PADITU Farms Namibia

The Ritter Family

The Ritters are fourth generation Namibian cattle farmers. Our cherished friendship with this wonderful family began more than a decade ago, when the Ritters built their game hunting/butchering operation from the ground up. Today, Ritter Farms supplies high quality oryx, kudu, warthog and wildebeest meat to restaurants in northern and central Namibia. Looking for a way to combine renewable energy with plentiful underground water to create an employment-generating enterprise, we partnered with the Ritters to create PADITU Farms.

PADITU orchard is a multi-family, multi-generational partnership between The Good Olive Co. and Ritter Farms. The project broke ground in 2015 and prepares for its first harvest in 2019. Besides being 100% organic, PADITU’s irrigation is 100% powered by solar and is net-zero.

Modeled after the Mont Rouge concept, PADITU is an employment-generating enterprise, picking and processing every olive by hand.

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Mont Rouge Olive Estate

Pieter & Hanna Coetzee

We at The Good Olive Co. owe a great deal of our success to Mont Rouge Olive Estate. Our 2017 Gold Medal Wanderer, Diplomat, Ambassador and Reveler blends all came to life in Mont Rouge orchards. Besides producing top tier products, including three Gold Medals and a Best in Class at the New York International Olive Oil Competition, Pieter & Hanna Coetzee are committed to social and environmental responsibility.

The Mont Rouge Olive Estate is a wholly owned subsidiary of Assegaay Bosch Ranch (Pty) Ltd which also operates other employment generating rural enterprises in and around Vanwyksdorp, South Africa. The Assegaay Social Investment Initiative is a three-way innovation in land reform for long term development of rural communities and the environment in South Africa. First, by matching private and public finance for social and economic goals with shares in existing rural enterprises, ASII ensures sustainable improvements in the well-being of previously disadvantaged people. In addition, by integrating new employment opportunities with diverse ecological programmes, ASII will productively contribute to the rehabilitation of natural resources and enhanced resilience. And, by attracting investment to rural locations with limited agricultural potential, ASII diversifies land use and livelihood options.

ASII and Mont Rouge have all but eradicated unemployment in Vanwyksdorp - a town where only a decade ago, more than half of adults could not find a job. Mont Rouge is currently planning their first 100% off-grid solar-irrigated orchard. We at The Good Olive Company are thrilled not only to partner with Mont Rouge in this inaugural year but for decades to come.

To learn more, watch the video below or visit their site at http://www.montrougeolives.com/