Those of you who have been enjoying our delicious rooibos tea, purchased directly from the small scale farmer organizations of Heiveld and Wupperthal in South Africa, may also be familiar with the work that the farmers are doing to mitigate the effects of the warming climate on their production.
Equal Exchange has been supporting the farmers’ efforts through our purchases and through our Small Farmer Big Change Campaign. This year, we have committed $20,000 to support Heiveld and Wupperthal implement soil and water conservation, enhance biodiversity, and recapture indigenous strategies of natural resource management used by their ancestors.
We are very excited to learn that the Heiveld Co-operative has recently been recognized for its contribution to environmentally sound economic development and has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2008 BBC World Challenge competition. Now in its fourth year, World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. The winner will receive $20,000 to invest in their project/business and two runner-ups will each receive $10,000. (more…)
Small Farmers. Big Change. 