If we didn’ t have the participation of these companies, it wouldn’ t work.
TIM TALEVICH organisation that supports women’ s rights in communities throughout Vietnam, to lead the project. Union members set up a demonstration plot and served as the main contact for farmers on best growing practices.
Beginning in April 2018, the PeaceTrees pepper has been harvested and processed to go into the larger Vietnamese supply that makes Costco’ s Kirkland Signature ground pepper.“ It’ s not a huge amount of pepper in comparison to the total amount we source in Vietnam, but it’ s a start,” says Lee.“ As the program becomes established, it’ s possible that more farmers will join in and make it a larger crop. And now, these farmers have access to Olam for ongoing agricultural assistance and to sell their pepper. Training isn’ t anything without market access. We gave them that.”
New schools are essential to healthy towns in Quang Tri province. But first, land must be cleared of unexploded bombs.
Helping communities be successful
The story of Quang Tri pepper is representative of Costco’ s goal in sourcing food products, especially those offered under the Kirkland Signature brand. The goal, spelled out in Costco’ s Sustainability Commitment, is to support farmers and their communities so that they can be successful in the long run. The benefit to Costco is a sustainable source of food products in the face of growing global demand, says Sheri Flies, who oversees Costco’ s sustainability efforts.
In this case, many stakeholders took risks with unique contributions to make the program work. The pepper crops bring commerce to the villages, complementing PTVN’ s schools, community centres and mine-awareness programs to rebuild Quang Tri’ s communities.“ It’ s a matter of self-sufficiency, women’ s empowerment and market access,” Flies says.
Pham agrees.“ If we didn’ t have the participation of these companies, it wouldn’ t work,” she says.“ The only way to support people in the long term is to help them find work and provide for themselves. These partnerships introduce the opportunities for better incomes. This way, the communities will thrive over the long run.”
Tim Talevich is the Director of Communication and Awareness in Costco’ s Corporate Sustainability Department.
COSTCO CONNECTION MAR / APR 2023 | 31