The Grapes of Ziway: Business in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Tuscany, Napa Valley, South Africa—you’re thinking of wine right?

Well if you haven’t already, you should add one more region to that list: the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia.

Castel Winery is making a name for itself in the global wine industry and for more reasons than just the quality of its beverage. Situated on the banks of Lake Ziway in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, French-owned Castel has emerged as a model for environmental, economic, and sustainable development in the region. The company exemplifies how businesses can engage with the landscape approach through multi-stakeholder dialogue, environmental sustainability efforts, and community engagement.

I, along with 32 other participants of the African Landscapes Dialogue, traveled to the Castel Winery after the conference to see integrated landscape management in action. Standing on the perimeter of the vineyard, it is easy to see what makes this place unique.

Employees crack whips, piercing the otherwise still air, to scare birds away from the grapes. Rows of vines cover 250 hectares of land, seemingly defying the dry and sandy soils on which they grow. Look in any other direction and you will see the typical Rift Valley sights—dry savannas sparsely populated by acacia trees and hazy mountains climbing into the distance.

Participants of the African Landscapes Dialogue visit Castel Winery. D. Crimella

Despite the biophysical constraints, Castel has embraced its role in the landscape. Through the Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes, a Dutch program supported by the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Castel participates in dialogues with private companies, governments, and communities once every six months. The dialogues allow Castel to voice their needs while problem-solving local issues with other participants. A designated space for conversation can lead to innovative and collaborative solutions among partners, and is a critical piece of the landscape approach.

Facilitated by these dialogues and initiatives, Castel now partners with the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network, among other organizations. All together, they protect and restore the surrounding landscape.

Castel funds rehabilitation and reforestation efforts on the hills above the lake to minimize downstream siltation. Castel has also reduced its industrial waste and has implemented a sustainable water extraction and irrigation plan in consultation with the Rift Valley Lakes Basin Authority. Through these practices, Castel is not only protecting the environment for the surrounding communities, but they are also ensuring their own long-term water supply and economic future.

As explicated by Caroline van Leenders of the Dutch Finance Ministry during the conference, geography is critical in local business contexts. By investing in place, businesses can strengthen the environmental, social, and institutional systems that they need to be sustainable. The Castel Winery, through its environmental investments, demonstrates how this idea can be implemented.

Another way businesses may engage in the landscape approach is through enabling community representation in local decision-making processes. Integrated Landscape Management, by its definition, needs to include and empower every stakeholder, and Castel Winery provides an example of how and why companies should be engaging their neighbors.

Castel employs community leaders within their landscape of influence. These leaders represent their communities’ needs and desires to Castel in regular meetings and are considered part of the Castel family (the name and ethos given to everyone employed by Castel).

As a result, Castel has responded to community needs; adjusting their water intake and providing additional drinking water during droughts. Castel also employs roughly 1,000 people from the surrounding communities.

Castel Winery. E. Miller/Yale.

Integrated Landscape Management is a new paradigm in which businesses play a crucial role. Companies can take part in these initiatives by engaging with multiple stakeholders, investing in their geographies, and approaching sustainability from a landscape perspective.

If success stories are needed for advancing Integrated Landscape Management, Castel Winery provides a shining example from which we all can learn.

Featured image by Ethan Miller/Yale University.