October is Fair Trade Month, a time of year dedicated to celebrating and promoting Fairtrade-certified products, and to encouraging retailers and consumers to become ethically minded buyers.
Fairtrade is an ethical certification movement relating to crop production, from the farm to packaging. Their aim is to promote equality and sustainability in agriculture. To this end Fairtrade works with more than 1.5-million farmers worldwide who grow or produce coffee, tea, cotton, honey, fruit and cocoa.
Flow client Fairhills is such an initiative, one that encourages fair trade practices in the South African wine industry. Fairhills is a cooperative between prominent wine farms in the Breedekloof Valley in the Western Cape. The initiative was started eight years ago by Origin Wine as a means to ensure sustainability. Fairhills currently sells six wine brands from three Fairtrade-certified farms under the Fairhills label.
When talking fair trade, people wonder whether there is financial gain to be had or incentives available for farmers if they become Fairtrade certified. The short answer is no. Although Fairtrade-certified products are sold at a premium, the farmer doesn’t actually see the extra money (except, of course, if sales spike because of it). The money from those premiums goes straight back to the community that works and lives on the particular farm, where it is used for community projects such as the building of schools, community centres or playgrounds.
Through its work on various wine farms, Fairhills has proven that through the Fairtrade process, workers and families on farms become empowered through better living and working conditions, which in turn fosters a more loyal and productive workforce.
In order for a product to become Fairtrade certified, there are certain standards that must be met in its production process. Fairtrade audits production cycles each year to ensure that farms comply with their social, environmental and economic standards. These standards cover a range of conditions. For example, workers living on the farm should have access to running water and flushing toilets; work safety measures need to be implemented; and the farming community needs to be enabled to run and manage workers’ forums. The farm owners should also participate in projects, whether this involves setting up a school, crèche or even a sports team.
Flowstars Quathar Jacobs and Carla de Klerk recently took a trip to the Breedefkloof Valley to visit the Lemoenpoort Worker's Association crèche, Haasbekkie Dagsorg, managed by the Fairhills cooperative in conjunction with Origin Wine and BC Wines. The cooperative has been Fairtrade certified for the past two years.
“I've worked on the Fairhills account for quite some time, so to be able to visit one of its projects felt like I'd come full circle,” said Jacobs. “It's such an honour to work with a client who is making a difference in the lives of people – from the crèche for children to employment opportunities. As a mom, engaging with the little ones was a highlight for me.”
Since the crèche has been running for the past two years, the project is now focused on the local primary school, where the aim is to build an extra classroom and employ a new teacher.
“People work to be able to provide for their families. Without a formal day care facility, the children would play around the farm and vineyards all day long, with no structure to their days and little discipline. Now we have 31 children from the age of three months to five years, who get two meals a day at school, have regulated playtime, nap time and activities incorporating occupational therapy,” said Origin Wine marketing manager Lise Ewins.
“Most teachers and caregivers come from the community itself and have all been formally trained in childcare. Parents and teachers agree that they can see the effect the structured environment has on the children – generally and in terms of school readiness.
“With early learning blocks in place, these little ones can already see a brighter future with more opportunities on the farm, but also away from the farm community in tertiary education and beyond.”
Fairhills helps to run these community projects for a period of seven years, whereafter the project is handed back to the community. “For our project to be sustainable, they have to run sustainably from the start and the participants need to be educated to understand that,” said Ewins.
Fairhills’ wines are unfortunately not available in South Africa as they are exported to major retailers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This doesn’t mean Fairhills has no beautiful local stories to share, however. Follow the Fairhills story Twitter @Fairhills_wines, and the hashtag #ThisIsOurStory.