Category: Press Release

AFRIKAANS VERSION FOLLOWS AFTER ENGLISH

The South African Wine Industry Transformation Unit (SAWITU) recently announced the development of a brand home for black-owned wine brands, which will be hosted in the Tasting Room and Cellar Complex at the Agricultural Research Council’s Nietvoorbij Campus in Stellenbosch.  This project, which will provide market access for black-owned brands into the local and international markets, is a collaborative initiative with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA).

An integrated approach

The project has an integrated empowerment approach.  “Our approach challenges the slow pace of transformation’s status quo.  Not only will the individual brands share facilities and business space, they will also be assisted and mentored by an expert supply chain management company we appointed to manage the day to day operations of the facility and the route-to-market strategy plan“, says Wendy Petersen, Operations Manager of SAWITU.

SAWITU sourced black-owned service providers for this project. “True transformation happens when we include B-BBEE preferential procurement suppliers into the wine value chain and ensure that economic benefits are far-reaching, creating growth and sustainability,” says Petersen.

Next Generation Beverages Group (NGBG) is a 100% black-owned distribution company and has positioned themselves as a service provider in the South African wine industry.  NGBG will provide a four-tier service to SAWITU, which includes the management of the tasting- and e-commerce facility, supply chain and logistics management and the route-to-market offering.   They will also manage the contractual agreements with wine brands and other operational service providers.

“At Next Generation Beverages we pride ourselves on delivering service excellence and we are very proud and excited to be chosen as partners in this first and pioneering initiative led by the SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit”, says Prem Naidu, Managing Partner of Next Generation Beverages.

The owners bring with them a wealth of knowledge and more than two decades’ experience of global sales and marketing in the wine and liquor industry.  They have been assisting the brands with their individual, target-specific sales and marketing strategies in preparation for occupancy at the brand home.

A new e-commerce platform, that will allow B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) sales from the premises, was developed by Winecolumn.co.za, a renowned and trusted Wine & Spirits e-commerce specialist in the wine industry.  The development of the e-commerce platform was funded by the WCDoA, who supported the Brand Home initiative from the start.

“I am very excited about this development. It is an open secret that the South African wine Industry is very strategic for the economy and the e-commerce initiative will not only deepen consumer awareness about the black-owned brands but will also allow them to sell their excellent products using this platform. This is essential for our economic recovery and the sustainability of these SMME’s will strengthen their continued participation in the value chain – thereby, contributing to economic growth,” says Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, Head of Agriculture in the Western Cape.

“We are truly honoured to be at the forefront of transformation through e-commerce and tech development. We believe this initiative will be a model to inspire and encourage other developed wine markets worldwide to advance diversity”, says Nkonzo Mbetha from Winecolumn.co.za

As the Brand Home is hosted in a historic building, the renovations must be done within the required legislative framework.  HB Architects, in collaboration with RB Building Services, has been appointed to skillfully merge the existing historic building with modern interior design.

A place of belonging

The brand home will have a warm and welcoming ambience that reflect the nature of the diverse South African people.  “It will be a place where people are comfortable, feel at home and that they belong”, says Petersen.

The design includes open areas for easy flow of visitors as well as closed spaces that accommodate small groups for private tastings and business meetings.  The brands will also be able to display their limited edition and special release wines in a designated area.

The name of the facility and the participating brands will be announced at the official launch of the Brand Home.  The product offering will include a range of wines at various price points and market positioning to cater for a diverse consumer need.

“In September we celebrate our South African heritage, tourism month and the 150^th anniversary of the Stellenbosch Wine Routes.  It would only be right to follow these celebrations with a new beginning for our wine brands.  The Brand Home will thus be launched in October 2021,” says Petersen.

Visit our website www.witu.co.za for more information about SAWITU and follow us on Facebook (@WITURSA), Twitter (@witu_sa) or LinkedIn (SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit).

Photo caption:

FLTR: Dr Caleb Oluwafemi, ARC Research Team Manager: Post-Harvest and Agro-Processing Technologies, Mrs Derusha Crank, ARC Marketing & Communications, Mrs Wendy Petersen, SAWITU Operations Manager,  Dr Bongani Ndimba, Senior Research Manager: ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij and Mr Prem Naidu, Managing Partner: Next Generation Beverages.

