WOSA WORLD

Our Wines Come From a Good Place

3 April 2013

Our wines come from a good place, and what better way to share this spirit of Ubuntu* than through WOSA`s new friendship bracelet.

Our colourful beaded bracelets are made by Relate (http://www.relate.org.za/), a Cape Town based organization, who are behind the very successful "United Against Malaria" bracelets. The bracelets are made in impoverished Cape communities and change lives through offering employment and through developing skills. The beads are first strung by groups of grannies at Ikamva Labantu (ikamva.org.za) who are delighted to augment their tiny state pensions. Then a younger group finishes, sizes and packs the bracelets.   All Relate bracelets feature a small `R` bead which is their  mark of authenticity and represents Relate`s commitment to transparency and accountability (If it doesn`t have an `R` bead, it`s not a Relate bracelet).

Part of the proceeds of the bracelet are put into a training fund, and those workers showing initiative are encouraged to acquire better paid skills. Then for each bracelet, a donation is made to a specific cause. In our case, WOSA has chosen the Pebbles Project, a charity that works to enrich the lives of needy children living in the wine lands. (http://www.pebblesproject.co.za/)

The beaded friendship bracelets come in 3 sizes, and each one carries the message "    South African wine". WOSA will be using them to make friends at all our South African wine tastings. We launched the bracelets at Prowein and they were so popular that we ran out on the last day. We even managed to persuade most of our big, burly producers that they should not give them to their wives, but rather wear them. Joining beads makes a bracelet. Joining hands makes a community.

*Ubuntu is a unique South African philosophy, which is about the essence of being human. "Ubuntu speaks about the fact that you can`t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can`t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity." (Desmond Tutu, 2008)

 Su Birch                                                                                      3 April 2013