Fairtrade Foundation's Jess Gordon reports from Cape Town on a Fairtrade producer/worker impact study being planned
It became clear from my conversations with some of Heiveld’s members during the day that Fairtrade really does seem to be having a real positive impact on their lives, whether it be through their increased financial returns through access to international Fairtrade markets and a guaranteed Fairtrade Minimum Price for their tea, long term trading relationships with Fairtrade buyers (such as Equal Exchange and Alter Eco), support towards organisational development, or use of their Fairtrade Premium funds to construct a tea court and purchase tractors and tools.
The long journey back to Cape Town that evening gave me plenty of time to reflect on our Heiveld visit and what I’d learned that day. Having visited a Fairtrade certified wine farm in the same region a few years ago, I'd noticed a vast difference between the two South African producers and how they’ve been supported in various ways through Fairtrade. However, before I draw my own conclusions, I remind myself that I should be patient and wait to see the findings from the impact study!
Monday, 23 November 2009
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Exploring the impact of Fairtrade in South Africa #2
Fairtrade Foundation's Jess Gordon reports from Cape Town on a Fairtrade producer/worker impact study being planned
My first few days here this week were mainly spent interviewing and evaluating potential research teams who’d submitted tenders to carry out the research study. We want to contract a local South African research team as they’ll be suitably equipped to understand the local context, cultures and environment in which Fairtrade is operating here. It’s also important that we contract an independent and credible organisation who’ll bring an unbiased, open and objective approach to the work.
Early on Wednesday morning we (the SAFN Regional Coordinator and myself) prepared ourselves for the four hour drive northwards to the Suid Bokkeveld region in the Northern Cape to visit the smallholder Fairtrade certified rooibos tea cooperative, Heiveld. As we headed up along the N7 road passing Malmesbury, Citrusdal and Clanwilliam along the way, we watched the sparsely populated landscapes around us change from lush and fertile winelands to rocky and dry scrubland – I wondered how farmers managed to cultivate anything on these soils!
Heiveld is a group of 57 small-scale farmers who cultivate and harvest rooibos bushes which they then process to produce organic and Fairtrade rooibos tea for markets including the UK, USA and Germany. Formally established in 2001 with 14 original members, the group was then Fairtrade certified in 2003. As one of the few groups certified under Fairtrade’s Small Producer Organisation Standards in South Africa, we think they’d make an interesting case study comparison to include in the impact research study alongside other hired labour case studies.
When we arrived at Heiveld’s office in the small dusty town of Nieuwoudtville (which took me a few attempts to pronounce correctly!) we were greeted warmly by members of the cooperative including their treasurer and Board representatives. The group share the building with the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) and Indigo, both development organisations that have for a number of years supported Heiveld’s development, for example through training and capacity building as well as helping them link up with Fairtrade markets.
After the chance to taste a range of Heiveld’s delicious rooibois teas, including interesting tea blends with ingredients such as lemongrass and ginger, we headed off along the potholed dirt roads which lead us to the group’s newly constructed tea court (essentially a large, open concrete floor space) an hour or so’s drive away, where the bundled rooibos is transported to for processing. One of the tea farmers explained to us how the tea is finely chopped by a powerful cutter machine, gently crushed and then stacked into heaps on the tea court floor to ‘sweat’ in the heat for around 8 hours (which makes the tea turn that distinctive red colour as it oxidises), after which time it is spread thinly on the concrete to dry in the hot sun before being packaged up into large sacs for storage until it’s transported elsewhere for export.
I was really impressed to see that the electricity supplying the tea court’s surrounding buildings (including storage sheds and a small office) is now being generated by solar panels covering the buildings’ roofs, also used to pump water to where it is needed most. Rows of shrubs and trees have also just been planted strategically around the farms to help protect the area from strong winds and prevent soil erosion and desertification during heavy rains.
My first few days here this week were mainly spent interviewing and evaluating potential research teams who’d submitted tenders to carry out the research study. We want to contract a local South African research team as they’ll be suitably equipped to understand the local context, cultures and environment in which Fairtrade is operating here. It’s also important that we contract an independent and credible organisation who’ll bring an unbiased, open and objective approach to the work.
Early on Wednesday morning we (the SAFN Regional Coordinator and myself) prepared ourselves for the four hour drive northwards to the Suid Bokkeveld region in the Northern Cape to visit the smallholder Fairtrade certified rooibos tea cooperative, Heiveld. As we headed up along the N7 road passing Malmesbury, Citrusdal and Clanwilliam along the way, we watched the sparsely populated landscapes around us change from lush and fertile winelands to rocky and dry scrubland – I wondered how farmers managed to cultivate anything on these soils!