END

Nuwe handelsmerktuiste vir wynbedryf het ‘n geïntegreerde bemagtigingsbenadering

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Wynbedryf Transformasie-eenheid (SAWITU) het onlangs die ontwikkeling van ‘n handelsmerktuiste vir wynhandelsmerke in swart besit aangekondig, wat in die Proelokaal-  en Kelderkompleks by die  Landbounavorsingsraad se  Nietvoorbij-kampus in Stellenbosch gehuisves sal word. Hierdie projek, wat marktoegang vir handelsmerke in swart besit in die plaaslike en internasionale markte sal verskaf,  is ‘n gesamentlike inisiatief  met  die Landbounavorsingsraad (LNR) en die Wes-Kaapse Departement van Landbou (WKDvL).

‘n Geïntegreerde benadering

Die projek het ‘n geïntegreerde bemagtigingsbenadering.  “Ons benadering daag die stadige pas van transformasie se status quo uit.  Die indivuduele handelsmerke sal nie alleenlik fasiliteite en besigheidsruimte deel nie, hulle sal ook bygestaan en gementor word deur ‘n kundige voorsieningskettingbestuursmaatskappy wat ons aangestel het om die dag tot dag operasionele bestuur van die fasiliteit en die roete-na-mark strategieplan te bestuur”, sê Wendy Petersen, Operasionele Bestuurder van SAWITU.

SAWITU het diensverskaffers in swart besit vir hierdie projek verkry.  “Ware transformasie gebeur wanneer ons BBSEB-voorkeurverkrygingsverskaffers in die wynwaardeketting insluit en verseker dat ekonomiese voordele verreikend is, en dat dit groei en volhoubaarheid skep,” sê Petersen.

Next Generation Beverages Group (NGBG) is ‘n 100% swartbeheerde verspreidingsmaatskappy en het hulself as diensverskaffer in die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf geposisioneer. NGBG sal ‘n viervlak-diens aan SAWITU lewer, wat die bestuur van die proe- en e-handel fasiliteit, die voorsieningsketting en logistieke bestuur en die roete-na-mark aanbod insluit.

Hulle sal ook die kontraktuele ooreenkomste met wynhandelsmerke en ander operasionele diensverskaffers bestuur.

“By Next Generation Beverages is ons trots daarop om diensuitnemendheid te lewer en ons is baie trots en opgewonde om gekies te word as vennote in hierdie eerste en baanbrekersinisiatief onder leiding van die SA Wynindustrie Transformasie-eenheid,” sê Prem Naidu, besturende vennoot van Next Generation Beverages.

Die eienaars bring ‘n magdom kennis en meer as twee dekades se ervaring van globale verkope en bemarking in die wyn- en drankbedryf saam met hulle. Hulle het die handelsmerke bygestaan met hul individuele, teikenspesifieke verkoops- en bemarkingstrategieë ter voorbereiding van okkupasie by die handelsmerkhuis.

‘n Nuwe e-handelplatform, wat B2B (besigheid tot besigheid) en B2C (besigheid tot verbruiker) verkope vanaf die perseel moontlik maak, is ontwikkel deur Winecolumn.co.za, ‘n bekende en betroubare wyn & spiritus e-handel spesialis in die wynbedryf. Die ontwikkeling van die e-handelplatform is befonds deur die WKDvL, wat die Handelsmerktuiste-inisiatief van die begin af ondersteun het.

“Ek is baie opgewonde oor die ontwikkeling. Dit is ‘n ope geheim dat die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf baie strategies vir die ekonomie is en dat die e-handelsinisiatief nie net verbruikersbewustheid oor die handelsmerke in swart besit sal verdiep nie, maar hulle ook sal toelaat om hul uitstekende produkte met behulp van hierdie platform te verkoop.  Dit is noodsaaklik vir ons ekonomiese herstel en die volhoubaarheid van hierdie KMMO’s sal hul voortgesette deelname aan die waardeketting versterk – en sodoende bydra tot ekonomiese groei,” sê dr Mogale Sebopetsa, hoof van landbou in die Wes-Kaap.

“Ons is werklik geëerd om aan die voorpunt van transformasie te wees deur e-handel en tegnologie-ontwikkeling.  Ons glo hierdie inisiatief sal ‘n model wees om ander ontwikkelde wynmarkte wêreldwyd te inspireer en aan te moedig om diversiteit te bevorder,” sê Nkonzo Mbetha van Winecolumn.co.za

Aangesien die Handelsmerktuiste in ‘n historiese gebou gehuisves word, moet die opknappings binne die gebou aan ‘n vereiste wetgewende raamwerk voldoen.  HB Argitekte, in samewerking met RB Building Services, is aangestel om met die nodige vaardigheid die bestaande historiese gebou met moderne interieurontwerp saam te smelt.

