Simonsig pioneers social
upliftment in the Winelands

As a pioneer of social upliftment within the South African wine industry, Simonsig Estate is committed passionately to the sustainable development of its farm worker community.

This award-winning wine farm currently facilitates a variety of ongoing social upliftment endeavours within the broader Winelands community including child day care and sports development, support of the nearby school and a self-sustaining agricultural enterprise, managed by the workers themselves.

The primary objective of Simonsig’s social responsibility policy is to improve its surrounding environment through the investment of financial resources as well as the provision of skills and leadership training. The estate’s most viable social upliftment initiative, Reach for Gold, is a non-profit scheme headed by a group of permanent farm workers to generate funds for the upkeep of various community projects on the estate. Acknowledged by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture as a commendable example of grass roots development within farming communities, the project works on two levels focusing on the economic and social empowerment of the workforce.

“We aim to create windows of opportunity for all our people by empowering the workers themselves. We want to enhance the business skills of our workers in order to increase their income potential and thereby benefit the community as a whole,” says Francois Malan, co-owner and viticulturist of Simonsig Estate.
Funds are raised through an innovative roll-on-lawn project – for which the Malan family of Simonsig has to date allocated 5 ha of farmland – and are ploughed back into the community, contributing towards a Multi Purpose Centre and day care crèche on the farm.

The Malans initiated the establishment of the crèche and Multi Purpose Centre for pre-school and school going farm children whose parents are employed by Simonsig. A qualified teacher assists them with their homework and a small library was set up to encourage literacy and structured learning.

“We take great care in ensuring that our workers and their families are socially, economically and politically empowered to enable them to make a constructive contribution to our business and the entire wine industry,” explained Malan. At present, 70% of the Simonsig workforce is accommodated in houses on the farm.   

Future goals of Reach for Gold include the provision of financial support to parents with annual school fees, free transport to and from schools as well as the establishment of study bursaries through the success of the lawn project. 

In 2007 Simonsig was recognised for the second consecutive year for its commitment to the ongoing development of the local farm worker community by the RUDNET Farm Health Awards Programme (Rural Development Network).

The estate was awarded third place in its category for its contributions towards skills training, sound social development and black economic empowerment (BEE). In 2006, Simonsig was singled out as winner of the Special Recognition Award.

The Farm Health Awards project was introduced as a pilot programme in 2003 in the Stellenbosch region by RUDNET. The programme gives recognition to both farmers and farm workers who commit themselves to social transformation; the empowerment and development of the farm worker communities, and the promotion of sound labour relations where respect for mutual interest are developed and entrenched.

A total of 54 farms across the agricultural sphere participated in the Farm Health Award programme of 2007. These included participants from regions such as Paarl/Wellington, Stellenbosch, Robertson, Caledon, Citrusdal and Vredendal.

Participants are divided into four categories depending on the size of the farm, the number of farm workers employed, available infrastructure, location in terms of proximity to the nearest town, and the number of farm workers accommodated on the farm.

All farms are measured according to the same assessment criteria and are adjudicated by an independent evaluation panel consisting of representatives from the sector, the Department of Agriculture, civil society and a labour representative.

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