A Day at Koopmanskloof

So here it is folks, my purpose of traveling to South Africa. Although the award to my first fair trade certified site visit goes to Kuappa Kokoo and Volta River Estates in Ghana, this was my first time visiting a fair trade certified cite on 'business', as an Ambassador - as a Volunteer Ambassador for Fair Trade USA (...its a mouthful isn't it?).

Let me just say that since traveling alone, I've experienced situations of pure frustration. The morning I was supposed to visit Koopmanskloof was one of them. Prior to coming to Cape Town I was forewarned that renting a car would be ideal, since public transportation isn't as reliable or widespread as say, in New York. There are limits to how far a bus, train, or even affordable taxi will take you. However, from Cape Town to Stellenbosch public transportation was perfectly fine - Metrorail for R17 straight to the Stellenbosch train station which was only walking distance from Ikhaya Backpackers. Completely doable. However, getting from Ikhaya to Koopmanskloof winery was another story. The distance between the two was about 20km and my options were 1.) hire a shuttle taxi and pay R180 for a 10 minute ride or 2.) hire an even more expensive shuttle taxi because R180 is considered affordable. You can understand my frustration when I was able to get from Cape Town to Stellenbosch spending less than R17 and a mere 10 minute car ride would cost me more than 10 times that. I repeat, pure frustration!

Upon arrival I was greeted by Mario, Koopmanskloof's new Fair Trade Officer. We then met with Rydal Jeftha, the Manging Director. We spoke for an hour about his views on fair frade in general, fair frade in South Africa and BEE standards. I was honored to meet Rydal because unknowingly enough he was also responsible for Thandi's success, the world's first winery to achieve fair trade certification. In 2007 he left Thandi for Koopmanskloof with the intent to transform it into a fair trade certified winery. He left Thandi for because Koopmanskloof has the advantage of having the entire value chain located in one area whereas Thandi was only a brand and today is still only a reseller. On December 24, 2007, only 6 months after Rydal took over Koopmanskloof they achieved fair trade certification.

Koopmanskloof takes pride in the fact that they are one of the few black-owned wineries, and they should. Koopmanskloof was probably the only winery I visited where there were undoubtedly more blacks or coloured people in management positions than white. After spending an afternoon with Mario and Rydal, the genuine investment in their workers is boldly visible. As we drove around to snap a few photos and speak with several workers, Mario knew the name of each person encountered his conscious effort to maintain strong relationships with them was evident. Mario is constantly inventing new ways to give back to their workers. He recently arranged a food donation program with Pick n' Pay, organizes domino competitions on he weekends, and is planning a huge festival in December. Additional benefits for Koopmanskloof workers include daily transportation from their house to the farm, transportation each Saturday into town to go collect groceries, and an on-site creche (preschool) and primary school.

Greatest challenges with fair trade? Trying to explain to workers what fair trade is not. Most workers equate fair trade premium to extra money in their pockets, when the purpose is to financially support community development projects. So as a compromise, most fair trade premium money is spent on projects that can be easily seen in their eyes as money – food, uniforms, scholarships – essentials that they would have spent their extra money on anyway. And then of course, a commonly mentioned challenge of being fair trade certified is that it is expensive. Adhering to high environmental and quality standards requires training, which requires time, which requires money. However if you ask any owner why they became fair trade certified, they'd most likely tell you all the hoops fair trade requires you to jump through is worth it if it benefits the workers.

We visited the on-site creche to say hello to some of the most cutest children I have ever seen. As I walked in one of them was getting his hair washed. So cute!

The solar panels captured in this photo were funded by FT premium dollars. The installed panels provide heat for warmth and hot water. 

As I was photographing the solar panels, their neighbor called for my attention. He didn't speak English, but since he saw my camera I gathered he wanted me to take a photo of him. 

The Cabernet was pleasantly soft and subtle. Strong berry flavor. Smooth finish. FT is often criticized for outshining the quality of the product but I found their Cabernet competitive with similar-like wines.

I greatly enjoyed myself at Koopmanskloof and thank Rydal and Mario for welcoming me into their community and sharing their knowledge about the fair trade winemaking industry in South Africa. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Rydal's passion for and dedication to creating a family-like environment for his workers. 

For more information about Koopmanskloof you can visit them at their website, http://www.koopmanskloof.co.za/.

Certification Thoughts - Helping Some While Hurting Others?

I had an interesting conversation with someone at Wine Concepts, one of many wine shops on Kloof St, just down the way from my hostel. As I walked by I was drawn in by the bottle displayed front and center - it was Fair Trade USA certified. In efforts to accustom myself to Fair Trade USA certified wine before heading to Stellenbosch tomorrow, I asked the sales associate if they sold any other lines of Fair Trade certified wine. His answer was unexpected - "In South Africa all wineries are fair and BEE regardless of what the label says. We only source our wine from estates and growers who practice fair and sustainable methods. Every worker on the estate helps out and shares profits." Did I believe him one bit? Hello no, but kudos to you - diplomatic answer indeed.

