Program Helps South African Wine Makers

Filed in archive South African Wines on October 17, 2006

I'm a big believer in the saying that goes something like "give a man a fish and he eats for one day; teach him to fish and he eats every day." Okay, I know I'm probably saying that wrong, but I think you get the idea. That's the educator in me. I think you are always doing someone a service if you teach them something worth learning rather than just do it for them. This why I think the U.S. South African Wine Foundation Internship program is such a great idea.

Here's more from Wine Apprentices Enter 'Vineyard of Prosperity':

According to Judith Chambers, program coordinator for the U.S. South African Wine Foundation Internship program, after the South African government became a democracy in 1994, the wine industry partnered with the government and created The South African Wine Industry Trust (SAWIT), sponsors of the program. Chambers says the South African agriculture industry has been a difficult arena to change because of the economic apartheid that exists. She feels this program sets a precedent.

"I think it [the program] is a great model for other parts of the agriculture sector to emulate," Chambers said. "The agriculture sector now has a clear vision that puts transformation of the industry and promoting opportunities of previously economic disadvantaged people at the centerpiece of their strategy."

The focus of the trust was to effect social and economic transformation in the wine industry. Officials had been looking at how to empower people economically and give them skills that will enable them to transition from working as farmers to becoming entrepreneurs in the wine industry.