Liquorice Root Gathering in Kazakhstan: Commitment to Fairness and Sustainability

Gathering liquorice root in the steppe of Kazakhstan is tough. This is why Martin Bauer Group is improving the working and living conditions for gatherers as part of a joint FairWild project – just one example of the holistic commitment of the nature network® to humans and nature.

The Martin Bauer Group lives sustainability. Like in the northern Indian Thar desert the group strives for a better quality of life for their farmers and their families.

When the sun beating over the Kazakh steppe makes the air start to glow, the liquorice root gatherers have already been on their feet for hours. They tear open the dry earth using a plough and then dig up the roots by hand. It is equally arduous to chop up the roots with their self-made tools and painstakingly clean them in the intense heat. And it is not only the extreme temperatures that make for tough working conditions. Insufficient cooking, sleeping and washing facilities and meagre earnings make things even worse. “Since we have been implementing the criteria of the FairWild standards in Kazakhstan, we have already improved the situation for the gatherers in many respects, together with our Kazakh project partners”, Markus Wehr from Martin Bauer’s Purchasing Department explains. In concrete terms, this means that the gatherers now work beneath shady umbrellas and tarpaulins that provide protection from the sun. By providing financial aid, Martin Bauer Group has also built showers and toilets, provided kitchen equipment, fire extinguishers and dressings, as well as purchasing a generator that at last provides the gatherers with electricity and gives them light at night. These purchases were all things that the gatherers did not have before, but were urgently needed ”, says Markus Wehr. “For the future, we are planning to provide a larger sleeping cabin, a drinking water container, a proper kitchen unit and a typical Kazakh tent where the gatherers can relax in their free time.”

Fixed contracts, better wages

Martin Bauer Group has not only tackled measures that improve the living conditions for the gatherers, but also those that provide fair working conditions: every worker has already received a fixed contract ensuring defined working hours and performance-related pay. “Wages are now based primarily on gathering results, which all in all provides a much higher wage”, says Markus Wehr. “Payment now corresponds at least with the earnings of an average worker in Kazakhstan. And we disclose precisely how much of the later sales price is accounted for by gatherers’ wages.” In addition, the gatherers have selected a representative from their ranks who represents their interests to supervisors. Compliance with these standards is checked regularly by the IMO (Institute for Marketecology), the official certification body for the FairWild standard.

Gathering in harmony with nature

Environmental protection is another key issue in the Kazakh gathering region: Martin Bauer Group works in cooperation with botanists and researchers from universities who supervise gathering planning. This makes it possible to regulate precisely how much liquorice root the workers may gather and at the same time ensures that no endangered plants are destroyed. Besides liquorice root, Martin Bauer Group has three other plants in its programme, elderflower, raspberry leaf and lime-tree blossom, which are gathered under FairWild conditions. “Of course, there is an economic benefit for us in the FairWild standard as well”, says Markus Wehr. “The goods are of a particularly high quality. Our customers appreciate this just as much as the possibility to put the FairWild seal on their products. And, thanks to the extensive cooperation, we can rely on our local partners in the long term.”

About the FairWild standard

The FairWild standard, which Martin Bauer Group played an advisory role in establishing, comprises defined guidelines for gathering and trading wild plants. The first of these is that gathering must not be harmful to nature and only quantities that can grow back may be gathered. And secondly, the gatherers must work under fair conditions. This means that exploitative child labour and excessively low wages are off limits, the rights of workers are observed and the gatherers are guaranteed a high level of safety at work. The organisation behind the standard is the FairWild Foundation, in which strong partners play a part, specifically the WWF, the IMO, TRAFFIC, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme).

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