From humble beginnings can grow amazing things â?? this is the tale of how one manâ??s dream of an ethical, multinational company grew from just £2 he found on the street. His journey to success is as unlikely as it is remarkable, and is a truly inspirational tale.Alex Smith is head Alara, of one of the largest muesli companies in the UK, which produces 70 tonnes of cereal a week. Thirty years ago Alex was living in a squat in Tolmerâ??s Square, Central London, opposite a large money making office development. He never used money, and as a result all of his heating and light needs came from burning wood found in builders skips; his water came from the roof; his washing was done in a wood fired sauna bath in the basement. His food was scavenged from the nearby New Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market; a dairy distribution centre by Regents Park and from spillage in a Natural Food Wholesaler, Community Foods.In 1975 Alex was out walking and found two £1 notes in the gutter. Two pounds was the charge for a vehicle to enter New Covent Market, so using a friendâ??s old Morris Minor pick-up van he went and filled up the truck with unsold fruit and veg from the stalls, which he then sold from an empty dairy distribution centre â?? Alara had begun!The first day he took £2, by the end of the week he was taking up to £5 a day, and he soon realised he was on to something. The second week he bought wholemeal flour to bake bread and soon turnover had reached £40 a day â?? but it took two months before he could find a bank who would allow him to open an account.Retail grew day by day and even though eviction after eviction followed, word had got out about Alaraâ??s product. Alexâ??s muesli in particular was making a name for itself with wholesalers coming to buy the product as there was nothing else like it. Following another eviction by Camden Council in 1979 he had saved enough money to afford a lease on a small shop, where he mixed muesli in the basement.Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, now supplying its muesli to companies in 24 countries all over the world, but always making sure to source and produce products using environmentally conscious decisions, as Alex always has always done. Alara now have a large factory behind Kings Cross Railway Station which concentrates on producing and packaging their distinctive mueslis.Alara were the worldâ??s first fair trade cereal company, the first accredited organic cereal company in the world, and have just become the first zero waste food business in the UK. Their green accomplishments, alongside their pledge to become carbon neutral by 2010, helps set them up as a shining example of how companies can go green, which has led Alex to recently be appointed the prestigious position of a London Leader of Sustainability.The community where Alara was born has always been close to Alexâ??s heart, which has led to the reclamation of a piece of local wasteland behind their London base. After removing over fifty tons of rubbish a wonderful organic garden and green space has sprouted up, it has simultaneously helped offset carbon emissions and provided a community focus point, with Alara as its flagship.From such humble beginnings has grown an amazingly strong and well established company that has always stuck to its values and beliefs â?? the company has not only won awards for its fantastic organic products, but is also a shining example to others of how a company can be environmentally friendly and profitable - all that from £2 shows that anything really is possible!

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