Takin' It Global

The South African Whole Grain Bread Project
By Adrienne LaPierre

The holiday season is upon us, and as the year draws to a close it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the values that sustain our communities here in the Hudson Valley. Our common connection to the region provides the necessary foundation for a local lifestyle, through which we develop lasting relationships with those who are likewise committed to the support of area businesses and the preservation of the natural beauty around us. Only to the extent that we are moved by an enduring sense of interdependence can we maintain the unique quality of life we now enjoy. But in affirming the value of the local ethos, it is also important to remember that our efforts are inextricably linked to much broader social movements. To successfully enable the sustainable growth of small economies here in upstate New York, we must acknowledge the universal nature of this struggle. The challenge, then, is to effect change in the global context without losing sight of our shared responsibilities to the communities we call home. This is precisely the goal of the South African Whole Grain Bread Project (SAWGBP), a grassroots venture undertaken by a few Woodstock area residents determined to use the principles of local action to have a global impact.

The project was the brainchild of Daniel Leader, owner of the Bread Alone bakeries known regionally for high-quality organic artisan breads. Leader has worked extensively around the world teaching baking and bakery management, and first travelled to South Africa as a consultant for that nation’s largest food retailer, Pick ‘n Pay. While in Johannesburg he met Gail Johnson, who in tribute to her foster son Nkosi has established a community for impoverished women and children living with HIV/AIDS. At Nkosi’s Haven Village, Johnson is currently working to address more completely the social and emotional needs of residents through participation in vocational projects such as candle and paper-making. She asked if Dan would consider teaching a bread baking class, and he came away from the experience inspired to do much more.

Upon returning to the Catskills, Leader was approached by Neil and Leann Ratner. The retired physician and his wife had read about his time at Nkosi’s Haven and were interested in helping to further his efforts there. The Ratners’ extensive charitable work in Kenya and South Africa enabled them to connect Leader with the right contacts, and through this collaboration the South African Whole Grain Bread Project began.

From the start, SAWGBP has had a multifaceted mission that reflects a holistic view of the needs of AIDS-infected citizens, over 5 million of whom live in South Africa. At its most basic level the project is concerned with meeting essential dietary needs; widespread malnutrition prevents too many people from responding adequately to treatment despite the increasing availability of effective medications. At the heart of the undertaking is a fortified whole grain bread mix, developed under the advisement of nutrition and medical experts in the U.S. and South Africa to deliver an optimal balance of essential vitamins, minerals and proteins. The mix will be distributed to small, community-run bakeries where it will be baked fresh and sold at a price competitive with the low-quality government issue white bread currently available.

To improve access to nutritional foods is to meet an immediate, pressing need. But a poor diet is only one symptom of more intractable problems facing South Africans; namely, systemic poverty and unemployment. SAWGBP therefore seeks to address these human development issues with a comprehensive strategy grounded in much the same entrepreneurial spirit and local mores that have enabled the continuing success of Bread Alone here in New York. The project is committed to establishing a network of bakeries that are each independent, self-sustaining and thoroughly integrated with the local supply chain. Most locations will resemble Nkosi’s Haven Village, where the need for the final product is matched by a pool of capable employees willing to supply the necessary labor. SAWGBP is responsible for initial start-up costs as well as training participants in both baking and business management. Ideally each bakery will generate enough income through direct sales to be self-sufficient within a year from its inception. Beyond that, ownership of the business and the oversight of daily operations will remain in the hands of local people, a crucial factor to both the health of the South African economy and the long-term growth and sustainability of the project as a whole.

The design for the individual bakeries grew out of collaboration with a South African company called Macadams Baking Systems, and makes use of relatively inexpensive, abundant and readily customizable shipping containers. Fully equipped, these mobile units are cost-effective and easily replicable. But flexibility is intrinsic to the plan, and a community with the desire and necessary funding has the opportunity to construct a more permanent facility or renovate an existing space.

In October 2006, the SAWGBP business model won international acclaim in Holland at the Business in Development (BiD) Challenge. The BiD Challenge recognizes promising social entrepreneurs who aim to reduce poverty in the developing world by promoting small-scale private enterprise. The founders of SAWGBP were the first Americans to win. A year later I sat down with Dr. Neil Ratner to discuss the evolution of the idea since then, and its future prospects. We spoke about the unique challenges presented by working in an international context as well as those aspects of the project most vital to its realization.