Heiveld is a group of 57 small-scale farmers who cultivate and harvest rooibos bushes which they then process to produce organic and Fairtrade rooibos tea for markets including the UK, USA and Germany. Formally established in 2001 with 14 original members, the group was then Fairtrade certified in 2003. As one of the few groups certified under Fairtrade’s Small Producer Organisation Standards in South Africa, we think they’d make an interesting case study comparison to include in the impact research study alongside other hired labour case studies.
When we arrived at Heiveld’s office in the small dusty town of Nieuwoudtville (which took me a few attempts to pronounce correctly!) we were greeted warmly by members of the cooperative including their treasurer and Board representatives. The group share the building with the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) and Indigo, both development organisations that have for a number of years supported Heiveld’s development, for example through training and capacity building as well as helping them link up with Fairtrade markets.
After the chance to taste a range of Heiveld’s delicious rooibois teas, including interesting tea blends with ingredients such as lemongrass and ginger, we headed off along the potholed dirt roads which lead us to the group’s newly constructed tea court (essentially a large, open concrete floor space) an hour or so’s drive away, where the bundled rooibos is transported to for processing. One of the tea farmers explained to us how the tea is finely chopped by a powerful cutter machine, gently crushed and then stacked into heaps on the tea court floor to ‘sweat’ in the heat for around 8 hours (which makes the tea turn that distinctive red colour as it oxidises), after which time it is spread thinly on the concrete to dry in the hot sun before being packaged up into large sacs for storage until it’s transported elsewhere for export.
I was really impressed to see that the electricity supplying the tea court’s surrounding buildings (including storage sheds and a small office) is now being generated by solar panels covering the buildings’ roofs, also used to pump water to where it is needed most. Rows of shrubs and trees have also just been planted strategically around the farms to help protect the area from strong winds and prevent soil erosion and desertification during heavy rains.
Saturday, 21 November 2009
Exploring the impact of Fairtrade in South Africa
Fairtrade Foundation's Jess Gordon reports from Cape Town on a Fairtrade producer/worker impact study being planned
I’ve travelled to Cape Town this week to help set up a Fairtrade producer and worker impact research study being overseen by the Fairtrade Foundation in partnership with the South African Fairtrade Network (SAFN). The aim of the research study is to assess to what extent Fairtrade is benefiting producer organisations and farm workers on Fairtrade certified farms in South Africa, with a focus on how Fairtrade can deepen its impact and support these groups more effectively in the future. The study will incorporate a number of case studies covering a range of products (wine grapes, citrus, sub-tropical fruits such as peaches and rooibos tea) as well as different regions, farm sizes and structures, in order to reflect the diversity of Fairtrade certified producers that exist here.
Given South Africa’s unique socio-political history, and government policies designed to support the economic empowerment of historically marginalised black peoples in the country (referred to as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, B-BBEE), Fairtrade has a distinct role to play here in aspects such as supporting worker empowerment and better employment conditions and skills development, as well as encouraging previously disadvantaged black populations to increase their share of farm ownership and management. These factors, combined with the recent huge growth in the number of Fairtrade certified farms in South Africa and media spotlight on the country hosting the World Cup next year, means that now is an ideal time to reflect on the role Fairtrade is playing here, particularly within the context of hired labour farms (as opposed to small producer organisations) which make up the vast majority of Fairtrade certified farms in the country.
I’ve travelled to Cape Town this week to help set up a Fairtrade producer and worker impact research study being overseen by the Fairtrade Foundation in partnership with the South African Fairtrade Network (SAFN). The aim of the research study is to assess to what extent Fairtrade is benefiting producer organisations and farm workers on Fairtrade certified farms in South Africa, with a focus on how Fairtrade can deepen its impact and support these groups more effectively in the future. The study will incorporate a number of case studies covering a range of products (wine grapes, citrus, sub-tropical fruits such as peaches and rooibos tea) as well as different regions, farm sizes and structures, in order to reflect the diversity of Fairtrade certified producers that exist here.
