SKA has worked with Traidcraft on the development of charcoal supply chains in Namibia for a number of years. This work involved the development and capacity building of all local actors in the chain, including the charcoal burners, the farmers supplying charcoal to the factory and the workers at the factory.

One of the key aspects of Fair Trade certification and development, is the focus on social upliftment and economic development of farm workers and smallholder farmers made possible through the use of a social premium. This premium is managed by an elected Fair Trade Premium Committee. SKA has developed training material on a range of topics that can be used to tailor make training programmes to capacitate and enable Fair Trade Premium Committees to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to the improvement of social and economic circumstances on the farms where they work and in the communities where they live.

As a preferred service provider to the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum, SKA has on several occasions facilitated the SETA-accredited Top of the Class (TOC) programme.

In 2012 SKA developed along with the FPEF, Fruit South Africa and International Produce Limited, the Leadership and Mentorship training programme. This programme is today housed by the FPEF and is aimed at changing the leadership profile on South African fruit farms, in pack houses and exporting companies.

SKA recognized that businesses often have challenges in the review and adaptation of their internal systems and procedures to become ready to attain and sustain third party certifications.

In 2012, South African Breweries (SAB) in collaboration with the WWF-South Africa started the “Better Barley, Better Beer” initiative focussed on assisting barley farmers in farming more sustainably.

In 2010, UTZ Certified identified the need to develop a Standard for the certification of Rooibos tea adapted for the unique nature of the product and the local context. SKA was responsible for the management and implementation of this process from inception until the final delivery of an auditable standard.

SKA assisted Fair Trade Tourism to redevelop their certification system for alignment with best international practise and improved applicability in the regional context. This included the benchmarking of the Fair Trade Tourism standards against Global Sustainable Tourism Council Standards and FLO Standards and certification protocols.

SKA implemented a Fisheries Improvement Project in collaboration with WWF-SA. This project involved the value chain analysis and benchmarking of small scale fishery practises against the Fairtrade International Small Producer Organization and Trade Standards and the Marine Stewardship Council Standards to determine development needs for more sustainable practises and entering formal supply chains.

SKA was contracted by the Swaziland Sugar Association to develop, in collaboration with local stakeholders, a locally owned and sustainability shared value strategy and plan.