‘n Plek van behoort

Die handelsmerkhuis sal ‘n warm en verwelkomende atmosfeer hê wat die aard van die diverse Suid-Afrikaanse mense weerspieël. “Dit sal ‘n plek wees waar mense gemaklik is, tuis voel en voel dat hulle behoort,” sê Petersen.

Die ontwerp sluit oop areas vir maklike vloei van besoekers in sowel as geslote ruimtes wat klein groepies vir private proe-sessies en besigheidsvergaderings akkommodeer.  Die handelsmerke sal ook hul beperkte uitgawe en spesiale vrystellingswyne in ‘n aangewese area kan vertoon.

Die naam van die fasiliteit en die deelnemende handelsmerke sal by die amptelike bekendstelling van die handelsmerktuiste aangekondig word. Die produkaanbod sal ‘n verskeidenheid wyne teen verskeie pryspunte en markposisionering insluit om voorsiening te maak vir diverse verbruikersbehoeftes.

“Ons vier ons Suid-Afrikaanse erfenis, toerismemaand en die 150ste herdenking van die Stellenbosch Wynroete in September.  Dit sal net reg wees om hierdie vieringe te volg met ‘n nuwe begin vir ons wynhandelsmerke.  Die handelsmerktuiste sal dus in Oktober 2021 bekendgestel word,” sê Petersen.

Besoek ons webwerf www.witu.co.za vir meer inligting oor SAWITU en volg ons op Facebook (@WITURSA), Twitter (@witu_sa) of LinkedIn (SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit).

Foto onderskrif:

VLNR: Dr Caleb Oluwafemi, LNR Navorsing Spanbestuurder: Na-oes en Agro-Prosessering Tegnologie, Me Derusha Crank, LNR Bemarking en Kommunikasie, Me Wendy Petersen, SAWITU Operasionele Bestuurder,  Dr Bongani Ndimba, Senior Navorsingsbestuurder: LNR Infruitec-Nietvoorbij en Mnr Prem Naidu, Besturende Vennoot: Next Generation Beverages.

EINDE

“in for a penny, in for a pound“

Malmsey and Diale Rangaka, owners of M’Hudi Wines, have taken their marriage vows to heart and incorporated it into their business lives. They do not see their personal lives as separate but rather embrace their togetherness in life. The two have been married for 46 years and have been generating their own income for the last 36 years.

They flourish in their different roles at M’Hudi.  Malmsey is the CEO and handles finances, while Diale oversees the farm management, Human Resources, Public Relations and Marketing.

Diale describes Malmsey as warrior queen, Nzhinga, a historical Royal from the Matamba people of present-day Angola.  Queen Nzhinga fought against the encroachment of the Portuguese’s attempt to control the slave trade in South West Africa and is remembered for her intellect, wisdom and brilliant military tactics. Says Diale, “Malmsey is a fiercely protective matriarch!”.

Malmsey has leant that Diale has a strong commitment to the economic emancipation of South Africa’s black people and works to see our country attain and maintain its economic leadership on the African continent.

Bringing their different strengths to their relationship has been their recipe for success. Malmsey is methodical, ensuring efficient business operations while providing a high-quality product. Diale admires Malmsey’s compassion, fortitude, and resilience.

Diale can make Malmsey laugh even in the most serious of circumstances but being comical or “Pathologically unserious” as Malmsey describes him does not detract from his ability to being a strong researcher and marketing expert.

Whenever Malmsey and Diale experience challenges in their business, they always remember that family comes first.  They are building a legacy for their family, which is much more important and rewarding than just making profits.

Their favourite quote for the month of love is one from Paul Valery, “Love is being stupid together” and their advice for any couple is to work on staying in love and building memories together.

“we dream together”

Bunty and Wahed Khan dreamed of starting their own business when they retire from corporate life, but this came earlier than expected.  When Wahed was transferred to Cape Town, Bunty put her career on hold to settle their family.

Surrounded by the beauty of the Western Cape, the Winelands, with its diverse people inspired them to venture into wine. The dream of creating a product that could be shared with the world is how Cape Dreams came to life!