Given South Africa’s unique socio-political history, and government policies designed to support the economic empowerment of historically marginalised black peoples in the country (referred to as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, B-BBEE), Fairtrade has a distinct role to play here in aspects such as supporting worker empowerment and better employment conditions and skills development, as well as encouraging previously disadvantaged black populations to increase their share of farm ownership and management. These factors, combined with the recent huge growth in the number of Fairtrade certified farms in South Africa and media spotlight on the country hosting the World Cup next year, means that now is an ideal time to reflect on the role Fairtrade is playing here, particularly within the context of hired labour farms (as opposed to small producer organisations) which make up the vast majority of Fairtrade certified farms in the country.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Cosmetics Trade Show, Coventry
Fairtrade Foundation's Jenny Tither, reporting from a cosmetics trade show in Coventry
This week we packed our shiniest posters and headed for the Ricoh arena in Coventry, home of Coventry City football club. We were there for SCS Formulate, a trade show and networking event for the cosmetics industry. If you're struggling to make the connection between that and Fairtrade, you might not know that in June this year, the first beauty products to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark hit the shelves. A handful of companies were the first to launch, but if the people we met in Coventry were any guide, there is a lot of interest out there in making pampering fairer.
Most of the people we chatted to were chemists involved in making or processing the ingredients that go into soaps, shampoos, moisturisers, shaving cream and all the other lotions and potions we use everyday. We were there to tell them about how they could use Fairtrade ingredients, such as cocoa and shea butter, honey, vanilla, olives, nuts and seeds, so producers in the developing world could benefit from the security of long term trading relationships and a fair price for their work.
The most common question was 'How can I get the FAIRTRADE Mark on my product?'. There were even a couple of people with ideas for brand new and exciting Fairtrade products. Those might be a few months off, but in the meantime, why not check out the range of Fairtrade beauty products already available? They make great gifts, especially teamed with a luxurious Fairtrade cotton robe, or a bottle of Fairtrade wine and some Fairtrade chocolate, for a truly unselfish evening in!
This week we packed our shiniest posters and headed for the Ricoh arena in Coventry, home of Coventry City football club. We were there for SCS Formulate, a trade show and networking event for the cosmetics industry. If you're struggling to make the connection between that and Fairtrade, you might not know that in June this year, the first beauty products to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark hit the shelves. A handful of companies were the first to launch, but if the people we met in Coventry were any guide, there is a lot of interest out there in making pampering fairer.
Most of the people we chatted to were chemists involved in making or processing the ingredients that go into soaps, shampoos, moisturisers, shaving cream and all the other lotions and potions we use everyday. We were there to tell them about how they could use Fairtrade ingredients, such as cocoa and shea butter, honey, vanilla, olives, nuts and seeds, so producers in the developing world could benefit from the security of long term trading relationships and a fair price for their work.
The most common question was 'How can I get the FAIRTRADE Mark on my product?'. There were even a couple of people with ideas for brand new and exciting Fairtrade products. Those might be a few months off, but in the meantime, why not check out the range of Fairtrade beauty products already available? They make great gifts, especially teamed with a luxurious Fairtrade cotton robe, or a bottle of Fairtrade wine and some Fairtrade chocolate, for a truly unselfish evening in!
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Meeting the farmers
Fairtrade Foundation's Head of Campaigns Veronica Pasteur's reporting during her trip to Palestine:
So, yesterday we drove 3 hours from Bethlehem to Jenin, where we met with the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA). We visited their offices and heard about how they work with 49 co-operatives of which 43 are farmer co-ops with a total of 1200 farmers, and 6 are womens co-ops which process the agricultural produce, making things like cous cous from wheat and olive oil from the olives.
The PFTA works with small, marginalised farmers to help them find markets for their products, especially for export. So far, 14 of the olive farmer co-ops are Fairtrade certified and selling olive oil in the UK market through Equal Exchange, Zaytoun and Traidcraft. The first farmers were certified Fairtrade earlier this year and have used the Fairtrade premium to reinvest in the farmer communities.
After looking around the bottling facility, part funded by Shared Interest, we continued on to Anin - a village of about 3,000 people very close to the Separation Wall (it is also a fence in some places - like here).
We arrived just in time to meet the farmers coming back through a gate in the fence, having spent the day working in their olive orchards, which lie on the Israeli-controlled side of the fence. When the Separation Wall was erected in 2003, many farmers' orchards were on the other side, and the Israeli soldiers now control access to their land. They only open the gate twice a day - in the morning and afternoon - every day during harvest season, but only twice a week the rest of the time. Obviously this makes life very difficult for the farmers. When the wall itself was built, up to 9,000 olive tress in this area were destroyed and many farmers lost land.
