Fair Trade in Tourism Certified The San Culture & Education Centre

!Khwa ttu awarded Fair Trade in Tourism Certificate

On 29 April 2009, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) announced in a media release that they had granted !Khwa ttu the Fair Trade certificate. The FFTSA certification programme was launched in 2002 and has since then certified a total of over 50 South African tourism establishments. Although the Fair Trade movement has grown in power and influence in Europe and the USA since its inception in the 1960s, the concept is not that well-known in South Africa. While Fair Trade labelling in other countries has focused on products such as coffee, juices, sugar and cotton, FFTS is “facilitating the world’s first tourism Fair Trade certification programme” , which follows a rigorous process based on strict criteria and principles.

The process of obtaining a FTTSA certificate can take up to six months and consists of three phases, namely a self-assessment by the establishment, a site assessment by FTTSA’s certification manager and a review of the assessor’s report by an independent panel. !Khwa ttu submitted its self-assessment in January 2009. After it had been approved the FTTSA assessment took place in February and the certification manager’s report was sent to !Khwa ttu at the end of March. The document provided feedback on 13 different areas the assessor had researched, the description of FTTSA’s six principles and the panel’s summary of !Khwa ttu’s strength and weaknesses accompanied by recommendations.

In ten of the 13 research areas !Khwa ttu scored more than 70%, which is the minimum overall score FTTSA requires from its client. In fact, in the areas of ‘Quality and Reliability’, ‘Social/Community Investment (SCI)’ and ‘Legal/General’ !Khwa ttu reached 100% and was, inter alia, commended that “numerous steps have been taken to increase the profitability of the business.” With regard to SCI it was highlighted that “the beneficiaries [the San] are extensively consulted and involved in the SCI decision-making process” and that “guests are informed about all community initiatives and are educated about the San culture as part of the tour at !Khwa ttu.” In the vital research area of ‘Workplace Skills Development’ !Khwa ttu scored 82% and the report emphasised: “The Panel is impressed with !Khwa ttu’s commitment towards skills development in the workplace, which is visible in the different types of training offered as well as the amount invested in training. In addition, trainee guides also receive extensive training from !Khwa ttu. Excellent! Good focus on staff personal/life skills development as well as job-related training.”

The three areas where FTTSA detected room for improvement were ‘Ownership and Control’, ‘HIV/AIDS Policies and Approach’, as well as ‘Employment Equity’. Although “!Khwa ttu has a verbal Employment Equity (EE) policy that prioritizes the empowerment of San people, which is entirely consistent with the objectives and values of the business”, the report bemoans “that black men are not represented at top management level.” However, it acknowledges that “black women and men are represented at middle management level.” With regard to HIV/AIDS the panel urges !Khwa ttu to “translate the current verbal policy on HIV/AIDS into a formal written policy.” !Khwa ttu considered FFTSA’s report a valuable document particularly as it provided numerous hands-on recommendations.

Some of FTTSA’s suggestions could be addressed immediately and thus the FTTSA certification panel was able to certify !Khwa ttu by the end of April 2009. FTTSA’s executive director Jennifer Seif commented on !Khwa ttu’s accomplishment as follows: “FTTSA is extremely pleased to welcome !Khwa ttu to the family of FTTSA-certified establishments. This is a unique, community-based product that delivers on the national imperative to offer tourists authentic cultural experiences while simultaneously empowering a community that has been marginalised through colonialism and apartheid and remains on the margins of the mainstream South African economy. !Khwa ttu is an inspiring initiative that will be attractive to people looking to experience and understand the challenges as well as the opportunities of the New South Africa.”