Bunty started the company in 2008 with Wahed joining her full time 4 years later.  They understood that it would take many years of immense dedication and hard work to build their business into an internationally recognized brand, but their commitment and support from family made them push through.

Bunty and Wahed work closely together by sharing responsibilities and always consulting about what’s going on across the business.  Their strategic planning is done jointly, but Bunty is responsible for legal matters, marketing, travel and IT while Wahed takes care of finance and admin. Each develops their own set of customers.

The most important thing they learned about each other is that they have different ways of looking at life, but their shared core values and beliefs make their relationship work.  Bunty and Wahed’s commitment to each other helps them to face the many challenges and finding solutions to take their dream forward.

The two have quite different strengths in the business.  While Wahed is pragmatic, and focussed on numbers, Bunty is creative, bubbling with ideas, but gets things done and is a tough negotiator!

Always enjoying each other’s company, they maintain a healthy balance between working hard and spending time together and with their family.   They have a challenging Chess league going now that they have more time during lockdown!

What Wahed admires most is Bunty’s fun-loving, carefree and loving personality.  She has a clear set of values and is the main pillar of strength for the family. Bunty admires Wahed for his integrity and humility.  He is generous, kind, patient and selfless and gives her the confidence to achieve anything.

Their advice to other couples working together or thinking of starting a business together is:

Dream together – you may be different, but you can have the same dream

Respect each other, listen to each other and never let the business impact on your love for each other.

There will always be unexpected challenges so keep your focus on WHAT is right rather than WHO is wrong!

The couple have been married for 32 years and their favourite quote for the month of love is “Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along!” – Rumi

“together is our favourite place to be”

For Malcolm and Cheryl Green of La RicMal Wines, being in business together comes naturally, as both stem from entrepreneurial parents.

The couple agrees that although it was a very rough road in business in the early years and uncertainties always existed, the reward came in that humble meal they shared and from putting that plate on the table together!

Being entrepreneurs from an early age, they share a vision and drive for independence and unconventionality and are motivated by their faith and common vision for success.

Like the true definition of the “yin yang” Malcolm and Cheryl complement each other in the business and seamlessly fit into the roles that is expected at the time. Individually and as a team, they share their traits on different functional levels of decision making, negotiating and steering the business forward.

They learned that sharing different viewpoints on the same situation allows them to be critical and complimentary at the same time – and that a good laugh always lightens any situation!

The comfortable humor between them comes through when they each claim, with a sweet smile, that their strength lies in having each other’s back, like the saying goes “behind every successful man/women….”

Malcolm and Cheryl are childhood sweethearts who met in their teens.  Reminded that this is the month of love, they fondly remember getting married in the Emmanuel Cathedral in Kwazulu-Natal 42 years ago!  Their journey together taught them that applying the principles of matrimony to any business is a winning recipe. Their relationship is built on love, commitment, faithfulness, humility, patience, time (for each other), honesty, trust, communication and selflessness.

“I’m lost without her…”

If there is one thing that life has taught us, is that time is precious and we much treasure our loved ones while we have the chance. 

For Niklaas Nkosi, his precious time with his dear wife Alfonsina came to an abrupt end when she suddenly passed away in December last year.

Niklaas remembers her as a strong woman who was very organized, running their household smoothly despite her full-time job.  But she made sure Niklaas did his part in the house.  In the evenings when they got home, the two would do the washing together.  Niklaas loved Alfonsina’s cooking – it’s the one thing he misses the most!

“Sy kon soms lekker skel” (she sometimes scolded him) he says with a little giggle, “then I know I have to keep in line. But she always wanted what was best for me.”

She was a loving wife and caring mom for their two sons and left a huge void in their lives.  “I’m lost without her….I can’t explain how I feel…I miss her so much!”

The couple met in the Eastern Cape and was married for 16 years.  After Niklaas came to the Western Cape to find work, he went back to fetch Alfonsina.  “Ek het haar daar gaan loop haal” (I went to fetch her)

Niklaas, a Thokozani shareholder, works in the vineyards at Diemersfontein for the past 14 years.  Alfonsina joined the company 9 years ago, first as a casual worker and was later permanently employed.  The couple worked together in harmony and Niklaas was motivated by his wife’s calm demeaner and dedication to her work.

He finds it very difficult without her at work and at home but finds comfort in the beautiful memories she left behind.

