amaranth production and fomenting the development of organic agriculture. Sacnicte recently completed a PhD in Peasant Studies at UCL, London; and has found a great joy learning, researching, and participating in projects that promote social justice and sustainability in the banana industry.

Simon has been a Bananalink director since 2008, leading as a treasurer.

Simon has brought in his experience as a finance manager in private and public sector and joined Bananalink because of his concern for the livelihoods of the poorest in the world after spending six months on mission in Managua, Nicaragua.

Simon is a qualified CGMA and currently systems accountant at Essex PFCC FRA.

Anna has worked for Banana Link since 2005 and is currently based in France. Before becoming a Banana Link Non-Executive Board Director in 2023, Anna worked as one Banana Link’s International Co-coordinators. Her role involved the coordination of activities on labour rights, health and safety and gender equity within the World Banana Forum as well as the coordination of a new international civil society network on ‘Re-thinking Value Chains’.
Alongside her part time role for Banana Link, Anna has also worked as trade union officer for the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign and as a facilitator of Carnival Arts and Circus workshops for local community groups in London and Marseille.

Anna is also a lead member of a local Cooperative project in Ardeche, France – Le Collectif du Moulinage de Chirols

Hella joined Banana Link as Director in 2019, having worked in the banana industry for many years.

Hella started to work within the banana sector in 1992 and did so until December 2018, having started in Fairtrade organisations importing fairtrade bananas in Germany. In 1999 she left Germany to work with WINFA to help and set up Fairtrade in the Windward Islands. During her time in Germany and in the Windward Islands she was also active in Euroban, organizing among other things the 1st International Conference for Women in the banana industry in 2000 in Hannover.

In 2007 Hella came to the UK working for a UK importer for bananas and later a retailer, still being responsible for Fairtrade bananas (among other products).