Our History
Waitrose Limited, a retail supermarket in the United Kingdom (UK), sources fresh produce for its stores globally, including Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia).
The socio-economic and socio-political environment in which producers of agricultural products operate particularly in African countries is not conducive for real economic growth and sustainable livelihoods for farm workers and their communities. The deep rural areas often are scarcely resourced and economically disadvantaged.
Waitrose and its supply partners in 2005 resolved to secure the sustainability of the supply chain through an investment in the socio-economic development of the communities at the very root of the supply process – the farm workers and their families.
Subsequently the Waitrose Foundation Southern Africa (WFSA) was launched, initially only in South Africa, as a partnership initiative between UK-based Waitrose and its supply partners. Joining WFSA as founding partners were Green Marketing International, Poupart and Gordon Fairbrother and Mary Vizoso (both from Waitrose Ltd,) with 6 citrus growers in South Africa. The Foundation later expanded to include growers in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
Over the years, hundreds of growers have joined and today the WFSA partnership includes Waitrose, a network of Importers, Exporters and Growers producing a variety of fruit commodities and wine.
The original concept of the Foundation was to fund empowerment projects on farms and small holdings on which our fruit and vegetables were grown in developing countries. We wanted to emulate the ethos of Waitrose in returning a percentage of sales to those who worked on the farms. Gordon Fairbrother, in charge of the fruit buying team, was tasked with developing the model;
The brief:
To ensure that the Foundation was about trade not aid, would bind all the partners within the supply chain into its success and would fund projects chosen by the farmworkers themselves.
The model would also need to be flexible enough to work in a number of diverse countries and to adapt to changing commercial needs. Although at that time we didn’t envisage the turmoil of the last decade I have been so impressed that the Foundation has managed to expand through this period. South Africa was chosen as the initial country as it had a well-developed and stable supply base.
– Mary Vizoso
Retired Director Fruit Buying and Food Technology at Waitrose Ltd, UK & Retired Director Waitrose Foundation. Mary was a part of the Waitrose Foundation since its inception (as the 1st Waitrose Board Director) until she retired in 2012.