Ever mindful of the economic hardship occasioned by the drawn-out Covid-19 Pandemic, the South African Wine Industry Transformation Unit (SAWITU) has provided a raft of support measures to the wine industry, in which it operates. Newly appointed Board Chair, Mr. Tshililo  Ramabulana committed SAWITU’s efforts and resources to a wide-reaching campaign to support, not only businesses in the sector, but farmworkers as well.

“Supporting our community is central to our agenda and with many of them falling on hard times, we had to step up and rise to the challenge,” said Ramabulana.

Over the past six months, SAWITU provided emergency Covid-19 relief to 15 qualifying Black-owned wine enterprises to the tune of R1.35m. In addition, 15 Black-owned farms received emergency relief totaling R450 000 over the next three months.

“Acutely aware of the importance of the farmworker in the value chain and the fact that many of them went unpaid for a considerable period of time, we rallied to the cry and provided more than R500 000 in support to farmworkers and farmworker communities in the past six months,” said SAWITU’s Transformation Operations Manager Wendy Petersen.

The majority of those affected and assisted by SAWITU were unemployed during the period and received no State support. “These communities were already mired in poverty, and with the unemployment caused by the pandemic, we took a decision to provide basic food security at the least,” added Petersen.

SAWITU worked closely with NPO’s in the various regions to ensure that the most vulnerable were identified. The relief efforts targeted the neediest of communities and spread across Wellington, Porterville, Saron, Montague, Rawsonville, Worcester and Robertson.

“This is the first round of our ongoing support to the industry and their communities and we will make even more effort to assist during these unprecedented economic hardships,” said Ramabulana.

Wendy Petersen, the Operations Manager of SAWITU has overseen and ensured that the relief efforts were recorded and accountable measures were in place.

“With God in one hand, anything is possible,” says Katy September, reflecting on a life in which the hard knocks were overcome with faith and a will to succeed.

The recounting of her life is a veritable reflection of the challenges most female farmworkers encounter and a lesson in overcoming them. Her dream of joining the navy was thwarted early on in life, and like many young girls in the Cape winelands, she was forced to join her parents as farmworkers.

“Growing up on the Kromme Rhee Farm, I used to swim in the dams and developed a love for the water. In my final school year, I applied to join the SA Navy, in order to chart a new path for women of colour from the winelands,” she says nostalgically.

However, this dream was to be shattered as the young Katy fell pregnant and was forced into a young motherhood and a menial job on the neighbouring Simonsig Wine Estate.

“I was my grandmother’s child and it was a big disappointment to her and to my parents when this happened. However, my parents stood by me throughout my life and supported me and my children in whatever way they could,” she reflects with gratitude.

She was engaged for a short while, but on realising that the man she was to marry was also engaged to another, she threw her engagement ring into the lake, thus symbolically drowning her dream of joining the navy and of a happily married life.

“Although that hurt me deeply, I decided to make the most of my life and fend for my daughter. I am glad I am a woman. I’m the only one in my name and there is no one else like me,” she says, steadfastly.

Being raised by her grandmother, Katy developed a keen sense of keeping a clean house and to this day is fastidious. “I take pride and time in making sure my house is spotless, and have thankfully handed this down from my grandmother to my two daughters too.”

With the help of her parents, she got her first job in 1990 cleaning the cellar at Simonsig and scrubbing the bottling apparatus and plastic flexicans used to press grapes. It was a hard toil for which she was paid R45 per week. Her career started at the beginning of the bottling process and today she works in labelling and packaging. Katy’s love for her work and her fellow colleagues is what drives and motivates her.

She worked diligently in the cellar for more than a decade and represented the workers on the estate as their Shop Steward. In 2005, being acutely aware of the challenges faced by farmworkers in the winelands, she joined the Sikhula Sonke Trade Union. Sikhula Sonke is a women-led, independent farmworkers union. Its focus includes issues such as labour rights, domestic violence, food insecurity and alcohol abuse.

“I joined Sikhula Sonke as a recruiter and worked tirelessly building the subscriber base to make it a voice of the farmworkers in general and women in particular,” she says, proudly.

The campaigning involved lots of weary travel, with her three young daughters in tow. “I used to go to neighbouring farms and to winelands towns on my recruitment campaigns and was often forced to sleep over so as to maximise the impact of the recruitment campaign.”

