About Us
Lote Tree’s mission is to foster inclusive engagement, promote social justice, and create opportunities for economic and personal growth. We specialise in developing innovative training materials guides, toolkits to be used to uplift communities throughout Europe.
The company engages in innovative entrepreneurship initiatives, skills development programs, and youth leadership training. We aim to address societal challenges and build a more equitable future, by harnessing the power of both formal and informal educational tools, alongside digital platforms.
We strive to equip individuals with the knowledge, resources, and support needed to thrive in an ever-evolving world. Our goal is to cultivate a sustainable ecosystem of learning, empowerment, and opportunity for all.
Our Core Values
- Commitment to inclusivity and social justice
- Transparent and meaningful collaboration
- Passion for community-driven growth
- Continuous innovation and learning
Our journey
Lote Tree was founded by Mashkura Begum with the support of her mentor and coach, David Powell. Mashkura has worked with David since 2015 at Elderberry AB in Sweden. Together they have successfully delivered over 30 Erasmus KA2 projects.
They have designed and delivered a series of EU KA1 in-service teacher training courses, specializing in the use of culture and heritage sites, eLearning, and urban studies. These courses adopt a scenario- based problem-based approach to learning.
Over 1,000 teachers have participated in these one-week courses held in cities such as Stockholm, Istanbul, Florence, Lisbon, Coventry, Lesvos, and Santorini (EUcourses.eu – Courses for European teachers, with grant funding available). The courses were among the most successful in the Lifelong Learning Programme and continue to thrive under the Erasmus+ programme.
As David prepares for retirement, he challenges Mashkura to establish her own company and carry forward the successful approach that has been the foundation of Elderberry—developing innovative projects focused on quality, strong partnerships, and delivering meaningful, sustainable outcomes.
Building on this proven formula, Mashkura, through Lote Tree, will concentrate on the following areas:
- Community Engagement & Development
- Youth Empowerment
- Addressing Social Issues, particularly those that contribute to societal divides and disintegration
- Entrepreneurship for Youth, Women, and Adults
- Employment & Engagement through Digital Tools (upskilling and empowerment)
Our team
Ms Mashkura Begum
Programme Director/Trainer
Ms Mashkura Begum MBA, Founder and Managing Director of Lote Tree. She has a background as a Programme Director and holds PRINCE2 in project management. She is fully qualified to coordinate EU projects. She has worked on the development of EQVET, ECVET, C-VET and Quality Assurance projects and programs. Mashkura is a published author, her specialism is in social research. Mashkura is highly experienced in working often with the target group of disadvantaged in particular women, young people, those with disability, and people at risk of exclusion etc.
Mashkura holds various Non Executive roles for Housing associations and Health Programmes, she is Chair of Trustee for a leading Women’s Charity.
Mr Ifor Jones
Head of Research
Mr Ifor Jones, has 40 plus years experience of working in local government, housing associations and cooperatives in the UK and in Europe. He has had a strong interest in engagement with models of best practice across the UK and Europe. A key theme underpinning all his work has been a focus on devolving power, agency and resources to localities and communities. As lead officer for devolution in Birmingham he drew on European best practice from study visits to Berlin, Lisbon and Lyon. Working to support communities after the closure of the Longbridge car factory he secured EU funding for Community Network South West. More recently leading a neighbourhood consultancy in a housing association he acted as project lead for two Erasmus Plus programmes – ACRIC and ACE and authored and edited the handbook for Virtual Spitfire. Ifor was an active member of the URBACT programme focused on knowledge exchange across four EU countries based around the successful ‘Use It’ EU (funded ERDF) Urban Innovative Actions (UIA).
Mr Murad Rahman
Head of Finance and Compliance
Mr Murad Rahman MBA, is an expert in accounting and financial management. Murad is an accountant and has more than 15 years of experience in the organisation of large-scale projects. At Lote Tree he is also responsible for coordinating internal activities. Murad oversees finance and compliance and ensures we adhere to national and European compliance.
Mr David Powell
Special Advisor/Mentor
Mr David Powell, MA, M.Des, B.Ed has long experience as; a teacher, teacher trainer, senior museum curator, educational author and innovator. The courses he has developed have been used with thousands of teachers across Europe. David has also contributed to transnational culture and eLearning projects around the world from Europe to the Caribbean and South Africa. He is the author of several books, some which still top the Swedish bestselling list for educational publications.
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Let's build thriving communities together
When you partner with Lote Tree, you’re never alone in your journey. Our dedicated team is here to support you every step of the way, creating meaningful opportunities and empowering communities to achieve sustainable success. Join us to make a real impact!