Socially responsible drinks brands Lemonaid and ChariTea have announced that they have raised a total of £1 million for development projects across the growing communities from which they source the teas and fruits used in its products.
The company behind them argued that the feat proves just how well the organisation is doing to provide drinks that not only taste good, but also do good.
UK founder Julian Warowioff said: “We started the Lemonaid and ChariTea project with the vision of turning the for-profit sector on its head. Being firm believers that businesses should not merely benefit their shareholders, we set out to prove that a soft drink can be a successful means to fundraising. We stay true to our principles of immediacy and transparency, visiting the social projects annually and building long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with the farming communities. We are incredibly proud to announce today that we have reached the mark of £1 million raised for our charity’s projects.”
The brand is dedicated to supporting local projects that improve social, ecological and economical structures in those parts of the world that global economic development has placed at a significant disadvantage. For every bottle sold, £0.05 is donated to the not-for-profit charitable organisation Lemonaid and ChariTea eV.
In turn, the sale of the drinks is helping to produce measurable benefits in growing communities in Asia, South America and Africa.
The not-for-profit’s work in focus
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the charity supports the Diyanilla Technical Institute (DTI), where young adults are offered vocational alternatives besides monocultural farming. They can attend tailoring and carpentry classes as well as English, engineering and computer courses. In addition, the aim is to deescalate the ongoing conflict between the Singhalese and Tamils by allowing young adults of both ethnic groups to learn together.
Paraguay
The Escuela Agroecologica San Juan is an agricultural school in Paraguay that directly supports small-scale farming infrastructure. Approximately 80 pupils are learning the essentials of organic agriculture in order to make their own living. The charity contributes by financing teachers’ salaries as well as infrastructural implementations to secure the school’s future existence, which is of high social and cultural value to the community.
Mexico
This project is located in the underprivileged Mexican state of Querétaro. The Instituto Intercultural Noñho set out to contribute to the region’s development through educational programmes. Women are trained as social entrepreneurs to help them establish their own sustainable small businesses and counteract local problems like structural unemployment and social exclusion. The charity supports this project with £20,000 annually.
South Africa
In the home of rooibos tea, Lemonaid and ChariTea are supporting a solar project in Suid Bokkeveld. During the apartheid regime, only white farmers were allowed to cultivate rooibos. In 2001, the Heiveld co-operative became the first consortium of black farmers. Their alliance thus has huge symbolic character. However, the alliance has, until now, still faced significant problems. Together with the non-governmental organisation Indigo, the charity has financed a solar power system which now, for the first time, supplies the region with electricity.
People in the local community have said that the solar power has allowed them to switch from candles in the evening, meaning they don’t have to regularly pay for new candles.
“The solar system changed my life a lot,” said Nolene Kotze. “We used to use candles and oil lanterns for light, and it was very inconvenient. The candles were very dangerous, the oil of the lanterns as well. It was especially an advantage for my son, Bradley. He can now do his homework in the evening, til late.”
Warowioff continued: “It is my conviction that companies, no matter the industry or size, have a responsibility for their workers and the environment that stretches till the very end of their supply chain and must not be excused by the complexity of globalisation or the dogmas of industrialised production methods that sacrifice quality for quantity. The Lemonaid and ChariTea project has always been about taking a leading example of doing business differently and taking stakeholders into account. We do not only want to quench people’s thirst, but also hope to inspire other businesses to set out finding more ethical and sustainable ways of being successful.”
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