In growing Sikhula Sonke, Katy rose steadily through the ranks to become its President. In her leadership role, she assisted in growing the membership to more than 5000 employed and unemployed workers including those living on farms in Stellenbosch, Grabouw, Villiersdorp, Franschhoek, Ceres, Rawsonville, Paarl and Wellington.

Reflecting on her role as a unionist, Katy recalls a campaign in 2009 as a highlight. “We launched a campaign in 2009 to boycott the National General Election. It was the No Land! No House! No Vote! Campaign,” she recalls, noting with regret that not much has changed regarding the circumstances of the farmworkers since.

Sikhula Sonke eventually folded and in 2017 Katy, together with other women labour activists launched the Society Development Trade Union, which today represents more than 4500 farmworkers in the Cape Winelands. Like many other union leaders in the industry, Katy was ‘marked’ and was often called to book for the most trivial of reasons, a battle she has had to contend with all her working life.

“Apartheid is still very much alive in the wine industry. Ironically, the previous generation of wine farmers were a little more caring towards their workers. I know this may sound like a generalisation, but the current crop of farmers is arrogant and seem to entrench the ‘ons en julle baasmanskap’. The ‘ou baas’ has been replaced by the ‘klein baas’.”

It was her former employer who enrolled her membership and paid her subscription for Women in Wine. Women in Wine was established and founded in 2006 by a group of twenty women, Katy being one of them. All of the members have backgrounds in the wine industry that had a common dream – giving women, especially farm workers and their families, a share in the industry.

Women in Wine only sources wine from farms that comply with socio-economic legislation with specific reference to ethical and environmental practices, employment conditions, skills development and training, as well as those that address aspects of Black Economic Empowerment.

Today, Women in Wine has a membership in excess of 200. This opportunity afforded Katy her first trip on board an aeroplane, and though it was a short flight to Kimberly, she remembers vividly the trepidation with which she boarded the flight. She was also exposed for the first time to wine tasting and the different cultivars, a lesson not many farmworkers are afforded. Also, it was her first experience in receiving a dividend and the ability to engage with annual financial statements, reflecting the real empowerment of her participation.

Katy is a natural mentor to younger women she comes into contact with. “We were raised in a community where we look out for each other. I often counsel young women and girls as if they are my own children.”

In defining her driving force, Katy is resolute that it is her three daughters, whom she raised single-handedly. “I live for my family and want to ensure that they have a better life than I did. Hopefully to create some means that could become the generational wealth we all dream of creating.”

– Nirode Bramdaw, African Sun Media

Jo-Anne Mettler exudes a charm, elegance and eloquence that is refl ective of her accomplished career, despite being forced to overcome challenges with grace.

Born in Cape Town, her family relocated to Zambia when Jo-Anne was just three, the eldest of four siblings. “It was shortly after Zambia’s independence and my Dad took advantage of a career opportunity and set the family into a self-imposed exile,” says Jo-Anne.

Reflecting on her early life in Zambia, Jo-Anne is grateful that her Dad took that very bold decision affording the family the right not to be deemed second-class citizens in the land of their birth.

“I was raised in a wonderfully cosmopolitan environment, where I had friends of every colour and nationality. My best friend was a Polish neighbour, Eva, whom I taught to speak English. She is still a friend and a lecturer at Cambridge University. I didn’t do too badly,” she says with
a broad, dimpled smile.

Even Afrikaners, who would not give the family the time of day back in South Africa, became fi rm friends. Whilst learning English and French at school, her battles with Afrikaans was just beginning. “My parents both spoke Afrikaans and my Dad was a worshipper in the Dutch Reformed Church, which also had a presence in Zambia. So, I had to do my catechism in Afrikaans from an English Bible.”

Her political consciousness grew with the family’s frequent interactions with ANC cadres in exile in Lusaka.

On completion of her A-Levels, young Jo-Anne opted to study at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, but the NGK dominee whispered in her father’s ear that sending her to the bastion of English academia was probably not the best idea. So instead she returned to Cape Town and enrolled for a degree in social work at the University of Western Cape. “Here however, the students were all Brown and the lecturers mostly white, and Afrikaans speaking. I remember asking a question in class and being told that I must go back to America by the Afrikaner lecturer,” she says frowning.

Whilst on a visit to Cape Town her father reasoned that if she wanted to make a difference in the lives of those she sought to uplift, that it would be most appropriate to do it in their mother tongue. A determined Jo-Anne persevered and armed with a Tweetalige Woordeboek and her textbooks, she soldiered on.

