Awe Sum Organics gives back in the U.S., Peru

Awe Sum Organics has made a leadership pledge to the Homeless Garden Project’s new permanent home and expanded farm located in the hills just above the city of Santa Cruz in the Pogonip area near the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Awe Sum Organics was inspired to get involved with a local community project focused on improving the lives of those struggling with homelessness. The Homeless Garden Project meets that criteria and is a perfect fit for Awe Sum Organics because it provides education and transitional jobs in organic agriculture.

The trainees in the Homeless Garden Project program learn hands-on job skills needed to grow organic crops and create value-added products, receive other life and job skill training in subjects such as digital and financial literacy, are offered counseling support, and much more. Crops harvested at Homeless Garden Project at Pogonip will be sold at the Awe Sum Organics sponsored Farm Stand located on the Pogonip property, as well as donated to community members in need via local nonprofits through their Feed Two Birds program.

Please visit the Homeless Garden Project website to find out more about this lifechanging program and how you can get involved. Please watch the Homeless Garden Project Video.

Sol Sol Farm in Peru

“Awe Sum Organics is proud to offer Organic and Fair Trade USA Certified fruit because we feel it’s important to give back to the local communities that are involved in growing, harvesting, packing and shipping our Awe Sum Organic fruit. So far this year, through the sale of our Awe Sum Organic and Fair Trade Certified fruit over $250,000 has been collected by Awe Sum Organics to be distributed back to the local communities where our organic fruit is produced,” said David Posner, President, CEO and Founder of Awe Sum Organics.

In the 1980’s the Peruvian government distributed plots land to its citizens in an effort to restructure wealth. Unfortunately, most of the families couldn’t do anything profitable with the small plots of land. Starting around 2005 Saturno began purchasing land from each individual family in the Sol Sol community to create the 150 hectares (370 acres) currently in organic grape production at Sol Sol farm. 

Saturno has employed the citizens of Sol Sol to work on the farm. Saturno now employs Sol Sol community members in the field and the packing house along with members of the communities local to Sol Sol. The workforce is thrilled to have great employment opportunities so close to home growing, harvesting and producing organic grapes.

The Fair for Life premiums that Awe Sum Organics has collected from the sales of the organic grapes has raised money for building roads, a church, infrastructure such as running water, as well as designing, building of a preschool, and elementary school and a high school.

Families are now able to work while knowing that their young children are well taken care of during working hours. While in late 2019 Awe Sum Organics transitioned our social compliance program from Fair For Life to Fair Trade USA, we are well positioned to continue supporting Sol Sol through both the increased sales of our organic grapes from Peru, and continued collection of Fair Trade premiums on their behalf.