Fairtrade premium boosts wine co-op

Some of the South African children set to benefit from the extra Fairtrade premium

December 25 2008

A wine co-operative in South Africa has received a £131,000 bonus thanks to a Fairtrade agreement with the Co-operative Retail Trading Group.

The donation — the third of its kind — was presented to the Du Toitskloof wine co-operative after it was generated from wine sales in CRTG-supplied Co-op stores around the UK.

As well as receiving a guaranteed Fairtrade price for their grapes, the growers receive an additional social premium set by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, which CRTG matches, thereby increasing the money the growers receive through the sale of the wines to fund community initiatives.

The Du Toitskloof Fairtrade project is one of the largest in the world and consists of 22 farms which supports over a 1,000 adults and children.

The cheque pushes the total donation from the last three years to over £291,000. Since the beginning of the five-year partnership between CRTG and Du Toitskloof, the Fairtrade premium has funded three crèche facilities, a community centre, a community bus, a youth club and a craft centre operated by the women of the wine co-operative.

The latest instalment will go towards funding a medical centre, housing improvements, a waste recycling programme and play areas for the villages.

The Du Toitskloof co-op also wants to renovate football fields and netball courts to encourage youngsters to be more active and engage in sporting activities, as well as literacy and computer courses for adults.

Some of the money, and future instalments, will fund purchase of 37 hectares of vineyard. This will allow the co-operative to expand and produce more grapes and, in turn, more wine. This will grow the collective and allow them to fund even more projects that will benefit the entire community.

Vicky Wood, Category Marketing Manager for Wine at the Co-operative Group, commented: “Our partnership with Du Toitskloof is one that we are very proud of — it really is Fairtrade at its best.

“The wines produced is fantastic and we enjoy handing over the money that has been raised by the Fairtrade premium as it goes towards very worthwhile projects that improve the lives of many people.”

Next year, the Fairhills Fairtrade wine brand from Du Toitskloof will be rolled out to both Argentina and Chile, where similar Fairtrade projects will be set up for co-operatives in those countries.

Category: Fairtrade