“Those were very politically charged days at UWC and I joined in the student protests, simply for the fact that apartheid went against my moral compass.”

It was whilst at UWC that Jo-Anne was interviewed for a bursary at KWV and was one of four students successful in landing the coveted bursary.

“Unfortunately, my Dad passed at the age of 50 whilst I was at University and the State confi scated his life savings, forcing my young Mom to fend for the family single-handedly. The bursary could not have come at a better time,” she says.

As was tradition at KWV, recipients of bursaries were hosted at an annual soiree with top management at the company’s stately headquarters in Paarl. “I remember entering those hallowed portals as a young girl and being taken by the fi ne woodwork, the art and décor, coupled with the
crystal glass and china and immediately fell in love with the surrounds. I love the fi ner things in life,” she smiles.

On completion of her studies, Jo-Anne was offered a position of Public Relations Offi cer at KWV, working in the Coloured Team. Here the Coloured employees were not allowed to use the cafeteria, and dare not use the tennis courts or pool, which was only opened to employeesof colour in 2002.

“I remember there was always a ‘ons en julle’ corporate culture and the Afrikaners even took umbrage if some of us became friends with our white colleagues. When I announced my intention to be married, an Afrikaner colleague asked how many children I have as it is Coloured culture to have children prior to marriage.”

It was corporate policy at KWV that the Public Relations staff were all to be single, so that they were able to travel on wine shows. So, her career in wine ended abruptly after five years.

She then sought employment at Truworths, successfully opening their Wellington store in 1990. She rose steadily through the ranks eventually to be promoted to the Adderley Street fl agship store. However, a criminal incident on a train back to her home in Wellington brought her career infashion to a head.

She returned to her love for the wine industry, being re-employed at KWV as cellar tour manager, where her love for the educational aspects of the industry took root. This led to a natural career progression into the Cape Wine Academy where she took charge of their Senior Kelderwerkers Programme and their Wine Ambassadors Course.

“I was a part of the initial fact-fi nding mission to Beaune and Paris and our recommendations led to the implementation of a programme which I am proud is still running today,” she recalls. The bi-lateral programme enables cellar personnel to experience a harvest in France and fast-track their winemaking knowledge and promotion potential despite not necessarily having formal viticulture and oenology training. “I consider the coming to fruition of this programme as one of my wine industry career highlights.”

From here she was to move to L’Ormarins Wine Estate and the Anthonij Rupert Wine range. Here she took charge of the estate, which was neglected after the unfortunate accident that claimed the life of Anthonij Rupert, putting her efforts towards re-establishing it as a leader in the wine and hospitality industry.

Whilst here she served two terms on the Annual SAA Wine Selection Panel and one term on the Diners Club Young Winemakers of the Year panel, serving alongside national and global wine afi cionados.

An illustrious career spanning 18 years with the Rupert Family, during which time she was thrilled to have met and hosted royalty and superstars at the estate, came to a close at the end of 2019, bowing out gracefully from a career in the wine industry spanning more than 30 years.

Looking back at her life’s journey, she says that there is much more work to be done. “We have to make much more effort to respect the role that the farmworkers play in the value chain. They are the backbone of the industry and play an equal, if not more vital, role as winemakers and
vintners.

“The access to the industry by women of colour needs to be addressed, because diversity is not a nice-to-have, it is a necessity that brings rewards for everyone involved. The narrative that many of us had to contend with is that if you are a woman of colour and successful, you’re labelled opportunistic, whilst the younger white colleagues are hailed as being ambitious. This must change. We must persevere,” she concludes, adding that she still has much work to do in working on the transformation agenda that is so critical right now.

– Nirode Bramdaw, African Sun Media

“I am an African, I’m an agriculturalist and I’m a female African Agriculturalist living my passion,” says Joyene Isaacs, chairperson of the Agricultural Research Council and not only one of the longest serving Heads of Department of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, but also in the agricultural sector as a whole.

Looking back on her almost two-decade role at the helm of agriculture in the province, in which time she had the singular honour of consistently receiving unqualifi ed audits, Isaacs says, “I just did my job. If everyone just did their jobs, and did them properly, our country would be much better off.”

