Two decades after its founding, the Waitrose Foundation of Southern Africa looks back on a project that pioneered ethical trade and sustainable supply chains
The Waitrose Foundation of Southern Africa (WFSA) celebrated its 20th anniversary with a landmark event in October at the Ashanti Estate, near Paarl in South Africa’s Western Cape.
The gathering brought together growers, exporters, importers, buyers and community representatives from across the region, all partners in a pioneering model that links ethical trade to grassroots development.
In her keynote address, the foundation’s general manager Faith Brown reflected on the organisation’s journey through the lens of an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
Brown paid tribute to its founding members, whose vision she said established a framework that has since channelled hundreds of millions of rand into farming communities.
She also spoke about the foundation’s renewed focus on capacity building, announcing the rollout of standardised worker-committee training designed to strengthen participation and ensure its work remains community-driven.
“This is our foundation, and we are in it together,” Brown said, emphasising that the achievements of the past 20 years have only been possible through the collective commitment of growers, exporters, and farm workers alike.
‘Built on trust’
The event’s speakers included WFSA NPC board chairman De Villiers Graaff, Waitrose’s fruit and horticulture trading manager Russell Crowe – who also chairs the WFSA Country Steering Group – and Charlotte Di Cello, chief commercial officer at Waitrose and chair of the Waitrose Foundation Global Board.
In her own address, Di Cello noted that over the past two decades more than R560mn has been invested in farming communities that supply fresh produce to Waitrose stores in the UK.
“This is a partnership built on trust, trade, and shared values,” she said, highlighting how the Foundation continues to demonstrate the positive outcomes of responsible sourcing.
Back in 2005, the Waitrose Foundation was established when the supermarket and a small group of UK importers and South African citrus growers decided to reinvest a percentage of retail sales back into the communities that grow, pick and pack its fresh produce.
Their goal was simple yet transformative: to ensure that those who help grow food for Waitrose also share in its value. What began with a handful of farms in South Africa has since expanded into a global partnership across ten countries.
And it now supports projects in five key areas – health and well-being, education and training, economic empowerment, environment and, water and sanitation.
Shared value
Waitrose Foundation initiatives begin with dialogue at farm level, where worker committees identify priorities such as healthcare, childcare, education, or water access.
Projects are then implemented locally, creating jobs, building skills, and fostering ownership. This participatory, “listening first” approach has become its hallmark, helping to empower communities, especially women and youth, to lead change.
Across partner farms, women now run health programmes, manage early childhood centres, and mentor young people, while bursaries and digital-skills training help the next generation access broader opportunities.
By linking trade with shared value, the foundation demonstrates how long-term retailer–producer partnerships can strengthen rural economies and create more sustainable, inclusive supply chains.
As the initiative enters its third decade, the message from its leadership is clear: the journey is far from over. With worker-committee training and renewed engagement across all partner countries, the next phase aims to deepen local ownership and continue building stronger, more equitable supply chains.
And for those partners who gathered in Paarl, the 20th anniversary celebration was not only a moment of reflection, but also a reaffirmation of purpose and a shared commitment to go further, together.
