Good Food Figs
Community Development
2022
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Good Food Foundation based in the Netherlands is organizing two FairTSA Fair Trade Community Development Projects for their fig and apricot farmers in Turkey. Certification with FairTSA commenced in 2020, with various projects for their various workers needs. This includes transportation to the work site, improvements to on-site worker housing with food and beverage refrigeration, as well as direct payments for workers to support their families back home. With the onset of Covid-19 these measures became even more important, with the projects enabling healthy practices of social distance measures, PPE distribution, and sanitation.
2020 community Projects
Fig farmers rely on sun drying their crop. This process leaves them at the mercy of unpredictable rainy weather conditions, which can damage the crop’s value and create further difficulty after harvest. When there are especially heavy rains, the wet figs can only be sold to the fermenting industry. This group of farmers decided on building drying tunnels for their 2020 Community Development Project. This agricultural investment will improve the quality and price, therefore the overall money the farmers earn for their product. The drying tunnels are in mountainous fields, so flat harvest locations are very important. Nets are installed along the sides for ventilation and humidity control. The nets also keep unwanted pests out. With the first drying tunnels were erected, training sessions were for the farmers on the best matinenace practices. During the growing season farmers are visited by Good Food staff and the state of the tunnels are checked, and maintenance identified.
Future Projects
Future Projects in 2021 Onward
The fig farmers are continuing to grow the number of drying tents in the field. Meanwhile, based on input from the farmers, other needs were identified including instituting a community meeting and education space, as well as manure fertilizer distribution project. Lastly, a project to organize the education of the women in the village was proposed.