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PREVIOUS WINELAND ARTICLES   |   WINELAND HOME Like a bolt out of the blue ... the Moravia Development Project text and pictures: Louise Brodie On the banks of the Berg River at Piketberg, the newly planted Viognier vines of the Moravia Development Project are established and growing. The Uit die Bloute development initiative is bold, well-structured and has exciting prospects. Johann Conradie, the initiator and driver of the Moravia Development Project with Lynol Pieterson, project manager, and Jacques de Kock, vineyard establishment specialist (back). The project was initiated by Johann Conradie of Conradie Farms, the substantial wine, table grape and citrus enterprise at Halfmanshof near Porterville. His vision was to establish an empowerment project for the loyal permanent farm workers on his six production units - and shares in the company have been made available to them by means of subsidies received from the Department of Agriculture. Conradie Farms has contributed a 99-year lease of 80 ha of land with water rights from the Berg River to the project, as well as 500 tons of pressing rights and shares in Porterville Cellars. Conradie explained, "The aim of the project is to establish a substantial wine farm on the banks of the Berg River at Moravia. The plan is to plant 70 ha of vines within two years, 35 ha red and 35 ha white. These will be premium cultivars such as Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache, Voignier, Malbec, Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Barbera and Mourvédre. In addition, production will be linked to the value-adding facilities and marketing skills of an established local wine cellar. Porterville Cellars has established good export markets in North America and Europe, and it should be possible for the cellar to successfully market an empowerment label in these markets." Porterville Cellars will make and bottle the wine, while having made available the mentioned pressing rights to the project. Once the project is producing a sufficient quantity of wine, a distinctive label will be developed for the wines, and Porterville Cellars will have a 50:50 partnership with the Moravia Development Project in its marketing. In November last year, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Cobus Dowry visited Moravia to present a cheque of R2,9 million to the Uit die Bloute empowerment development initiative and, in his speech, said that this project was a shining example of the commitment to transformation in agriculture in the Western Cape. The initial shareholding in the private company Moravia Development (Pty) Ltd is as follows: Johann Conradie Workers' Company Uit die Bloute: 311 beneficiaries - 45% Porterville Cellars Workers' Company: 22 beneficiaries - 3% Conradie Farms - 36% Porterville Cellars - 16% This makes provision for the two workers companies to buy out shareholding from the other shareholders once the farm becomes productive and shows a profit. "The project has been the result of lengthy consultation with all the parties involved, particularly the representatives of the beneficiaries; also with government. Eventually it was finalised in June 2004, and at that stage, there was no development here. "We moved in the first earth moving equipment in July, and what you see around you is the first 35 ha of vines, completed in four months! The speed at which this was achieved bears testimony to the level of commitment of the Uit die Bloute team," added Conradie. Lynol Pieterson is chairman of Uit die Bloute, as well as project manager. He said, "I was a truck driver on one of Mr Conradie's farms before I was offered this position. From the start, it has involved a great deal of responsibility and hard work. At first I wondered if I had made the right decision, but today I have no doubt that it was the right choice. Watching the farm develop and the plants grow provides daily satisfaction. To see what we have done here makes me proud of our achievements, and is a strong encouragement for us to continue." The establishment of Moravia development wines has also made ample provision for the necessary mentorship, training and support for the project. Vineyard establishment specialist Jacques de Kock has been contracted as the project developer. He will complete the establishment of the vineyards and is mentoring Lynol throughout the process. On the adjoining piece of property, there are also plans for a separate development of another 30 ha of wine grapes. This would be a development of the local Wittewater community, and Moravia development has made provision to supply this development with water by installing a pumping and irrigation system large enough for both developments. This will provide permanent and seasonal jobs within this community in the future. This development has created jobs for people in the area, and stimulated economic growth in the Piketberg region. The shareholders regularly work on the new farm as well. Colin Jansen, one of the shareholders said, "The capital that we are investing on this project is the sweat of our labour, and it is a pleasure for us to do so." This attitude augurs well for their future. Porterville Cellars - 'Remarkable change' "I have been working here for 38 years, and the changes that have been implemented during the last three years have been remarkable and beyond what I could ever have imagined," says Nicolaas Kok, production supervisor at Porterville Cellars. Nicolaas and Charlton Linee are both leaders in the various worker's forums and committees and serve on the board of the Porterville Cellars Workers' Company. All 22 permanent cellar hands are shareholders in the Moravia Development Project. "This development is very exciting and we are looking forward to the day we will bottle our own wine. We will have our own label, and for us as shareholders, this will indeed be a proud day," says Charlton, the lab assistant and also the shop steward for the cellar's trade union. Des Green, CEO of Porterville Cellars says, "We have come a long way in three years. At an empowerment level, we have implemented the Moravia Project and introduced profit-sharing for our workers. We also have a compulsory pension fund, and manage this fund ourselves. We have made a concerted effort to put a framework of benefits in place that have traditionally been neglected, and the driving force behind this has been the chairman of our Board, Johann Conradie." Porterville Cellars has been involved with the Moravia Development Project from the outset, and has also been able to provide them with mentorship. "We have assisted the project with their cultivar choices and are excited about the prospect of making wines from these speciality cultivars," says Des. On a commercial level, Porterville Cellars has made remarkable progress from three years ago, when the cellar supplied only wine for bulk customers and for distilling purposes. The board changed their strategy and by 2003, they launched their Disa brand, which has won the cellar a number of awards and proud accolades locally and internationally. Porterville Cellars are also one of the key suppliers of Vincor's Kumala brand, the biggest South African wine brand in the UK. The cellar chose the symbol of the Yellow Disa, Disa Uniflora, an indigenous orchid that occurs only in the Groot Winterhoek Mountains adjoining Porterville.

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