After explaining to him why I was asking if they sold wines specifically Fair Trade USA certified, his initial answer made a little bit more sense. He was comparing the concept of BEE to US's Affirmative Action. By paying attention to such labels such as Fair Trade certified, BWI (Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, an environmental-related certification), or BEE its placing those companies on a pedestal and by default claiming that other companies aren't committed to fair trade, biodiversity, or BEE practices. So back to his Affirmative Action example - its like if businesses in the US had to be certified to advertise the commonly used phrase "we hire regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation". While the certification process definitely helps businesses who comply with strict guidelines of any certification label, at the same time it hurts those who are not. When for all we know, they may very well may be employing the 'fairest' practices of them all. Who's to judge?

Further the man said fact is, South Africa is home to the world's top-class wineries. Pressuring businesses to 'get certified in this, and adhere to standards of that' only endangers what consumers care about - the quality of the final product! This picked my brain a little. Usually I'll buy a product because of its certification label - a testament of the company's commitment to a societal good, whether it be environmental, economic, or promoting equality. And then if the wine, in this case, tastes good... icing on the cake! But by paying too much attention to certifications, I'm limiting my selection choice to the best of the best within the small percentage of certified products available on the market. Perhaps as learned today, we should value a product for its taste, craftsmanship, and beauty first and then investigate the fairness of its business practices second?

Tentative Cape Town Itinerary

Switching my Ghana Brandt for the South Africa Lonely Planet

Just touched down in Cape Town, South Africa! Im tired and the flight was long including a one-and-a-half layover in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Can't believe I'm here but I'm ready to hit the ground running. I've had this post in draft version for a while... but here's my tentative plans for the Cape Town leg of my journey- 

Upon arrival I'll head straight to the Cape Town city center and stay for about five nights or so. During this time I'll let Cape Town soak in, get situated, and familiar with my travel options to my two main destinations: Stellenbosch, Cape Town's vast wine land, and Citrusdal, located a few hours North of Cape Town and home to citrus and rooibos tea farms. Stellenbosch makes for a first stop because it's a popular destination from Cape Town, only about 45 minutes outside of the city center. There are some wineries I've bookmarked in my handy dandy Lonely Planet that are a must-visit. From Stellenbosch I'll make my way towards Citrusdal, located North of Cape Town and much more rural and less-travelled than Stellenbosch. 

It might help to explain a little bit more about what I'm researching in Cape Town before I list the places I intend to visit. My trip is two-pronged, hoping to research the impact of two interrelated areas in the South African context:

• Fair Trade impact, specifically the impact of Fair Trade USA certified organizations. Please note that my visit is completely voluntary and is not by any means an official audit on behalf of Fair Trade USA.
• The impact of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) legislation of 2003. As a final assignment for the NYU Wagner's Food Security and Hunger course we have to write an independent research paper exploring any issue related to food security and/or global hunger. Since I needed to conduct research on Fair Trade in the South African context anyways, I decided to research and explore a Fair Trade standard unique to Fair Trade organizations in South Africa. The B-BBEE Act of 2003 is unique to South Africa because it was initiated by the South African government as a result of the apartheid, aimed to distribute wealth as evenly across the peoples of South Africa as possible- including blacks. So far I've found some controversial information regarding the impact of B-BBEE which I've decided to explore further. 

Below is my tentative itinerary and prospective sites I plan to visit, all of which are FTUSA certified producing organizations. About half of them are confirmed, while the other half is still TBD.

1. Cape Town (5 days)
2. Stellenbosch (5 - 7 days)
1. Koopmanskloof Wingerde - wine grapes
3. Robertson, about an hour east of Stellenbosch (3 days)
1. Van Loveren (Pty.) Ltd winery - wine grapes; also notable for their commitment to B-BEEE
4. Citrusdal (5 - 7 days)
1. ALG Boerdery (Pty. Ltd) - lemon 
2. Bergendal Boerdery - wine grapes, oranges, rooibos tea
3. Mouton Citrus - citrus fruit
4. Citrusdal Wines - wine grapes
5. Clanwilliam, about an hour north of Citrusdal (3 nights)
1. Wupperthal Original Rooibos Cooperative/ Heiveld - rooibos tea
6. Return to Cape Town (~ 2 weeks)
1. PARTY! haha, only kidding. Wrap up data collection & NY job hunting

Other notable FT, not necessarily FTUSA certified, or B-BBEE associated sites worth adding to my itinerary, depending on their accessibility and ability to fit into my schedule (description credit goes to Lonely Planet):

• Both Solms-Delta and Van Loveren (www.vanloveren.co.za) have made their employers shareholders in newly purchased joint-venture wine farms. Nelsons Creek, north of Paarl, (www.nelsonscreek.co.za) donated land to his workers to produce their own wines under the label New Beginnings.
• Thabani (not open to the public) is SA's first wholly black-owned wine company
• Thandi, Elgin area, (www.thandi.com) first winery to become FT certified
• Tukulu, Darling area, is the flagship BEE brand in the stable of industry giant Distell

Although was sad to leave Ghana, good news is that I'll be back! I fly from Cape Town to Accra on August 26^th before departing back to New York August 28^th , giving me 2 days to do last minute souvenir shopping, pick up extra yards of fabric from Kaneshie market, and say bye to some friends. Until then, see you later Chale! (Chale is slang for 'dude'... pronounced 'Chaa-Lay' although I mistook it for 'Shalane' long before I understood what it meant.)