Dr. Ratner is sensitive to the delicate nature of charitable work across Africa, where too often a community in need becomes an ideological battlegound for the waging of foreign and domestic political struggles. He experienced the problematic dynamic years earlier, working in northern Kenya. While operating a bush clinic among the Samburu, he found it difficult to gain local trust because many people mistook him for a missionary. One man explained that often the price of assistance was too high, that in return the Samburu were asked to give up too much of themselves and their culture, and that it was important to be wary. The differences between the Rift Valley and Johannesburg are vast, but in many respects the same principle applies. Foreign monies come with strings attached, whether through proselytization, abstinence-only propaganda or aid dependence. The South African Whole Grain Bread Project, a secular organization committed to the actualization of individual opportunity, must therefore navigate carefully the waters of affiliation with charitable ventures. Ratner discerns a fine line between “those who do the work, and those who spread the word.” SAWGBP will readily partner with those who do the work.

Indeed, ever-expanding networks of cooperation form the backbone of the initiative, providing the key to minimizing costs, keeping individual projects local, and maximizing the number of people who can be reached. Corporate sponsorship from Pick ‘n Pay will likely provide not only the funding for the bakery at Nkosi’s Haven Village, but also facilities for training and operational management.

A women’s empowerment organization called The Smallest Seed is in the process of acquiring a grant from the South African government to support the creation of up to six new bakeries. Partnerships with food distribution projects and social service agencies are also in the works, which will greatly increase access to the fortified bread. Wherever possible, SAWGBP will subsidize overproduction at its micro-bakeries in order to serve local hospices, orphanages and schools.

I asked Dr. Ratner to give me an idea of where the South African Whole Grain Bread Project might be headed, once it begins to move beyond the initial implementation phase. He first mentioned growth in the geographic sense, as a Kenyan Whole Grain Project is now being organized. But he also spoke of long range plans for increased involvement with small mills and farms, and the cultivation of organic farming practices among SAWGBP partners. Expansion of the product line is another avenue for progress. In addition to the whole grain bread mix, Dan Leader and his nutritional advisors have come up with recipes for similarly fortified scones and muffins. A flatbread formula may not be far behind.

It occurred to me during the course of our conversation that SAWGBP has the potential to connect New York residents directly to the continuing AIDS crisis in Africa. For those of us who seek to make a real difference in the lives of those less fortunate, the project represents a welcome change from large-scale charities that dilute the impact a single contribution can have by filtering money through too many levels of bureacracy and administrative expense. At the same time, we’re not all able to give at the level asked of us by the seemingly endless barrage of mailers and phone solicitations from well-meaning yet intrusive organizations. But let’s say you’re a Bread Alone customer, already committed to the wholesome goodness of hearth-baked bread made fresh from organically grown grains. One day you notice a new variety on the shelves, a high-end whole grain product whose purchase, as you read on the package, supports an investment in the livelihoods of impoverished people halfway around the world. Buzzwords like interdependence and empowerment take on new meaning and new life and momentarily you see yourself bound to others engaged in an ongoing struggle against the odds. This is the power of the South African Whole Grain Bread Project: to bridge the divide between peoples and bring the reality of our shared fate a little closer to home. If indeed you are a Bread Alone customer (or plan to become one), keep an eye out for such an SAWGBP product which will become available in the near future as time and funding allow.

More information about the South African Whole Grain Bread Project is available online at www.SAWGBP.org. If you’d like to show your support with a tax deductible donation, please make a check out to the South Africa Development Fund at 555 Amory Street, Boston, MA 02130. Indicate SAWGBP in the check’s memo field. To visit Bread Alone, stop by headquarters on Route 28 in Boiceville or visit one of the satellite bakeries in Woodstock (22 Mill Hill Road) and Rhinebeck (45 East Market Street). Bread Alone products are also available at Green Markets in New York City and throughout the Hudson Valley region, the hours and locations of which are posted at www.breadalone.com.