We spoke more with the farmers over a shared meal and then stayed the night at Mahmoud Issa's home where we talked late into the night about the situation.
So, yesterday we drove 3 hours from Bethlehem to Jenin, where we met with the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA). We visited their offices and heard about how they work with 49 co-operatives of which 43 are farmer co-ops with a total of 1200 farmers, and 6 are womens co-ops which process the agricultural produce, making things like cous cous from wheat and olive oil from the olives.
The PFTA works with small, marginalised farmers to help them find markets for their products, especially for export. So far, 14 of the olive farmer co-ops are Fairtrade certified and selling olive oil in the UK market through Equal Exchange, Zaytoun and Traidcraft. The first farmers were certified Fairtrade earlier this year and have used the Fairtrade premium to reinvest in the farmer communities.
After looking around the bottling facility, part funded by Shared Interest, we continued on to Anin - a village of about 3,000 people very close to the Separation Wall (it is also a fence in some places - like here).
We arrived just in time to meet the farmers coming back through a gate in the fence, having spent the day working in their olive orchards, which lie on the Israeli-controlled side of the fence. When the Separation Wall was erected in 2003, many farmers' orchards were on the other side, and the Israeli soldiers now control access to their land. They only open the gate twice a day - in the morning and afternoon - every day during harvest season, but only twice a week the rest of the time. Obviously this makes life very difficult for the farmers. When the wall itself was built, up to 9,000 olive tress in this area were destroyed and many farmers lost land.
We spoke more with the farmers over a shared meal and then stayed the night at Mahmoud Issa's home where we talked late into the night about the situation.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Fairtrade in Palestine
Fairtrade Foundation's Head of Campaigns Veronica Pasteur's reporting during her trip to Palestine:
So, this evening I am sitting in a cafe not far from the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. We followed a star to get here - a neon one! I am in Palestine on the Zaytoun Olive Tour and have been here for a few days - first in Jerusalem and now Bet Sahur, just outside Bethlehem.
The purpose of the trip is to visit olive farmers and help them with the harvest and also to see what life is like for them living in the West Bank. Unfortunately we won't be able to help pick the olives as it has been the worst harvest in 20 years and the olives there were have already been picked. We learnt this earlier today from Mohammed Sawafta from Oxfam GB who told us about the programme that Oxfam is running assisting farmers to access markets for their olive oil and other products. Some ways they are doing this include helping them to get Fairtrade and organic certified. Oxfam help with training farmers with both technical support for their olive orchards, such as training on pruning and disease control etc. but also with capacity building. They are working with 31 farmer co-ops - about 2,000 people.
We then visited an olive press where we saw farmers bringing their olives in to be processed in to oil. There was a lovely smell and a mixture that looked like tapenade turned into golden virgin olive oil. In the afternoon we visited Hebron where we had a tour of the old city and learnt about some of the problems faced by people living there.
Tomorrow we head up to Jenin and Anin, where we will visit the bottling plant and then meet olive farmers and stay with them. In the meantime, get out there and find yourself some delicious Fairtrade Olive Oil in Sainsburys and the Co-op.
So, this evening I am sitting in a cafe not far from the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. We followed a star to get here - a neon one! I am in Palestine on the Zaytoun Olive Tour and have been here for a few days - first in Jerusalem and now Bet Sahur, just outside Bethlehem.
The purpose of the trip is to visit olive farmers and help them with the harvest and also to see what life is like for them living in the West Bank. Unfortunately we won't be able to help pick the olives as it has been the worst harvest in 20 years and the olives there were have already been picked. We learnt this earlier today from Mohammed Sawafta from Oxfam GB who told us about the programme that Oxfam is running assisting farmers to access markets for their olive oil and other products. Some ways they are doing this include helping them to get Fairtrade and organic certified. Oxfam help with training farmers with both technical support for their olive orchards, such as training on pruning and disease control etc. but also with capacity building. They are working with 31 farmer co-ops - about 2,000 people.
We then visited an olive press where we saw farmers bringing their olives in to be processed in to oil. There was a lovely smell and a mixture that looked like tapenade turned into golden virgin olive oil. In the afternoon we visited Hebron where we had a tour of the old city and learnt about some of the problems faced by people living there.
Tomorrow we head up to Jenin and Anin, where we will visit the bottling plant and then meet olive farmers and stay with them. In the meantime, get out there and find yourself some delicious Fairtrade Olive Oil in Sainsburys and the Co-op.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
