Fortress Social Involvement:

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)

Fortress is committed to do their part to uplift their black workers and their families as well as the black community they live in. Detailed programmes are repeatedly negotiated with their workers and local rural community leaders.

They include:

• Skills development
• Business development
• Black equity
• Development of Black apprentices
• Black management training
• Preferential procurement
• Social contribution to Black development

On the 20th August 2008, as a result of the proactive initiatives in this field FORTRESS has been rated a Level 4 contributor (with a score of between 65% and 75%) BEE compliant (Certificate BEE No: 004801).

Housing and Schooling

Some workers are given the opportunity to be housed with their families in solid stone houses with electricity and water, with their own gardens, as well as a communal garden under irrigation. Their children attend school for the first 6 years in the farm school and thereafter they are transferred to a Frankfort High School.
Others chose to be paid a monthly housing allowance to enable them to acquire their own houses in the local Frankfort community.

Adopt a Tree

This scheme is specially designed for upliftment of the wives of Fortress workers, who can in their own time and by their own decision attend to the necessary work, allowing them to fulfill their normal private duties in their homes and additionally earn extra income and beautify the farm. Fortress provides water, compost, plastic bags and tree seeds free of charge. The tree seeds are either collected on the farm itself (i.e. acorns) or purchased. They are initially planted near their houses under shade cloth at nursery conditions later all over the farm and tended to until no more watering and weed control is necessary. Payment is effected per number of trees grown from a seed and on annual growth of these trees as a result of good care.

Training

A limited number of young farmers are selected each year in January under strict pre-conditions. An agricultural background with basic experience in farming to learn about all aspects of their operation are also a prerequisite.