FRICH is currently supporting seven projects:
Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate
The purveyor of the famous Yorkshire Tea, is working with OCIR Thé
(Rwanda’s tea authority), tea factory owners, the Rainforest Alliance and the
farmers who supply the factories to develop a sustainable supply of quality
tea for their famous Yorkshire Tea
brand. Rwanda tea is now on UK supermarket shelves as a Yorkshire Gold
‘seasons pick’. Read more....
Blue Skies
Blue Skies is working to develop and test a new technological
process to manufacture premium quality, fresh tasting juice that can be
sea-freighted to the UK. A number of tests have been undertaken assessing
the consumers’ response to the pineapple and tropical mix juices in
comparison with their expectations and with other brands. In parallel, work
has been ongoing to re-brand the Company to ensure that its values
are understood by the consumer as well as the products’ story from farm to
shelf.
By
processing the drinks in the same country the raw material is
sourced and using sea freight rather than air. Blue Skies will create more
employment, which will further contribute to local economic development on
an environmentally and economically sustainable basis.
Cafédirect
Cafédirect, the UK’s largest Fairtrade hot drinks
company, will launch two new products, a single origin cocoa drink from São
Tomé and Principe and a single origin orthodox green tea from Rwanda with
the help of FRICH funding. The project will increase the volume and value of
trade in green tea and cocoa from Africa into the UK supporting up to 8,000
smallholder farmers boost their businesses and raise their incomes. Working
with UK-based Fairorganics Solution, local partners – Imani Development and
Zatona Adil– Cafédirect will help more processing and quality improvement
activities to take place in Africa so more of the profits remain in the
hands of the producers, while also reducing their exposure to volatile
commodity prices.
Fullwell Mill
Fullwell Mill is a leading UK Fairtrade food
manufacturer that produces food products under licence for major UK brands
and supermarket chains and manufactures and sells products under its own
“Tropical Wholefoods” brand. The Company has an established and successful
association with Fruits of the Nile in Uganda, bringing a range of dried
fruit products to the UK produced by well organised small scale farmers.
This project is testing and developing the production of dried berry fruits
in Uganda, which represent a real opportunity for new, high value products
with a significant market demand. A wide variety of different cultivars of
all the different potential berry fruits are currently being trialled with
farmers in Uganda with support from Garden Organic at sites with different
agro-ecological soil and weather conditions to see which are most suitable
and whether organic production is feasible.
The Co-operative Group and Finlays Beverages
Leading Fairtrade supermarket, The Co-operative, is working with tea
supplier Finlay Beverages, the Cooperative College UK and Africa Now to
deliver the benefits of both Fairtrade and the co-operative business model
to secure long-term sustainable livelihoods for small-scale tea farmers in
Kericho, South-West Kenya. The project is organising 8,000 smallholder
farmers into an empowering and democratic co-operative structure. This task
is going well with the first cooperative formed and training underway with
the support of the UK’s Cooperative College. Working with cooperatives will
enable a new business model to be put in place with the farmers accessing
the Fairtrade tea market and diversifying into new crops that have export
potential to the UK, particularly through The Co-operative’s own stores as
well as good market opportunities within Kenya.
This project is working to develop and bring two new African gourmet
coffees to the UK. The project, led by Sainsburys involves a consortium with
TWIN trading, Finlays, and two farmers’ cooperatives: Sopacdi in the
Democratic Republic of Congo; and Mzuzu in Malawi. In the DRoC work has been
underway to rehabilitate the farms through training and the supply of tools,
getting the farmers certified for Fairtrade, as well as developing the
capacity and systems within Sopacdi including the facilities for processing
the coffee. The first two containers of coffee have been exported with very
promising results in terms of quality. In Malawi there has been a focus on
ensuring that the production system is productive and sustainable as well as
work with the cooperative on their quality control and management systems. A
container of Fairtrade certified coffee has been shipped to the UK and,
after roasting has been assessed as suitable for a range of Sainsburys
blends.
Waitrose
Waitrose
is fostering the growth of sustainable agricultural practices across Africa
by helping growers to adapt their cultivation and production processes to
meet the environmental requirements of the LEAF Marque standard. Waitrose,
which has for the past three years used the LEAF Marque guarantee for UK
fresh grown produce, has announced a commitment to help ALL its suppliers
operate in an environmentally responsible way. The project – a partnership
between Waitrose and Wren Media, LEAF, British & Brazilian, Blue Skies,
Sunripe and Wealmoor – is well underway with a range of activities. The
initial farmer focus is with 3 small scale farmer pilot groups in Kenya
growing vegetables who have been coached in environmentally friendly
integrated farm management ( IFM ) practices. A training suite of short
video stories ( told by African agronomists and farmers ) illustrating the
ten key aspects of IFM has been produced which will be used for all
Waitrose’s African suppliers. Working with Wren Media and the Waitrose
Consumer Insight Team, a key component of the project is the development of
innovative communication tools (for example short films for Waitrose
customer websites have been completed) that will enable the farms and
farmers to be seen and heard by consumers, school children and
opinion-influencers such as farmers in the UK.