Growing up in the small rural village of Jamestown, on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, she spent many hours attending to agricultural chores on her grandparents’ farm. Completing her high schooling at Lückhoff Senior Secondary in Stellenbosch, Isaacs applied to study Microbiology at Stellenbosch University and despite her excellent matriculation results, due to apartheid legislation, she was denied study.This did not deter the young Isaacs, who opted to study a Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology and Plant Protection at the University of Western Cape. With a bursary from the then Coloured Affairs, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree, majoring in Plant Pathology. Her first formal employment was to be at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Institute and then at Unifruco Research Services. “The turning point of my career came with an opportunity to work with resource-limited farmers in KwaZulu-Natal in 1991.” Here she worked through the University of Zululand’s Centre for Agricultural Research and Development. “It was during this time that I realised my true passion for agriculture and development.”

After two years in the post, Isaacs was offered an opportunity to return home and to her alma mater to work with grassroots agricultural projects at an NGO housed at the University of Western Cape. Following a three-year stint in the role, she joined the Agricultural Research Council, again working with resource-limited farmers.

Her career at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture began in 2002 where she was fully able to explore her passion for human capital development, empowerment and upliftment as well as policy interpretation and implementation. “I was thrilled at the opportunity as the Department is involved in a number of initiatives that are geared towards ensuring sustainability of the agricultural sector.”

Rising through the ranks rapidly, her fi rst role was Director of Farmer Settlement and Farmer Support and Development. Here she increased the budget 900% from R7 million to R70 million over four years and the staff capacity from 7 to 180. In 2005, she was appointed Acting Head of Department and subsequently Head of Department managing close on 1000 employees, 100 interns and 400 students; a role she was to excel in until her retirement in March 2020.

It was during this tenure that she established the Wine Industry Transformation Unit, which she served as Chairperson until her retirement. Under Isaacs’ leadership, the Department pursued the commodity approach, a partnership arrangement with Black farmers and the private sector and has supported scores of projects in wine grapes, fruit, table greens, grains, vegetables, seeds, animals and aquaculture.

Acutely aware of the wellbeing of the farmworker, Isaacs implemented the Farmworker Development Programme. “Farmworkers are often seen in a negative light and this perception is exacerbated by some urbanites who consider themselves superior. It was therefore time to tell the farmworker story in all its complex and delightful facets and to share the diversity, tenacity and inventiveness of the farmworkers and producers,” says Isaacs.

To bolster this campaign and to celebrate excellence in the sector, she implemented the Cape Farmworker of the Year competition, ensuring widespread participation from the 16 regions across the province from a diverse range of farming enterprises.

“Human capital development is also a value chain – a human value chain – and within the agricultural sector’s context, the need to orientate children from an early age to the noble professions available starts at primary school level. Without the investment in our youth, the sector cannot be sustained long-term, and the ultimate delivery of human capital development is without a doubt a skilled, professional and committed person working in the agricultural sector,” says Isaacs.

To give expression to this ideal, Isaacs implemented the Agricultural Partnership for Rural Youth Development focusing on farmworker children especially in identifi ed areas of Eden, Drakenstein, Overstrand and Witzenburg. “The poor results in maths and science, or absence of these subjects remain challenging. So we implemented the re-writing of these subjects with tuition provided for the interns.”

“Agriculture is the backbone of the rural economy. Without a vibrant agricultural sector, there is no guarantee of food security,” she adds.

While overhauling the landscape externally, Isaacs was managing her equity agenda within her own department and transformed the majority male staff complement working towards at least 50% female employees and also accommodated persons with disabilities within its ranks.

“By no means was this an endeavour to be tackled alone. And most of the success stories with the Department showcase the different roles and responsibilities, different organisations and individuals took on to realise the success we all achieved. Again, it proves that doing things, managing problems, challenges, technical barriers and so on together, we can achieve better results.”

“Agriculture is my passion. It, in a sense, defi nes me.” From a small rural town, to the Head of Agriculture in the Province, Isaacs has used the opportunities afforded her to explore and showcase the many facets of agriculture. Looking back at her almost four-decade long tenure in agriculture, Isaacs says, “I have found two wonderful quotes to sum up myself and agriculture.”

“You only have control over three things in your life – the thoughts you think, the images you visualise and the actions you take. How you use these three things determines everything you experience,” said Jack Canfi eld.

“Research shows that a high IQ, qualifi cations and work experience are not essential for success. The single most important ingredient to success is self-motivation,” said Jack Chen.

“I feel that these two quotes defi ne me and what I do,” she concludes.

– Nirode Bramdaw, African Sun Media